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Show Thursday. January 6. T983 Uintah Basin Standard .Vi CV'-t- t 'Willard Whiskers has been a sheepherder for a long time. Thirty , eight years to be exact and he still v " cant decide why. he does jt like Just dont know) I just it, ;, he explained ashe justified being alone for weeks on end in the cold of winter 'in the desolate Uintah Basin , . . . ;I v:r::''',V deserts.'-- ' Whiskers -- 'A; a with his dad when he was still siV beW"d !! finishing A ;; ' "wet-- . t v'' . AV-r-.. started tending sheep ' - any formal schooling he was on his own tending sheep. Right now he 'is working for ' Alton ", Moon and-- ' is .;,Y ; watching over '2,089 head of sheep south of Plessant Valley. , The duties ' sheepherder go v-beyond - just protecting the ' sheep v1'' from pnditors. He is responsible for "finding food. for' the animals and in getting them to go in that direction - , - ! . .VAv f's? : ! 40-5- . . isa-proble- . Jfi. ' . . ofa with a butane Vtime, and visited by Alton Moon at a wood stove,.' and '..feast every five days to bring him '. food, fuel, or whatever else he needs, insulation from the cold. He, still wakes up in the mornings to find i just wish I had a month I could much nicer with Whiskers to learn all he everything frozen buf spend v than the t6ntfM. J ' r f said knows about herding sheeps ' Predators are a. main' concern of Alton.' the sheepherder as he is ultimately ; The Moon's move their sheep out responsible. So far this year only two ' .. on the desert around the first of Y December. Buck's are cut from the sheep have been killed by coyotes. 'There have.' more coyotes killed by herd and those sheep affected by ' Whiskers this year than there has "wool blindness are taken care of in been sheep that have died with shearing starting in February A1' ; To keep the action moving, while April. The Moons have grazing on the range Whiskers has on several v; rights. on Wolf Creek that the sheep occasions left his gun in the scabard are moved to in May for the summer. ' and gone out to rape the coyotes. ... More sheep are lost in the summer on the mountain' than in the winter. T According to him he': has been successful doing this, as one time he There have been a couple of, years had to rape one .coyote twice as he : that 0 head of sheep have been V lost with no trace. It keeps herders got away before be could shoot him. for .'. Crusted, snow and owners guessing as to what V find to to have roam sheep. They happened. "I really dont know if it food to sustain' them end sometimes was or fourlegged preda-A- v will make snow the walking through tors or what happened to them, said' them ' lame 'With sores fnnBlng on Moon. their shinsi "There is still plenty to Whiskers stated that the herders . ."it's just a life was not a lonely life for him. He ept," .matter of getting them to the food. said that with the visits each week ; The sheep camp is moved every 10 v ' from the owners and then bring able ' to 14 days to newer range areas so to spend some time with his boy on the sheep dont have to travel to get 7- the mountain dining the summers - has made it an alright life fin him.;' .v:.aY;; Y the food. is working for 80 days at vj Whiskers ' .. A' stove, . if A two-legg- . . !'v: -- 'V. : 'falter this entails .building a fire; V dting the Modern sheep the lifestyle years.' Whiskers tpit while he da he retires to a ..... , r trough a and each day. camps have changed sheepherder over the started out living in ; . watched sheep. Now ; 112,000 trailer.. ; Two .water; the; fcp - .. . . sjated-Whisker- s ' . . - ; .. ; , . . , y - j. ,v - a-- .. K . r"-- - - . r u. t ti, 4u h . a - . V .r'V , '. x 4 y.r' i '.r Y Ui V; CS, -- & 'f ' s if 'V' ' 'y? A' vr; - -- u v- - V V it..! ' Y Mi-- t ' hat.. ' .:;v.v .;'4h4S t .' j' Y,; ' V.s '" . ft , & A. ''vX. 1 f r. cxvi .v :. fj V cV ';.'5 Jb ' 7 - ; "f. .O AiX- ' ' r' ' '.'t r VStti. niV, . - . . -- A :i 'i- &y ' ' v"--' 'Yv,4 i.-y- s'v A p y . 1 ,vi ., p! A Aa V-- vfs' f , 'V'V.H ' t ?' - Ajf . ; : V jj,1 P, y.;-- ' rf- $ r V v V J, ! t '.ftlV.J 1 s 'v.h. v.?rr s, I rA li t h ,v-V- b r - i - ,Ar., .. ,. . ' , ' ' . ; j 17 |