The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-07-22


as seems necessary. Each party is
divided into "messes'' Of ten or twelve
men each, and each mess is provided
with "chuck wagon and the cook.
The cooks wagon also carries the
blankets and belongings of the men,
but they are not numerous or hard to
pack. Everything is managed with the
precision of a military campaign, but,
of course, there is often trouble and
bloodshed, for cow-punchers are not
angels, by any means, though they are
far from being the ''nelodra-tragic'
denominations represented by the
writers of fash literature.
THE SIZE OF THE PARTY.
The size Of each party depends upon
the ground it has to cover. Sometimes
there will be twenty or thirty, and Of
ten a hundred, and in the whole bust
ness there will be over a thousand men
employed. Each COW puncher has at
least seven ponies in his string" and
If the country over which he is to ride
is particularly rough, ne mas nine. He
rides at least three of these in a day,
saving the best ones for night work. OF
course, this makes quite herd of
ponies to care for and somebody has to
ride herd on them all the time, night
and day. The creatures who do this
lers." The work is as hard on the
ponies as on the men.
= roundup begins at the south end
of the domain to be ridden over, be-
cause it is a singular fact that cattle
always drift south. They will some
times drift north before a storm, but
they do not stay there, and always feed
toward the south. Then the fierce
''northers" tend to drive them in a
southerly direction, anyhow. They do
not stray very wide of the range east
or west, either. The roundup parties
are strung out on the southern line of
the range, reaching over nearly 200
miles of territory sometimes, and all
start north at a certain hour on a GER
tain day. OF course, they take in
everything ION hoofs' on the drive, and
some very odd experiences have been
related of the conglomeration of Great
ures that a roundup would discover at
the end of a days drive. Wild animals
of every description, buffalo, antelope,
deer, wild lnorses-everything was
grist that came to the mill in these
drives.
NIGHT SCENE IN CAMP.
A night scene in a COW camp is
roughly picturesque, and not uncomfor-
table, if there are no billiards OF
storms to stampede the cattle gathered
during the day, and which are held
wherever night finds them. This Is
generally a spot selected in advance by
one of the bosses, who rides ahead tic
find q place with grass and water
both ESSENTIALS it is not possible tc
carry water for the animals belonging
to the outfit, even to say nothing OF
the thousands of CRITTERS" added tC
the bunch in a days drive. The
chuck wagon follows the drive
closely, and as soon as a halt is made
begins the prepare ton of the evening
meal a short horse is soon currled
and by the time the punchers are
ready for Chuck it is ready for them
It consists Of beans nearly always
black coffee that nearly blisters with
its bitter strength; bread of some kline
sometimes it is biscuit-often only
| "hapiacks," and some kind of salt meat
generally bacon. Canned truck
used by the wagon load, tomatoes, corr
and baked beans being a staple diet
There is no tablecloth, except 1t be we
or muddy everywhere, and then morse
/ blanket is spread out for the mess t
mt the tin dishes on. The dishes are til
pie plates, and tin cups, with few deel
pans and the cooking utensils are sim
plicity itself-two or more big, blacl
| iron kettles, a skillet or two, anc
sometimes a sort of bake oven O.
! iron. and if the mess is particularly at
! fluent on starting, it supplies the cool
with a sheet iron affair, called by cour
tesy a cook stove.
! Ii is all primitive enough, but hun
ger makes an excellent sauce, and eX
cuses many delinquencies. In TIT
| Pickering light of the fire sometimes
made of dead tree limbs, but oftene
| of s'cow chips" the prairie coal Of th'
POOR pioneer. the cowboy lies fat OF
! his back on the ground and smokes hi
| pipe. swapping roundup stories I'll
! he is sleepy; then he simply rolls owe
! into his blanket, pulls it up around nj
shoulders. puts his head on his boots o
his saddle, and in two minutes mas Tor
gotten the perils, pains or pleasEn9s o
the day. If the night shows any sig
of storm. each man has his nigh
horse" which is usually the best IL
tha string. lariated to his saddle horn
aud everything ready so that he cal
mount in a hurry if there is siam
pede. The other ponies are IN tn
hands of the ''wrangler" who has t
ride night herd.
THE CATTLE BEDDED DOWN.
The cattle which were rounded Vi
during the day are bedded down no
far from the camp, and are CAREFUL,
guarded by several herders, the watcl
being divided into three watches. Dur
ing the day the cattle have been &C
! cumulated from every direction
brought in in punches of five to fifty
and held by men detailed for tina
nl1rnose. They are slowly tolled alon
so as to keep up with the northwart
march toward some central point
where they are to be branded an
turned loose again. The bedding dow
process is an odd feature OF coWbo
life. Every dainty mother in the IAN
has probably put her weaving t
sleep with ooh, hush thee, my baby,
or one of the kindred songs, but Woul
look aghast at the idea of putting Tex
as cattle to slep the same way! 10
sure. the puncher doesn't sit down IN
rocking chair and wrestle with the be
vines individually, but after the COW
bows have by gentle persuasion, go
the hoofed and horned creatures O
the spot where it is desired they Sha
be held during the night, they NOV
slowly around the outside of the nero
closing it in as much as possible, SING
ing sometimes at the top of thel
voices. and sometimes wailing dirge
like tune that fairly makes ones bloc
creep. 1t would frighten child int
ispasms. but the cattle seem to like
and gradually lie down, one after an
other. till silence reigns in the COY
camp. No unusual noise or brawlin
is permitted, as it might stampede tn
uneasy animals; indeed, the puncher
do not care to run the risk themselve!
for stampede makes work for al
and is sometimes very disastrous.
MANY KINDS OF BRANDS.
In the general roundup there will b
cattle which bear a half dozen brand
each, and in the distribution tn
"critter' goes to the owner of tn
freshest brand. There will be foun
also forty different brands of cattle i
the days drive. These brands are a