Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-05

enough to hold their wool for higher
prices, although they can borrow money
on 1t as is done elsewhere on wheat and
other grains or cotton i'm the warehouses
and elevators.
Wool is very high this year Last year
at this time 1t was 10 cents a pound, while
today 1t is - cents and a fraction. Count
ing ten pounds of wool to a sheep the diff
ference between the prices last year and
this is enough to pay all the expense of
keeping an animal for the entire year and
the 13 cents a pound is all clear profit
besides the lamb. From every band of
three thousand sheep the owners are now
getting between $1,000 and $1,000 cash.
Mstcalf the Largest Owner.
The largest single sheep owner in Wyom-
ing is Gearge Metcalf. who has 5000
head and sold his wool for $4,000 last
year. This year he will get nearly twice
as much. John Mahoney, who has 10000
sheep, and Mr.. Delfelter, who has 5000,
have sold their wool for the highest prices
of the season and have a fat balance in
the bank. Indeed, every sheepowner has
big balance. In these towns on the
Northwestern railway between the Ne
hraska boundary and the end of the track
at Lander the banks are full of money.
The farmers Of this section were never
so prosperous and every class of the COM
munity shares their good fortune.
The wool is brought in from the ranches
in a string of wagons hitched together
with chains and hauled by teams of
twelve. sixteen and even twenty horses.
all driven by one man with one rein.
hitched to the bit of the near leader and
attached to the bit of the off leader by
rod. When the driver wants to turn
to the right he pulls the rein gently but
steadily, and draws the head of the horse
around in that direction. The horse fol-
lows his nose, as every sensible person
ought to do, and takes his mate with
him through the influence Of the con-
Meeting rod; and the other teams follow
in their footsteps. If the driver wants
TO go the other way he jerks the reins
suddenly and quickly three or four times.
which causes the horse to turn his head
to the left, and he follows his nose
again.
The wool wagons are built like hay
wagons used in the east, with racks ex-
tending over the wheels, and each wagon
carries a short ton of wool, 1000 pounds.
more or less. The tongue of one wagon
is run under the box of another and Sc
curely fastened, while the axles of all
of them are hi0hed together with chains.
This wholesale method Of hauling is said
to be economical. 1t is contended that
sixteen horses hitched in one team can
haul as much of load upon eight wagons
as twenty horses hitched to ten separate
wagons. BY concentrating ,the horse
power it is possible to haul loads averag
lilS d InOuSdHu pOuIuS pei HOISe, Wiiiit
$50 or 500 pounds per horse is a good
load for an individual wagon.
His Home in Wagon.
At the end of the chain of eight or
ten wagons is the camp wagon of the
driver-his bedroom, kitchen, dining
room, drawing ROOM library and smok-
ing room. as we'll as his cellar, pantry
and china closet all in one, on four
wheels. covered with canvas. Some of
the wagons are arranged with great in
bed live in perfect harmony, and the oc-
cupant may dine without being annoyed
with odors from the kitchen.
The sheep camp wagons are called
'cousters." Sometimes the freighter, as
the driver is called. has a helper trailing
along behind him on horseback, an ever
present help in time of trouble. but most
Of them 60 along for the sake s; 10 OF #
pens to the railroads for a cent and a
quarter per mile per hundredweight. and
receive extra pay if the roads are bad.
They make from seven to ten miles
hundred miles. The hauls have been
very much shortened by the extension
of the railway system.
George Coleman Is the most prominent
Of the freighters, for he has been hauling
wool into Casper for many years, and
has contracts to handle the clip of the
largest ranchers in this part of the coun-
try. He has an outfit of ten wagons
and large drove of horses, and owns
them all himself. He always goes along,
and can haul $4,000 pounds of wool in
a single load with team of twenty
horses.
The Dipping Process.
After the sheep are sheared they are
sent to dipping stations before being
driven 70 tho mountain ranges The din
ping stations have big watts filled with
liquor Of various formulate. guaranteed to
kill the ticks that hide in the wool, cure
scabs and other skin diseases and give
the sheep clean bill of health for the
next season. The most popular dips have
tobacco and sulphur as their basis. Others
are made Of coal tar and crude petroleum.
The sheep are driven into the vat.
thoroughly immersed in the liquid and
then sent into a chute a hundred feet long.
which they have to travel before they
get out of the scrape. Men stand at IN
tervals on each side of the chute to
torment them by tripping them and duck
ing their heads under the liquor. SO that
by the time a sheep has passed through
the ordeal he is pretty we'll soaked with
the nasty stuff Inspectors from the De-
partment of Agriculture at Washington
and from the agricultural board of the
state are always present to see that the
proper sort of dip" is used, that
the job is thoroughly done and to prevent
diseases. Before such precautions were
taken there were frequent epidemlcs
among the hocks In different parts of
the country, and the losses sustained by
the wool growers were very great. This
practice of dipping is considered almost
an absolute preventive of tick, scab
and other ailments which sheep are heir
to.
eorrrr ArpYcAN RETIE