The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-07-23
MAVERICKS AND COWBOYS
z efigin o. the Former Term and Its
Legal Application in
Texas.
~. Maverick, OF Austin, Texas,
Kept His Vow But Not
His Cattle.
Rsvol Or tho Prairie Pirates in His Neigh
Notwithstanding IL Keeping An
Unbranded Animal.

Unbranded Animal.
4 saw something in the paper ahe Other
day, said an old Texan in the Arkansa"
Gazette. about cowboys. and incidentally
about mavericks.
II may not come amiss just here to ex-
plain what a maverick" 10, and how the
term originated. For a better understand
INK OF what il 10 follow it is necessary to
state, for the information of those who
never visited the Lons Star state. that they
brand al cattle and horses out there. Ana,
by the way, ] saw a Texas pony on the
streets hero in Louisville a few days ago
bearing y genuine Texas brand.
Well. to 20 back to the subject. it Ii ne.
cessary to brand cattle and horses IN tha'
state in order to establish the ownership.
Every owner of = brand has it regularly re-
corded in the county clerks office, and 1t
becomes q vested chattel interest just -
any other property and may be ana ire.
uueutly il sold and transferred by bill OF
sale. II has happened many times in the
history OF Texas that long and costly hs'ea-
tious have been carried on to determine the
Tightful owner of a brand.
Cattle and horses run at large in Texas,
and it ia absolutely necessary to brand
them in order to secure to the owner the
rights OF property. And when q brand
once gets on an animal. even wrongly, it
takes mighty strong testimony to convince
! oourt that the owner of the brand has
''navsricked' the animal. The presence
Of the brand is always taken by the court
~ psima facie evidence Of ownership. and
Sho whole burden OF proof falls upon the
other party.
saw an amusing test OF this very point
In Q court of law in Texas once. A family
had ! yearlina heifer which had been raised
about the house as a pet. being confined all
her life about the COW pen. One day she
broke away and had not got 100 yards from
the house whom q cowboy came along. and
..punched'' a brand on her. TIL rightful
owner went to law to recover his animal,
and every member of his family swore
point blank to the identity of the animal.
yet the prairie pirate got it BY virtue of his
brand. OF course the pirates attorney got
the owner OF the animal badly mixed up on
the points of Identification: but there was
hardly 4 man who heard the case but was
satisfied in his own mind that Justice had
miscarried that day.
Some years ago q man named Mavericks
located near Austin, Tex, and went into
the stock business. He had considerable
money and established a large ranch, mostly
of cattle. He was what might be termed a
progressive man, but his ideas Of progress
we're not suitable to his surroundings. Fo-
instance, he concluded that branding cattle
was useless, in fact, barbarOus. and he
determined that the red-hot iron should
never again be pressed against the side
Of an animal belonging to him.. DO kept
his word, but he didn't keep his
cattle. This was a regular picnic
for the cowboys of that locality. who, Of all
things, could never be accused of being at
all s]crupulous on questions of honor, espe-
cially when there was a steer involved in
the case. Well, the cowboys picked up Ma
verick's cattle whenever they could find
them. M 1t was not very long before every
boot of them was gone and he was reduced
to almost poverty. Eyer since that every
unbranded head of c3ttle over six months
of age has been called a maverick. aud ID
regarded BY the cowbovs as the property of
him who first finds it and sticks his brand
on il.
There is q great dslusion existing in the
minds of northern IND eastern people in re-
gard to the cowboy and his profession. A
kind Of romance appears to attach itself to
him that has Q fascination for q great many
people, especially boys.
Now, there never was a greater mistake.
A more ordinary specimen of humanity
than the average cowboy could hardly be
found in any ountry He 10 commonplace
in appearance, in mind, in Impulses. and,
in fact, in everything that goes to make up
. man. His occupation is the drudgery of
all creation, Notwithstanding a very foolish
notion that exists that it is q romantic and
easy life.
What romance is there in riding all day,
from early in the morning until late at
night, over an endless. monstrous prairie,
rounding up cattle? Frequently the COW
boys have to ride all night long on distant
drives. or when there is a stampede in the
herd and some get away. lhese are his
never-changinp duties in all kinds oil
weather, and if any one can figure out
where the romance comes in | will give hin.
credit for being a smart man or a fool.
Then the ~''cow-punch5r" lives hard in
other ways. and | do not stretch the truth
when l emphasize this by saying that he
lives tough" His usual diet is half broiled
bacon and dry bread washed down by tank
water on which a six-inch scum stands all
summer. These are plain solid facts that
every one who knows the daily round oil
duty of the cowboy will unhesitatingly YER
lily. OF course, much more could be said
in detail about the hardship of the cowboys
life, but this is sufficient to warn all
"fancy-struck" young Americans to look
ahead a little before they 90 west as COW
boys.