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

lighted. q corral for the horses put I'D and
soon active preparations for supper were
gong on in the mess tent under the direc-
ZION OF Ed, the chef, who is an artist
III his line. The tender, juicy steaks he
lfleS, the appetizing roasts done to a turn
'he hsht. wholesome bread and pies he
hakes. and the various other good things
that he prepares, and which only a cowhoy
Knows of, all in the same fat-bottomed
IRON Kettles, with only sage brush and
prairie chips for fuel, would be a reyela-
tion to tenderfoot. Ard he is the only
man IN camp who is never idle. From the
Dawn OF early day, when his musical roll
out rasounds through the camp and out
over the prairie. till the last call for sup-
per he is ever busy He must not only
scperintend the purchasing of supplies but
must load and drive his mess wagon. see
that wood is brought, fires lighted and at
tend TO various other duties which fall only
TO the lot of a roundup cook
The Work of the Nfrbtb,wL
Another interesting character is the
nighthawk, who guards the horse cavy
after the riding for tie day is over. He
must remain in the saddle all night. in ALL
Kinds of weather. with several hundred
restless horses bent on getting as far from
camp as possible. Sometimes during n
storm tie horses will stampede, and then
II the weird glare of lightning flashes.
with the horses making wild efforts to
gult the country" the spectacle is one
dangerous anG exciting in the extreme.
Altogether, wrangling the horse cavy over
sage brush and grease wood. lodging
badger holes and washouts, when a false
step of his horse means severe fall and
Perhaps fractured limb or broken neck
Tor the riCer. the nighthawk has no sine
cure. Skip the Kid attends to the same
duty by day and also manages to keep the
camp supplied With fuel. He will drag
with ease timbers that would make half
a cord OF wood by simply tying them TO
the pommel of his saddle with his lariat
and allowing the load to drag along be-
hind his horse.
The balance of the party was made up
OF circuit riders. under the foreman Mr.
Norris. Familiarity known as Dave among
the cow punchers. and it is safe 20 say
tEat no steers ever become outlaws" on
the ranges that Dave works.
Rockcreek being the starting point for
Wyoming Roundup No. {, halt was
made for a day or two to allow the rep
reSentatives from other cattle companies
L. arrive. 1t is also the shipping point for
this section. During this enforced delay
the time was spent in shoeing horses.
ne nding saddles and making other prep
a"ations for the roundup. Everything be-
ing in readiness. the start was made the
freight wagons keeping along the more
level portions of the prairie. with the horse
cavy following in the rear, while the cir
cult riders strung out in little groups of
two or three. finally separating SO that
OILY one would be searching for cat
tie in certain direction.
Collecting the Cattle
And here is where nerve training and a
knowledge Of the country display them
selves. To start over an unknown prairie
with not landmark in sight. save, perhaps
distant mountain peak, with nothing to
guide him but his sense of direction; on
on. the rider pursues his way. generally on
dead run and never slower than a smart
gallop. for miles and miles, over level
prairie, then over steep buttes, through
Cstnons with perpendicular walls and over
hanging rocks: fording rapid streams till
at last, in some sheltered draw he dis
covers cattle. Then he must approach
gently till he can discern the brand as the
cattle ale often wild as the antelopes
with which they share the plains and /;
lakes good horse and skillful rider to
keep the bunch together and bring it to
camp. which has in the meantime been
where the rider left II I'm the morning q
seventy-Eile ride being only an ordinary
task for man from early morning till
lunch tire. After all the riders have reach
ed carp and dinner over. generally about
II a m. fresh horses are roped and another
GTiVc made. Each rider has from ten to
twelve horses besides his cow horse and
night horse, yet with the hard work that
IS required Of them the average life of
horse is about three years when it is
condemned and sold for ranch purposes.
Real Wild West show.
Every time the horses are saddled a few
moments are taken 10 watch the wild west
show that is sure to follow. Always one
and sometimes several horses will start to
buck. and the frantic efforts of the horse
TO free itself from its burden seem to be
enjoyed much by the rider as by the
spectators On these occasions every enc
climbs into his saddle: il is the only safe
place. Such wild west riding can only he
seen IN all its thrilling recklessness on the
plains. There is a wide difference between
a buckins pony in a sawdUst ring made
10 buck TO order. and a haIf-tamed bronze
on his native plains. with nothing to pre-
vent him going several miles and bucking
every jump.
Some horses in bucking have only n kind
OF accelerated gallop, while others literally
change ends" Few accidents happen, and
these are not genrally serious. though
sometimes 1t happens that a man is severe
Il hurt or even crippled for life. Horses
and cattle alike being allowed to care for
themselves till wanted. they become ac-
eustomed TO roaming over broken ground,
fEIi OF holes and washOuts and III is very