The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-07-03
THE KING OF THE PLAINS,

DC know the cowboys? Young
1 think I do. When you have
worked with them, camped with them,
lived with them and been among them
forty years on the drive, on the plairs,
and on and off duty, you might say you
know them"
The speaker was a Texas cattleman.
and he was asked to describe q cowboy
by a Pittsburg Dispatch reporter.
"The Texas COWBOY" he continued.
us the most thoroughly misunderstood
man outside of the localities where he
is known, on the face of the earth, I
know him in all his alleged t%errors, and
as a class there are no nobler- hearted or
honorable men in the world. Brave to
rashness and generous to q 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 feet upon
a window-sill. "Say that l have To-
600 cattle which l am about to send
overland from Texas into Montana to
fatten for the market. Those cattle
will be on the drive from the 1st of
April until the middle of September.
They are divided into three herds, with
a dozen or sixteen men with each herd.
l entrust those cattle in the hands of n
gang Of cowboys. For six months I
know absolutely nothing of my stock.
l trust their honesty to the extent of
many thousands of dollars without a
contract, without o bond, with no earth
ly hold upon them, legally or morally,
beyond the fact that I am paving them
s35 or $40 a month to protect my in
terests. And these are the men pict-
ured in the East as outcasts of civil
ization. l trust absolutely to their
Judgment in getting those cattle through
wild and nnbroken country without
loss or injury. / trust as absolutely to
their bravery and endurance in the face
of danger"
"Danger?'
Danger! Yes, indeed. A man to
be a cowboy must be a brave man.
For instance, we are on adrive. These
slab-slded, long-horned Texas cattle are
as wild as deers naturally, and being in
an unknown country are as nervous
and timid as sheep. The slightest
noise may startle them into q stampede.
We have been on the drive all lay and
night is coming on. IT is cold and rain
ing. We have reached the point where
we intend to round up for the night.
The men commence to ride around the
drove, singing, shouting and whistling
to encourage the animals by the sounds
they are familiar with and to drown
which might provoke a stampede.
Round and round the cattle they ride
until the whole drove is travelling in a
circle. Slowly the cowboys close in on
them still shouting and singing, until
finally the cattle become quiet, and af-
ter a time lie down and commence
chewing their cuds with apparent con
tentment. Still the vigilance of the men
cannot be relaxed. Atleast half of them
must continue riding about the resting
herd Ill night. 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 a coyote, the snap Of q
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 believing
in the widest fear. They are ready to
follow the lead Of any animal that makes
q break. Then the GOODNESS and self
possession of the cowboy are called in.
to play. They still continue their wilc
gallop around the frightened drove, en-
deavoring to reassure them and ge
will succeed after an hour or two, ant
the animals will again be at rest. But
the chances are that they cannot be qui
eted so easily. A break is made il
some direction. Here comes the hero.
ism of the cowboy. Those cattle
are as blind and unreasoning il
their fight as a pair of run
away horses. They know no dan
ger but from behind, and if they did
could not stop for the surging sen o
maddened animals in the rear. Arock,
gorge or deep cut canyon may cause TIL
loss Of half their number. Those il
the rear cannot see the danger and tn,
leaders cannot stop for those behind
and are pushed on to their death. 4
precipice may lie in their way, owe
which they plunge to destruction. /
matters not to the cowboy. If the STAN
pede is made the captain Of the drov,
and his men ride until they head it, ant
then endeavor to turn the animals in
circle once more.
"a hole in the ground, which catche
a horses foot, a stumble, and the hoof
of 5000 cattle have trampled the sem
blance of humanity from him. H
knows this. A gulch OF gorge lies il
their path. There is no escaping it
There is no turning to the right or tn
left, and in an instant horse and ride
are at the bottom, buried under 100,
cattle. But what of it? It is only
cowboy, and they come cheap. Blu
history records no instance of more un
questioning performance of duty in tn
presence. of danger than these men III
dergo on every drive. Should til
stampede be stopped, there is no res
for the drivers that night, but the ut
most viligance is required to prevent
recurrence of the break from the fright
ened cattle. This may happen hun
dreds of times on a single drive,
II remember one instance, which
from the friendship in which l held tn
victim, has made o lasting impressio:
on me. Two brothers were togethe
on the drive. Both men had been ed
ucated in an Eastern college, but 70
some reason had drifted to the cattl
plains of Texas and had become COW
boys. The elder was the captain of til
drive. Sitting about the campfire on
night the younger was very down-heart
ed about something and finally said
Charlie, let's throw up this drive.
don't want to go, I feel that one or TIL