The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1894-12-09
THE COWBOYS EDUCATION.
HE MUsTLEA RN TO RIDE, TO TnRoW
Tine LARIAT, and TO SHOOT.

" Uohu anh " btAuNuuNN-
The Victims Numbered by Golden stars.
FoRT Silt, Oklahoma, Dec. 1.-THE pride Of the
cowboy is his pistol. lie pays more for II than
for forty ponies. lie takes better care OF It than
he does OF himself. He cannot approach IL in
cleanliness, delicacy, and reliability. lie knows
this, and, on account Of such knowledge, his
pride in IL increases.
Deeds Of prowess with the pistol among cow
boys and Western trecmen reflect more credit
on the pistol than on its owner. Hence IL Is that
in many parts of the West the cowboy is noted
for his pistols rather than for qualities Of his
own. In the East the cowboys favorite fire.
arm is called a revolver. In the West IL IL
known as o pistol or a pop. Tho cowboy usually
carries his pop stuck in his belt Just over The
witch pocket ON the right side Of. the trousers.
II tucked way on his right hip. That l. where ho
carried IL in the old days, but things have
and the cowboy now wears his weapon where It's
butt will rub his hand, rs IL to remind him that
A tenderfoot from the East who settles in the
west to i've the lite a. q cowboy finds he has
cowboy horse in cowboy style. In the East tho
owner OF n fine saddle horse delights In lis
rrancing and high stepping. In the West the
having it buck aud snort aud plunge whenever
and wherever he mounts. it. The tendcrfoos
s%nortlng, p~lunging pony. He learns to do this
only by becoming q limp, unjointed rider with
W ~ Va bbAhitbo - IlolNluhNt W hb
ride, he takes up the study of the lariat
less suffering, than learning to ride. The ten
derfoot gets discouraged, He Is told. that the
that the lariat is the second. Until both arc
mastered, the tenderfOot cannot hope to learn to
With I fnt this is'r advice SGS u he tenaerfoot s"ss p at Il
again. A stake is driven In the ground, and the
t ba%T%Tc. Ge r saEoW fnna !Rs a %o2 rs es s3 NJ G sGs l SIiSs
throwing it. Finally he gets the Eneck of fold
itSS d &GS t f'' oVsf Il the iG stskS at snd a asnssSs
Of ten feet; Then he FrndpHlly moves
accurately thirty feet. Once he does this lao
changes the object from a stake in the ground
TO a bough on Q tree. He finds throwing upward
much more difficult than throwing. straight or
downward. But he perseveres, aud at length
these objects AFRO pigs and dogs, particularly
dogs. No man who knows his business will lee
him. There is q great inSck n handling the
rope, once IL is thrown, and the tendency among
new hands is to tighten the lariat before il fairly
strangled, although the beginner has the best
Practising on hogs is expensive. for the hog 10
apt to be thrown so hard and SO quickly as to
break a leg and render II worthless save for
victims, There are hounds in this country who
have helped TO develop many a tendeTfoot intoe
valuable teachers They run fast or slow, jump
or roll. dodge or halt as they think best to avoid
lle MOOSE. OlCe llcS are Caught they run rap
idly toward the learner, thereby preventing his
strangling them, They seem to enjoy 1t. and
After learning. to iasso a moving object on
foot, the would-be cowboy, tackles the task Of
lassoinE rn from .t hts IPony's back; This T rTsanirGs
must be well under control. the seat must 10
firm, the arm must be strong, and the eye true.
The dog Is again called into play. lie starts at
a nard run. The rider urges forward his pony,
calculates his speed and that OF the dog, as well
rope. Usually he throws short, misCalculating
The distance and falling to allow tor
and hardest part of his le~sson-thot OF
running full tilt and bring it to a halt the be-
ginncr encounters numerous hair-breadth es-
c99pes. He must not, under any, circumstances.
horn OF his saddle. II he does, the quick tight
ehin; Of the rope may draw taut the l2ofs coil
knife. lie must be careful to throw his pony
well back to withstand the shock of the stopping
his saddle clear OF tho bow, and above all he
must have his girths sound and secure. All his
knowledge of his pony and his lariat are called
Once a man masters this art, 1t is marvellous
The writer has seen a mad steer charge head
long on a cowboy not ten feet away. The pony
him. The lariat uncoiled like a thin snake and
settled over the steer's horns. The pony @settlel
and a circle caught the steers right lcE rs II was
raised. The cowboy leaned far back, the lariat
tlRnteneu ana tTtn Dlt1, IUt steer Iell leau-
long, its right leg drawn tight agains; its horns.
After the POM and the lariat comes the pistol.
Lhe e9Wnoy learns tnf knatf oil tme pony an
boy. They are the tools OF the working side OF
his life, particularly the lariat; The pirt1lis tie
pride of his other moments, when he IL the cow
boy of leisure sporting in saloons and shooting
in gambling houses. 1t is greater to be u cow:
boy of leisure than a mere cowboy OF labor: and
the greater his name the greater his fame.
Hence his great pride in his pistols. His pony
must OF necessity be good. His iariat IS like
unto others of fine hair. alfording no OppDrtuni-
~ for competition save in its use. But his pistol
allows him TO compete untrammelled both In its
The cheapest pistols used by cowboys who
take pride In them cost $50. There Is no limit
set on the cost of the pistol; The writer ha.
seen cowboys weapons which cost $1,000 aud
senaed by the MAKE Of the plstoi so much i as Sy
tho which decorated II. But the
cowboy usually has s2ms Local expert put on ths
money can buy. When IL reaches him he spends
weeks testing 1t and, as he says Getting onto
on foot at still objects ut different distances.
Then he shoots on foot ~ moving objects.
at moving objects. He fires countless shots,
testing the weapon in every way; He fires IL
bird his back. in short, in every style lac can de-
wise. II II satisfies him, he turns II over to hs
decorated; If not, he throws Ii away and sends
for another.
Many GSwHToy Is particularly Kris rich n,! r,aGGchmeTs;
They have u pistol inlaid with gold and stud is
butt with diamonds or costly relics. ihil Guth-
RTE. a ranchman well known here, has u pistol
which cost him $4,000 for decorations alone.
On the butt he has IA crescent Of diamonds, inIhs
centre of which l. u stone costing Sl.lOO. The
trimmings are OF solid gold. Tho figure OF =
COW boy mounted on u pony lossGing, . steer 10
worked. in. gold on the other, side Of the butt.
The lariat is of fine thread gold, and is entirely
free from the butt save Mt the ends, The horn.
OF the steer are made OF pearl. Guthrio's pistol
is b. no means the most expensive one In this
country. Fem DworGk, who has a big ranch On
the Henrietta trail, has a pistol 80 costly and %
reliable that it's owner Is known as the poSsess"r
OF "DwUrak's pop n title which has made him
famous clear into New Mexico.
The average pistol OF, n cowboy represents an
outlay Of from 500 to $3.50, Macy az the COVE
boys. instead uf recording deaths By nOtCEea on
the butt, As was the custom IN Oh tlmcs, hll'cl
gold star set in the wood work. Lark kCs.ler -
AnadargO has almost enough stars 10 represent
all the States Of tine Union ON his pistols butt.
The ability To use tkf pistol prrcvlcs any eN-
trayaghut OUTLAY on the weapon, The ttuderfOut
tackles the task of handbags revolver. and tries
tu get the knaCk that only persistent practice
can reach. Once ne gcts the knacE he keeps at
IL until. as KcsslCT says, "a knack gets 20 he %
800. tI.N d ha.a4..4z Instinct " md fFmlU