Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1892-12-01

o. witch the steer IL make his debut
The boy will be mounted, with his
rope in hand ready for a throw That
long white mark you see thar Is thirty
feet from the gate, an wen the steer
crosses that line the word Co III be
sung out, an the rider must give chase,
rope the steer an throw 1t. an while
the boss keeps the rope tight to hold
the steer down the rider must dismount
an run to the steer an tie all four of
its feet together, raisin' his hand over
his head fur signal to the timekeep-
ers that his work is done. The cattle
men have Clipped in an put up seven
teen hundred and fifty dollars in prizes.
The best man IL get one thousand dol
lars an the championship o. the south
west ranges; the second best, five hum
dred dollars, and the tailender two
hundred and fifty dollars. The con-
testants are Red Bill, o. New Mexico;
Jack Mitchell, o. Arizona, an Brazos
Tom, o. Texas These boys all hold
the champion records at home, an as
they are not var fur fun good match
kin be expected. I thank you fur your
polite quietude an gentlemanly be-
havior durin' my talk
At a signal a gate to the field was
thrown open, and the three men who
were to compete galloped in. Around
the arena they rode rapidly, sitting in
their saddles with the easy, careless
grace acquired only by the range cow
boy. their well trained little s'cow
horses moving with the swinging gal
! lop characteristic of the animals
broken to work among the herds. The
| most vociferous applause greeted them
as they rode around, som breros in hand,
| awkwardly bowling their acknowledge
ments of the warm reception rendered
| them.
| The tossing of a dollar awarded the
first run to Jack Mitchell, second to
Red Bill, and third to Brazo Tom. Jack
| rode to the designated stand near the
| gate, took down his rope and awaited
| the appearance of the steer. Out he
| came, large, slin-bodied animal. with
wide.spreading horns. His eyes blazed
with fright and fury as he halted a
moment and threw high his head to
survey the vast sea of faces around the
| arena, and then, with head and tail
erect. beloved forth hoarse protest
at the spectacle and sped like deer
across the line.
| ''Gor'
Like an arrow from bow the horse
responded to a touch of the spurs, and
sped in swift pursuit. Around and
around the head of the rider the rope
cut rapid circles in the air until the OPP.
perfume moment arrived, when straight
away flew the moose, falling squarely
over the long horns of the steer. At a
touch of the rein the trained horse
stopped suddenly with feet braced for
ward to meet the heavy jerk which
would result from the Tightening Oh
the rope, one end of which was made
fast to the horn of the saddle. With a
loud thump the steer was thrown vio-
lently to the ground, but alas! there
was a defect in the rope and il
broke, and, followed by EXPLANATIONS
of disappointment from the audience
and curses from the discounted cow
boy, the steer sprang to its feet and
galloped off to a gate thrown open for
its exit.
For some inexplicable reason rule
prevails in all roping tournaments that
but one trial will be given each con.
testant no matter what accident OF
mishap may prevent him from roping
and tying his animal, and Mitchell
rode slowly back to the starting point
responding to the expressions OF
most vehement curses on the head OF
the man who made the defective rope
Red Bill was next called to the
scratch, and, as he was regarded as the
most dangerous rival the Texas boy
had to encounter, his every movement
was watched with the keenest interest
The gate was thrown open, and with {
snort of defiance huge brindle steer
| +, !,
rife speed-as cowboy put it, ''a-snuf
fin at the moon, an a hitten the
ground only in the high places" At the
word the rider was in pursuit, and the
steer had made scarcely a dozen leaps
beyond the line ere the unerring rope
encircled its horns and it was stretched
upon the ground, stunned and motion
less. With all its strength the intelli
gent horse braced itself backward
holding the rope as taut as fiddle
string, and in less time than it takes tt
chronicle the fact the New Mexico boz
had reached the PROSTATE animal, and
in a twinhling almost, had secured it.
feet in a bunch with the small tie rope
carried in his belt for that purpose. U,
went his hands amid the most deafen
ing cheers, forward galloped the
judges, and when they signifed that the
tie was correct one, and the time
keepers announced the time as forty
two and one-half seconds, the cheering
was renewed by the New Mexican.
friends and was continued unit
drowned by the shouts of the Brazo.
boys adherents as he rode to ths
scratch.
The time made by Red Bill was in
deed remarkable, it being six seconds
shorter than was shown by the records
of any previous tournament in the west
Large sums of money were stalzed upol
the performances of the New Mexican
and Texan representatives. and while
Bills hackers were jubilant over hi
achievement and confident that hi
time could not be beaten, the better
on the other man. although greatly dis
turbed, were yet hopeful.
''GoI'
With a yell the Brazos boy urged hi
horse after a great black steer who's.
sleek sides glowed like polished ebon.
, in the light of the September sun. TIL,
expressions of keen suspense on tin,
faces of those who made up the grea
, assembly were almost painful as TIL
rider leaned well forward in the saddl,