778 SHEEP INDUSTRY OF THE UNITED STATES 



age were Dakota, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, and Montana, and tlie excess 

 was but a few cents. The estimate made then represented fairly 

 the cash vahie of the sheep. But at the present writing (February, 

 1891), fully 30 per cent should be added to the average value. Favor- 

 able tariff legislation and increased demand for breeding stock have 

 enhanced their value to that extent. 



The total number of sheep in Wyoming for 1891 is about the same as 

 in 1889. The governor of the State estimated the number then at 

 1,250,000, while the auditor, in his annual report, only puts the number 

 at 159,991 on which taxes were paid; but as certain aged sheep are 

 exempt from assessment and many owners feel that they should make 

 another exemption to cover the uumber which may be lost by wild ani- 

 mals, from exposure, or from thieves, the auditor's report is not unrea- 

 sonable ; it is not expected to be accurate. Both of these local estimates 

 are extremes, one a maximum estimate and the other a minimum. The 

 last report of the United States Department of Agriculture estimates 

 the mrmber at 1,017,373. This estimate is conservative and is approxi- 

 mately correct. From careful personal inACstigations the actual 

 number of sheep in Wyoming on January 1, 1891, may be placed in 

 round numbers at 1,000,000 head. The failure to show an increase over 

 January, 1889, during the t^V() years that have elapsed, is not owing to 

 any decline of the industry, but is caused by the large sales of sheep to 

 feeders, together with heavy losses in western and central Wyoming 

 during the winter of 1889-'90, which was the severest winter ever en- 

 countered by sheepmen in that region. 



Values of the animals vary as to class, as described in detail in the 

 preceding pages. An average ^'alue of 83 per head would give a total 

 value of §3,000,000, exclusive of the ^\'ool clip. The shipments of wool 

 this year from Rawlins, in Carbon County, exceeded 1,500,000 pounds. 

 A conservative estimate of the value of the wool clip for 1890 is 

 $1,000,000. 



THE WATER SUrPLY. 



The entire water surface area of Wyoming is 315 square miles, and 

 consists of the various mountain streams and lakes, with the rivers and 

 their tributaries. The principal rivers are the IsTorth Fork of the Platte 

 and its feeders, which drain nearly one-third of the State, the central 

 and southeastern portion. The southwestern portion of the State is 

 drained by the Green River and its tributaries. In the northwestern 

 portion of the State are the affluents of the Lewis and Snake rivers. 

 And the north and northeastern portions of the State are drained by 

 the tributaries of the Yellowstone, the Big Horn, Powder, Little Mis- 

 souri, and Cheyenne rivers. The State is one of the best watered in 

 tlie mountain country with these and hundreds of mountain streams. 

 During winter the sheep that are not located near these streams depend 

 upon the snow for water. 



