When, irliere, and how to get a drove of Sheep. Vol. IX. 



ty-seven days time of one man and boy, and 

 three horses and wagon, including wear and 

 tear of all the " fixings" at >*;1 25 a day, 

 .•fflG 2.5 — less than ten cents a head, while 

 the actual cash expense was a fraction over 

 ten cents, but including losses, 14| ; so that 

 it may safely be said, that one can go from 

 Chicago to Ohio, and bring in from .500 to 

 800 head of sheep, at twenty-five cents a 

 head, and that a good lot will cost less than 

 seventy cents a head. 



Now as two very important questions will 

 be asked by every reader who has any no- 

 tion of buying sheep, I mean to ask them 

 and answer tliem myself: 



First; What is the need of all these 

 horses and wagon? and next, with them 

 and hands, how do you contrive to travel at 

 an expense of less than i§l 50 a day ! 



First, then, when starting for a drove from 

 here, I would have a good light two-horse 

 wagon, a YeeA trough attached behind ; a 

 good tent, made of 30 yards cotton drilling; 

 two buffalo skins, three blankets, one horse- 

 bucket, one do. for drinking-water, one tea- 

 kettle — as men will drink coffee, and so will 

 I when on the road where I am obliged to 

 make the water bitter, to destroy a worse 

 taste — one coffee-pot, a pound of ground 

 cof^'ee in a little bag, a frying-pan, a small 

 pot, six round tin plates, three cups, three 

 kn,ives and forks, a little pail for butter, a 

 wooden box for sugar, a few other small fix- 

 ings in the provision chest, 40 lbs. of bacon, 

 a week's supply of bread, a bag of potatoes, 

 two or three bags of oats, a trunk of neces- 

 sary clothes — old ones — an axe, an auger, a 

 a little spare rope and a few leather strings 

 — and I am ready for a start. Rain or shine, 

 I would sleep dry and warm in my tent, 

 which is made, when set up, in the shape of 

 the roof of a house, the ridge supported on 

 a pole placed upon two posts about seven 

 feet long, sharpened and stuck into the 

 ground; the bottom is fastened with pins, 

 one gable end closed and the other open 

 towards the fire — cooking my own supper 

 and eating it from a broad board held up on 

 fbuiv sticks stuck in the ground, and par- 

 taking of all the comforts and conveniences 

 tliat an " old camper" always knows how to 

 provide. 



I would fake with me a man and boy, and 

 a saddle and bridle, but no saddle horse, be- 

 cause [ could purchase one there for .%25 or 

 ^30, that would bring $40 at home. In 

 driving sheep, a good dog or horse is very 

 necessary; the average distance should not 

 be over ten miles a day, if yarded at night; 

 or thirteen miles if pastured at night. The 

 expense of the baggage wagon and horses 



and driver is much less than it would be 

 without them, besides the great convenience 

 of having a wagon along, which enables one 

 to camp wherever wood, water, and feed can 

 be liad at night, without being obliged to 

 " push ahead" to a tavern. 



Two good drivers can drive from 500 to 

 800, though three are much better, and 

 sometimes actually necessary. 



I find on looking over my memorandum, 

 that I was nine days travelling last sununer, 

 before I commenced buying, with three 

 hands and three horses — cash out, $i5 61, 

 including horse-shoeing and wagon repair- 

 ing — all the horse feed purchased, and nearly 

 all the provision taken from home. I spent 

 about a week in buying, and hired an extra 

 hand at a dollar a day, which with the cost 

 of collecting and keeping sheep, &c., is all 

 included, as before stated, in the average 

 expense per head. I was three weeks on 

 the road home — 800 sheep, four horses, three 

 Iiands, and about half the time four hands to 

 lioard, and the expense for every thing was 

 S'35 04, averaging ^\ 66^ a day, and grain 

 enormously dear on account of the scarcity 

 occasioned by a great drought. The actual 

 cost of driving 800, averages per head 4f 

 cents, and adding in time of men and horses, 

 not over nine cents a head. The larger the 

 drove, the less average per head expense. 



A short piece of advice about keeping, 

 and I have done bleating about sheep. Be- 

 fore you start to buy, be prepared for keep- 

 ing. Sheds are necessary — but more par- 

 ticularly good "wind-breakers," and dry 

 yards. If situated upon clay prairie, the 

 yard must be made dry by ditching and the 

 use of straw. Sheep are loath to leave the 

 grass in the fall, even afler all nutriment is 

 gone from it. Be careful that you do not 

 let then) get poor at this season. Put them 

 up, and if they refuse hay, give them sheaf 

 oats ; fed in boxes well constructed, there 

 will be no loss. If you keep the sheep fat 

 tlie first part of the winter there is no dan- 

 ger. Prairie hay does not agree so well 

 with sheep the first winter, and they will 

 need more nursing with grain, turnips, tar, 

 salt, sulphur, copperas, &c. 



The best paint for marking sheep is dry 

 Venitian red. It combines with the oil of 

 the wool and is indelible. A thief stole 

 twenty-five from me and tried his best to 

 cover up the mark with tar — but it would 

 not do — the guilty blush was there. 



Another much neglected thing about 

 keeping sheep must be attended to — that is, 

 poisoning the wolves. A drachm of strych- 

 nine — the extract of nux vomica or "dog 

 butter" — costs $1 75, and will make 175 



