The Sheep Eaters

In Short

Published in 1913, this work is a combination of local history, Western travelogue, and preserved Native folklore set in Wyoming and Montana. Dentist and frontier enthusiast W. A. Allen travels into the Big Horn Mountains seeking traces of the Tukuarika, or "Sheep Eaters"—a small, peaceful mountain tribe that lived isolated from neighboring nations. Guided by encounters with local homesteaders, Native leaders, and an ancient woman who claims to be the last survivor of her people, Allen documents their ancient rock art, sacred sites, and tragic disappearance. It remains an evocative, highly specific record of early twentieth-century American Western history.

The Story

W. A. Allen sets out into the rugged wilderness of the Big Horn Basin to investigate the remnants of the Tukuarika, a mountain-dwelling tribe reported to be entirely extinct. His search begins along the river canyon, where he encounters an exceptionally old woman sitting upon a piece of drift cedar. Wearing a tattered elk-skin robe and possessing a memory spanning over a century, she reveals herself as a survivor of the Sheep Eaters. She describes her people’s traditional life high above the valleys, where they built weather-resistant tepees from cedar and bark, hunted mountain sheep, created fine obsidian arrowheads, and worshipped the sun atop Bald Mountain without ever adopting horses or engaging in wars of conquest.

Intrigued by her testimony, Allen journeys deeper into the mountains to examine the physical traces left behind. Along the way, he stops in the Porcupine Basin, visiting a secluded mining camp where an elderly British Army veteran named Captain Jack spends his remaining years panning for placer gold and living off the land. Allen explores the surrounding valleys, hunting wild game to feed his companions and inspecting the surrounding geology.

Moving onward toward Shell Creek and the famous Paint Rocks, Allen observes vast panels of ancient petroglyphs and pictographs carved into the sheer canyon walls. While camping in the area, he meets Chief Little Bear, a Cree leader migrating with his family. Through sign language and shared history, Allen and Little Bear establish a bond, sharing meals and discussing regional tribal politics, including Little Bear’s hope that his people might be granted land alongside the Crows. Later, Allen encounters a young Crow brave, using his knowledge of regional dialects and tribal connections to build trust and exchange information.

During a subsequent meeting along the Big Horn River, Allen provides food to the elderly Sheep Eater woman once more. In return, she shares the tribal epic of her youth: the story of the maiden Aggretta and the young hunter Red Arrow. She narrates how Red Arrow saved Aggretta from a charging grizzly bear by using a powerful longbow and obsidian-tipped arrows. For this feat of bravery, the elders granted him his warrior name and permitted the two lovers to marry. She describes the elaborate fourteen-day wedding celebration, complete with traditional feast preparations, drumming, and ceremonial dances.

At the conclusion of her narrative, the old woman reveals a striking personal secret: she herself was once Aggretta. She explains how smallpox, brought by a single white traveler, decimated her people shortly after her youth, leaving her to outlive her entire tribe. Allen reflects on the tragic decline of this mountain culture, concluding with a poetic tribute to the grand, silent landscapes of the Rockies where the Sheep Eaters once made their home.

How It Unfolds

The encounter at the canyon Allen rides into the Big Horn region and discovers an ancient, widowed Sheep Eater woman resting near the river. She shares her memories of a peaceful mountain culture that lived among the clouds, hunting wild game and avoiding the violent rivalries of the valley tribes.

A pioneer's sanctuary Traveling through Medicine Mountain, Allen stops at the cabin of Captain Jack, an aged English veteran prospecting for gold in the Porcupine Basin. The two men share venison, discuss the wilderness, and reflect on the quiet appeal of living close to nature.

Surveys at the Paint Rocks Allen and his party ride through the Bad Lands to examine the cliffs along Shell Creek. They discover rock walls covered in detailed carvings and paintings depict human figures, animals, and historical symbols created by the vanished mountain inhabitants.

