Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-05-26
FLSR!DA /e6TTLE RANGES
SOMETHING ABOUT ALITTLE-KNOwN
INDUSTRY IN THAT STATE.
With the Cowboys-How the
Insects and wild Beasts.
rom the jacksonville Ella. Times Uniou

ent, resolute. hardworking men engaged
in any branch of rural industry. Some
colored men nave been tried occasionally,
and when they were men of the old regime
they have sometimes given satisfaction;
but the negroes of the present generation
are well-nigh worthless. Their work is
not that steady. unbroken toll which Is
the lot of the agricultural laborer but 1t
is full Of peril and exposure, as the writer
can well perceive after following a band
of cowboys in the saddle for one forenoon.
Each cowboy carried as his instructions
to select the beef animals and the I'M
branded calves. Securing far out over the
fllimitable prairie. each cowboy. as he
comes upon a group or single animal.
must decide with promptness whether
there are any fit for marketing. If any, he
sweeps them in toward a common center.
Some of the cattle, especially calves, seem
dazed by the clatter and rush of the horse.
and they have not particle OF sense;
they dash helter-skelter in every direction.
wel-nourished calf of two or three
months, with head and tail in air. can run
with Incredible swiftness. The pony Is
obliged to head him off at whatever cost.
and it may be the fftieth squirt he has
taken that morning. carrying a man in
addition. while the calf is fresh and car
ries only his own skin. The pony may step
on a pa metto root or slide in the mud. and
hurl the rider headlong, though this sell
dom occurs. Galloping through piece of
woods. he may strike his rider against
tree a branch and inf1ict severe injury
upon him.
Therefore. the pay they receive-s1.25 a
day and found. or $50 a day and board
themselves-is not out of reason, even
though they may pass many days in the
year in inactivity.
The writer has ridden many day with
the Texas cowboys: in fact, he once crossed
the continent with a company of about
thirty. driving herds, which aggregated at
81 I-, hn on
between the cowboys Of the two states is
marked. The Texas cowboys are noisy.
roaring fellows; when they circle out to
| raise herd and start 1t In motion they
utter prolonged yells: "Whoop! Whoop!
Y-o-o-oop, Whoop! Whoop!' The Florida
cowboys dart silently and swiftly around
the outlying cattle. only occasionally crack
ing their long whips and uttering sup
pressed OATH or, more frequently, some
rough. cowboy joke. In a great rush. when
the cattle are hard to head off, or in
stampede. in order to drown the noise ana
distract the attention of the cattle the
Texas cowboys do not hesitate to shoot
into them with revolvers. not always over
their heads, either. but boring them through
the quarters anywhere, even dropping one
on the prairie now and then. the FLORIDA
cowboys are never so reckless
But it must he admitted that they nave
not as much provocation as the Texas cow
boys have. Both Florida ponies and cattle
are less vicious than those of Texas we
have often seen Texas steers, maddened
with thirst or long driving. pursue a man
on foot. making desperate efforts to eaten
him the horns; in fact, this sometimes
occurred when there had been no special
provocation. The cattle of this state are
seldom vicious as this. Probably this Is
due in large part to the moister climate OF
Florida. rendering the animals more slug
gish and gentle.
Texas cattle have great aversion to wa
ter, but Florida cattle are almost amphfbi-
GUS In crossing the Rio Grande at Fort Sell
1,N-tl ,..h .r1 h16 m
the column and make unearthly uproar
to force the cattle to take the water; then
they had to gallop down the river half
mile or moro and fire into the head of the
column. swimming in the middle of the
river to keep them from returning to the
bank they had just quilted. Florida cattle
will for days together swim the kissimmee
river every morning, or stop on some Island
to Craze on the choice pasturaSe or maiden
cane. and return at night to dry ground to
sleep.
break into service. One would suppose that
In the long, wearisome journey of 5000
miles across the plains all the animals
would become jaded and submissive; yet
there We're not few that had to be cor
rallied and fought with every morning A
Texas pony may have been ridden fifteen
years, yet if on certain morning the own
err does not go through exactly the same
motion in putting the bride on that he has
for fifteen years. the animal will fling away.
and have to be captured over again.
MANY FLORIDA pony, well uSeu, becomes
like a petted child. Many a Florida pony
never knows the day when it was broken"
but the Texas pony frequently has to be, or
is. at any rate. half-killed before 1t will sub
init.
In these wide, fenceless regions the herds
of different owners become much inter-
mingled in the course of year At the
| more important roundups in the spring
and early summer a mans neighbors will
sometimes be present or send a trusted
cowboy or two TO claim their own and
drive them home. Sometimes one or more
animals may he rounded up thirty or forty
miles from home: the owner has COM
pletely lost track of them Here is tempt
ing opportunity for stealing; these strays
might be rebranded. driven off and sold.
We will suppose that they are old enough
to market, have reached their prime, and
will begin to deteriorate. One two ami
mails are harder to drive than hundred.
! To drive this single one far would be
as much as he is worth. The stockman
sells him with his own and forwards The
owner a check. giving marks and brands.
Such honesty is not uncommon.
The extraordinary rainfall this spring has
kept the cattle back: they have not shed
off as well as usual But the ranges have
mostly dried off now. and they are making
better progress. The calves are looking
fine. better proportionately than the older
cattle.
Many stockmen believe that Florida has
entered upon new cycle of weather. more
like the old-fashoned seasons which pre-
vailed before the destruction of the orange
groves.
The almost unprecedented rainfall of the
past winter has gone hard with the horse
fly. probably beating down his gauLy
wings. and al any rate reducing his num-
bers that the cattle have enjoyed an
unwonted comfort. But the little, swift,
brown headed "sharpshooter' is still IN
evidence. and mosquitoes will be abundant
later on. The greatest torment. however,.
is the execrable. misnamed hornfly which
always clngs just back of the shoulder and
never relaxes its hold day or nt5h. sum-
mer or winter. Cattle learn by experience
to pass through columns of smoke. and
even the fire itself to scorch these pests:
but better than all else is to wade out into
the water until only the head IS visible. and
! stand Illuminating by the hour, or Craze
fupon the maiden cane.
In early days the wolf was a serious pest
to the cattlemen. He would run alongside
a calf and snap it in the small of the back
to break it down: then, after the mother
had ceased to mourn and had gone away.
he would return and enjoy feast. But the
wolf is gone. There remain only the cat.
the eagle and the buzzard. The latter will
sometimes peck out the eyes of calf, and
a pair of eagles will drag one down and
kill II II not disturbed.
The sagacity of cattle in fighting their
foes is notable. With wild animals they
form a circle and place the calves in the