The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1890-05-08
NORTH YAKIMA, WASHINGTON THURSDAY MAY 8, 1890

NO." answered Mr.. Ohnimus, the
vaquero never carries his moose long. II
he did il would be constantly getting tan
Eied up in horses legs. He makes it
larger where he swings it. But to 10 back
to the process Of lassoing. As ouI COW
boy gets close to his quarry he takes the
moose in his lasso hand. I will loose my
hat, as II is a tribe handler for me. He
grips the rope, not too firmly, holding the
standing part and the side Of the moose
about half the length Of the loop away
from the knot. This Is to enable him to
swing the moose so that it will k::' open.
II he holds II at the knot he will throw q
long, narrow moose that Is very likely to
cross and kink.
Meanwhile l, representing our cow
boy, hold the remaining coils in my other
hand, only changing the position Of my
torefinger 30 as to secure better control Of
the coils.
"Then comes the third maneuver-en.
larging the moose. OF course you have to
have larger moose than one foot in diam
eter to drop over a steers horns forty feet
away. The moose is enlarged by esinging
the moose in your lasso hand until the
centrifugal force pulls II out TO the size
you wish (this Is the reason you do not
grasp Il too firmly, letting go with the
other hand, Of course as many coilsas are
necessary 10 make tie moose the right
size. Now you have the moose in the air ;
you do not cease making 1t Circle around
your head until you let It go. When the
moose has been let out to the right size.
the next trouble is 10 keep Il open and to
avoid entangling It in the brush or other
entangling distractions. You keep II
open, as said, by holding the moose from
the knot, and by peculiar twist Of the
wrist that is only obtainable by practice.
ITO keep it clear Of the brush is often
a more difficult job, for the cowboy Is not
always in q clear place when he wants to
throw his rope. Then It Is that bis judg-
ment comes into play and determines
whether his cast is lost one or not. /
have seen vaqueros swing lasso swiftly
almost in the midst Of thicket, and keep
it clear without losing speed, and then let
It drive straight as an arrow between two
trees and rope an object that could moi
pass where the moose had gone. Sucl
skill as that, to be sure, comes only aftel
long practice.
"Well, now We have got the moose cir
cling about the vaquero's head, and thC
next thing is toilet fiy. There is mot much
to describe about this part Of throwing
RATA, important though it may be. 1t il
only incessant practice that will enable
man to make certSin cast. The maiI
thing is to swing the rope Just long enough
neither so long as to give 1t sidewisI
motion when you throw it, nor shor
enough to prevent its gathering all tht
fore you require.
Then the riata man must throw at {
particular limb or projection. This thin
Of tossing blindly at an object and trust
ing to Luck that the ANIMAL will get int
the rope somehow will not do. Iou mus
pick out your mark as carefully as Il you
} were shooting at it, and time It.
"a steer jumping along changes hi
position constantly as regards you.
you throw this head high up the chancel
ere that Il will Be- away down when YOU
lEppe reaches him, and you will overthrow,
Now, to pick out i0Ot 80 - ;sARlt 4EsssQE
so that that foot will be oR the ground
when your rope reaches him. The moose
does not travel like q bullet, and this ele-
ment Of time 10 more important.
"Of even more importance is II that the
distances are Rauged correctly. You re-
:member spoke about holding the coils
lightly in two or three fingers. Well, that
is done in order that as many coils as may
he considered necessary may be let 20.
II you are welding riata you know that
each Of your coils Is almost two feet OF
two and Onehalf feet long. So II you
want TO lasso something twenty ieet away
you let go the coils.
"As to letting 60, you simply open YOU
hand at the correct time and the rope
slips off.
"But even after you have roped youl
steer your work Is not over. Almost ans
animal can pull you frUm your horse, and
70 prevent this you must get your rope
around the horn Of your saddle. There
Is where you have 10 beouiuk, There aFt
two ways Of making this hitch that are
used ordinarily. The one l prefer 10 sim
ply to take two turns around the horn,
taking care that the second turn comes
over and overlaps the other. No pull In
the world could make that rope slip, while
| can, simply by throwing oil one turn
let II all slide of. This other fashion
which really taking half hitrh' around
the horn, holds just as fast, but you have
TO push the rope through to loosen It.
You see, In making this sudden twist, .
finger is very likely to get caught, and
have known many fingers being taken Of
before such hitch could be fastened.
at Is often advisable IN take an extfs
twist around any thing you have lassoel
and this Is done by simply throwing coil
Practice, again, is the only thing that car
teach this.
"Now, you have the whole theory o
throwing rope.
"TheFe are four sorts Of throws, bu
they are all made alike, only the position
Of the arm being different. They are thu
overthrow, the underthrnw; the sidethrov
and backthrow.
"Yes, backthFow-catching an objeci
hahind VOtl-aOmethinR that Won neet