Meeting with Chief Little Bear While photographing the sacred sites, Allen meets Chief Little Bear, who approaches the camp to investigate the survey work. Using sign language, they establish a peaceful dialogue, share a meal, and discuss the plight of displacement facing Northern tribes.

The epic of Red Arrow and Aggretta Rejoining the old squaw by the river, Allen listens as she narrates a traditional romantic saga from her youth. She details how a young hunter slew a monstrous grizzly bear with an obsidian arrow to save a young maiden, earning his name and a place of honor.

A final revelation The old woman confesses that she is Aggretta herself, having survived a catastrophic smallpox outbreak introduced by a white traveler that destroyed the rest of her tribe. Allen concludes his narrative with a description of the enduring rock shrines and majestic mountain scenery left behind.

The People

• W. A. Allen: The author and narrator, a inquisitive explorer and dentist who travels through the Big Horn Mountains. He wants to document and preserve the history of the region's extinct inhabitants before all physical and oral evidence disappears.
• The Old Squaw (Aggretta): An extremely aged Native woman living as the sole survivor of the Sheep Eater tribe. In her youth, she was the beautiful maiden Aggretta; in her old age, she seeks to share her tribe's history and traditions with Allen before she passes away.
• Captain Jack: A seventy-year-old British Army veteran living alone in a cabin in the Porcupine Basin. He wants to live out his remaining days peacefully in the mountains, sustained by small gold deposits and wild game.
• Chief Little Bear: A Cree leader travelling through the region with his family. He desires better land and fair treatment for his people from government authorities, forming a friendly bond with Allen over shared meals and mutual respect.
• Red Arrow: A brave young hunter featured in the old squaw's historical narrative. He seeks to prove his courage to his tribe and win the hand of Aggretta, eventually saving her from a grizzly bear and becoming a celebrated leader.

In Its Own Voice

"Our people were not warriors. We worshipped the sun, and the sun is bright and so were our people."

Allen records the old woman's retrospective account of her tribe's spiritual outlook and peaceful lifestyle high in the mountains.

"There is no place on this earth so dear to me as these mountains. Here is where I have lived and here is where I shall die--close to the nature god and his beautiful works..."

Captain Jack explains to Allen why he prefers his solitary cabin in the Porcupine Basin to returning to settled towns.

"They danced and feasted and sang, until the camp-fires smouldered and died out, and the night birds made their last faint twitterings before seeking rest."

The text captures the vibrant, festive atmosphere of a traditional Sheep Eater wedding celebration as recalled by the old squaw.

What It's Really About

Beneath its adventure surface, the book is a meditation on memory, cultural loss, and the inevitability of change. Allen contrasts the peaceful, self-sufficient lifestyle of the Tukuarika—who lived without horse-raiding or territorial warfare—with the relentless march of westward expansion and disease that swept them away. The text explores how a culture attempts to immortalize itself through art, focusing on the permanent petroglyphs, stone shrines, and sheep traps left behind on high granite cliffs. It also raises questions about stewardship and wilderness, contrasting the quiet, sustainable life of Native mountaineers with the temporary, extractive habits of frontier prospectors. Ultimately, it frames the majestic landscape of the Northern Rockies as both a sanctuary and a silent monument to a vanished people.

Why Read It Today

This work will appeal to readers of regional Western history, early American ethnography, and wilderness travelogues. It offers a rare, firsthand window into the Big Horn region at the turn of the twentieth century, combining personal anecdotes with local folklore. Reading the book feels like sitting beside a campfire while an old frontier guide points out landmarks, geological oddities, and historical trails.

Modern readers should be prepared for period attitudes, outdated terminology regarding Native Americans, and occasional romanticized prose typical of early 1900s regional literature. Allen’s accounts rely on early local hearsay and sign-language translations rather than modern academic anthropology. Nevertheless, what stays with you is the haunting contrast between the grand, unchanging scale of the Rocky Mountains and the fragile human histories woven through their canyons. It serves as an affectionate, deeply felt tribute to a unique mountain corner of the American West.