MY SPORTING HOLIDAYS 



spent in hunting, and also in scouting in various 

 frontier Indian wars. He had now married and 

 settled down on Canon Creek as a ranchman in a 

 small way, and was also interested in various oil and 

 mining claims. 



As a further reason for the strong display of local 

 interest in the trial, Boney Earnest was Carbon 

 County Republican candidate for the Wyoming 

 Legislature in the approaching election, and a very 

 popular member of Caspar society. 



I went to Caspar strongly prejudiced in favour of 

 the defendant, and with the recollection of several 

 pleasant hunting-trips made in his company. 



The day after our arrival was spent by Cowan and 

 myself in driving some ten miles out of Caspar, over 

 wind-swept, sage-covered upland prairie, to inspect 

 the herd of 5,000 sheep in which we were interested. 

 They were in charge of two sheep-herders, who spent 

 their lonely days each guarding with his dogs a 

 separate herd, and living in their respective waggons, 

 which were moved from place to place in the open 

 unfenced prairie pastures as the exigencies of fresh 

 feed required. 



These sheep-herders have gradually developed, by 

 the evolution of the open range sheep business, into a 

 distinct and peculiar race. Their lonely life engenders 

 personal eccentricities, and usually unfits them for 

 any kind of town life or civilized occupation. They 

 are generally looked upon as ' cranks,' and sometimes 

 justify the epithet by becoming mildly insane. On 

 the other hand, their pay has usually been good, as 

 the western sheep business, as a rule, has been very 

 profitable, and in some cases has yielded considerable 

 fortunes to flock-masters. 



