Montana labor news., 1932-11-17
SHEPHERDS" A N D
"SHEEPHERDERS"
DIFFER
BY JACK PARNACK.

rope. when the flocks of sheep are
trailed down from the mountains in
the fall, the people there say: Here
comes the noble shepherd with his
faithful dog and his flock" but here
in the west when the herds of sheep
are trailed down from the mountains
in the fall, the hostile farmers and
ranchers say: "Here comes a damn
sheepherder with his pot-hound and
his woolies." Prejudices against
sheep and sheepherders out in the
West can be traced back to the days
of the sheep feuds and also to the
ancient fights between the pastoral
tribes and the agricultural tribes.
Trailing from the mountains has
wound up by Oct. l. All herds are
then down from the mountains and
headed for the desert or lower eoun-
try for the winter. However, trail
ing herds down from the mountains
the sheepherders do not have as much
grief as when they are trailing to
the mountains, simply because the
lambs are big and the days are
shorter and much cooler. AS soon as
the herds are trailed down from the
mountains the lambs are cut out
from the herd and shipped to the
market. Thus the herds are then
doubled up and s~heepherders and
camp-tenders are laid off by the
score. There are thousands of sheep
outfits throughout the western sheep
ranges which are now laying off
herders and camp-tenders.
When the herders and camp-tend-
ers are laid off they go to town.
Some of them elbow in" their stake
while others get themselves a cabin
or a light housekeeping room and
batch during the winter until spring.
By that time work starts to pick up
again in the sheep industry. There
are still others who migrate to other
parts of the country or to other in
dustries seeking jobs.
Jobs during the winter months in
the western states are as scarce as
hens teeth; and now during this de-
preston many of the herders and
camp-tenders find themselves in the
soup lines just as other workers when
they have no jobs and can't find
jobs. This does not include those
who are patching for the winter, as
they have their winter stake made.
There are sections of Dillon called
Hogan's Alley and the Cabbage
Patch where the herders, camp-tend-
ers and other migratory workers
"shack up" for the winter. A num-
Der of other towns in the western
states have similar sections. While
Stacking up (batching) during the
winter, all they have to do is eat,
read, sleep and take life easy.
But the herders who still have jobs
find that herding in the fall is much
easier because the days are shorter
and they don't have to sleep on the
cold, damp, hard ground as when
they are t~ee-peeing out in the noun
tains, but instead they now have a
sheep wagon for a camp, with a
spring or mattress to sleep upon,
whereas in the mountains they have
a tent, without springs or mattress,
for a camp.
In the fall the herder herds afoot,
for his saddle horse is taken down
to the ranch for the winter, but
nevertheless it is the contention
among the old-time herders that the
fall is the best part of the year to
herd. In the fall the sheep outfits
are also in the habit of cutting wages
because they know that as long as
the labor market is flooded with I'M
employed herders and camp-tenders
they can get all the help they need
for the so-called "going wage"