Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-08-23
Written for Tvs EVENING STAR
ROPING A GRIZZLY.
now Texan Cowboy Managed to Cap
ture Fine Rear Without any Gun.

~ Life IN Montana. speaks with approval
OF that accomplishment Of the cowboy.
fhtowlng the laSSo or lsriat. or as u -
AS known IN the veruacular. ''roping.
man who herds. drives or rounds up cattle
must be good horsemau. and living in the
saddle be becomes one. but his value. his
power In the business. is vastly increased il he
can rope with an unerring aim The rope then
becomes his weapon and he has as much con
haenee IN IT, as such. as the hunter in his rifle
The Mexican vaQueros from which we derived
the lasso are wonderfully expert and in many
tale, fictitious and true. il :orns the basis OF
thrilling incidents; yet the following, which oc-
Cured near rancho in the valley of the
Big Horn. Wyoming, last summer is
without parallel for cool daring. ey-
pertness In ropinS and presence OF
mind when absence of body no longer was
possible. One OF the COWBOYS employed occa-
sloually at the rancho Is a tall Texan. bv name
lessee Conway. and besides being most reliable
and expert at his business he is also a good
shot and hunter; many an elk and big-horu
sheep have fallen to ms Springfield within the
last few years, although big game Is fast thin
nng out even IN region 80 inaccessible TO the
ordinary hunter Is that midway OF the lines o.
the Union and Northern Pacific RAILWAYS. Nor
does lessee shun an encounter with ''ola / pL-
RAIN, as the grizzly is called. provided the
latter has not all the advantage OF position.
and that Is mainly when the bear Is met on the
mountain side and Immediately above the
hunter. For in such case death wound II the
hrst shot will not prevent hun from getting t.
close quarters IN rush down LIi!. But II
lessee ever meets a silver tip as the grlIZly
rs there known. and secs any chance at ali o;
not coming out second best he is one OF the
few men who. meeting a grizzly bear do not
at once make ZIP their minds THAI they are not
loaded for any such game. or IN other words.
have not lost any bears.
Last September Jesseo was on his way 10 the
nome rancho after day spent m range riding
ana as Is customary had no arms. not even a
pistol. for contrary 20 the popular idea the
COW boy OF today does not carry "a weapon OF
any kind unless lie Is on a hunt for man or
beast. The many fatal accidents that have
taken place on ronnd-Ups ana other places of
meeting have shown that II is safer all round
not to go armed. therefore lessee had only his
rope hanging in a loose coil from the pommel
of his stock saddle. and ranchman would TO
more forget his rope when mounted than be
would forget the saddle. To make short
digftssiOn. / Was one OF party campet al
Norris BASIN in the Yellowstone Park that rode
over to the falls, about twenty miles, and when
we came 10 dismount and PICKET our animals
preparatory 20 a visit 10 the canon. 4 cN-
claimed. Why, where's my rope 1he reply
was. We'll you are a tenderfoot 10 60 and for
get your rope. How YOU gong TO stake YOUR
anlinal! and leaving me 10 solve that problem.
OF they walked, though one of the party wss
my own brother. We had passed a cavalry
patrol a mile back and rode back that mule aud
introducing my self as naval officer distress.
a klnd-hearted cavalry man trusted me with
the loan OF his rope. never forget one again.
Well to resume: jesse WIS on a slow trot
across small patch of tolcrably level ground
when he spled through the sage brush abont
i've hundred yards ahead "A silver tip. On such
| level ground he know ms horse was good
| enough to beat the bear even after a days ride
should II come to a race or chase. 80 he put
| the pony TO caEter. as he said TO get bot
| ter look. Ii Is a well-knOwn fact that grizzlies
except under unusual circumstances are peace
| ably inclined, and no doubt the one IN question
would, after Jessec had his look. let each take
| his own way without further bother. and as the
| hOrseman cantered up TO within twenty yards
| Ephraim rose on his hind quarters to have a
good look in his turn.
| The sight of fine silver tip about three
years old sitting up peRceably, and only such
short distance of. proved too much for tie
| Texans prudence, for almost without thought
| the rope was twirling in loose coil from his
/ night arm. and IN second had settled around
| the astOnshed bears neck and one foreIeg
| The change OF base was. however equally
rapid, for jesse found himself fast to the bear
| indeed. but the bear fast III chase after him
and his pony, and. having the advantage of a
| tow, no doubt would have caught up except
| for the fortunate circumstance that the rome
was around his fOreleg as well rs his neck. so
| that when the pony gave Jump III re-
sponse TO the spur the bear got trip
and drag. And thus they careered
| around that small PLAIN until lessee
! as he afterward acknowledged, thought IT was
getting to be too much of circus considering
there were no spectators, and got ont has knife
| TO cut lSpse. He then would have liked to lose
the beaf but the thought of losing his eX-
penslve rope made him hesitate when he spied
a small tree not far off. tree is an ;nspira-
ton to any man when chased by bear. but
jesse had another purpose, for on reaching IL
he made desperate squirt and circled it be-
fore the bear caught on to the idea or that he
had the inside track. and before he realized Il
jesse and the pony were as before at one end
of The rope and the bear at the other but be-
tween them now was a turn around the tree SO
all he had to do was 20 lay the pony back on
his launches and haul Ephraim up to the home
stake. Jessee said he did not want to come one
bit and scratched gravel just like the losing
side of team III a tug of war, but owing to
that turn around his leg he did not have a fair
show, and as he reared up on reaching the tree
lessee rode round and round him tall he was
wound up tight as a spool of cotton and Just az
if he had been tied there clasping the trunk
He then dismouIted. and as the pony had been
trained with cattle to keep up the strain. he
got big club and beat out the bears brains
and then rode on TO the rancho for the bows To
come and have look at the manner he lad
circumyented the Uncle of the Rockies.
S.A