The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-02-22
miscellaneous.
FUN FOR COWBOYS.
GAMES IN WHICH MEN AND PONIES
ENGAGE ON PUNCHERS' DAYS.
Tests of Skill That Would Not Do For Or
dinary Riders-A Sort of Tug of War
With Beautiful Shock at the End Of
It-Joy UnaIloyed.

binary Riders-A Sort of Tug of War
With Beautiful Shock at the End of
1t-Joy UnaIloyed.
In a meeting of Texas and Oklahoma
COW punchers last season after the work
was done it was proposed to have Cow
punchers' day"
Lets stretch few ropes" said one Of
them.
The men were lying idly about in camp
when this announcement was made, but
in a twinkling they were on their feet sad
ding horses, Tightening girths and pre-
pairing for action in general. Before an
easterner could have bridled his horse tho
men had divided into two opposing sides.
One man from each side had unslung his
rope one end of which was firmly secured
to tho horn of his saddle. The loose ends
OF the two ropes were then tied together,
thus leaving the two riders joined to each
other by about 100 feet of rope fastened to
their saddle horns They took their stand
facing the same way and only few feet
apart leaving the rope slack between
them. Suddenly as If at signal, they
put spurs to their ponies and dashed off
at full speed. For awhile the rope trailed
in a double curve but gradually frightened
as the two riders began to turn each to the
outside and away from each other. Final
ly the motion ceased, each horse pulling
against the other in such way that
neither had the advantage.
The strain on the ropes was tremendous,
but the ropes, constructed to stand the
pulling of maddened steer, stood this
test also The plucky little ponies painted
and tugged and strained their nerves
against each other. Their riders had all
they could do to encourage their animals
and to keep them in such a position as to
retain their own seats. Had either pony
turned his back squarely for a fair pull,
the rider would have been brushed off by
the rope Immediately. 1t was test that
required fine craftsmanship, steady hand
and practiced eye. 1t was well fought
battle, and the spectators chcered it lusti-
ly. For some minutes neither pony seemed
able to pull the other, but gradually the
Texas pony seemed to gain the advantage.
Step by step he backed away, pulling his
opponent with him.
Seeing he was beaten if he relied on
brute force, the Oklahoma man determined
to SEQ what strategy would do Keeping
the rope always taut, he galloped around
the circumference of a circle of which his
radius. First he galloped in one direction
and then in the opposite. Then he stopped
altogether and slackened the rope. His
only hope was to brush his antagonist out
of his saddle with the rope, and as long as
his opponent faced him squarely he could
not do this.
Once more the Oklahoma puncher Stacks
the rope, his opponents pony turns slight
ly, and quick as a flash the rope has
swung around, and the Texan is lifted
clear of his saddle and thrown violently to
the ground.
Hurt BilI?" asks one of his own men
as the defeated puncher remounts and
! joins his side.
Nav"
''Well, you oughter be. You oughter
| have your neck broke for gettin tricked
| that way"
For over an hour such contests went on,
| with fortune favoring sometimes one side
and sometimes the other.
The last thing of the day as well as
| the last of all punchers' days was what
| might be called tug of war contest, a
general conflict, answering, unintention-
| ally enough, to the melee of ancient tour
| naments. 1t was held in the evening.
| Three ropes were twisted together into
one CnlCK CtDl6, us Iu0 OCCdSlOA IS4ulISu
threefold power of resistance. Some eight
or ten single ropes were fastened to each
| side Of the cable, the other ends being at
tached to the saddle horns of the riders,
| the Texan crowd on one side and the
| Oklahoma crowd on the other. The battle
began with straight tug, one side against
the other. Ponies and men, every nerve
| quivering, were pulling as if life and death
| depended on the struggle. Some were
| heaving against the ropes as they would
/ in pulling a heavy load in harness. 9th
ers were pulling backward, with the long
rope stretching away in front Of them.
| The threefold cable held firm.
Now one side gave way few feet and
| now the other Soon, however, it became
| evident that the Texans were being out
pulled Then the scene changed. The
| Texans swung round and round to entan-
| gle their opponents and brush them from
their saddles. This movement was met
| by counter movement Whichever can
| get outside in this contest has the advan-
| tage; hence it is evident long rope is
| boon. Shorty Wilkins is doing his best to
| push a big Texan back. He is doing
| nobly, but now two Texans get together
| and swing around at full speed squarely
| against him. He and his horse 20 down
| together. He gets on his feet again amid
| the hurly burly of horses and men and
| lodges outside unframed to safety. His
| riderless horse regains its feet and rushes
| on in the melee, adding to the confusion
| and entanglements. Now all system van
| ishes; ropes sweep men from the saddle;
horses become entangled and go down;
| yells cheers, shouting, swearing, shoot
| ing, are fearful. Finally it is discovered
that two Texans still retain their places,
while all the Oklahoma saddles are empty.
| This settles it. The Texans have won.
Bloody noses, black eyes, bruised faces
and battered garments were visible every
| where after the fun, and the ponies were
as badly used up as the men. Yet none
| was killed, and no one was seriously hurt
The best of good feeling and fellowship
prevailed The men sat around the big
| campfire, over which a newly killed COW
was roasting on huge spit, and laughed
and joked over the incidents of the day
| Their Joy was unalloyed.-Henrietta
| (Tex Cor. New York Sun.