St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-08

not the wild, pOpped-Out expression so
often aScribed to ''herOeS of the plains"
but are normal in size and amiable in
expression. If they have a popularity
it is their color, which cannot be de-
scribed by naming any single hue. At
a distance his eyes look dark. but closer
scrutiny reveals that their dark
ness is due to depth, as clear
water that is very deep will look
dark. Their appearance varies like
the waters. of a lake, always lustrous,
yet yer varying accordingly as it re-
fleets the sky. the sun. the StOrm-clOud
or the iurid lightning. They are eyes
that any woman with a spark of rO-
nance in her composition could not re-
sist. The colonel is a charming talker,
and conveTses with the easy elegance
which characteriZes all the performances
of himself and men. He explained
how he happened to come to Minnesota.
He learned that his old friend, Presi-
dent Bushnell, was struggling to make
the FAIR attractive, and he volunteered
to assist with an exhibition of ranch
work, if the Fair association would pay
the freight on a few car loads of wild
horses and cattle. The vaqueros were
glad to come just for the change of
scene. They had heard of Minnesota,
and were anxious to visit this state.
The colonel's ranch is on the south
%ringcone (bend) of the Rio FriO, in the
neighborhood of San Antonio. Texas.
1t is in a section of country where the
cattle run wild, and the cowboys must
know how to plunge into the bush and
capture a horse that never saw a man
before. The horses used by the vaquerOS
are of Spanish origin, and they are
trained to stand without tying and
to follow a steer as a dog
would. The cowboys ride with
a loose rein, although they
have a strong curb bit ready for use.
The ranch horse is a wonderful animal
in point of intelligence, quickness and
strength. He is taught the trick of
pulling at the end of a rope from the.
horn of his saddle a u animal that
greatly exceeds him in weiget. The
rope may break, but the horse stands
staunch. The colonel gave a curl
Gus description of the mode of
making lariats of cowhide. The
hide is sailed and treated
with ashes. A long, narrow thong is
then cut by commencing in the center
of the hide and circllng with the knife
until the outside is reached. The thong
is then scraped with great care to re-
move the hair without cutting the hide.
The thong is then buried to remove the
glue, and is afterwards stretched to Its
utmost tension. Four to six OF these,
strands are plated into a lassO, which
never stretches further after being COM
Lpleted. The rawhide lariat is kept
greased-hence the name of ~'.greaser',
applied to the Mexican ranch hand.
Common MANILA rope is used for las
soing, the only objection it being that
it catches the wind.
The colonel directed attention to the
easy manner in which the cowboys
ride, both when following a steer and
when breaking a broncho. Said he:
''Should the brOncho buster ride stiff,
like your dude graduate from a city
horseback riding school, blood would be
forced from his nose and ears-in short,
he would be a dead man in less than two
years. He must literally lie around
loose on the animals back, and in that
way escape any violent shocks to his
spine and v%itals." When asked if cow
boys are a healthy race, the colonel re-
piled:
Rio Grande Billy is a graduate of
Harvard university. When he came
among us he was a sickly-lOOking boy.
He selected this sort of life for the bene-
fit of his health. Now look at him? He
doesn't look very puny now, Goes ne!
| Yes, l should say cowboys are healthy.
l never knew but one of them to die OF
sickness. But they get killed in various
weyS. 1t is not an uncommon
thing for a vaquero to meet
death by having his horse
fall upon him. The rider may be
skilled, the horse sure-footed, but a
weak place in the ground, caused by a
burrowing coyote. will bring rider and
horse to the ground, and no power on
earth can provide against it. The life
certainly has the spice of danger in it,
but this makes it attractive to adventur-
GUS spirits. Talk of bull fghts-every
day is a bull fight with us. You see that
gray horse yonder? l have owned
him for fourteen years, and he is a pet
of mine; but l have had some splendid
horses killed under me. No matter
how quick you are, you are liable some
times TO get caught. L remember one