Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-07-03
RoPING STEERS.
A REMARKABLE CONTEST AT A
TEXAS COUNTY FAIR.
Furious Animals Turned Loose for
Men and Ponies to russIe With
Peculiar sagacity of the Ponies.

Peculiar Sagacity of the Ponies.
One Of the most interesting things
saw while was in Texas was a roping
contest at the Concho County Fair. The
winner of the first prize--a beautiful
cowboy saddle-was to be the contestant
who should rope and tie down steer in
the shortest time. The second prize was
a gorgeous gold and silver-trimmed SOM
brero, and was to be won by the con-
testant making secondbest time. Each
man has but one trial, so that if horse
stumbles in a prairie dog hole, or the
rider misses upon his first throw, or fails
to get quick start after the steer at the
outset, he is gone, and it is very largely
luck after all, and the best man does not
necessarily get the saddle or even the
sombrero.
They were a fine-looking lot of fellows
nearly all of them. Business men,
deputy sheriffs and marshals, and some
of our best looking and most popular
young society men-for almost everybody
either has or has had cattle, and it's
pretty nearly part of a young mans
collateral education to be able to ride
like Cossack and rope steer in good
shape 1t Is the intention to run up as
close alongside or behind the steer as pos
sible, and, while going about his own gait,
throw the rope over his horns; then by
following along with the rope slack, it
may be gotten clear under him as he runs !;
then by taking a turn around the POM
mel, it is secured, the pony suddenly
stops, braces with all his strength, and
the steer Is thrown clean heels over head
literally, By adexterous jerk and good
management steer may be thrown when
the rope has caught but one horn, but it
will usually slip off.
Ii, when he has been roped and the
rope made fast to the pommel, steer
suddenly bolts sideways, he is very apt
to pull horse and rider over-especially
if he be big and the pony little. When
the steer has been thrown all right, the
rider jumps off and runs to tie him, leav-
ing the pony to hold him by keeping the
line from the pommel to his horns taut.
And this was, to me, the prettiest pic
ture in the whole panorama. The saga
cious little pony, standing with his nose
to the fallen adversary, straining at the
line, and watching the steer with bright,
knowing eyes. He realizes he's in a bad
fix if that steer gets up, and he hasn't the
least intention of letting him do so.
In the first place, all the wild and
vicious steers that can be found on the
ranges and ranches about are gathered
up and brought, fighting, believing and
protesting, to the fair grounds and put
in pen there. This pen had a smaller
one opening out of it by means of q
couple of big bars. When the announce
ment was made that the contest would
now take place steer was run into this
smaller pen. He, of course, flashed
furiously to the end, and finding it
closed turned to rush back as he came.
Here he met mounted man with big
whip or club, who fought him back,
while another finished putting up the
bars He plunges back and forth, and
is hailed about with sticks, clubs, yells,
and whoops, until perfectly maddened,
when the outer bars are suddenly with
drawn, and he leaps out into the OPEN
ing. The contestant whose turn it is is
stationed close to one side, and is after
him like a shot.
The first steer was big, lean, sorrel-
colored one, with horns about four feet
across at the points, and that ran like
deer The cowboy was fine, handsome,
keen-looking fellow, and his pony one of
the best cow ponies in the country-a
little white fellow, bearing the favorite
name of Possun, with big, bright, black,
eyes, quick as q cat, Irregular trump"
They got fair start with the steer. the
throw was made successfully, and then
came the moment of suspense, when the
pony was straining every nerve to keep
with the steer, while the rider watched
each turn to catch and throw him by an
endwise jerk. This he succeeded in do
ing, then leaped from the saddle to 'tie
him down, y leaving Possum to hold him.
He had but touched the ground when
the steer made sudden, convulsive eff
fort, and rose to his feet. But Possum's
eye was on him; he instantly ran back
ward and jerked him flat. By this time
the cowboy reached the steer, jumped on
him and tied his feet, and the business
was completed.
Now recommended the yelling and
whooping, and big white steer tears
into the pen and is half across the bars
before he can be beaten back. He finally
bursts through the bars before they can
be taken down. This time it is the
deputy sheriff that afterward had the
scrimmage with the Mexicans at Knicker-
booker, mounted on little claybank
with silvery name and tail-Capt. Scott,
and captain he proves himself.
He quickly overhauls the steer, the
throw is made, the rope secured, and then
the big brute bolts sideways like light
ming, and horse and rider go over in
horrible confusion.
Hurrah for the Captain! He's up and
Off It's he and the steer for it. And
now there were screams and roars of
laughter and shouts of admiratian as the
plucky little fellow ran and lodged and
tackled and jerked the big animal about
till attendants could come up and cut the
rope and drive him into the outer regions.
Again, amid the beating of tom-toms,
bowling of dervishes, and brandishing of
sticks and clubs, a steer shoots forth, with
glaring red eye and rigid horizontal tail.
One of the ''lean kine'' he is and runs ac-
cordin'. 1t is only after some time and
much hard running he is roped; then, with
a furious plunge be breaks the rope, or
the girths or saddle pommel give way,
and the steer rolls over about fourteen