The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-05-23
REAL LIVE COWBOYS.
On the Drive, in the Camp and at
the Roundup.
nIen Who Daily Risk Life and Limb in
the Performance of Duty-Cowboys
Graduates of ColIeges-Some
Mistakes Corrected.

''Do | know the cowboys? Young
man, l think | do. When YOU have
worked with them, camped with them,
and been among them for years on the
drive, on the plains, and on and off
duty, you might say you know Them
The speaker was Henry ExalI, a
Texas cattleman, who has been spend
ing several days in the city at the
Seventh Avenue Hotel
The Texas Cowboy he continued.
sis the most thoroughly misunderstood
man, outside of the localities where he
is known, on the face of the earth.
know him in all his alleged terrors, and
as class there are no nobler-hcartcd
or honorable men in the world Brave
to rashness and generous to a fault, if
YOU should be thrown among them YOU
would find them ever ready to share
their last crust with YOU, or lie down at
night with you on the same blanket.
why young man, see here and
the Texas man twitched his chair
around until he could put his foot upon
window sill. Say that have 10000
cattle which | am about to send over
land from Texas into Montana to fatten
for the market. Those cattle will be on
the drive from the LIST of April until the
middle of September. They are divided
into three herds, with dozen or sixteen
men with each herd. | entrust those
cattle in the hands of a gang of cow
boys. For six months | know absolutely
nothing of my stock. | trust their hon
esty to the extent of many thousands of
dollars without a contract. without a
bond, with no earthly hold upon them
legally or morally beyond the fact that
| am paying them $50 or $40 month
to protect my interests And these are
the men pictured in the East as outcasts
of civilization. | trust absolutely to
their judgment in getting those cattle
through wild and unbroken country
without loss or injury, trust as abso-
lutely to their bravery and endurance
in the face of danger"
Danger"
Danger! Yes, indeed. A man to
be a cowboy must be brave man. For
instance, we are on drive. These
slab-sided long-horncd Texas cattle are
as wild as deers naturally, and, being
in an unknown country are rs nervous
and as timid as sheep. The slightest
noise may startle them into a stampede.
We have been on the drive all day and
night is coming on. 1t is cold and
raining. We have reached the point
where we intend to round up for the
night. The men commence 10 ride
around the drove, singing, shouting,
and whistling to encourage the animals
by the sounds they are familiar
with, and to drown any noise of an I'M
usual character which might provoke a
stampede. Round and round the cattle
they ride until the whole drove is tray
cling in Il circle. Slowly the cowboys
close in on them, still shouting and
singing, until finally the cattle become
quiet, and after time lie down and
commence chewing their cuds with APP
parent cOntentmcnt. A stampede of
cattle is a terrible thing to the cowboys,
and may be brought on by the most
trivial cause. The slightest noise of an
unusual nature, the barking of Il coyote,
the snap of pistol, the cracking of a
twig will bring some wild-eyed steer to
his feet in terror. Another instant and
the whole drove are painting and bel
lowing in the widest fear. They are
ready to follow the lead of any animal
that makes break. Then the cool
ness and self-possession of the cowboy
is called into play. They still continue
their wild gallop around the frightened
drove, endeavoring to reassure them,
and quiet them once more. May be
they will succeed after an hour or two,
and the animals will again be at rest.
But the chances are that they can not be
quoted so easily. A creak is made in
some direction. Here comes the hero
ism of the cowboy. These cattle are as
blind and unreasoning in their fright as
pair of runaway horses. They
know no danger but from behind, and
if they did they could not stop for
the surging sea of maddened animals
in the rear. A rocky gorge or deep.
cut canon may cause the loss of hall
their number. Those in the rear can
not see the danger, and the leaders can
not stop for those behind, and arc
pushed on to their death A precipcc
may lie in their way over which they
plunge to destruction. 1t matters not
to the cowboy. If the stampede is
made, the Captain Of the drove and his