Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Anacortes, Wash. Ter.) 1882-1887, 1885-12-26
THE MONTANA COW BOYS.
THEIR HABITS AND THEIR DUTIES.

The sportivc huff.lo no longer 'ams
the low living hills of Montana. In his
place are Texas steers and drovcs OF cat
tie watched over by the roughly-dressed
cowboy-a being of strange contrsdlc-
tions but withal OF good heart. He is n
creation Of the past few years, tbs cow
boy is, and ouc can never safely guess,
while looking at HIN, mounted on his
broncho or Indian pony, whether he is
college graduate or rough from Texas.
Dressed in soied clothes, unshaven, wear
inr belt filed with cartridges. and
holding a huge revolver, his face is a
study, and his huge slouch hat gives
decided Rembrandt shadow to the sun
reddened nose and scrubby check. Out
in all weather, grown usel to bacon AMI
bread. strong, alert, ard rough, he lives
in his saddle, and looks or pretends to
look, with supreme contempt upon all
form sof civilization.
A cowboy of the western plains rarely
lives in a palltial residence. The ina
ior;ty Of ranch houses ar: made OF logs or
of rough boards, and Their only orctmcht
isa stone Chimney deccr~ting one end o.
the cabin. Small WIN lows, witl sadly
soilcd pla+s. rive, with the neatly e!w US
open doors, What light there is IN tn
interior; hunks take the place OF beds;
every hnE~ly article seels ~ cry a'ou
for n woman to cheer them But here,
wien the period of rest cones, my lord
eowo,y ,s happy. In either direction no
poi.,hborirr homestead can be seen.
There are the mountains, where tn" f'ed"
ing herds, there the crrCk and ad"v@ Is
the blue s%v of Montana. Ta; lite 's
lonely one, but it has its charms.
The duties of cGvbny are Varled
and srluous. tt" greater p"rhon OF the
time is passed in the saddle watching the
herds. At all seasons cCmos the "roshd'
m" whop thousands OF cattle are driven
into huge corralls, near which cahln has
been erected for the use Of any one choos'
ing 10 occupy it. The corral is made OF
heavy fences and varies in aize. lhe
chief reesen n cowboy has tor disliking 1t
ia in the fact th,t he very likely had ia
DIG the post holds for the support OF the
fence Such labor is usually given to
new corners are called
bv their old brethern-and they soon
grow to look upon it as punishment.
After cat tie are corraled come the brand
ing boys. when animal after animal IS
driven througy narrow p:ssageway'
along which is stationed the hrsuder,wlth
hot iron, who inflcts his horrible mark OF
blood upon the hcllowing and frightened
beasts. There are other ways al branding |
however, the most common being TO "cut |
outn critter from herd. and, throwing |
her. and then, with cowboys pulling. 10y
the aid of their ponies, from two opposite
directions. Such work requires long
experience. A COW of Montana is a
dangerous quantity to attack, and even
when thrown, will show great pluck.
And, indeed, at all times the cattle are
plucky. In winter they have to wrestle
for fe. and the best thing a cowboy can
saw of an animal is thst she is wrestler !
that is. smart and competent. She |
must dig the Snow away at times tor
food. must be able 10 90 without water
for days and must look out for the |
weather.
And so, indeed. must cowboy. H'
must be wide awake nj all times. The
cowboys all look alike, but with the
Texan is the Bostonian, with the tough"
is the college graduate. -Ex.,