Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-02-07
THE COWBOY AS lie Is
u,s LIFE ANo ITS HARpsHIPs DE-
scRlBEo BY A RICHMOND MAN.
v. NJ nu,x Punishable by "Laying
the Leggings" on Him-pAnger IN
Stopping q Stampede.

| Stopping SthuP0uo'
,c,r,..,ona.nce Of the Richmond Dispatch.I
MN. DEL TERRA, NEW MEXICO, feorua-
~ a-The life Of the cowboy OF the
great West is but little known. somehow
nsu,papers, and especially the writers OF
dime novels. have thrown sort otromance
about the cowboy that makes his lie seem
charming; but there is no charm apoutit'
Asa rule there are no more hsrd-working,
s;nnle and upassuming men than TIE
coxboys. They have been maligned and
slandered as much as any other men. De-
cause all the depredstions committee on
/ the frontier are attributed 10 the COWBOYS !
! IN ia moi. uncommon for him when be en- i
tsrs a town after spending weeks and per- !
| han. months in the great solitude OF tne |
/ nlains. 70 get little more WINS /
| tav than Is good for him and be- |
come a little frolicksome and reckless. I
I He has careless way OF handing six
| shooter that makes a tenderfoot the least /
bit nervous. But the cowboy drunk ana |
| tine cowboy sober are two different per- /
sons. Drunk, he is like all other drunken /
men-insane for the time being and really /
not accountable for what he does; sober, 1
| he is usually quiet and as genteel as he can |
1 be. Living a life of danger makes MN |
! fearless. and do not know OF a real cow ,
| bow who Will not any time risk his He Tor /
/ a friend. II be Is treated cordially, oy |
| strangers he returns the compliment, but |
woe 20 the unhappy tenderfoot who. at |
| tempts TO nut on airs when the COWBOY Is |
around. He has been known to make the |
| plug hat, or as the cowboy terms them, !
1.-THE hard-knOcker hat" OF dude the tar |
get for his six shooter, and he seems 10 de- |
| light IN expectorating tobacco-Julce on a
| pair of freshly blackened boots.
HOME IN THE SADDLE.
In his wild western life his home ia in |
the saddle. He frequently passes weeks
without seeing a house or having even a
tent or shelter Of any kind. Where does
| he sleep? YOU will ask. On the ground,
| his saddle for pillow and his "sllcker"
| his only covering. If IL rains he usually
sleeps on his pony, sitting upright. lie
| has studied the habits Of the cattle untli
/ he knows them. tie has 10 take his turn
when driving IN for the roundup 70 roe
the night. They guard by reiieis.
The cattle are bunched,' or gotten
| on duty. sleep through the night
! Those on duty must keep continually
riding around the herd, tor young COW
or steer will occasionally take IT into us
| head to steal away The darker the nlgnt
| lue greater must Dt luf VIZ ~
bows have leader or captain, who ~ cali
ed the boss who manages each company
or Gang. He keeps their time for them
hires men and discharges them at ms
pleasure He is, of course, trusted
agent of the cattle company or firm OF
men owning the vast herds. Cattle III the
great West have peculiar way OF stray
ing of. 1t requires constant vigilance 70
keep them together.
THE PUNISHMENT.
The cowboy who is left on duty and who
goes to sleep at his post IS usually report
ed to his employers and discharged.
Sometimes, however. the offender IS pun
ished by his companions laying the leg
gings on him. This means SIMPLY whip
ping him with his own leggings Two Of
his companions seize him and hold him
down, while the others remove hls eg-
gings. which are of heavy, thick leather,
and while he is down he is whipped with MS
ieggings. The cowboy code requires many
offences 20 be punished III similar man
ner. One of the chief offences so punished
| is lying. When one of the boastiul COM
panions tells a story that no one believes
they usually take vote upon the truthiui-
ness of the statement, and If 10y vote 1t
is found that he lied they lay the legglngs
on him. This punishment not severe
and is really regarded more as joke than
as a punishment.
MILLING THE CATTLE.
The cowboys nerve is tried when there
is a stampede OF great herd. Milling
stampede" ls one Of the most dangerous
operations that cowboys have TO endure.
10 mill the cattle IS TO get them going IN
circle and letting them run themselves
down. A frightened herd of several thou
sand will run over train or anything.
The only way TO stop them IS for some
bold fellow to mount a horse and
ride around the herd, and by constant
cuts Of the lariat or quirt get
the leaders turned. lie must fol-
low close after the leaders and not mind
those in the rear They will follow. But
IL Is certain death If he Is endorsed or his
pony stumbles. Tho frightened herd
would trample him TO death in moment.
A cowboy once told me that he was trying
70 mill stampede one very dark night.
He was almost at the leaders when his
horse stopped. lie had raised his spurs TO
plunge them into his pony's TANKS when q
flash of lightning showed him that he vas
on the verge Of precipice some 200 feet
high. He SAID he went back TO camp sick,
and it was week before he could take to
the saddle.
HIS SPORTS.
One of the chief sports of the COWBOYS is
snatching sombrero from the ground on
q horse running at full speed. This IS done
by many. They have become experts in
| the use of a siX-shooter revolver, and
cowboy on the plains Is seldom seen with
out one or more. often two. buckled to his
waist. 1t becomes q weapon offensive and
defensive. Sometimes a roped bull be-
comes so furious that the cowboy IS COM
PEELED 10 shoot him. Usually the cat
tie on the plains are not dangerous.
They will seldom attack a man on
horseback unless they have been roped.
If a man was on foot q herd would run
over him trying to find out what he was.
A COW or bull Is dangerous when roped.
IL is not much Of trick 10 throw a lasso
and catch a COW, but the skill, courage.
and strength comes after the COW has been
lassoed. As soon as the wild. furious
animal discovers that she is caught she
presents two sharp horns aud charges full
at horse and rider. If both rider and
horse are trained it is not difficult matter
to Keep ont of her way. The rule IS that
the lassoed animal must be either directly
before or behind the pony. If at one side
the pony will be jerked down.
AN ANNUAL ROUNDUP"
The saddles OF cowboys are made large
and the back Of the seats very WIDE to
keep the rope from cutting the cowboys
leg when he has roped his animal. / made
up my mind 10 witness one of the great
rouud-uus before left the Wild West, and
consequently, sending Calamity George"
with the wagon up into Kansas to wait tor
me. l accompanied some friends TO the
great roundup on the famous Cherokee
strip. THIS Is the locality leased by the
Standard Oil Cattle Company from the
Cherokee Indians, for which they pay an
annual rent of S350,OO0. Ii is an immense
scope of land and well adapted for
grazing purposes. Round-ups IN this
region reach gigantic proportions.
Herds of 10000 and $4,000 are some
times gathered into one roundup.
There is an army Of cowboys engaged in
the business, and one of the busiest scenes
one ever witnessed is one of these round
ups. | reached the camp of cowboys
about noon. 1t was in vast plain or val
ley. To the north was herd of cattle
seeming 10 cover miles of ground, and
near the large tent that was stretched tor
the accommodation of the cooks and grub