Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-05-03
Cow BOyS.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE FAMOUS DEsrERA.
DOES OP THE FRONTIER,


The cowboy Of tho great west is dis.
tinOt character and type of frontiorsmanI
produced by the Texas cattle trade which
began in Kansas soon after the war, with
head G iariers at Abilene, Kan. The trade
! originated from tho necessity of having a
good shipping point for cattle near the
Missouri river. and at the same time con.
! ti2uous to unlimited range, and. although
since that .ime, as railways have been
built, tho cattle trade has shifted over the
state, the COW boy. while increasing In
, numbers, has lost none of that distinctive
character and method which has made his
name terror upon the frontier and linked
him iaSeparably with the history of all
new cattle towns in the west. His reckless
daring and deviltry have marked ont for
him dis net and startling page in the
history Of The border. Afer q NEW town
has got a good fair start and begins to
boom, i. only needs u COW boy raid to
open out Il iirsl-class and wc!l-stockcd
graveyard The cowboy has no hopes Of
heaven or fear Of hell.
Yet the real employment OF the COW boy
is innocent enough, and consists Of riding
small wiry mustang of bucklng procliv-
tiles, and following an immense herd Of
cattle over an unlimited range, his special
duties being to see that mono Of the cattle
stray away and to steal any stray animals
which may be unbranded and brand them
win his employers name. When sober
be naturally shuns civilization. He pur-
sues bis herds upon tho plains Of western
Kansas, among the gentle slopes OF the
Cherokee country. in the Indian territory
along the lonesome desert of the Pan
handle, amid the foothills OF Colorado,
and il the wilds of New Mexico and Ari-
zons, Injured to the saddle, exposed to nll
kinds Of weather and all sorts of people.
from the Greascr to the Apache. To all
appearance the cowboy is the "mildest
hammered man that ever scuttled ship OF
cut throat" But when their payday
comes, and they imbibe some of their
liquid crime" then stand from under, for
then they Ggnt, gamble, and shoot at friend
or foe.
The typical cowboy wears white hat
with a gill cord and tassel, high top-boots,
leather pants. a wooden shirt, coat and
no vest. On his heels he wears pair OF
jinglins Mexican spurs as large round as
o tea cup. When he feels well, (and he
always docs when full of what he calls
kansas sheep 'dip,'D the average cowboy
is bad man to handle. Armed to the
| teeth. well mounted and full Of their "a
vorite beverage, tho cowboys will dash
through the principal streets Of town,
yelling like Comanches. This they call
:. cleaning out town." After repeating
this operation several times, and before
the ,tampeded citizens recover to repel the
attack, they dash away, and are seldom, If
ever captured. All frontier towns that
have ever had any Texas cattle trade have
! had this same experience. In 1874 the
cowboys in large numbers attempted to
raid Wichita, and were only driven oil BY
Of our shotgun brigade, For long time
the cowboys held possession of the town
Of Abilene, Kan, until Wild Bill, tho
Indian fighter and scout. became marshal
of tho town. Wild Bill killed six of the
most desperate cowboys of Abilene in a
single night, Thereafter he was respected
| md feared by the COW boy clement. Wild
| Bill was at last murdered by cowboy
who got tho drop on him, and died as he
had livod, with his boots on" Last
summer the cowboys from tho Indian
| territory raided Hunnewcll, Kan, and in
tie ARRAY which followed killed beauti.
. tul and accomplished young lady Of that
village, A few weeks since the cowboys
| raided Caldwell, Kan. killing Mike Meagh
er, the mayor of the city, and dangerously
wounding several of the citizens Of
chat place, After the fight they made
good their escape into the Indian territory,
and have not yet been brought TO justice
They arc, indeed, blessings which bright.
en- as they take thcir flight, Mike
Mesgher was rs brave q man as ever
sighed a rifle. Many town on the front
Ter has started its first graveyard inst after
cowboy raid. Wild Bill and Mike
Meagher arc only two of many cowboy
victims. Their namo is legion. Among
he cow-b nys in tie Caldwell raid was
Comnncho Bill, at one time noted sooul
ma Indian fighter, now n renegade nnI
fugitive from justice and associate of the
worst characters who c. ngrcgate in the
Indian territory. Wichita, TGH,, Letter
in nc Chicago Irjbune.