The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1881-05-06
THE COWBOY OF THE PLAINS.
characteristics aud Mode Of Life Of Cntil
HerdeTs.

500 AAN ~
ing spent a goodly portion Of my daysa
q cowboy, l consider myself practically
qualified to write on the subject. TIL,
boyhood sport Of the cowboy is not
with marbles or balls or tops, but Will
a lariat or rope or awhide, with which
he lassoes the calves and everything, ami
mate or inanimate, over which loop cal
be thrown. AT seven years Of age he il
an expert horseman, and able to do ser
vice on the range in many ways. Be
tween this age and manhood he acquires
some knowledge of the "three RS
though seldom at school, and at sixteen
is usually as good a horseman and as
deAterous a roper as any man in the dis
trict. He is never leshy nor large
limbed, is slightly bow-legged from con
slant riding, is endowed with more than
average muscular strength, and is very
active and capable of great endurance.
He is an unerring shot, and cool in time
of danger. He smokes cigarettes, chews
tobacco, drinks whisky, carries a six.
shooter, and is guilty of many vices TIA,
would, if enumerated, shock the emyez.
zler and stock gambler of civilized re.
gions. He is not more quarrelsome than
man in general, but, unfortunately, his
quarrels are apt to result in homicide.
The property of the COWBOY Is q WHY
pony, a saddle and a lariat. The pony
or "plug" is of Spanish stock, active
and enduring. 1t is a stranger to the
touch of currycomb and brush, and
don't know corn from beans. The sad.
die is q ponderous affair Of wood and
leather, weighing from ten to fifteen
pounds. 1t has a pommel varying in
diameter from three to six inches.
Costly saddles sometimes have silver
stars plentifully besprinkled on available
parts of their surface. Two girths OF
sinches are necessary to hold the saddle
firmly in position-a forward and q
flank girth. The lariat is about forty
feet long, and is composed of eight
pliable rawhide thongs and plated into
a rope about half an inch in diameter.
At n end is a ring ; at the other a
loop to fit over the saddle pommel.
The wardrobe of the cowboy is
unique. He wears a b~road-brimmed
straw or wool hat. His jacket is of
ducking, his shirt of calico or hickory,
and his pantaloons of some stout stuff,
over which are worn leather leggings.
Heavy boots, with high heels, to which
are attached a pair of spurs with two
inch rowels, complete his outfit. When
the weather is threatening he straps be.
hind his saddle a slicker of oiled linen,
which reaches from head to heels.
Thus ACQUIRED, the cowboy is ready
for business. He is employed either to
drive a herd to Kansas or to look after
those IN the range. The spring is his
harvest time. Then the great herds are
put up for the drive. This is the sea.
son, too, when the annual roundup oc.
ours, for the purpose Of apportioning
the unmarked calves and yearlings
among the owners of stock on the
range, that they may be branded with
the particular device adopted by each
as his distinguishing mark, generally
the initials of his name. The law re.
quires the brand to be recorded in the
clerks office, together with ear.
marks, crops, half-crops, upper and
under bits, upper and under slopes,
splits, s%wallow-forks and jingle-bobs.
When cattle are sold the seller must
co%untebrand them, and in case they are
driven from the State the buyer must
roa d-brand them with a device different
his regular brand. This brand
be recorded in each county through
which the herd passes, After a few
transfers the animal is as we'll marked
as a bulletin board and space cannot be
found on his hide to place a Pood-sized
brand. have seen q well known brand,
p B, which extended from the shoul.
der to the hip-bono in letters a foot long.
When convenient, the animal to be
branded is driven between two parallel
lines of fencing, called q chute, bars
before and behind him, and the
iron applied to his side OF thigh at the
of the operator, But this is not
convenient, fencing being o
scarce article on the range, and the ami.
nal must be caught and thrown to the
Then the cowboy must be
to the aid of the brander. Slipping
about eight feet of the end of his lariat
through its iron ring and putting a loor
Vt the other end over the pommel Of his
he gathers its coils into his bri.
lie hand, holding the moose in his right,
md puts his horse into gallop. The
lnimal that is wanted breaks into
run, and when the rider is neal
for the lariat to reach it, he
lexterously throws the moose over its
lead or fore feet, when the well-trained
'ony is checked, and quickly turns and
waits the shock which he knows will
'ome, When the flying animal runs
he length of the rope, it is brought tc
the branders seize it 10y the head
nd tail, and o 0 the branding iron is
corching into the cuticle its indelible
characters. Great care must be taken {
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