These Requisites Being
Secured, The Depth Of The Water Is, Of Course, A Matter Of No Moment;
The Narrowness Of The Stream Being A Point Of Far Greater Importance.
These Rivers Abound In Places Combining Every Requisite.
The sheep being mobbed up together near the spot where they are intended
to enter the water, the best
Plan is to split off a small number, say a
hundred or hundred and fifty (a larger mob would be less easily
managed), dog them, bark at them yourself furiously, beat them, spread
out arms and legs to prevent their escaping, and raise all the
unpleasant din about their ears that you possibly can. In spite of all
that you can do they will very likely break through you and make back;
if so, persevere as before, and in about ten minutes a single sheep will
be seen eyeing the opposite bank, and evidently meditating an attempt to
gain it. Pause a moment that you interrupt not a consummation so
devoutly to be wished; the sheep bounds forward with three or four jumps
into midstream, is carried down, and thence on to the opposite bank;
immediately that one sheep has entered, let one man get into the river
below them, and splash water up at them to keep them from working lower
and lower down the stream and getting into a bad place; let another be
bringing up the remainder of the mob, so that they may have come up
before the whole of the leading body are over; if this be done they will
cross in a string of their own accord, and there will be no more trouble
from the moment when the first sheep entered the water.
If the sheep are obstinate and will not take the water, it is a good
plan to haul one or two over first, pulling them through by the near
hind leg; these will often entice the others, or a few lambs will
encourage their mothers to come over to them, unless indeed they
immediately swim back to their mothers: the first was the plan we
adopted.
As I said, our sheep were got across the first two streams without much
difficulty; then they became completely silly. The awful wind, so high
that we could scarcely hear ourselves talk, the blinding sand, the cold
glacier water, rendered more chilling by the strong wind, which,
contrary to custom, was very cold, all combined to make them quite
stupid; the little lambs stuck up their backs and shut their eyes and
looked very shaky on their legs, while the bigger ones and the ewes
would do nothing but turn round and stare at us. Our dogs knocked-up
completely, and we ourselves were somewhat tired and hungry, partly from
night-watching and partly from having fasted since early dawn, whereas
it was now four o'clock. Still we must get the sheep over somehow, for
a heavy fresh was evidently about to come down; the river was yet low,
and could we get them over before dark they would be at home.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 66 of 87
Words from 33793 to 34306
of 45285