The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1885-08-27
Happy Montana COwpunchers.

For the past few days l have been
punching cows with the northern Mon
tana cowboys; that is, they call it
! punching cows, but q veteran Texas
cowboy would call it picnicking. They
| round up little bunch of COWS in the
| morning, brand the calves by noon,
and then lie around on buffalo robes in
their palatial tents, and read novels or
amuse themselves as they see fit. Gam
| BILE? Why, yesterday I saw $500
change hands on scrub pony race. If
someone had entered a brindlc Texas
COW | would have backed her for my
entire Doodle, and won, too, by the
holy poker, for neither of the ponies
could have headed q Spanish cow. 1t
would delight the average Texas cow
boy to be hired by a Montana cowman,
and there shown his horses from which
he was to select his mount-great big,
tallowy horses, sleek as livery horses,
and very few of them but what are
gentle as dog. And l may add that
when Montana cowboy gets back
from roundup, his horses are still
fat
In the first place he has plenty of
them, and these men do not allow their
hands to dash horses around just for
the fun of the thing. And the cattle
here are so different from what they
are in Texas that there is really very
little hard riding to do. Boys who
Mne RaXe T9gksd s H S eSas COW pony
not compare with his Montana brother
as to looks, yet when it comes to doing
hard work, and heap of it, he is far
to bo lot IL &c
and harder, and better adapted to Just
such work. In the past four days l
have seen over seven thousand horses
that have been on the work for over
month and there is not one of them
but what is mud fat. Live! Why these
cowboys live higher than anybody.
They have everything to eat that mon
ey can buy, and a cook with paper
cap on to prepare it. The cook is so
neat and polite that you could eat him
if you were right hungry; but, in fact,
l do not believe he would object if you
would attempt to do so. He is too
well bred, too obliging, to object to
anything you desire to do. They have
fresh beef all the time. One man kills
a beef, keeps quarter, and sells the
rest to the other outfits that are along.
| That is not strange, for remember that
beef here is worth about $50. Cow
| boys get about the same wages here as
| they do in Texas, but one dollar in
Texas will buy as much as three in
Montana, and the boys only get about
| three or four months work in the year.
Say, do you know that away up in
| this high altitude we hardly have any
| night at all at this time of year? The
| sun just seems to loiter along in the
sides OF the mountains and torgets to
! 90 down until you get discouraged and
| go to bed and leave him do as he
| pleases about it. But you can safely
| bet that be will be attending to bus
| mess at the old stand bright and early
| next morning. 1t is not good dark
here until II O clock, and at half-past
2 daylight begins to appear. Up lit
| tie higher on the mountains it even
beats that record. Two boys went up
| on a high peak about 10 o'clock the
other afternoon just to watch the sun
monkey about a while. One stood on
the western edge of the peak to see him
| 90 down, and the other watched the
eastern side to see him rise. After
! some time the one on the west said:
! 1hefe ne goes uoWn, Jim, guess II
about supper time.
'Yes, durn him, here he comes"
was the reply, ''and We might as well
| 90 to breakfast
It's all nice enough to poke fun at
the boys up here, but you can't buy a
| herd of average Montana cattle for $50
| per head. And then when they apply
| branding-iron to a calf on this range
it is about the same as stamping $50
| gold piece. Texas Lice Stock Journal.