IT ISN’T NICE TO TELL
SHEEPHERDER JOKES
A
FREDERIC REMINGTON DREW THIS SHEEPHERDER IN 1888.
shoulder of the road, watching the cars go by. Traditionally, herders were family members but sometimes they hired an old man who got a dollar a day, board and room, and socks when the old ones wore out. “Bush Boys” are much less common than in the early days of boarding schools. A bush boy was a member of the family they kept home to herd the sheep; a lousy job but somebody had to do it. Often, they wouldn’t learn English or cultural niceties. The BIA had no way of knowing how many children were in a given family. Ever since Coronado vacationed in New SHEARING MACHINE PHOTOGRAPHED IN ZUNI. THE Mexico, sheep have been APPARATUS WORKS ON A HAND-POWERED TREADLE. an important part of the
economy. In late spring there is the wool to sell, in the late fall, the lambs. Some of the wool was woven, some of the lambs (ewes that have stopped lambing) eaten. A lot easier than deer hunting. The Navajos used to practice transhumance, moving stock from place to place with the seasons as they followed the grass and water. Zunis and Hopis have sheep camps, often miles from villages. I know people who still take their sheep up into the mountains in the summer. In most parts of the country, they graze livestock by how many can be supported on an acre of grass. In the Southwest it is acres per animal, not the other way around. Herding sheep is a day job in the Southwest. The sheep go out in the morning, come home toward late afternoon. I have known a small flock that herded themselves, coming and going without help. One thing certain to bring them home is the need for a cool sip of water. In many places it was hauled from windmill to the house in fifty-five-gallon drums. Zunis and Hopis located their sheep camps near springs, but these days one after another, the springs have gone dry.
round here, a hundred and fifty sheep are considered a big herd. Though herds are getting smaller, they are still a fairly common sight. Wave to a herder sitting in the meagre shade of a cedar tree while his scruffy mutts lie on the
SHEARING IN THE CORRAL Shearing is still a difficult, time-consuming, and boring job. One early observer described Natives using scissors, knives, and even tin can lids. I tried shearing one time and my hand pooped out pretty fast. It is hard work.
