St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-06-27

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plunge to destruction. 1t matters moi
to the cowboy. If the stampede is
made. the Captain of the drove and his
men ride until they head it, and then
endeavOr to turn the animals into a
circuit once more.
"A hole in the ground, which catches
a horses foot, a stumble and the hoofs
of three thousand cattle have trampled
the semblance of humanity from him.
He knows this. A gulch or gorge lies in
their path. There is no escaping it.
There is no turning to the right or left.
and in an instant horse and rider are at
the bottom, buried under thousand
cattle. But what of it? 1t is only a
cowboy, and they come cheap. But
history records no instance of more un-
questioning performance of duty in the
presence of danger than these men I'M
dergo on every drive. Should the
stampede be stopped there is no rest for
the drivers that night, but the utmost
vigilance is required to prevent re-
currence of the break from the fright
ened cattle. This may happen hun
| dreds of times on a single drive.
Il remmember one instance, which,
from the friendship in which l held
the victim, has made a lasting i'm
preston on me. Two brothers were
together on the drive. Both men had
been educated in an. Eastern col
| lege, but for some reason had drifted to
the cattle plains of Texas and had be-
come cowboys. The elder was the
captain of the drive. Sitting about the
campfire one night, the younger was
disheartened about something and final
ly said: "Charlie, let's throw up this
drive. l don't want to 60. feel that
one or the other of us will never 60
back. lam ashamed Of this. but can
not shake it off, His brother was inn
pressed by his seriousness, but could only
say, George, here are J, 900 cattle in my
charge. l could not leave them if l
knew that | would be killed tomorrow
"A stampede" cried one of the men.
In an instant they were all at their
animals, saddles were adjusted and
away they went. The Captain gained
the head of the drive and had succeeded
in turning them little when his horse
stumbled. In another instant horse
and rider could hardly have been DIS
u.
see there is some responsibility upon the
men.
These wild cattle away from home
are as variable as the wind, and when
frightened are as irresistible as an ava
lanche. The slightest thing stampedes
them. For instance: We have rounded
up the drive and the cattle are lying
down. l am one of the men detailed to
ride around them. Finding them all
quiet get off my horse to light my
pipe. Relieved of my burden. the horse
rests himself at a stake. The whole
drove is on their feet in an instant
listening to discover from what quarter
the noise came. No one can foresee
which way they will make the break.
and only the utmost self-possession and
good judgment on the part of the men
on duty will prevent a general stam-
pede. That is the class of men cow
boys are made of, and never knew of
many instances where they failed to do
their duty
The enthusiastic Texan had now
warmed up to this subject, and when
asked: Where are the COWBOYS re-
cruited from?" replied:
'.From all parts of the world. Some
from the plains. where their toys in in
fancy are the miniature lariat and a
shotgun. Some from Mexico. with
many of their half Indian character
istics, and many from the East. l
know dozen college graduates who |
cowboys, and have become SO infatu-
ated with the life that / suppose they
will never leave it until the final grand |
There is another interesting period in |
the life of cowboy" continued Mr.. |
Exall, land that is in the spring round
up. In the fall the cattle stray away.
and in working away from the storms
they sometimes get away 100 miles or
80. Each cattle owner has his own
particular brand on his cattle. Well,
he ranchmen in some natural division
IF the country will organize a grand
in the spring. The cowboys
will drive the cattle all in together in
one big drove. Then the Captain of the
will direct the owner of Ranch
4 to cut out his cattle. One of AS
most experienced men will then ride
nto the drove until he sights an animal
With AS brand on. Deity he will drive
he animal to the outer edge of the herd,
md then with quick dash runs the
,east out away from the drove and it is
aken in charge Of by others of AS
while the cutter goes back
lfter another. After some fifteen or
wenty minutes AS cutter will be taken
,ff and BIS given a chance. This will
,e continued until each ranch has its
.attle cut out. If any cattle are found
without brand they are killed for the
lse of the men on the roundup. This
cutting is a work requiring great skill
md experience. and frequently requires
he use of the lariat. Often cattle with
strange brand are found. If anyone
the brand, ranchmen living
learest the owner take charge of it and
lotify the owner. If no one recognizes
he brand the Captain of the roundup
dvertises it, and if no owner is found,
! is sold at auction for the benefit of the
'attlemen's Association. Ii
These things will 60 to show the re-
possibilities resting upon these men.
hey have to be men of integrity and re-
ability, and their labors are such that
OH can readily see they can not be very
'ssipated. will tell you how they get