Morning journal and courier., 1885-08-14

speed of the horse was slackened and the
 i calf spun around like ball attached to a
 piece of rubber and was dragged along.
 All of the COWS and calves being corralled, l large fires are made and the branding irons heated. Two men seize each calf and quick ] ly throw it upon it's side and hold it there. Another brings up the branding iron and presses it against the calf where it is desired to make the brand, burning just deep enough to destroy the hair cells. A fourth man makes the necessary ear-marks, and when the calf is let up it is marked for life and is the property of the owner of the brand. Should mistake be made in branding, which seldom happens, the brand is ''vent- ed, . that is. is put on upside down on the fore shoulder and the proper brand is put in it's place. The branding is done very quick ly and really seems to give the animal but little pain. I have seen sixteen men brand over five hundred calves in an hour.
 During the continuance of the general round-ups the daily routine is the same. Af- ter the days work is done or early in the morning the wagon moves to the next point which has been designated by the captain and the same work is repeated until all of the territory has been thoroughly gone over. In this district there are three general round-ups-the spring, which begins May 18th; the midsummer, which commences August 1st, and the fall in October.
 A cowboys life is hard one, as it is full of work and exposure. They ride all day in | the hot sun and at night roll themselves in them to keep off any possible rain and sleep ! until daylight, when they are up and at ! work again. Only the other night party of some eight or ten camped on the banks of a
 | dry creek some five miles from here and af- | ter their hard days work were soon asleep. l They were sleeping in little tents, four to a
 ! tent. About ten o'clock rain came on, but
 ' thav d nf oba fn
 down the creek. It rose higher and higher I until it came into the camp, and when thor ! oughly wet they awoke It was getting out
 ! in hot haste and the first who seized his boots
 | found them full of water. The bedding and ! clothing was hastily gathered and after wa
 | ding about two hundred yards with the water ! above their waists the boys reached high
 \ ground and were secure. Of course there
 | was no more sleep that night, but next day
 ! none of them seemed to be the worse for the wetting. This is but an incident of the
 l pleasures of cowboys life.
 In the streams the waters frequently rise
 ! very rapidly on account of the heavy show \ CTS. Only short time ago the superinten-
 \ dent of the and B company, formerly g
 E distinguished citizen of West Haven and \ we'll known on account of his connection
 ! with celebrated criminal trials in that bor- \ ough, was driving across the Canadian river ! with team which he loves almost better N
 | wagon became begged and the foundering
 \ horses could not pull it out. Now the judge \ showed his coolness. When the surging wa
 | ter reached his knees he took a cigar from | his pocket, lighted it and coolly puffed away
 \ while the water rose higher and higher until
 ! it was nearly up to his chin. About this
 \ time friends came along and the superinten- ! dent, his horses and wagon were rescued
 | from what was, to say the least, very Judi
 | crous position.
 After the general roundup is over and be- ! tween them, after the various brands have | been driven by their owners to their respec- tive ranges, a portion Of each outfit works ! it's own range, that is goes over it again and again to brand any calves that have been born since the last roundup or any that might possibly have been overlooked, while { the remainder attend to general work, of which there is always more less to be done, such as driving in fresh bulls, brand | ing them, &tc.
 In my next I will describe the branding of | bulls, the picking out of beef steers and dri- wing them to market, and will relate some of ! the many practical jokes which the cowboys ! delight to perpetrate on ''tenderfeet."
 \ w T. M