The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-05-22

| his rope taut, and the animal, with head
and one foot stretched as far apart as pos
sible, is unable to rise.
| A calf six months old is no toy to play
with. When caught it viciously humps
and kicks, and then scurries away. raising
dust like small whirlwind. The saga
| cious pony to which it is attached galiops
after for some distance. but at siigntiy
slower speed. When the rope, gradually
Strengthening is nearly straight, the pony
suddenly veers sidewise, leans off, plants
| his hoofs firmly and receives the shock.
| AT the cruel check the calf leaps upward,
tiops over, a riddle in heels, head and tai,
| perhaps turning somersault while In the
| air, and drops as II shot.
| While 1t is held down by the two long
| ropes Of the iariaters cowboy afoot APP
| proaches the calf and, twisting its helpless
| front feet under its stretched neck, sits on
| its head. Another man then squats on its
hind legs Next the brander runs up from
| the fire armed with long rod, on the red
hot end of which are welded the letters or
signs forming the trade mark of the owner.
| The brand, applied on the left haunch of
| the calf, and sometimes over the ribs as
well, sends up cloud of vapor from fried
| fat, while there is an cdor of scorched hair
and burnt mutton chop. The calfs ears
are also slit or clipped in form common
to its herd. 1t is then released.
Calf branding in COW corral "a small
post and rail inclosure) is carried on more
speedily. In the corral the smaller calves
may be driven near the brander's fire and
thrown by hand, while the larger animals
may be roped with but little riding. In
corral or out, however. branding is hot
work. The fires and the sun sweat the
branders, the chasing and tussIing the
catchers. While at this job the cowboys
swear they ought to be earning double
wages. and if the branding is kept up until
late In the evening some talk of quitting
the internal business.
The believing Of calf while in the
brander's clutches furnishes the cowboys
fancy with wealth of descriptive compar-
isons. When the calf is tender little fell
low, only few weeks in this cruel world.
1t seems plaintiveiy to petition its tor
mentors to have mercy because OF its help
lessness. It's so young, SO week. so tiny,
so innocent-why give it pain? 1t can
but weep and pipe a tremulous, treble,
lamb-like "B-a-a-a-ah!" Not so the
toughened yearling. He is cour-
ageous, domineering buck, rising
warrior among the grazing herd.
When the hated rope that curtails
his liberty tightens about his head or leg
he vents defiant below that echoes over
the rolling plains and off among the foot
hills. His freedom. that never felt halter,
is being assailed. He is now apt to lower
horns and rush madiy toward his captor,
whose pony is only too willing to obey
spur and scurry aside from the young
monarch of the meadow. When, how
ever, the budding bull is roughly checked
In his mad careenlng by the lariat Of the
second cowboy thrown from behind, he
roars In impotent rage and modification.
Recklessly hurting himself about, seek
ing vainly to escape, he is now veh0
mently blatant. Thrown down, hebawIs
his defeat to the very heavens. I'm
der the ignominy of having its
nv
enemy, his sonorous lamentations, uttered
in prolonged swells and cadences, pro-
claim the fallen hero. His powerful bari
tone, at first masterfully clear, changes in
timbre until it is hoarse, and then cultural,
and at length wheezy. 1t sinks on in
depth to tragedian's whisper, and finally
to gladiator's dying groan. Lying pros
trate, burned, cut, bleeding, his eyes aiire,
he convulsively and family brcathes des-
peration, but vengeance, too. However,
released and all over, the great calf rises,
blinks, shakes himself, with unsteady
steps walks away. and, hating quarter
OF mile of, stands wilted, silently view
ing the distant blue hilltops and chewing
the cud of steer philosophy, his woes
already half forgotten.
The work on one grazing ground is SIM
liar to that on all others. When two
roundup parties meet mutual transfer is
made of estray cattle belonging to ranches
main purposes of the general spring round
up are the branding of calves and the
restoration OF estrays to their owners.
With this work accomplished, every cat
tie raiser OF the range is in possession of
his hoof property. branding signifying
possession, and his animals are dotting
the plains as near his ranch as the open
range system of grazing permits.
When on the general roundup the cow
boy fingers but briefly about the evening
campfire. He is mindful of the morrow's
early start and long stent. In the first
month OF the roundup the nights are cold;
all summer long they are cool. Preparing
ones bed is something of job. All hands,
save perhaps the pampered cooks, sleep on
the ground; few men have tents, many
lie ont in the open, under the starry vault.
In going to bed the cowboy who knows
how, first smooths with shovel bit of
ground the size of mattress, digging away
the earth in a spot or two to conform with
the curves of his body. He first lays a full
size rubber blanket on the ground, lining
upward. Over this he spreads piece of
heavy waterproof canvas, more than twice
the size of the rubber blanket. Next, and
even with the upper ends of his canvas and
rubber blanket. he unfolds his wooden
blanket, or, if he is rich. blankets. His
overcoat and whatever clothing he takes
Oft, if any, he folds for pillow. Walking
now to the foot of his great piece of canvas,
he turns it up over the blankets and pill
low, tapping it beyond them foot or two
at the head. Then he tucks in each side of
the canvas above the rubber blanket but
under the rest of the bed, until the edges
of the canvas meet. Lastly, he works his
way feet foremost from the top into his
big improvised sack. If it is freezing
weather, he tucks the overlap at the head
of his bed down underneath his pillow In
there, tired, dry, warm, snug, in a moment
he is asleep like log, not to awaken until
morning. Before dawn good kick from
kindly night herder carries to his under
standing the fact that the order has been
issued to roll out and greet the coming
dav.
Though the ranch house is sometimes a
fine stone or frame dwelling, it is COM
monty log hut, built near a spring or
stream. The log stable, close by, is In ap-
pearance often the equal of the house.
Some ranches have two shelters for its
people, messhouse and clubhouse. The
buildings, one story and weather worn,
stand IN a strip of fenced-in meadow.
which supplies the hay for winter feed.
home, and as one looks down upon it in
the valley when approaching from over
divide it tells of an animal-Iike life.
What ranch life offers to the cowboy is
fresh air. canned food outdoor exercise, a
seat on bucking horse, some little oppor-
tunity for hunting. and perhaps an occa-
sional chance to act as target for an I'M
tanned mans gun. Rarely does speedily
acquired fortune await the cowboy.
To the steer or COW range life is simply
growing for the market. There is no
yoking, no milking. The biography of one
animal is that OF nearly ALL After che har-