Marshall County Republican., 1872-07-18
Colorado HerdSmen.


For ten days hundred men have been
sweeping every nook and corner of the
country, gathering in, rounding up, and
cutting out their stock. Men were here
fro1n Wyoming and various parts of
Colorado, eagerly watching every round
up to catch glimpse of the peculiar
mark or brand that should indicate an
animal of their own number. They
adopt half military plan, by appoint
ing a new captain for each separate
roundup. Before disbanding the place
of assembling is designated for the fo.-
lowing day, which is sometimes fifteen
or twenty miles distant from the pre-
ceding round up. Early in the morn
ing horsemen may be seen radiating
from a common center and scattering
over the plains to every point of the
compass, and from 10 o'clock am. until
p. m. they come stringing in from
as many directions, each with a lot of
cattle numbering from dozen head up
to sometimes several hundred. AS fast
as the small lots are driven in they are
assembled in one general herd, and sur
rounded by enough horsemen to hold
them until the roundup is completed,
when the work of cutting out commences.
Getting them together is only exhilerat-
ing exercise, but cutting them out IS
quite a different thing. From five
hundred to two thousand head consti-
tute the usual number at each round
up, and they are so densely jammed to-
gether in a body that if one moves ii
puts the whole herd in motion thus
with their long horns in the air they
SWAY back and forth like leahess forest
shaken in the wind.
Six or eight men are designated as
bukaros, whose duty it is to ride into
the herd, and, like so many wild In
dians, in herd of buffalo, they dash
among them whip in hand, select each
: an animal bearing the proper brand, ano
squirting then horses to their utinos
speed, they run the gauntlet of thou
sand bristling horns, dash out of the ex
cited herd through the surroundin.
: picket line of men, and out into the
open country beyond, where the poo
]. brute is left to ponder over the sudder
!, change, while the bukaros return to th'
J, herd and 60 through with another ex
s citing chase. About every half hou
they are relieved by fresh men ant
e horses, and SO the wild excitemant con
l. | tluuO6 dlllQ Vic Jill anu OOhS eAoANh v
d perhaps fifteen hundred older cattle AM
r nalf that many calves in the beginning
= and all striving their best at once to Sc
e which shall out-bawl the other, unit
l. each man has separated from the mail
II herd the entire number bearing hi
D brand. The labor is not long, but ez
d tremely severe while it lasts.
It Horses and riders are severely taxeo
% and some of the calves get their live
% crushed out of them, and OCCASIONAL
le the older cnes succumb from being owe
le driven. Pending the cutting out periot
.e disputes sometimes arise between som
e. of the different stockmen over cattl
with dim brands, or such as have n
brands at all. In this, as in otht
i counties, men are finding more stoc
% than they anticipated, and out of til
e several thousand head that have CON
- under my observation, not one have
= seen but was in thriving conditio
a and very many of them are fit for tt
~ butchers stall. 1t is now well unde
: stood that seven per cent. will Gov
- the entire loss of the stock in Northel
q. Colorado for the past winter.-Fdrt c
:. Inns Cor. Denver Ne1s.