Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1885-10-10
COW BOYS WITH \ LASSO
Their Wonderful Skin ~
Handling the Lariat.
Throwing the Rope With Marvellous Pre-
clsion Catching Bull by the Horns.

In letter describing life among the
cowboys, a Montana letter to the
Cleveland L(oder says: | noticed
variety Of larats with a round up
party, nearly all of which were made
OF the very best quality Of hemp.
twisted 50 extremely tight that it was
almost impossible to untwist the
strands. Others were made Of sinew
cords, and We're braided very neatly,
the ends or la5sOing parts being creased
90 as to Slip easily. These lassoes
were about sixty or scyenty-five feet
long, ohe third Of which forms the
moose, and when swnging it's grasped
little above the loop. SO us to prevent
the same from slipplng until launched
through the air. The lasso is swung
over the head and left shoulder and
back over the right shoulder, pc
culiar turn of the wrist rs il begins
to return, keeping the loop wide open
When flving through the air the moose
takes a slightly oval form, but remains
open and settles quietly around the
object aimed at. McGaigan. exh bited
to me the mOdus op"ranli of handling
the rope, and some of his feats per
formed in my presence were not only
executed with marvellous precision,
/ but were also beautiful to look at.
This model cowboy is certainly IN eX-
pert in his profession, perhaps the best
rider and lassoist in the whole North
west. What SlosSon is to billiards,
7 Mc(iaigan is to his profession.
One afternoon, while loa!ing around
the camp fire on the MusselshelI, Nc
Gaigan and l got talking about the
Skill he had acquired in throwing cat
tie and | had little difficulty in per-
suading him to let me into the secrets
OF his wonderful deXterity and actu-
ally showing me some of the finer
points of the business Mounting our
bronchos We rode off through the sage
brush and out on the open prairie,
where numberesS cattle were peace
fully munching the lttxuriant buffalo
grass. Ny friend had his best Iariat
fastened tc the p)mmel Of the saddle,
AMI first showed me many fancy shots.
throwing the laSsO from or to any
point, over either shoulder, behind or
in front. He caught tremendous
bull by the horns. who looked up in
surprise and started off like steam
engine, but the pony bestrode by the
cow boy planted his forefeet firmly in
the ground and checked Mr.. Bull in
his mad career before the latter got
we'll started. The enraged steer went
round and round in a circle at 80
gait, the pony acting rs a perfect pivot
and turning slowly around with him,
but it was no use the bull was a pris-
oner and would have remained so had
not McGaigan~ taken pity on him, and
passed the wonderful ring down the
line upon which the rope leaped from
around the horns and fell to the
ground.
McGaigan remarked that it was nc
credit to catch bull by the horns, for
he cannot be thrown by them, and is
simply held as prisoner, but the
skill in throwing a lasso is to pitch the
moose just in front of the animal wheI
he is going at full galop, 50 that al
the next step he treadS into il. II,
tried it on another bull while both OF
our ponies were jumping along on ;
dead run. The old fellow was coins
about as fast "a we We're. but the "a
tai loop shot through the air at a tan
gent and fell. wide open, Just in fron
of him on the ground. The left Gore
foot plunged square into the circle
; the rope was tightenel with a sudder
jerk and the steer rolled over in tn
dust. as cleverlv caught as anything
ever saw. The broncho. too. under
stood his part Of the business thor
oughly. for he bore at the right mo
ment in the opposite direction. else h,
might have been thrown instead o
the huH, 10 which he was much infe
rior in weight. McGaigan also cauoh
great big steers galloping past at a
angle by any leg | named. Not one
: was his judgment at fault; The noos
whi7zing through the air in every di
, rection went as true to the mark as
l bullet shot from a rifle.
2 = [ was much taken with the free an
easy sort Of life experienced by thi
roundup party and enjoyed the tri
and camping out experience 50 hu-el
that l was almost tempted ID give Il
profession of q scribe and become
cowboy myself, but / thought bette