An Enormous Corral Had Been
Put Up Temporarily, And In It Were Thousands Of Sheep, So Closely
Packed That Those In The Center Were Constantly Jumping Over The
Others, Trying To Find A Cooler Place.
In the winter, when the weather
is very cold, sheep will always jump from the outer circle of the
Band
to the center, where it is warm; they always huddle together in cold
weather, and herders are frequently compelled to remain right with
them, nights at a time, working hard every minute separating them so
they will not smother. One of the men, owner of the sheep, I presume,
met us and said he would show me where to go so I could see everything
that was being done, which proved to be directly back of a man who was
shearing sheep. They told me that he was the very fastest and most
expert shearer in the whole territory. Anyone could see that he was an
expert, for three men were kept busy waiting upon him. At one corner
of the corral was a small, funnel-shaped "drive," the outer opening of
which was just large enough to squeeze a sheep through, and in the
drive stood a man, sheep in hand, ever ready to rush it straight to
the hands of the shearer the instant he was ready for it.
The shearer, who was quite a young man, sat upon a box close to the
drive, and when he received a sheep it was always the same
way - between his knees - and he commenced and finished the shearing of
each animal exactly the same way, every clip of the large shears
counting to the best advantage.
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