Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1898-12-30
ARIZONA NEW YEARS
HOW THE RECKLESS COWBOY cELe-
eRATEs THE DAY.

HOW THE RECKLESS COWBOY CELE-
eRATEs THE DAY.
Exhibits His skill In topping Cattle.
The Call to Dinner-Help Yourself
From Roasted Quarters of Beef.
Dancing In the Evening.
Roughly lettered posters Of wrapping
paper for weeks had announced that n
cowboy tournament and fiesta Mejicana
would be held on New Years day at
] Aqua Caliente.
Two races, each Of four heats, have
been run in the morning, when the
faint popping Of q six shooter, supple
mented bya distant roar of "Grub! Oh,
grub!' announces the hour for dinner.
Spectators and racers rush back to the
plaza.
lack Of Gre of the principal saloons,
between it and the base of the noun
tain, a long trench has been dug and
filled with mesquite wood, burned to
clear, red Goals. Over these Goals, rest.
ing on we'll soaked green poles, quarters
of beef have been roasting for the last
IL hours. These quarters are hung in
the different verandas, and from them
each man cuts such portion us seems
good to him and retires to eat it, to-
gether with whatever provisions he may
have brought with him, while in tho
burning sun Of the plaza the Indians
and dogs dispute for and gorge them
selves OH the refuse.
Soon there is a general movement to.
ward u corral ut the foot of tho plaza,
where the principal business of the day,
from a sporting standpoint, is to begin.
For o week the founders of the feast
have been collecting cattle suitable to
their purpose, and the cottonwood pole
corral is as full of them as it will hold.
Twenty feet in front of the corrals
u long line has been drawn in the sand,
then an interval of 40 yards and anoth-
er. A little to Il side the timekeeper,
watch in hand, sits on his horse. The
first contestant, i'll this case q hand
some young Mexican, places himself
with his back to the corral, and the
fore hoofs of his pony just toeing the
first line.
The liars are lowered and a long
legged red COW is allowed to escape.
Across the space she runs like Il grey
hound. The instant she crosses the sec
ond limo the vaquero plunges in his big
spurs and starts i'll pursuit, his RATA
whistlins around his head. The cow
points straight for q growth of scrub,
as though she knew that no lariat could
be thrown in such q place. Tho little
horse gains Oh her rapidly. Before she
has made more than a third of the dis.
lance to her goal he is at her flying
heels. Then the rope flies out so quick
ly that the eye can hardly follow it,
but the COW makes a quick turn and
gallops on, still free.
The Mexican makes no second at
tempt. The loss of time caused by his
first failure would prevent his winning
the coveted prize. So he sulkily with
draws. and his place is taken by anoth-
er, who sits with straining eagerness
as q gray bull is sent careering across
the dead line.
"Of fore foot" he cries as his pony
springs forward. Then follows a quick
cast, a couple Of turns around ths sad
dlehorn, and the horse braces back,
tucking his head we'll down to keep it
out of the way-while the bull, his
flight suddenly arrested. turns q half
somersault aud lands on his back,
caught by the leg his captor has named.
Securing the line, the man dimounts
and runs toward his prey as fast as his
high heels will allow. 1t struggles
fiercely, but the pony is far too we'll
trained to let the bull rise, and, with a
Tightening of the %lariat, neatly foils
every attempt. The captured fore leg is
quickly made fast to a hind leg-..hog
tied"-and then the cowboy holds up
his hand to show that it is completed.
Tho judges having pronounced that
the animal is properly secured, the time
taken to accomplish the feat is entered
and another man tries his skill.
The twilight comes at last. Dusk is
soon followed by darkness i'll these luti.
tudcs, and hardly has it fallen when the
strains of rude music announce the
opening of the great social feature of
the day, the ball. Tho ballroom is the
whole upper floor of the hotel. The
walls are of rough adobe, the floor of
J u%nplaned p!anks. From tho rafters ct
SuC 1ltV 4uul liuIS Ul tuG lduleIllS tllut
can he borrowed i'll the neighborhood--
that is, within a radius of ten miles
and caEtiies burn Oh bits of board
! stuck liz the interstices of the sin baked
brick Of tho walls. Benches of planks
laid across boxes line three sides of the
room. AT II end of the hall, OH d
J rough stage erected there, sit the mu.
sicans. There are three of them, all
Mexicans, one playing u squeaky fiddle,
the other two guitars. All of them
wear their hats and smoke crooked cisa.
} rettes of brown paper as they play.
There are about go girls, many OF
them pretty and all of them dressed
with II neatness and taste quite remark
able when one considers their limited
resources. About the same number oil
older ome complete the feminine con.
tingent, and all are in demand, for tbs
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