The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-04-25
THROWING THE LASSO.
Some Remarkable Feats BY an Expert
With the Riata.

With the Riata.
'Of even more Importance in throwing
lasso is it that the distances are
gagged correctly. You remember that ]
spoke about holding the coils lightly in
two or three fingers. Well, that is done
that as many coils as may be considered
necessary may be let go. If you are
welding RATA you know that each of
your coils is almost two feet or two feet
and half long. So if you want to lasso
something twenty feet away you let go
ten coils.
'As to letting go, you simply open
your hand at the correct time and the
rope slips off.
''But even after you have roped your
steer your work is not over. Almost any
animal can pull you from your horse,
and to prevent this you must get your
rope around the horn of your saddle.
There is where you have to be quick.
There are two ways of making this
hitch that are used ordinarily. The one
l prefer is simply to take two turns
around the horn. taking care that the
second turn comes lower and overlaps
the other. No pull in the world could
make the rope slip, while l can, by
simply throwing off one turn, let it all
slip off. The other fashion, which is
really taking half-hitch 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
off before such hitch could be I'M
fastened.
1T is often advisable to take an extra
twist around any thing you have lassoed,
and this is done by simply throwing a
coil. Practice again is the only thing
that can teach this. Now you have the
whole theory of throwing rope.
''There are four sorts of throws, but
they are all made alike, only the posi-
ton of the arm being different. They
are the overthrow, the underthrow,
sidethrow and backthrow
Eyes, back throw-catching an object
behind you-something that you need
not even see. That sounds difficult, does
it? Well, you stand behind me and you
can see it DONE"
The reporter took his position twenty
feet behind Mr.. Ohnimus-quite out of
his sight, of course. He swung the
loop around his head and, without turn
ing, let it fly backward. 1t circulated
the newspaper man exactly and by pull
ing it quickly Ohnimus had his arms
pinioned to his sides.
care there any more trick throws?"
asked the reporter.
Lots of them. / never put myself
up as crack RATA man, and | am out of
practice now, but l can lay the moose on
the ground at my feet and kick it around
your neck, or pick it off the ground from
my horse and land it around you while
the horse is going at full speed, and do
lots of things like that, but none of them
are any good. The back throw has been
used by Mexican highwaymen to con-
siderable advantage, You see, in that
country the traveller always looks out
for danger from the rear, and is pre-
pared for it, but when pleasant horse
man rides past him, playing with his
RATA and wishing him good day as he
passes, he is likely to consider the
danger as gone by, as well as the man.
That has caused the death of good
many The bandit gets the right dis
lance ahead and then lassoes him as
did you. A touch of his spur jerks his
victim from the saddle, and that ends
it. Interview with Louis Ohnimus, in
San Francisco Examiner