The true northerner., 1885-10-08
COMb0ys on a Drive.

A picturesque, hardy lot of fellows.
these wild Cowboys" as they sit on the
ground by the fire, each man with his
can of coffee, his fragrant slice of fried
bacon on the point OF his knife-blade,
or sandwiched in between two great
hunks of bread, rapidly disappearing
before the onslaughts of appetites
made keen by the pure, invigorating
breezes of these high plains. See that
brawny fellow with the crisp, tight
curling yellow hair growing low down
on the nape of his massive neck rising
straight and supple from the low collar
of his loose flannel shirt, his sun
Drowned face with the piercing gray
eyes looking out from under the broad
brim of his bat, his lower limbs clad in
the heavy "chaps"-or leather overalls
stained deep reddish-brown by long
use and exposure to wind and weather,
his revolver in its holster swinging from
the cartridge-filled belt, and his great
spurs tinkling at every stride, as, having
drained the last drop of coffee, he puts
down the can, and turns from the fire
toward the horses, picking up as he
goes the huge heavy leather saddle,
with its high pommel and streaming
thongs of rawhide, that has served him
as pillow during the night. Quickly,
his "cayuse" is saddled, the great broad
hair-rope girths tightly "sinched, the
huge bit slipped into the unwilling
mouth, and with bound the active
fellow is in the saddle. Paw, pony,
paw; turn your eyes till the whites
show; lay your pointed ears back |;
squeal and kick to your hearts content.
Oh, buck away you have found your
master; for the struggle does not last
long. The practiced hand, the heavy
spurs, and singing whip soon repeat
the almost daily lesson, and with one
last wicked shake of the head the wiry
"cayuse" breaks into his easy lope, and
away go horse and rider to their ap-
pointed station on the flank of the
great drove.
The others soon follow, camp is
broken, the wagon securely packed
ready for the road, and the work of the
day commences. The cattle seem to
know what is coming. On the edges
of their scattered masses the steers lift
their heads and gaze, half stupidity,
half frightened, at the flying horsemen I;
as the flanks are turned they begin
closing in toward one another, moving
up in little groups to common center.
Now and then steer or some young
bull, more headstrong or more terrified
than his comrades, breaks away and
canters off clumsily over the prairie.
In moment he is pursued, headed of,
turned, and driven in toward the herd
again. AS they "close in mass"-to
use an apt military phrase-"round up"
on all sides by the swift-riding cow
boys, they are gently urged onward by
the drivers in the rear, until the whole
herd is slowly moving forward, feeding
as they go, in a loose wide column,
headed toward the break in the noun
tains that indicates the mouth of the
canon through which it is to pass.
Very slowly and cautiously the herd
moves forward; sometimes there is a
halt in front; those in the rear crowd
up more closely; very gently, and with
soothing cries, the experienced cowboys
urge them on again. 1t is ticklish
work, for momentary panic may
drive scores of them down the pre-
cipitous sides of the mountain.
And now the canon widens, and, sue
ceeding the high rock walls and great
trees, its sides gradually merge into
gently rising, grass-covered slopes; the
river, too, is broader, its surface shin
ing like polished silver. and betraying
its onward movement only by an occa-
sional soft ripple and low lap-lap of the
water against its overhanging banks,
from which, breathing out the sweet
fragrance of thousands of newly opened
buds, the wild rose bushes hang down
their slender branches. Away up the
slopes, dancing and nodding their
pretty heads in the soft breeze, the
gayly colored wild fowers-yellow sun
flowers, daisies, blue harebells-mingle
their bright hues, melting into one an
other on the distant round hill-tops,
covering them as with carpet of the
softest velvet. f. Zogbaum, IN
Harper's Mag asi1ee.