D.S.S AND SHEEP SENSE (1925 - 29)

A BORDERS STORY D.S.S. WOULD TELL ABOUT HIMSELF.

D.S.S.’s manse from 1925 to 1929 was in Teviothead at the confluence of the Teviot River and the Frostilee Burn and nestled in the valley at the corner of a Hill Farm called Carlenrig of which Jake Martin (1860 - 1935) was the tenant farmer. He kept a herd of south country cheviot sheep on the hill.

Observing that in the morning of a chilly day Jake sent the dogs up to the top of the hill to drive the sheep down into the river valley bottom D.S.S asked what the purpose was. He was told that the sheep would browse their way back up the hill where they would spend the night. D.S.S. remarked that if he was a sheep he’d rather spend the chilly night in the shelter of the valley. “If ye were a sheep ye’d hae mair sense,” was all Jake said.