The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1885-08-14
COWBOYS.
described by One Familiar With
Their Tratts--Glimp.e of the
Texas Cowboy.

do ! know the COWBOYS? Younc
man. l think | do. When YOU have
worked with them, camped with them.
nved with them and been anonp tbem
forty Years on the drive, on the p]ains.
and on and off duty, you might
you know them"
The speaker was a Texas cattle
man, and he was asked to descrihe tha
cowboy by a Pittsburg Dispatch re-
porter. 1.-The Texas COWBOY" he
continued, lis the most thoroughly
misunderstood man, outside of the
localities where he is known, on the
lace OF the earth. l know him in his
alleged terrors. and as a class there
are no noblcr-hearted or honorable
men in the world. Brave to rashness
ana generous to a fault, if you should
De thrown among them vou would find
them ever ready to share their last
cru with You or lie down at NIGHT
with YOU on the same blanket.
Why, young man, see here.'' and
she leNas man tw tched his cha +
around until he couldput his feet upon
a window-sill. Say that | have 10
900 cattle which ! am about to send
overland from Texas into Montana to
fatten for the market. The cattle will
be on the drive from the lst of April
until the middle CT September. They
are divided into three herds. with a
dozen or sixteen men with each herd.
| entrust those cattle in the hands of a
gang of cowboys. For six months |
kno" abso utcly nothing of my stock.
! trust Their honesty to the extent of
many thousand dollars without a con
tract, without a bond, with no earthly
hold upol them, legally or morally.
beNond the fact that / am paving them
s3S OF $40 q month to protect my in
tcrests. And these are. the men nc
tured N the East as ~outcaSts of c~iyili-
zaton. l trust absolutely 10 their
Judgment in getting those cattle
through a Wild and unbroken ountr
without loss or injury. | trust as alb.
solutcly to their bravery and endurance
in the face of danger.f'
''Danger?"
Danger! Yes, indeed. A man to
be a cowboy must be a brave man.
For instance, we are on a drive. These
slab-sided. long horned Texas cattle
are as wild as deer naturally. and be-
ing IN an unknown country are as
nervous and as t;m!d as sheep. The
slightest noise may startle them into a
stampede. We have been on the drive
all day, and night is coming or. 1t is
cold and raining. We have reached
the point where we intend 30 round up
for the night. The men commence to
ride around the drove, singing. shout
ing and whistling to encourage the
ANNALS by the sounds they are famil-
lar with and to drown any no Sc OF an
unusual character which might pro-
woke 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 que, and after a time
lie down and commence chewing their
cuds with apparent contentment. Still
the Wig lance of the men cannot be re-
Taxed. At Il asst half of them must con-
tinue riding about the resting herd all
night. A stampede OF cat lie is a terri
Bile 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 a
pistol, the cracking of a twig will
bring some wild-eyed steer to his feet
in terror. Another instant ard the
whole drove are painting and believing
in the widest fear. They are ready to
follow the lead of any animal that
makes a break. Then the GOODNESS and
self-possess;on of the cowboy are called
into play. They still continue their
wild gallop around the fir ghtened
drove. cndeavoring to reassure them
and get them quiet once more. Maybe
they will succeed after an hour or two
and the animals will again be at rest.
But the chances are that they cannot
be quleted so easily. a break is made
in some direction. Here comes the he
roism of the cowboy. Those cattle are
as blind and as unreasoning in their
flight as 4 pair of runaway horses.
They know no danger but from behind
and if they did, could not stop, for the
surging sea of %maddened animals in
the ear. A rocky gorge or deep cut
canyon may the loss of half their
number. Those in the rear cannot see
the danger and the leaders cannot stop
for those behind, and are pushed on to
their death. A prec;pice may lie in
their way, over which they plunge to
destruction. 1t matters not to the cow
boy. If the stampede is made the cap
tan of the drove and his men ride I'M
til they head it, and hen endeavor
to turn the animals in a circle once
more.
"A hole in the ground. which
catches a horses foot. = stumble, and
fha hnpfc nf fh,.aa fto,,s,, nd ,,t{1, L,,.a
trampled the semblance. of humanity
from him. He knows this. A gulch or
gorge lies in Their path. There is no
escaping it. There is no turning to the
right or to the left, and in an instant
horse and rider are at the bottom
buried under 5, 900 cattle. But what of
ite 1t is only a cowboy, and they come
cheap. But history records no instance
OF more inquest oliEg performance of
duty in the presence of danger than
these men undergo on every drive.
Should the stampede be stopped. there
is nc rest for the drivers that night,
but the utmost vigilance is required 10
prevent a recurrence of the break from
the frightened cattle. This may happen
hundreds OF times on a single drive.
II remember one instance, which,
from the friendship in which l held the
victim. has made a lasting impress on
on me. Two brothers We're together
Oh the drive. Both men had been ed
ucatcd in IN Eastern college. but for
some reason had driftcd TO the cattle
plains of Texas and had become COW
boys. The elder was the captain of the
drove. Sitting about the campfire one
night the younger was very down
hearted about something and finally
said: Charlie, let's throw up this drive.
l don't want to go. | feel that one or
the other of us will never get back. l
AM ashamed of this but | can't shake
it off, His brother was impressed by
his seriousness, but could only say:
George, here are three thousand cat