V ' J*.<% 
HHl 
ftURfvL 
VttiNNE. 
PRICE 8TX CENT!? 
*2.30 PER YEAR. 
I Entered uoooralnf? to Act of Congress, in the ycnr H73, by I). II. T. Moons, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, nt Washington.] 
sheep unless they are obliged, of necessity, 
to do so. 
The sheep have become so habituated to 
this manner of camping that they will not 
start until after breakfast and the tent has 
been struck and the donkeys packed; then 
the bleating of the tlock announces their de¬ 
parture. The shepherds calculate to reach 
water about once in three days, hut they 
often travel seven or eight. The sheep of 
this country are a small and hardy race ; 
they clip about two pounds of wool to the 
fleece; tho wool is short and fine, and from 
all that can be ascertained from tradition 
handed down through past generations, the 
sheep were pure Spanish Merinos, brought 
from Spain by Cortez's expedition. 
Sheep are counted by shutting them up in 
a pen and driving them through a narrow 
opening (see Fig. 8 ). A. J. Russell. 
With ever}' flock of sheep these animals are 
indispensable: they lead the way, and can 
be driven, when without them it would bo an 
impossibility to move the flock. Those sheep 
seem to have inherited a habit of milling 
whenever the least excited—that is, to hud¬ 
dle together and keep running round and 
round the center. They will not move from 
the seeming pivot on which they are turning. 
Rut when goat3 are with them, they can be 
started in the direction required and the 
sheep follow. Sometime* the flock will fol¬ 
low a donkey and seem to consider him the 
head of the family, marching along after 
him day after day and month after month. 
The outfit of a first-class herder consists of 
two donkeys for carrying supplies, the tent, 
cooking utensils, blankets and the huge 
water canteen. This is made of tin and will 
hold four or five gallons. It is covered with 
n heavy woolen cloth, which serves to keep 
it cool during the heat of the day. A small 
Mexican pony and two or three good dogs, 
with tlus herder’s assistant complete the 
establishment. Two men and three dogs 
will take care of five thousand sheep. The. 
wages paid the shepherds are from ton to 
fifteen dollars per month and board, while 
the overseer receive- twenty-five or thirty 
dollars. At night these immense flocks 
gather closely around tho camp of the shep¬ 
herds and sleep peacefully, guarded by well- 
trained dogs. These dogs are mostly of the 
Scotch Shepherd breed, and show wonderful 
sagacity and prowess in their midnight 
vigils, uolding at bay the fiercest wolf, rais¬ 
ing such a din as to awaken their masters, 
who, with well-directed shot, either kill or 
drive off tho intruders. These large docks 
roam at will over the vast plains, feeding as 
they go, never sleeping two nights in the 
same place, except at the home stations. 
They will feed from two to ten miles in a 
day, followed by the heavily laden donkey, 
and stop wherever night overtakes them. 
The tent is pitched, the camp-fire 13 soon 
ablaze, the mess kettle over it and the supper 
prepared. This often consists of wild game, 
viz HdWnt, quail, antelope, or deer, the 
shepherds making it a point not to kill a 
HERDING SHEEP IN NEW MEXICO 
A iiarii ride over the plains and through 
the sand hill - brought us to the borne stations 
of the herd. A small log-house, nearly sur¬ 
rounded by pens, into whirl! the sheep are 
driven when sheared or when they are to be 
counted ; the counting is done generally four 
times each year. The rams are here sepa¬ 
rated from the flock ; in fact, the wants or 
the sheep and necessary branding, shearing, 
clearing oft the ticks, Are., Arc., is performed. 
The hut is a low structure covered with 
earth ; no windows, but with loopholes on 
each side for defense in case Indians should 
make a raid on tho premises, which does 
sometimes occur, especially at stations which 
are in the vicinity of the Comanches and 
Kiowas. Many a fat mutton has found its 
way to their saddle bows. 
The flocks usually start out in the morning 
about sunrise; the goats are first to move. 
SCOUR IN SHEEP 
At a meetihg of the Stowe-market, En 
gland, Farmers' Club, Mr. C, W. Sutton 
