Reminiscing IV

Sorry about last night, somehow, I couldn’t post… I tried for 3 hours! Let’s go back to the tried and true… Reminiscing by James Greet.

“There was lots of activities going on. The county road passed right along one side of our pasture. There, big bands of sheep trailed by on the road. Twelve to sixteen hundred ewes plus their lambs. The noise they made would remind you of a large group of kids on a school playground. Then there was the music of the bells that float on the air, the herders with their horses and dogs, the sheepwagons being pulled by four head of horses, and the usual flow of traffic for a livestock operation. At the west end, the little hill was really steep and rocky. The camptender always had to drop the supply wagon they were trailing. The pull was plenty hard for four head of horses. Then the camptender would use his saddle horse to drive his team of four to bring the supply wagon up the hill, a real time consuming chore for him. It looked interesting to me.

One very warm summer day there was a violent thunderstorm. The black clouds rolled amid big bolts of lightning and it seemed like the thunder would shake the dishes in the cupboard. One bolt of lightning came down our stovepipe and knocked a lid off our stove. We were very snug and protected in our cabin.

The wind did blow so hard that it upset a sheepwagon in the vicinity. No real harm was done, except the herder did get a small burn from a hot stove lid on his leg.

All sheepwagons were equipped with a small woodstove with an oven. These stoves were bolted to the floor at all four corners, so there was no chance of them shifting from some of the rough and rocky roads that were encountered. There was always plenty of dry sagebrush sticks on the range that was used for fuel, as it would make a quick, hot fire.

Some camptenders and herders were excellent cooks. The owners of the outfits furnished all of the groceries and the wagon. All in all, the only expense the herder had was his clothes and some personal incidentals.

Some herders would stay two or three years, save up their wages, and have enough money to go back to their home in the “Old Country” and buy their own outfit. There wasn’t many jobs with that kind of potential in those days.

When you think of the time spent on the job, and what it pays per hour, you are working for pennies. If you know the secrets of being a good herder and the fringe benefits that go with the job, it can be a really rewarding choice of employment, like no other job.”

*The county road above the family cabin that James is describing. Sometimes, it’s still full of activity… photo taken July, 2023.*

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