Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-16
TAXING THE TEXAS STEER.
How The Gentle Cowboy Soothes His
FIocks In the stormy Night.
From the Chicago Mems.

ID how tnH NtnNAe CONDOY S0ofUeB HIS
Fiocks In the stormy Night.
4 From the CAicago Mems.
Il have just had talk with a lady,"
4 said a Western gentleman to q reporter.
/ "She is a very well educated lady, and
| comes Of one of the oldest families of the
| East. When met her she had just re-
| turned from Europe, and was on her way
to the West to do some travelling among its
| features of interest. Learning that had
some slight acquaintance in that country,
| she engaged me in conversation and we
| discussed at some length the peculiar Gus
| toms in vogue there, especially among the
4 cattlemen.
"'And did you ever see any of those
n dear, sweet cowboys?' asked she.
~ remarked that the distinguished
I honor had been mine.
"'And did you ever hear them singing
L to the cattle?
"Now it occurred to me at this time
that l had occasionally heard a c. boy
singing to an animal, although lad
III ne er heard it called bV thqt name. so.
somewhat surprised by the gravity with
which the euphemism ~ as made. smiled
and said / had.
" 1t must be l0vely, in themidale of tho
starry night, TO hear those monty FclCes
swelliag in harmonious choUsr
L had often heard tlese manly
y 5welling in chorus OF sf.rry
- glt, / Thought IL was an ri-ht, and
epHed: 1T is, very' ID is about the
lost thing know Of, with some few
aud does 1t quiet the poor, dear
tlie|
'l beg PARDON
Does itreally soothe their restlessness
and prevent their wandering away from
homer
"'I-wha-great C9sarv
"'Why, you seem surprised! Can it be
really possible that you have ever been
upon a cattle ranch and have not heard
the cowboys singing to their cattle to keep
them from becoming restless and stray
ing away?
"With some difficulty l smiled a small
n smile, told her that ] was subject TO a
spasmodic catching Of the breath, and
h said: why. certainly, madam; but who
told you of the custOmY
"'0b, a FREUD of mine, Just returned
from New Mexico. He told me that the
first question asked Of a cowboy was
4 whether he could sing or play some must
81 cal instrument. If he could do neither he
I could never obtain a position. You know
at about , O'Clock in the morning the cat
| tie begin to Get uneasy, and will walk
| their flesh Off (I believe they call it) if
there is not music to scOthe them. The
| cowboys take turns, you know, and have
regular watches, although sometimes, if
| a very dark or stormy night, il requires
the efforts Of all united to quiet them. A
| hard life, that of a cowboy, the poor, dear,
romantic tellowsn
| every, madam, veryW / said, grow
ing faint with suppressed emotion.
never before had heard anything just like
| this.
"'My friend said that fine tenor voice
| was especially valued, but that the music
of the piano, flute and either was also
priced. Those who could obtain no
music but that of the accordion or that
made by beating upon tin pans often lost
their entire herds. Is il not a beautiful
picture? 1t quite reminds one of old Pan
piping to his tlockl | never heard of so
fine an illustration Of the saying that
music hath power to soothe the savage
breast
"'Madam, said I, & am not quite sure
that you have quoted that exactly right,
but l am ready to admit that if music
hath power to sOOthe the breast of a
Texas steer, she'll soothe almost any,
thing
"'But is it possible you have never seen
this done?
"With a great effort / retained my
presence of mind. 1T is, indeed, a very
general custom nOw,' | said. AT first it
was found somewhat difficult for half a
dozen small COWBOYS to sing to a whole
herd of steers, when they were scattered
over forty miles or so Of sage-brush, espe-
cially OF dark or stormy night; but I'M
der the system which has recently been
adopted of driving them up every night to
be MIXED, and not turning them out of
the pasture until morning, the custom to
which you allude has become common
SO common, in fact that il had quite
C1ipnA Il m and the Lord
/ have mercy on my sinful soulp
so beg pardon-I did not quite catch
/ you in full
''Yes; the cowboys sit around on the
fence and play and sing all night. 1t is
mistake to think they take turns-a
hard life indeed is the cowboys. They
wheel the piano out TO the pasture bars
and prop it up with branding iron, and
while one plays the Others join in, and,
IL with viOl and lutte. and light guitar, they
emake the welkin ring-the dear, romantic
fellows. That's where the opera singers
WgO. That's where Emma Abbott and Patti
i a and Schalchi and all the rest of them are
dIgoing; they'll all join the innumerable
4 ucaravan.'
u "'How perfectly lOvelyr
- "'Yes, madam | replied, for | had got
started and wanted to pile on the agony
10 the utmost; 'the custom you mention
Is a universal one. A great volume of
sound goes up from all over the whole
N Western cattle cOuntry-a wild, sweet,
wildering symphony of sound whose ca
dence rolls across the Laramie plains,
along the cacius-cOvered slopes OF New
Mexico, up the foothills Of the cloud
capped Sierras, and knocks at the portals
or the upper corral. Going west, you first
hear il when you reach Dodge City-a
4 faint, low murmur of SURPRISING sweet
ness; then with every onward roll of the
car wheel it grows stronger aud more
strong. until finally, as you emerge from
the ROTOR tunnel, IL bursts upon you with
Niagara roar of melody-the cowboy
soothing the Texas steerr
"Here paused and looked her steadily
In the eye. She believed every word. She
is good example Of the higher culture,
but somebody has been fooling with her
about that soothing business