INTO WYOMING ««l 



"strike it rich." The last of these before begin- 

 ning the steeper ascent of the pass is a tumble- 

 down cabin and barn, where some one had un- 

 successfully attempted ranching and mining in 

 conjunction. It is known as "Giveout" — very 

 suggestive and appropriate. 



Close to Giveout I encountered a great herd 

 of sheep, which the shepherds told me they 

 were taking to Boise for the winter. In their 

 course over the pass they had swept all grass 

 and browse before them, making it quite impos- 

 sible for the traveler to find a suitable place 

 for his horses to graze for even so much as a 

 single night. 



A grassy park, this year capable of support- 

 ing many animals, will be transformed by a 

 bunch of sheep, in a very short space of time, 

 into a verdureless, barren waste. This destruc- 

 tion applies not only to grass, but to small 

 shrubs, and when the heavy rains come, the 

 soil of hillsides, swept clean of grass and shrubs 

 and loosened by a thousand hoofs, the top soil 

 is washed away, and the land is left unproduc- 

 tive permanently, or for an indefinite period. 



This is what is taking place in all of our for- 

 est reserves, and the price of wool and the price 

 of lamb and mutton are going up. The sheep 

 barons hold the situation in the palm of their 



