Daily Republican. [volume] ([Wilmington, Del.]) 1874-1890, 1886-10-29
Lie on . Montana Rsuche

At $50 o'clock in the morning the men
are called. They are out of their blankets
and dressed In less time than 1t takes an
Eastern man to rub his eyes and yawn;
each catches and saddles his horse; break
fast Is hastily eaten, and at the first dawn
OF day they ride out In twos or fours in
every direction. Theee men present de-
cidediy picturesque, not to say brigandish
appearance as they dash out across the
prairie; their red, blue and gray flannel
shirts, canvas pants, leather chaparejoes,
broad sombreros, colored silk handker-
chief knotted around their necks we'll
filled cartridge belts, from which hang
their six shooter; their high top COW hide
boots and large Mexican spurs making up
tout ensemble that a band of Texan
rangers might envy. Their work, their
fun, their excitement now begins, for
small punches Of cattle are eighted In
every direction which are to be rounded
up and driven along, and there is no time
to lose. AS they dash hither and thither
atter the fleeing, scurrying creatures the
proverb' al good nature, high spirits and
enthusiasm of these knights of the plain
find vent In series of boots, yells, "ki
yi's." bits of song and grotesque slaRa
expressions, many of which are strikinRly
expressive when understood, but which
would be utterly uninteligible 20 a fresh
tenderfoot. The majority ofthese West.
ern cattle are almost as wild as the native
buffaloes whose place they have usurped,
having never been subjected to the domin.
lon OF man, and rarely in fact have they
ever come face TO fgce with him. At the
first approach Of TIE riders, therefore they
throw up their fads and tails, look wild,
sniff the air andfthen turn and run like a
herd of antelops But by fast riding and
skillful maneF vering they are soon round
ed up and hefded.
1t is bit of the true spice OF life for
these daredevil riders to find q vicious,
rebellious J"alecky" young critter who
CO. cludes' that he won't be rounded up;
and no sooner has the belligerent shak n
his burlyl head, paved the earth few
tim s, turned tail to his pursuyrs, broken
through the skirmish line and failed
away across the prairie, than three, four
or p rhaps half dozen, cayuscs, who
are also now in their element, are head
ed forlhim. Lariats are loosened from
the saddle horn, spurs rattle as they
pierce the tanks of the already willing
and eager steeds, d there ensues
wild, headloDg, reckless race that can
have hut one result. The steer may be
feet of foot and may lead through half
mile dash, but sooner or later he Is head
cd off and turned. He may make fresh
break In another direction, but his pur-
suers are down On him again like pack
of hungry wolves on Q stray sheep. Aud
low, as the riders close in on him, they
belabor him unmercilu ly with their
heavy coils of rope. or with rawhide
"quirts" carried for this purpose. If par
ticularly wild, obstinate or obstreperous,
he ST. keeps breaking away, and refus-
ing to come into camp, riata glis ems
in the sunlight, whistles through the air
and falls over bis head. Another follows
and puts foot in the stocks. Taking
two or three turns of the lariat around
the horn of the saddle, the men ride In
opposite directions till the ropes come
taut, the steer is fairly lifted from the
earth and falls with dull, thudful
sound that may be heard a hundred
yards. Then another rope Is thrown over
bis head, the spurs are put to the faith
full ponies, they are transposed for the
time into draft horses, and the luckless
victim is ANONYMOUSLY "snaked" toward
the herd while the other boys "bang"
him from beeind. A few yards of this
mode of travel is usually sufficient to
tame the widest long horn Texan on the
range, and few Vigorous bellows sooL
announce an unconditional surrender.
The ropes are taken off, he is let up aud 1t
il short work to put him in the herd.