Catoctin clarion., 1888-05-03
Cowboys Cant ride Weil.

III have lived among the cowboys
for many years." said Mr.. Gosnold, of
Larc'io. Tex, who has lived on the
frontier since 1858, "and think know
them thoroughly. I find that a gen.
eral impression prevails throughout
the counLry that they are phenomenal
horsemer, miraculous shots. Neither
of these opinions is correct, although
all have foundation in fact. First, as
to their horsemansHlp, as far as stick
ing on and understanding what can
be done in the saddle goes, they cer-
tainly are second to no riders in the
world. For Texas cowboy to pick
up hat or silver dollar from the
ground when ut full speed, to mount
his horse at tie gallop. or to stop him
in full-career, and turn him on sad
die blanket, are everyday feats. The
best of the riders can stand on the sad
die of galloping horse, or pick up
coin lying on the ground on the left
side of the horse with the right hand,
a most difficult feat, and one and all
can ride bucking horses. But here
their horsemanship ends, and beyona
this they arc worse than the veriest
tyro, because the cowboys have faults
from which the most ordinary park
rider of the east is free. l will VEN
ture to say that if 1000 Texans start
on a long march, where ypeed is nec-
essary, side by side with United
States cavalry regiment, the latter
will reach its destination long before
the former, and have its stock in serv-
iceable condition, while the Texas
horses will be tit only for the bone
gard. Men understanding less about
horses and less able to keep their
mounts in good condition it would be
hard to find. Accustomed to having Il
superabundance of horses, they never
undertake either to train or spare
them. and would break down the best
horse in America in week. Although
their horses are small, saddle weigh
ing from 80 to 40 pounds is used, the
most of this weight being useless leath-
er. When one bears in mind the old
racing saying that. the weight of y
stable key will win or lose race, the
a5surdity of this style of saddle is APP
parent. During the war the value Of
Texans as cavalrymen was we'll
proved. They were greatly relied
upon and much dreaded, but when
they came before the enemy after
march of 200 or 800 miles not one
horse in five was in serviceable condi-
ton, and the entire force was worse
than useless Then they thought the,
knew everything about riding, and re-
fused to receive instructions, it being
impossible to make them into as gooo
cavalrymen as the rawcst recruits be-
came after few months training. 1t
was practically impossible for Il horse
to throw them, but outside of this they
were and are the most destructive and
worst riders in the world.
'As to their shooting" continued
Mr.. Gosnold, ''because every nah
used to carry a revolver and was ready
to use it, people supposed thsy were
fine shots. One thing they did UNDER
stand, and that was quick shooting.
but as to any accuracy. not one in q
hundred possessed it. Pistol combats
in Texas were nearly always of the
shoulder to shoulder kind, where speed
was of far more Importance than aim,
and Texan could fire great number
of shots in given time. But when it
came to fine craftsmanship, they were
nowhere, and in an eastern shooting
gallery would not begin to be able to
hold their own. As rifle shots they
are even worse. and could not hold
any position at all at Creedmoor or
any regular rifle range. st Louis
Post-Dispatch.