Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-09-04

will carry a rider over steep mountains
where a man on foot would have to support
himself with his hands to make his way up.
The plains are covered with short grass,
which grows in punches and would seem to
an eastern man to furnish no food for any
thing but sheep and jack rabbits. In the
draws, however, the grass Is often luXur-
liant, and here cattle grow sleek and fat in
few months. Horses are given no more
attention than cattle till they are wanted,
and then. after being driven into corral,
the twister takes them in charge, and in a
couple of weeks they are supposed to be
broken to the saddle. 1t would not, how
ever. be well to try the Fort Myer style of
mounting or riding them. On being first
driven into corral, the twister front foots
the animal he selects for a pupil, and after
throwing 1t and strapping on a bride with
a lariat for halter. its first lesson consists
in learning the ropes" as it were-a horse
being considered tractable when rope
broken.
After working a number of streams,
among them the Medicine Bow, Little Medi-
cine. Snake, Wagon Hound, Foot creek and
others, the outfit finally reached the Platte.
In Camp on the Platte.
Under the shade of a grove of cotton
woods. the only timber in this part of
Wyoming, the western limit of the round
up was reached, and all felt relieved that
on the return to Rockcreek the outfit
would at no time be far from this mighty
tributary of the father of waters. Occa-
sionally in some secluded place, nestled
among the hills, with neighbors from
twenty-five to fifty miles away. pioneer
was found who had established his ranch
along some wooded mountain stream. His
irrigated lands show prosperity and his
cottonwood shaded buildings show content
ment, and here he dispenses hospitality to
the chance stranger with an open hand.
Many of them have their herds of thorough
breds that would do credit to an eastern
farmer.
considerable number of cattle having
been gathered by this time, it became nee
essar to detail several men to stand guard,
each taking his turn for two hours at
night. mounted on his night horse. Great
care is taken to prevent stampede, no
firearms being discharged, and no wild rid
ing done near the cattle. Everything must
give way when the cattlemen appear with
their cavy-the E!ehthawk and the kid be-
ing obliged to search for pastures newer.
Working the Cattle.
Every few days the cattle are worked
as the process is called. the cowpunchers
taking their COW horses and cutting out
thc4=e animals that are not wanted. Here
nice discernment is required, as it happens
sometimes that the brand on an animal
will show evidences of having been tam
pered with Thus the mark II could be
easily converted into letter H and pre-
ceded or followed by some other letter or
character. If the animal is killed and skin
ned the brand placed upon it first can read
sly be distinguished by reason of its being
deeper
Outlaw steers are those that have
escaped the round up till they are from
twelve to eighteen years old. If caught
they are sometimes ''kneed,' an operation
which prevents running, but does not inter-
fere with walking. and in this condition
the animal takes on fat more kindly. Such
animals often reach The Washington mar
kets. Mavericks are those animals that
have never been branded and formerly be-
longed to the first man who could put his
brand on them.
The Cowboys of Today.
The roundup having reached the starting
point the cattle were loaded on cars and
shipped to Chicago. 1t was a successful
roundup, carried on in the old way, but
not with all the swagger style that for
merry characterized the cowpuncher and
gave him place in history. Cowboys no
longer wear tapideros forty-six inches lo1g
and weighing ten pounds to the pair ban
giles and silver ornaments on the hat are
thing of the past, and even the spirit of the
cowboy of today is not what it once was,
though when he goes to town he is not apt
to be unnecessarily interfered with; he no
longer amUses himself by riding into sa-
looms and up 20 bars without dismounting.
and window lights and tenderfeat are alike
safe in his presence. Though made up of
light haired sons of Sweden, men from
New York to Texas, as well as from Mex
leo and California, vet no more honest
whole-souled and hosptable lot of men can
he found than the cowpuncherS Of the
west. but as a picturesque feature of the
country they are passing away, ard in a
few years more will be known only in the
pictures OF Remington and the tales of
Warman ONE OF THEM.