The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-09-10
Select sMisreHanp.
At the Roundup.

plaln-Srby, pdiIep, anu very uhpiouuo-
tive; think of the bluest sky you ever
saw, the brightest sunshine, and most
bracing air; imagine great drove of
restless, halffrightened, believing cattle,
five thousand in all-snd then you have
the scene of the roundup. 1t is not, how
ever, perfect until the cowboys make
their appearance, dashing upon the scene
on their high-metted steeds, their dashing
costumes aud aunty airs adding, in great
degree, to the charm of roundup.
The definition of the term roundup"
is very simple. 1t means the gathering
together of all the herds, found running
over a large territory, into one vast herd
when they are separated by "cutting-
out" process, each owner claiming his
own, which he knows by the brand upon
it. Every owner of cattle is present, in
person or by proxy, to claim his stock. A
day is appointed for the roundup, and
due notice is given.
Many of the herds on Colorado ranges
number thousands and thousands. During
the grazing season they roam at will over
the wide ranges, the cattle of one herd
mixing with those of another.
The roundup occurs in the spring or
early summer. The cowboys, many in
number, surround all the herds within
tract of territory that may be miles in
extent. The herds are gradually rounded
in by circling process. The area of land
over which they roam is gradually made
smaller and smaller, until "the cattle on
Thousand hills are " rounded up" into
one herd that often numbers twenty-five
or thirty thousand head.
Then the herd is worked" as the cow
boys express it. Then the fun comes
in, and the active, stirring, exciting part
of the roundup commemorative part in
which cowboys glory most, the part that
gives them an opportunity to display
skillful horsmanship, and brings them up
to the highest pitch of excitement. The
favorite costume for cowboys is red
flannel shirt, a wide SLOUGH hat of white
or yellow felt, gay silk handkerchief
around the neck, pantaloons often of
buckskin, thrust into riding-boots of great
size. A belt around his waist contains
the knives and pistol that give him the
dashing air of Spanish bandit.
He is dashing, devl.may-care kind of
fellow, his good qualities too often hid
den quite out of sight by tendencies
toward evil that develop into great vices
under the influences of the life he leads
"a life calculated to develop even abnor-
NAL tendencies toward evil His life is
not so highly valued that he will not risk
it lightly. He lives out on the open plain.
The sky above him is often his only
roof. At best he lives in tent or wagon,
and is his own cook and laundress. His
cowboy companions afford him the only
society he has for months at time
When he goes to a city or village, he
"takes in the town" in a manner that
simply adds to his general reputation for
wickedness. II he does not, in his mad
desire, take the town itself, the inhab.
itants are thankful.
The calves that have accumulated
among the herds are to be branded at the
roundup; animals belonging on distant
ranges are to be separated from the great
herd and driven away; animals intended
for market must go into herd by them
selves, and those whose lives are to be
prolonged until another roundup are sent
scampering over the plains to roam where
they will.
To do all this requires some exceed
ingly skillful and clever maneuvering on
the part of the cowboys. The lockers.
on see some very clever bits of horseman-
ship on the part of the daring riders. AT
each roundup there is foreman, who d.
reefs everything pertaining to the round
up. His commands are, for the time
being, absolute. He is obeyed as i'm
plicitly as general at the head of his
troops.
When all is in readiness, the foreman
and his assistants ride slowly in among
the restless, distrustful cattle. Every
man singles out an animal bearing q
particular brand, and begins the work of
separating it from the herd, and driving
it to one side. In five minutes all is
confusion, shouts and excitement. We
wonder how the fearless riders move &c
swiftly in and out, here and there, every.
where, in the center of the herd or dashing
wildly around it, in swift, eager, fearless
pursuit of refractory cows and believing
steers. Once separated from the herd, the
animal makes every effort to reach ii
again, and in preventing this the cowboy
shows his own skill and the training OF
his horse.
Should an animal enter the herd after
being driven out, the cowboy dashes in
after it. You see his red-shirted body
swaying to and fro above the great mass
of bristling horns. Should an animal
prove too obstreperous, the cowboy lsssoes
it, and fairly drags the resisting creature
away, in spite of its believing, its kick
ing and frantic efforts to regain its free.
dom. With lasso around its horns there
is no escape.
1t is hot, tiresome, exciting work, but
the cowboy revels in it. He likes it al
the better if there should be crowd Of
spectators to witness his skill and daring
There is something in the spirit and dash
of the chase, the excitement and danger
of it, that accords with his own restless
fiery, impatient nature. He looks eagerly
forward to the coming of the roundup. II
is TO him the reward for long days snd
weeks of an uneventful life on the plains
while watching the quietly grazing herds
At the close of the roundup the cowboys
are likely to gallop off to the nearest town
for season of revelry.
DJdge City, Kansas, has long been q
favorite city with the cowboys. The
world has heard of the result of some o.
their meetings there. To ride shouting
and screaming through the streets of a
town, firing pistols Unfortunately, and
sending the frightened inhabitants behind
locked doors and closed windows, is q
freak suggested by acow-boy's merriment
Ill Is kkna .k..x, II Il.