Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-08-27
hcrder gets his bacon and beans ana per
haps forty dollars month.

hcrder gets his bacon and beans ana per
haps forty dollars month.
THE oRoAsIzsuo~.
The organization Of sheep outfit i- ~
exact ar that Of an army. The owner ~ nil
the sheep Is known 70 his employs A.
III Patron (tbe boes.) The sheep are divi-
ed into small herds, ard IN charge of
each three herds Is a sort of superior
officer or oyerseer, who proudly bears The
title Of Caporal. In Immediate charge n
each herd u a chief hcrder known sorn-
what grandly as the Nayodomo, and he
has All assistant herdsr known A. he
AyIdante and cook and packer called
Campero. Zach Of these Offiocrr treats his
immediate superior with n certain def
erence, and IL proud of bis own authority.
The Coporal Is directly responsible 10 he
Patron for the sheep Ia bic charge, and he
in turn holds the Jayodomos directly
responsible. lie accepts excuses 10 m0rn
than did Napoleon.
When everything goes vel the lffe ~
the sheep hcrder on the range csf~cialiy
IN the summer, u not hard one but al
sorts Of dangers menace these troops n
batting foolish creatures. Who are worth
30 much money and perish ~ easily.
Drought wipes them out, storms over
whelm them, coyote wolf and mountain
lion hang on the danks Of the herd and
take regular toll.
A RACE WITH A.. STORM.
Weather IL their worst enemy, and no
where il the weather more incalculabie
than in New Mexico Throughout most ~
the state, for ample, 70 j. safe - ieavr
the herd IN the rich mountain range Until
October; snow seldom falls before Noveul-
ber But few years ago, winter came
month ahead Of time, and deep wet snow
fell like the hand of death On hundreds ~
herds that were among the mOuntain
tops, separated from the ioWiands ~ desu
canyons where the drift piled I'd higher
than mans head Most a these herd
that were more than . days drive from
safety persisted % the lhF, sheep But
there was one young Caporal who hnd his
herds several days drive .nto the rroilf-
tains, but who saw the storm cloud
coming, and started Just before the storm
broke with all three q bis herds and az
six Of his men, in a desperate drive for
safety. Soon the storm overlook them.
and they moved through n phantom worid
Of white sheep and white wind-driven
snow Five days and five nights the Young
Caporal kept his men and bis sheep On fhe
move. The men wanted t0 quit and tho
sheep wanted % lie down. but he gave IN ~
neithea Half of the sheep iell dead from
exhaustion, making a trail other bodies
all the way from timberline - desert and
the other half arrived ~ the lowlsuds
with every bit of wool nihbled ~ their
backs by their starving fellows The men
we're staggering and half blind from
fatigue and loss II slecp. Bot the Caporal
had saved half Of his herds where others
had been wholly lost and be- had lived
up 20 the one high principle II his life
20 stay with the herd.
Many other such feats might be ~
corded, less dramatic, perhaps, but no
less heroic.
Many of these Mexican hercers are a.
picturesque AZ YOU could wish. Often Won
see one clad IN a long ragged cloak and
carrying long crook of his own mann
facture who looks like figure out of ths
Bible. Some II them even carry sling
shots. like that with which David slew
Goliath.