San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1882-06-22

IA smooth, and on PACK hhiii"''
n ia rough. At night the boys sleep
soldier fashion, on the earth, in their
blankets, very seldom possessing the
luxury OF a tent. -. o.o.
Life on the trail is mainly monoton'
ous drudeery of driving the cattle by
day and Ierding them by night TINS
ia varied sometimes by stampede,
when the frightened herd rush frant'
cally away with noise like roihng
thunder, and tramp that makes the
earth tremble. Stampedes are caused
Inv some of the herd becoming fright
ened. and the contagion spreading
throneh the herd, they rise to their feet
op;ck as a flash, and rush of in aimless
terror. CARRYING death and destruction
10 every living thing that falls under
their boofs. Sometimes band OF wild
horses with floating, long names and
tails fly by in the distance, and their
easy, graceful movement stirs up the
blood of the trailman and causes MN
TO send after them pistol ball or two
and a regular Indian yell. Buffalo,
bear. elk, antelope, mule'tail deer,
saae.hens and prairie-chickens also al
ford him q little sport now and then,
and add a sayory dish to his grub
pile" Most generally, however, he
has to shoot the despised iackass rabbit,
or else "run his rope" over some
maverick" for fresh meat. Cowboys
are decidedly materealistic. They ap..
preciate the material good things OF
| life. But few of them have any ad:
miration for the grand and beautiful
scenery through which the trails often
lead. If the average cowboy has any
love for the beautiful at all, it is for his
silyer-mounted horse-rig, his .gaudy
sash and tassels, and for the buxon
prairie girls, of whom he sings songs
every night on herd around the cattle.
Lo! the Indian, is becoming rather sup
pressed and harmless, but still in the
far away regions of the Northwest and
Southwest. there is sometimes just
enough possibility of his raising hair,
to keep cowboys interested and awake
on guard. However, he is never sorry
when the drive and its terrible hard
ships are over. The ponies are either
sold or sent back to the range on hoof
in care of some of the most trusty boys.
The cattle are either sold outright or
shipped by rail to the great cattle
markets of st. Louis, Kansas City and
Chicago. Most Texas and Southwest
ern cattle get to the two former, all
Northwestern and many Texan go to
Chicago. One cowboy to every five
car loads is required to go along with
the cattle to keep them punched up"
from lying down in the cars and being
trampled to death by the other cattle.
This is how the "cowpuncher" obtained
his Colorado name. Every twenty
hours the cattle in transit are unloaded
at immense stock-yards, where they are
permitted to rest, feed and water for
four hours. This is done both as
humane act and to prevent shrinkage
and loss of flesh. Arrived at market
the cattle are unloaded finally at the
stock-yards and pass into the hands OF
the stock commission man, who sell
them. Some are reshipped to points
farther eastward, some go to Europe
alive, some to packing houses and beef
canneries, some to wholesale butchers,
some to Illinois and Iowa farms to be
corn. fattened, some to distilleries to be
stopped, few are sold for work oxen,
and if it be cold weather many are
slaughtered and shipped abroad in re-
frigerators. Some idea of the magni-
tude of this business may be formed,
when it is known that in Chicago, alone
about 100000 cattle are annually sold
for cash, netting their owners, the
stockmen of the far West, no less than
$34,000,000. This is one result OF cow
boy work.
After doing the town" for a few
days, the cowpuncher, being provided
with return passes, rolls out for his old
range, maybe 1000 miles away. Most
of the Southwestern roads run a rough
kind of emigrant sleeper free, especial
~ fer him.
In re gion where competing railroads
are largely dependent CD their live
stock traffic, cowboys and stockmen are
carefully fostered by them.
Arrived back on his old stamping
grounds, he seeks some kind of work
for support during the winter, and
generally swears never to punch up"
another bovine quadruped while he
lives, but in the spring he is sure to
hire out as cowboy at the very first
opportunity, and joyously gives himself
up to the free, reckless life of the range,
or endures again the hardship and ro-
mantle incidents of the trail. CLASH
cally educated young men cut loose a
little too early from the CALLING re-
straints of college life, young mocha
MICS, embryo medicos, tooth butchers,
young railroaders, youths with souls
above office work and counter-hopping,
very many young men from the South ,
who were never taught any way to be
self sustaining-all these and many ,
others arrive out West, find no room