New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-10-26
STUDIES IN COW SENSE.
PECULIAR SKILL OF OLD HERDSMEN.
AN EXPERT CAN RIDE THIRTY MILES sTRAIGH.
TO A HERD HE HAS NOT SEEN FOR
NINE MONTHS.


aThe cattletrade in America Is rapidly changing
hands, said q Southern man the other day. "Thc
cowboy of the prairie Is giving way 10 the stable
how OF the farm and the wild cattle Of the South
and West are being handled fed stabbed and currieh
ip1o domestIcity and are being bred more to milk
tban horns. The cowboy and herdsman came In with
ranch life and were preceded by the cattemen or COW
men, who let their cattle run Wild, rounding thcm up
once a year. They were shipped to Cuba from the
Southern territory in thousands fifty years ago. for
then America supplied tie Cuban beefmarket almost
exclusively. There are plenty OF small catde-owners
vet in the South who have herds OF from 100 to BOZ
head but the wire fence Of the immigrant IL cutting
nm the ranges the cattlemen's sons are going into
stores and Offices and 1t Is probable, after the present
generation of them dies of, that this country VIII
never see their like again.
"They are peculiar Sc. Of men, living on little
farms where q few vegetables are raised Theil
houses are comfortless, and the families In colo
weather gather about pine-knOt fires In their yaius
seated on rude chairs with the bottoms made OF cow
hide cut from some place in the skin where the hair was
prettly marked. In wood lore they are wonderfully
skilled Tie men are splendid riders and good rifle
shots. The children fish. shoot. or lounge IN the sim
till they old enough to get into some town. where
they quickly pick up the ways OF civilization ana leave
their former wild life. An old cowman can 10 th'hs'
in his own line little short Of the marvellous. TO
that lie look young steer III tc idCo a.
branding time and be able to tell where he can ma II
when 1t Is old enough beef is misleading In as FAR
as his mode of ascertalnng where 1t Is Is concerned
but it is not any more surprising than what he really
does
"Texas cattle are wild as deer. Corral one'
Iasso brand and turn him loose. and he GUS the
wind OPEN lis tail stands ont stif. his neck ana
head are thrown aloft, and lie BOUNDS lor'l,-
away and away, across the prairie, through thc
left his tormentors far behind and has wcaried
himself with running lie thinks he IS iree' Dut a.
the old leans on the pine rails OF inc eiosr'
he thinks TO- himself: : He'll be fit for beer III the
fall and feels misgivngs about his nasty departure
L, was my business once to buy cattle from these
men for big ranchmen who were situated further
north and our cowboys were always mySullcd by the
peculiar instincts Of these To cowboy COW
a cow Ho knows nothing Of It's modes OF thought
but treats IL as machine, beaboring IL Ill one
direction or another. lie has no Idea what COW Oh
herd will do he rides about It, cuts on its progress
in one direction and stimulates II In another On the
open plain lie is all right but In the woods or alone
he is helpless. l remember ono old cowman turning
to four OF my boys who had succeeded In dispensing
".Look Hyar,' he said. caow aint beef, It's .
crttr You los 50 home III GTps IN the he S saIW'
II would take book TO tell all that these men under
stand q cowsense Their SKIN is. IS based upon ,1n
s ss t way under 1S similar circumstance For
instance cattle have fear OF being begged IN
mud, therefore, early In the day, when the nerd j.
come out on the other side without the herd 'man
having to follow and chase them through II they
across good pastnragc they will scatter and wander
II 1t is mosquito time you can drive them INTO 81,
II It is hot weather and about midda, they will
scatter and stray I'm the woods A bull VIII not
let his herd walk after the track Of another herd.
Ills feelings OF jealousy must he respected, there
Will be q split in the procession. The old bulls and
<ha rnIv form
which lie gregarous instincts OF the animals attract
them. If. therefore, few young heifers or lively
the prairie to pursue them Is folly They will come
back II let alone and bring their tails behind them
take the herd to feeding, grounds that suit his d.
clinng appetite and failing teeth. A young bull
Iuxurant, but not so tender, and an Old cowTnnn
knows Just about where they will all he. at any
time OF year and in all weathcrs IL they are alive and
he can saddle his horse and ride thirty miles to a
bunch OF cattle that he hasn't for nine months