The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-03-07
THE cowsoy. TOO. GOES.
Interesting Facts About tho skill OF the
Herd-mon-what an Expert Can DO.

OF TIC pfhlIic - giving way w thc
stable boy OF the farm. and the wild
cattle OF the South and West are being
handled fed. stabbed and curried into
domesticity. and are being bred more
TO milk than horns. The cowboy and
the hcrdsman came In with ranch life,
aud were preceded by the cattlemen or
cowmen, who let their cattle run wild.
rounding them up once year. They
were shipped To Cuba from the South
ern territory in thousands fifty years
ago. for then America supplied the
Cuban beef market almost exclusively.
There are plenty of small cattle
owners yet In the South who have
herds of fron1 100 TO 800 head. but the
wire fence Of the immigrant Is cutting
up the ranges, the eattlemen's sons
are going into stores and Offices and il
Is probable. after the present generation
OF them dies of, that this country will
never see their like again.
They are peculiar set OF men. liv-
ing on little farms were few veget-
ablcs are raised. Their houses COM
fortress. aud the families in cold
weather gather about pine knot fires
in their yards. seated on rude chairs
from some place in the skin where the
hair was prettily marked. In wood
lore they are wonderfully skilled. The
men are splendid riders and good rifle
shots. The children fish. shoot or
lounge in the sun till they are old
enough TO get into some town. where
they quickly pick up the ways OF civili-
zation aud leave their former wild life.
IAN old cowman eau do things in
his own line little short OF the marvel
Gus. To say that he can look young
steer in the face ut branding time. and
be able 10 tell where he can find IL when
il is old enough for beef is misleading
I'm as far as his mode of ascertaining
where it is concerned. but it Is not any
more surprising than what he really
does.
Texas cattle are ms wild rs deer.
Corral one. lasso. brand and turn him
loose. and he cuts the wind open, his
tail stands out stiff. his neck and head
are thrown aloft and he bounds forth
away and away. across the prairie.
through the woods. swamps, under
brush. everything he has left his
tormentors far behind and has weared
he is free, but as the old cowman leans
on the pine rails OF the inclosure he
thinks to himself:
Hell be tit for beef in the fall. and
feels no misgiviugs about his hasty
departure. 1t was my business once To
buy cattle from these men for big
ranchmen who were situated farther
north. and our cowboys were always
mystiiied by the peculiar instincts of
these men. To cowboy n COW Is a
COW. He knows nothing OF It's modes
of thought. but treats II as machine,
belaboring it in one direction or
another. He has no idea what cow
or herd will do. SO he rides about It,
cuts of its progress in one direction
aud stimulates it In another.
'On the open plain he is all right. but
in the woods or alone he is helpless.
remember one old cowman turning TO
four OF my boys who had succeeded in
dispensing herd OF 200 cattle all over
the country.
"Loak hyar." he said "a caow
mint beef; it's critter. You jes 90
home. I'll bring in the chaws about
the shank of the cyenin' myself And
he did IL.
1T would take book TO tell all
that these men understood of cow
sense. That skill Is based upon the
theory that COW mind acts in the same
way under similar circumstances. For
instance cattle have fear OF being
begged Ia mud, therefore. early in
the day when the herd is rested il it is
driven into its bog hole the animals
will all come out on the other side
without the herdsman having 10 follow
aud chase them through. III they are
hungry and an attempt is made to drive
them across good pastuage they will
scatter aud wander. III il Is mosquito
time YOU can drive them into wood
and they will come out on the other
side. but II 1t Is hot weather and about
midday they will scatter aud stray in
the woods.
"A bull will not let his herd walk
after the track of another herd. His
feelings OF jealousy must be respected.
or there will be spill; in the process
sion. The old bulls and cows aud the
young calves form the nucleus around
which the grcgarious instincts of the
animals attract them. III. therefore n
few young heIfers or lively steers
break from the herd aud 90 galloping
back to the prairie, to pursue them Is
folly. They will come back II let
alone and bring their tails behind
them.
This lore is almost interminable.
An old bull will take the herd TO feed
ing grounds that suit his declining APP
petite and failing teeth. A young bull
will choose coarser pastures. where the
grass Is luxuriant. but not so tender.
and an old cowman knows just about
where they will all be any time OF the
year, aud In all weathers IL they are
alive. aud he can saddle his horse and
ride thirty miles TO IA bunch OF cattle
that he hasn'f seen for nine months -