Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-24
RANGE RIDING.
Stirring Scenes of the Season in the Mon.
lana Cow Camps.

Stirring Scenes of The Season in n 1fon..
..,,. tana Cow Camps.
Ever in a COW camp? No? Well,
let's go, let's see what kind of q layout
the boys have ON the roundup. So we
straddle our bronchos and speed away.
along the Yellowstone or up to the
Powder; through the buttes of the bad
lands, whose tops are Redeemed with
scoria that looks so much like brick
dust; down into coolies yawning
chasms lined with verdure and vegeta-,
ton. where the cattle love to loiter),;
or up to the hilltops where rocks lie in
all conceivable shapes. We frequently.
pass a vein of Ignite, and sometimes
we see the smoke curling skyward
from the side of a butte where the lig-.
mite is on fire.
The cowboys pitch their camps in the
meadows and valleys, generally select
ing places where grass and water are
plenty. The roundup camps are moved
every morning, the wagons and camp!
equipage going a few miles forward
while most of the boys are searching
for stock through the district on each
side. Toward noon the lowing herds
may be seen moving toward the new
branding place, where the calves and
the other unbranded stock become &C.
quainted with their owners marks
through the medium of hot branding
irons. The knife also comes into play,
in cutting notches. slots and other
marks upon the ears and dewlaps, and;
in altering the males, but the scorching,
Mountaineering brand is never forgot:
ten. !
IT'S noon. We are at the camp.
One hundred and fifty stock-growersi
and cowboys of the Powder River;
roundup are in sight. Five thousand
head Of cattle are scattered yer the
broad green sloping riverside. Since
three or four o'clock in the morning.
all hands have been busy, but the ex-,
element keeps up. No one seems to
tire, and the larger the roundup party
the better do the boys seem to enjoy the
work.
In the camp each outfit selects a spot
for its mess wagon a hundred yards or
more from any other, so that each lot
Of horses can have good feed. A drove
Of about a hundred horses, often more,
seldom less, accompanies each outfit.
Each bunch of horses is in charge of it's
'wrangler" (herder). From these
lect) fresh horses twice a day or
found to each participant in the ground
up"
Ten or twelve outfits, with their
wagons and tents, occupy one to two
miles along the stream. The large
herd that has been driven in from the
hills and valleys is held by twenty or
twenty-five cowboys, who ride around
the cattle, ever on the lookout for a
stampede. Cowboys from each outfit
cut out their employers cattle, which
are taken, one lot after another. gener-
ally, to the branding place, where each
calf receives the marks that are borne
by the mother it follows. Thence the
punches (small lots of cattle) are
driven off to one side and held until
the boys are ready to start them to their
respective places On the range.
Near the fires, where the branding
irons are being heated, a believing of
distress is heard, and throughout the
camp a lowing. a murmuring, an
unceasing din goes up while the
cowboys whoop and yell, ki-yi, and
whistle at the animals as they ride
among them, suiting their signal or
command to the necessity Of the mo-
ment. Lariats glisten in the sunlight
as they fly through the air to the horns
or feet Of the animals that are being
roped and thrown, and the boys near
the fire work quick as glass-blowers.
even forgetting their meals until others
are on hand to take their places. No
less forgetful Of their work are the ma
jority of the roundup party.
Space does not permit the complete
picturing here of this very interesting
scene. The morning call, the falling
tents, the "wrangling'' of fifteen hum
dred cow-horses, the camp fires, the
cooks, even the peculiar cognomens of
the cowboys and their horses, are each
suf%ficientfor entertaining sketches.
And now a few words regarding the
mess" of the cow-camp. The cooks
and cookies take charge and drive the
mess-wagons, with their camp equip
age, from place to place during the
roundup periods. Almost invariably
the cooks are professionals, and the
cooking is excellent. With delicious,
juicy Montana beef. with bread made
from Dakota wheat, and with many Of
the vegetables and fruits supplied by
the "canncrs,"--all prepared, usually,
in a manner to suit the most particular
tastes,-the meals, whether spread
upon the green grass or upon the
tables made by letting down the doors
of the mess wagon mess-boxes, are, as
a rule, greatly relished by all who try
them, and are far more satisfying than
the dinners of many q first-class no.
tel.-Miles City Cor. Chicago Tribune.