With a formation that looks like a castle in the background, this sheep herder and his dog posed with their band of sheep in 1908 for photographer Evelyn Cameron. A kingdom is where you find it, and it appears that this man found his on the remote badlands of eastern Montana.
In 1908, almost 43 million pounds of wool was shipped out of Montana to the eastern markets. Using the accepted average fleece weight for the time of 7.74 lbs, it was estimated that Montana sheared around 5.5 million sheep that year! The National Wool Manufactures ranked Montana #1 in the national in total sheep numbers that year. By comparison, Montana reported only 235,000 sheep in 2013, and a record low of 220,000 in 2014.
For more information about the Montana sheep numbers in 1908, check out this great link to the Eleventh Report of the Bureau of Agriculture, Labor and Industry of the State of Montana For the Year Ending November 30, 1908.
You can also check out the Montana 2014 Agricultural Statistics report.
MHS Photo Archives PAC 90-87.G004-020
