Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-09-16
(By Frederic j. Haskln.)

AlpuquerQue, y. NJ, Sept. IL
TINS city is headquarters for one
OF the greatest wool growing sec
tons in the world, and incidentally
for one of the most picturesque of
America Industries.
The Whulr southwest is charac-
terized by a striking contrast be-
tween an old. crude civilization
which IS dying out and new ana
modern one which is almost eX-
plosiveiy alive. This modern cur
rent of life has triekled in along
the railroads somewhat incongru-
ously ana with surprising results,
like water let into desert by
means Of an irrigating canal.
But few miles back from the
railroads, the leisurely, picturesque
life Of The old Spanish Indian
regime goes its way little undis-
turbed. So Albuquerque is a thirty
ing town. much more metropolitan
for its sZe than similar town in
the east and as thoroughly Ameri-
can as chewing gum. But within
days ride of 1t are Mexican vii
lagos where witcheraft is still prac-
ticed and where they stlll thresh
grain as in biblical times by driv-
ing q flock of goats around the
threshing floor.
This contrast is nowhere better
seen than in the sheep business.
Its commercial machinery of buy
ing and selling and insuring, cen
tered here in Albuquerque, is as
modern as Wall street. 1t is car
ried on by shrewd and worried
looking men who drive enormous
distances in high-powered cars.
watch the stock market with keen
intensity, and take frequent trips
to New York and Boston. But the
actual care of the sheep is in the
hands Of Mexicans, who carry on
their trade as 1t was carried on for
generations before the railroads
and the gringos came.
A change Is coming slowly IN
this end of the business. too. The
tendency is to raise more feed for
/ the sheep, build more shelters and
more fences, improve the breed
and take better care of the s oolS.
But this change Is coming slowly.
For the most part, the sheep are
still raised on the open range. as
they We're hundred years ago. For
this work MexIcans are indispen-
sable, and their methods and hab-
its are as unChanging as the noun
tains.
The sheep range is most OF the
state. Part of 1t is public land part
of 1t is in the great Spanish land
grants and part under the forest
service, but altogether 1t Is a
stretch of mountain and desert and
mesa Land, unfenced, untamed and
untamable. To realize the sweep
and emptiness of 1t You must see
it. There are many high points
from which you can look across 4
hundred miles of wildness and see
nothing that you can certainly
identify as the work of men.
The sheep are ranged in the
mountains during the summer, and
are driven down to the barren
looking mesa lands when the first
SHOWS come, They are brought to-
gether once a year for shear ng
and dipping at some headquarters
The rest of the time the sheep
herders (never called shepherds In
this country follow them across
the range. 1t is common for these
men to be away from home for six
months, and they have been known
to stay away for eighteen months.
They are lazy fellows, but they
know sheep as we'll as they know
themselves and they have one great
virtue-they will stay with the
herd These men are not usually
inspired by any great loyalty to
their employers, but they are IN
spired by a loyalty to the sheep
which Is most instructive. They
are of peon stock and no doubt
in the old days the peon who de-
serted the sheep Jared badly. There
was a whipping-po and cat of
nine tails waiting for him at best
and a load from a musket at worst.
For practical reasons he would
rather die with the herd in a bllz-
2ard than come home without II.
Thus loyalty to the sheep has be-
come almost race trait with the
Mexicans, and one of ineHtimable
value to the gringo capitalists who
own the sheep and take down the
profits. The sheep herder gets his
bacon and beans and perhaps forty
dollars a month.
The orga nization of a sheep out
fit is as exact as that of an army.
The owner of all the sheep Is Known
to his employees as Eel Patron tthe
boss.) The sheep are divided into
small herds. and In charge Of each
three herds Ia a sort of superior Of
ficer or overseer, who proudly bears
the title of caporal. In immediate
charge of each herd is a a chief
herder known somewhat grandly as
the mayordomo, and he has an as
sistant herder known as the ayu-
dante and cook and packer called
campero. Each of these officers
treats his Immediately superior
with a certain Difference, and Is
proud Of his own authority. The
caporal is directly responsible to
the patron for the sheep in his
charge, and he in turn holds the
mayodomos directly responsible.
He accepts excuses no more than
did Napoleon.
When everything goes well the
life of the sheep herder on the
range, especially in the summer, Is
not a hard one; but all sorts OF
dangers menace these troops or
blatting foolish creatures, who are
worth so much money and perish
so easily. Drouth wipes them out,
storms overwhelm them, coyote,
wolf and mountain lion hang on
the flanks of the herd and take
regular toll.
Weather Is their worst enemy,
and nowhere is the weather more
incalculable than in New Meico.
Throughout most of the state, for
example, 1t is safe to leave the
herds in the rich mountain range