The Bad Lands cow boy. [volume] (Little Missouri, Dakota [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-1886, 1885-09-03

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Defending the Cowboy.
! have the honor to submit herein an
article for publication and sincerely
trust that you will grant it space IN the
name of justice. lwish to say a few
words in behalf of the mucl,-abused cow
boy; not that feel called upon to cham
plon their cause at all, but in justice TO
noble, generous-hearted set of fellows.
There lis hardlya day passes, year in and
year out, but what you can pick up
daily paper and read Of some dastardly
depreciation accredited to cowboys, when
if the occurrence ever did take place aEd
the truth were known, it was co!unittctl
by another class Of citizens entirely
men as remote from the cowboy MS day
is from nfght--but men who are TOO
often confounded with them through
Ignorance or pure cussedness. These So
called cowboys are the scum. Of western
society, the evil Of the West; low-down,5
dissiDated louDgers who lang around
the low resorts ofa western town. Tin
horn gamblers and dead beats. who are
often supp tted by some unsss unns
fortunate woman of the town men WHO
are too lazy to work, or arennft to do 10 !,
by reason Of disease; men who came here
from eastern cities either MS fugitiyes
from justice or In the hope of making o
stake, but who found men before them
who were not to be caught with their
chaff; men who, either through their.
own boastfulness or cowardly assaults
upon drunken men and women and Grip
pies, have gained for themselves the
name Of "bad men," but who, in reality,
will cringe to the earth in the presence
of an equal, or in fact, child, if he had
the drop on them. Such are the men
that are photographed, written about
and served up to eastern readers as the
wild and twooly cowboy, so hard to
please, that has never been curried e.
low the knees" Yes, men who will
draw their reyolvers and shoot out the
lights in a saloon. but who would not
dare to draw "gun" if Slapped in the
face by boy half their size, if he was
as quick as themselves with q. "pop;"
men who will follow and rob drunken
man, but who have not the courage to
hold up q blind pack-mule.
These are the men who are classed as
cowboys. Fine indeed. Who do not
know the difference between hacka-
more and q roundup, who could not
throw rope over post, nor tell one
brand from another except on barrel
of whiskey. These are tho alleged cow
boys. And Whyp And by whomP To
the first, because ignorance dresses all
western men alike. II man wears
spurs. he is a cowboy. If he wears q
big white hat, six-shooter. and sports a
25-cent handkerchief, lie is a cowboy
also. At any rate he. must be a cowboy
or he would not be bad. Who are the
writer's Of this trashY They are many.
l.. The eastern dude who comes west a
tenderfoot, who is one and always will
be one. 2. The would-be tough, who:
writes home to the 'b'lloys." 3. The
ignoramus of a would-be correspondent.
And last, but not least, the reporter who
stumbles on an ant-lill and makes it a
mountain. Those are the parties who
are responsible for this nonsense and
wanton malignity, and who, through
ignorance or otherwise, defame the char
acter of an honorable, whole-souled
class Of men,. ,s .
Men who are stahch friends and brave
foes. Honest men who earn their
money in an arduous calliug, but who
are willing to share that money to the
last farthing with their fellow-man il
they find him in need: irrespective of
age, color, persuasion, politics, or nation.
Men whose duty keeps them in the
mountain, on the range and fur from the
haunts Of men often for a year at time
and then when granted, rest, in the
brief interval they take a trip to town to
supply their few wants and take q little
diversion. This diversion sometimes
winds up in q spree, by which they gen.
orally do more harm to themselves than
to anyone else. Because cowboys are
sometimes hilarious and {. sometimes
roughof speech is no sign that they are
devoid Of honor and that they are incor-
rigible and also iiliterate. On the con-
trary, the majority are intelligent young
men, often-times collegians., &
In this strain / Imight proceed for an
indefinite period,i but let it suffice that
all that is said Of them is; not true. The
cowboy and his calling aremuch abused,
but lie is ihumanian when enjoying
himself inAllis Tough way. his whole
souled nature and big, generous heart
oft-timcs lead him into excesses that
can be overlooked Yet the true type of
cowboy is.hard to,duplicate in any other
calling which @hasiits black, sheep, but
not as black as they are painted. Peo-
pie should discriminate between the na-
merous classes that 60 to make up a
western community. Don't cry; Cow
boy" in explanation Of all crimes com
mitted. Another bit Of advice Isl .ay
the blame where it belongs and keen
4 your city hoosiersl at home, for 10 MY
experience west; I have found that q boy
who cannot get along well at home. can
not do SO west and In many cases. b faro
table, q: dance hall ora big white hat
md q naii nf ern,iru N, y, !, Al y