Our Heritage

Elder Perry's talk from conference about the sheep stuck on a ledge reminded me of a couple of sheep stories that Dad used to tell. He basically grew up at the sheep herd. As a teenager his dad started a sheep herd and after he was married he made some of his living herding sheep for other people.
Before the days of the Bureau of Land Managment the west was pretty much an open range. All the water sources were claimed by someone but outside of that the land use was mostly by gentleman's agreement. The Homestead Act made ownership of some land possible but there were still vast areas of wilderness open to common usage. One such area was what was referred to as the "lower valleys". As you go south on interstate 15 from St. George you cross the state line into Arizona and start down into what becomes the Virgin River gorge. Springtime came early in those areas along the virgin river like Cedar Pockets and the surrounding valleys. Because of the early season, it was a great place for the sheep to have their lambs (they lamb in the Jan. - Feb. time frame) and there was fresh green feed. By the first of the year the cheat grass, bottle stoppers, and fillerie were growing and new hope came to the sheep man.
Now to the talk by Elder Perry. Early one spring in the lower valleys the sheep were feeding along the ledges in the gorge and a big ewe did just like the one in Elder Perry's story, she ended up on a small overlook and couldn't get turned around to go back up and there was no way down. It was time to move on with the herd and here was this sheep where she was inaccessable and unable to help herself. Dad had 2 options. He could go off and leave her or shoot her from across the canyon and let her carcass fall and salvage the meat. He couldn't just leave her there and let her go to waste so he decided on the second option. He aimed at her head but just as he pulled the trigger she jerked back and the bullet grazed across her nose and hit the rock right next to her face. The shattering rock suprised her and she backed off the ledge, fell several feet then rolled on down the hill. At the bottom she shook herself off and rejoined the herd. Hardly the spiritual ending that Elder Perry concluded with but a real life illustration of what Dad was like.

Another sheep story.
It was early in the year and Dad was 17 or 18 years old. He and his dad were trailing the sheep to the lower valleys for lambing season. The ewes were heavy with lamb and had a hard time getting up out of the washes that the trail passed through so Dad was helping these ewes up out of the steep places. He came up out of a wash half carrying half dragging a heavy ewe and as he stopped to rest he could hear some one yelling. He listened for a moment and didn't recognize the voice so he climbed up a little higher for a better look in the direction of the noise. Down the canyon a way at the head of the herd was his dad holding the bridle of a mule that Ern (must have been short for Ernest) Larson was ridding. He was goading the mule with a rifle and trying to get it to run over him. Dad ran down to see what the commotion was and as he approached he realized that Ern was claiming the lower valleys for the Larson sheep and "those damn Joneses had no business being there." and "He'd whip every last one of them if he had to". Ern was in his late 20's and a large man with a big mouth and a tough guy reputation that made most people afraid of him so he generally got his way. Dad heard the challenge and told him to put up his gun and get off his mule. Ern was too proud to resist. As soon as he hit the ground Dad was in his face with both fists. Dad had very quick hands and Ern was way too slow. He never landed a punch. Dad pummelled him around the head until he said he had had enough. They helped him onto his mule and sent him up the trail towards town. Turns out he stayed out of town for a couple of weeks while he healed up so he wouldn't have to explain what had happened.
Because he could, and didn't learn a better way, Dad tried to solve most of his problems with his fists. He had a way around people that made him very likable but any disagreement brought out his short, hot, temper. I wish I could have inherited some of his stellar traits instead of his hot head.