The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-10-18

and Succeeds
There has been so much, written
about the ranch and about ranch life,
that it is difficult to say anything new
on the subject without dealing with
facts. Anybody not under the in
fuence OF alkali water or it's counter
part, ranch whisky. would pause ere
attempting to paint ranch. life a new
color. Therefore this sketch will be
an old pure water) color:
There are several things, to be found
on ranchs besides romance. Not to
speak of the bronco mustang and the
long-eared mule-there is, the flap
jack. the bean, the bacon, the jack
rabbit, the weather-beaten cowman
(the cowboys are all going to schooD,
and the youth who is out on a visit.
The youth is about the most interest
ing OF these. He is so young and sem
sitive, and in this respect alone
among his surroundings that he
attracted attention. He is full TO the
muzzle with cowboy literature and he
carries firearms and chews tobacco
with the quid in the vicinity of his lar
ynx. The boy generally learns by ex-
perience that the sad and solemn mules
are not stationary, and
then he sets out to become vaquero.
The vaquero is the man who did the
herding on the cattle ranges before
the cowboy Of literature was evolved.
He is yet extant in few places on the
plains.
The vaquero hasn't got up reputa-
ton like the cowboy has, but he does
just as much work around a rodeo as
the cowboy, and he can handle cattle
just as we'll. He is a more respectable
parsonage all around. The vaquero is
welded to the saddle. He learns his
business when young and when he gets
older and bow-legged he is one of the
most adept of artists. The vaquero is
growing beautifully less; he is being
pressed back to make room for the
man who runs the header wagon and
for the dairy laborer The herds are
melting from the landscape, and the
vaquerO goes into new climes or else
exchanges his spurs and chapparejoes
for Overalls and shovel and sets to
work making county roads. Yet here
and there on the ranches he is found
demolishing his indigestible rations
and sporting his iingling spurs. And
there is where the youth who is visit
ing seeks to emulate him.
The youth has ridden the family
horse at home and he is as full of con-
fdence before he essays to mount
ranch mustang as he is of sore spots
in the immediate subsequently. The
prancing, neighing barb who has the
cincha affixed to his stomach with a
rake, who can Jump
further stiff-legged than a long-eared
jack rabbit, and who has got 100
pounds of devilment in his system,
does not discourage the new boy-not
till afterward. The boy mounts him
and sits in the saddle with the grace
and equipoise of centaur, the mus
tang is sauntering along with his ears
hanging idly on his shoulder blades,
and to the casual spectator he does
not seem aware of the boys presence.
The mustang is thinking of home. He
passes the branding corral and gets
we'll down the field, where his unsad-
died fellows crop the heritage or gam
Dol lamblike on the green. The boy
desires at this point to see him go,
and he sinks his spurs into him, as he
has read about other famous horse
men doing. Then the mustang loses
his nonchalance. His ears leave his
shoulder-blades and rest on his neck,
his feet are punched together, his
back is arched and his rider is un-
seated. When the boy RECEIVERS con-
seriousness there is an odor of cooking
cabbage in the atmosphere and
ceiling is above him..
He thinks that he couldn't possibly
have been bucked clear into the house.
And he is right. The ranch hands.
brought him in. They watched him
ride forth and they viewed him fall.
1t reminded them of the halcyon days
when they were learning to, stay on
the razor back of ranch cayuse. But
it takes more than such an experience
to suppress the new boy, He may be-
slightly discouraged. but he is not sup
pressed.
He adopts progressive methods after
his initial experience, and from riding
the spawned and wind broken plugs,
with "a quarter of century behind
them," he goes up by easy stages un-
til he can lasso q coyote from the
of h.