The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-18
R0P|hG GREAT C0hD0Rs,
The Sort Of Sport Enjoyed BY Cow
boys or the Plains
or Chilli.
-----
Great Kings of the Birds We're
Sources of Annoyance
and Loss.
How They Were Captured by Expert Rope
Throwers-A Tyro Who Was
Easily satisfed.

4 How They Were Captured by Exrert Nop
Throwers--A Tyro VIII Was
Easily Satisfied.
s.Chasine the condor with the laaso va
<ho leading spors on the Gh'lian piaih'
when j was in that country years ago.
.aid \ New Yorker who went to Aaou1h amer
in with Harry Meigs, the great raliroae
contractor. 30 a Tribune reporter, "pu' ! an
tola that the great bird has become 80 wary
that the snort is now almost unknown
Tventy-dye Years 4 the condor haAl &c
ualopod n evidence Of cunning hat eyer
heard Of. There was then, as there IS now,
/ halieve. a government Bounty OF so q head
Maid for the killing of the condor both IN
Chilli and Peru. If the birdN' are az pien's
a. they were when l went ~ tnas region
wide-awake hunters ought to maAe pienSy
of money. The condor, unlike msny othel
members of the vulture family, uoesn'
wait for something or somebody to a'e w
order that he may have his dlnner pu' ~
he doesn't find a ready made carsass con-
yenient on the plain when he IS hansfS he
proceeds at once to provide that carcass
himself, AT least, that used to DO his 1aoi''
ana / presume he hasn't changed any IN
that RESP ect, providing the material 1or e~r-
cesses are as plenty now as it was then.
"The herds of cattle that pastured on the
undulating plains between the lmpene-
trable wall Of the Andes and the faclncs
white-crested line Of surf offered the con
dor unrivaled facilities in his line IN those
1H MNA ,E.E = - sE- - ~ /
DAYS, and as he seemed to be IN a state OF
chronic hunger, this king OF the teathereu
race levied constant tribute on the grazing
herds. Twenty-Five and thirty years ago II
was no uncommon thing to see hundreds OF
these winged f%reebooters lowering over tho
plains, each one a rayenous and determlneU
dinner-robber from the herds below, to
which the shadow of a condor's' wings car
ried IA much terror as the appearance OF a
hawk does to a brood of chickens. The
condor was the greatest enemy the stock
raisers in that part of South America had
"a contend with, and it was his per- |
sistent ana destructive raids on grazing
cattle that made him an outlaw, with
a price on his head, to be relentlessly
hunted even among the clags and cloud
capped peaks where he made his nome.
"When n days old-time sport at condor
iuSSOlQI WtS " u lHA GhS y = wv
q dog or a horse was carried out on the
plain. Strong stakes We're driven into the
ground five or six inches apart about the
carcass until a roo1ess lnclosure SIX or
seven feet high and twenty feet square,
with q gate on one side was made. Long
before the work of making this Enclosure
could be finished condors would be seen
floating down from the clouds, far above
which they have their haunts. As long as
the workmen were busy at the lnclosure
the birds would sail high overhead. The
instant the coast was clear down the great
vulture would drop. and in a few seconds
he would be tearing at the dead body i'll the
inclosure. 1t is no uncommon thing for a
mature condor to have a twelve-foot spread
Of wing, and / have known them to measure
fifteen feet from tip TO tip of wing. Their
bodies are heavy. and on the ground the bird
b clumsy. 1t canno rise for flight without
;unning rapidly for a long distance to give
i the necessary momentum, especially II ~
is gorged with food, which it neFer fails to
be If any food can be obtained. IA a CON
sequence. when a condor alighted i'll one of
these Enclosures he was as much of a prs
one as if he were chained down to the
around, and the sportsman kept him there
TO acrva his pleasure.
when he wanted to ride after a condor
she owner of the pen, generally with a
friend or two similarly equipped. mounted
a feet horse, fastened his lariat to the sad
die and rode to the Enclosure. An attend
ant opened the gate of the prison and let
out a condor for each rider. When the con-
doris found themselves at liberty they at
once started at the top Of their speed on
the long run that would enable them to
take wing. After they had run probably
one-quarter of the distance the huntsmen
put spurs to their horses and dashed after
the birds. As the condors arose from the |
ground with great wings spread the las
soes were thrown. An expert handler of
the lariat would send his rope over the
condor'G head, and SO manage it that it
was slipped down until it touched the
shoulders of the wings before it would be
tightensd on the bird. The condor was
then a prisoner. but ablo to use his pow
srf7l pinions, breathe freely and lead the
horseman q wild chase across the plain.
turning in all directions in his frantic
flight, but unable to rise higher than the
length of the lasgo. When the rider tired
of the sport he would turn his horse about |
and lead the chase himself, forcing the I'M
willing bird along until it tumbled spent to
the ground and was dragged TO death at
the -hcrse's heels.
Il never could understand why a con-
dor, captive like that, did not turn on
both man and horse and attack them as
ne would d steer, but ] never knew one to
do 80. Once in a while a lariat would
break while the horseman was bracing his
morse against some desperate sweep of @
mighty condor, and then both horse and
rider would be tumbled violently to the
ground. and the suddenly released bird
would shoot upward like a cannon ball
and soon disappear among the clouds. Con
doris with several feet of somebody ~ lariat
hanging to them were frequently seen
among those that swooped down on the
herds.
II never tried the sport but once. Once
was enough for me. l lassoed my bird, a
Tremendous fellow, but being a green hand
at the business, | frightened the rope on his
Wlndp,pe. That shut off his breath at
once. and after darting about in the air in
9 crazy sort of way for q minute or SO he
arose straight up rs far as the rope would
let him, gave u gasp like the escape valve of
q locomotive and shot down upon ms as
straight as a plurnb bob. Whom the heavy
body of the condor struck me | was un-
horsed in a fash. One foot remained IN
the stirrup. My horse, naturally fright
ened, started off like mad, dragging me
along. The condor, which was as dead as a
stone and smelt like q breeze off Barren
Island, lay right on top of me. Fortunately |
the ground was soft and one of NV fellow
huntsmen was maneuyering with a condor
he had roped some distance ahead of me-.
He caught my horse and rescued me, [
wasn't much hurt, but | let others do all
the condoF-lassoing after that
NOW Try This.