orking 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. They told me that he gained much time by the unvarying
precision that left no ragged strips to be trimmed off. The docility of
those wild sheep was astonishing. Almost while the last clip was
being made the sheep was seized by a second assistant standing at the
shearer's left, who at once threw the poor thing down on its side, where
he quickly painted the brand of that particular ranch, after which it
was given its freedom. It was most laughable to see the change in the
sheep--most of them looking lean and lanky, whereas in less than one
short minute before, their sides had been broad and woolly. A third man
to wait upon the shearer was kept busy at his right carefully gathering
the wool and stuffing it in huge sacks. Every effort was made to keep it
clean, and every tiny bit was saved.

About four o'clock we reached Rock Creek, where we remained overnight at
a little inn. The house is built of logs, and the architecture is about
as queer as its owner. Mrs. Gates, wife of the proprietor, can be, and
usually is, very cross and disagreeable, and I rather dreaded stopping
there alone. But she met me pleasantly--that is, she did not snap my
head off--so I gathered courage to ask for a room that would be near
some one, as I was timid at night. That settled my standing in her
opinion, and with a "Humph!" she led the way across a hall and through
a large room where there were several beds, and opening a door on the
farther