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Robert Davidson pioneered the use of Hunters Range for the summer
grazing of sheep in 1928. His flock of sheep covered the area south east of Mara.
Davidson's sheep were a common sight on the backroads each spring in the early thirties.
The first flocks of sheep sent to the eastern end of Hunters Range, known as High Range, belonged to Anthony Holland, Shorty Ferar and a Mr. Krueger from Lavington. W.A. Palmer, the Bostocks of Monte Creek and Dave Crerar of Lavington also ran large flocks of sheep on the alpine meadows of Hunters Range.
In 1936 when Walter Schweb had his first flock of sheep, he sent them along with Alfred Pryce's sheep to High Range with Holland's flock. In 1937 he again sent his sheep with Mr. Holland and that fall he bought all of Holland's sheep plus a carload from the Prairie.
In late June of 1938 the Schwebs were on their own as they trekked their large flock from the home place at Salmon River through Hullcar to Enderby, then across the bridge and onto Ashton Creek, Hupel and then up the Kingfisher Creek road. About five miles up this road came to an end at some homesteads. From there on to the forks of the Kingfisher there was only a trail. Anthony Holland had slashed his own trail from the forks to the top of High Range. This trail was later widened by the forestry crew.
There had been a large forest fire in this area during the early thirties and the sheep enjoyed two weeks or more in this burn before being pushed further up.
All supplies for camp - tent, stove bedding food, medicine, clothes, etc. along with 150 pounds of coarse salt had to be packed in by horses. The salt was, naturally, for the sheep. These supplies were packed in large wooden boxes and tied to the pack saddles with the famous diamond hitch. Two or tree horses were used as pack animals and two more for the herders.
In the early days these same horses packed in fingerlings from the Fisheries Department so as to stock the lakes on Hunters Range.
The two dogs, Nip and Prince, were invaluable when it came to herding and driving the sheep which sometimes numbered over a thousand head.
When the flock arrived at the top near Blue Lake they were aroung 7000 feet up. The Pinnacle was on the northeast with Mara Mountain and its lookout on the west and far below to the south Mabel Lake shimmered in the summer sun. Tall grass interspersed with alpine flowers and clumps of balsam and rock outcroppings would be the herders scenery for the next three months. Camp was set up and the long lonely days began.
The sheep went out to feed as soom as it was daylight and the herder's job was to see that they didn't stray too far from camp. Just before dark the flock was rounded up and brought back to camp for the night. A goat was kept with the flock for the camp milk.
The herders did a lot of riding just to pass the time. They also fished and tried their hand at cooking. Some of our crew even tried making doughnuts. When the huckleberries were ripe they picked the empty packing boxes full and sent them back home. A herder stayed at the camp for two weeks and another one came to take his place. By that time the food and the salt would be gone and have to be replenished.
A careful watch had to be kept out as there were lots of grizzly bears. A grizzly could ravage a flock during the night. I have seen three or more grizzlies in the midst of the flock during the night, mostly fighting among themselves. But Prince was an excellent bear dog and would run the bears off. The herders had many adventures with grizzlies. When Anthony Holland first went to Hunters Range he saw Caribou. Coyotes weren't a problem as the lambs were too big for them to kill.
Some of the herders who worked for the Shwebs were John Farynuk, Herb Knapp, Ed McNealy, Dave McKenzie and two cousins of the Schwebs.
Twice a year the lambs were sorted out from the flock and brought down the mountain for shipping to the meat packers in Vancouver.
In October when the first snow began to stay on the mountain the sheep were driven down the mountain and the homeward trek began.
The Schwebs had sheep on High Range from 1936-70. But due to the increase in traffic on the highways and the increase of population along the route the sheep took, the sheep were sold and cattle bought to range on this beautiful alpine pasture.
Ernie Schweb
Okanagan Historical Society, 1995