The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1900-01-05
USES OF THE LARIAT,
METHODS OF MEN WHO ARE Ex-
PERT WITH THE LASSo.

METHODS OF MEN WHO ARE E>
PERT WITH THE LAsSo.
How the Ropes Are Made and How
They Are Groom ed-The Three Gen
cral Methods In Use In Throwina
The Lasse ~ a Weapon.
The lasso il creation Of certain en-
vironment and need. Its place is on tn
broad prairiss and grazing lands, and 1t
chief utility lies in the stock business
II 10 almost useless in wooded countr
by reason Of the distractions afforded b,
branches and bushes. The finest lasso
are Of rawhide, cut into thin strips, an,
braided, SIX ply. into rope of from
three.eighths to one-half inch In diane
ter. They are quite expensive. a good A
foot rope costing about 81. On this &C
count, Of late years, hard twisted gras
rope is used, but the rawhide rope is tn
best In wind, a. 1t Is heavier, and whel
filed with oil 1t is not affected by we
i, weather. A braided rope also has les
tendency to kink than twisted rope
Cowboys have mixture Of lard ant
beeswax with which they dress theil
hemp or linen ropes to keep out damp
ness and also to prevent them from get
ting too dry. The most celebrated of the
genuine "riattas" are made in Chicago
which produces an article much superior
to the tougher ones turned out in Mexico
A lasso Is about 40 feet long, seldom
exceeding 80 feet, and out of that must
be deducted the amount taken in making
the moose and the part which is retained
in the hand. Thus it is seen that the av.
erage cast is about rs or 80 feet. and the
roper" who can throw anywhere near
so feet with accuracy Is a rarity. In
California they sometimes use rope as
long as 65 feet, but there they seem to
have habit of throwing an enormously
large loop, much larger than is really nee
essary. In actual work, however, II will
be found that mans hand Is not large
enough properly to hold much more than
40 feet OF rope when coiled ready to
throw.
There are three general methods Of
throwing, with many minor variations of
individual habit. The rope is held in
practically the same way in every case.
First Is the plain, straight cast, moose
swinging around above the head from
right to left by rotating wrist move
ment. Some "ropers" throw a small
loop. hard and fast, almost on level;
others larger. lazier kind. which never
theless "arrives." For myself. rather
favor the small loop thrown hard, as it
seems the best all around style, most eff
fective against the wind or other ad
verse conditions.
The aim Ia somewhat to the right of
the object to be roped-say III feet on a
Is foot throw--the exact instant Of re-
lease being governed by weight Of rope.
wind, velocity of swing, etc. Judgment
comes instinctively with practice. The
rest Of the rope 10 held coiled in the other
hand and released as fast as desired, two
or three coils being retained.
To "snub" the rope wind It about the
pommel after casting) In the instant Of
time allowed is trick quite as difficult
as throwing properly. The Mexicans,
with their large diameter pommels. have
to take only one turn; the American pom.
mels, being smaller. require two. The
pommel often smokes from the friction
created and is frequently deeply grooved
and almost burned by the rope. The i'm
portant part played by the trained COW
pony is obvious. He is taught to settle
back on his launches the instant the rope
begins to tighten and in many other ways
materially to assist his master.
The second method Of throwing Is ex-
actly the reverse-i. e., the moose is swung
from the left to right above the head be-
fore release. This is called the Cali
fornia throw" and possibly gives little
greater range. At any rate. one or two
of the longest throwers l know use it,
and I find it so myself. 1t may be only
a personal result Any good roper" can
throw either way.
The third cast is the "corral drag"
which, as lis name implies, is 70. use
afoot and In confined quarters. 1t con-
sists in trailing out the loop on the
ground behind one and swapping it for
ward by an underhand motion.
The lassos greatest effectiveness as a
weapon Is when the wielder is mounted.
When both adversaries are afoot, its val !
ne Is very slight. With cattle or horses
It is an entirely different thing. The
whole essence of the matter Ia to tighten
he moose around an opponent with jerk
sufficient to dismount him or take him
,ff his feet. To that end you may ride
past him swiftly or. If pursuing him, stop
your own horse suddenly. Or II he Is
stationary and you cannot ride past him,
you can wheel your own horse and retire
litter successful cast. In lassoing a
nan, IL done skillfully, the instant Of
line Is too brief for him either to throw
IF the tightening moose or cut it, And It
s one of the most deceptive things to at.
empt to dodge.
1t Is possible to control the moose Of
asso by the remainder Of the rope, but
Is a dexterity which few acquire In
ears. The finest roper know. Vicente
)ropesa, champion of old Mexico. can do
his to perfection, and his performance
8 one Of the ablest things In that inter-
sting exposition OF craftsmanship. Oro-
esa Is an enthusiast. One of the Mex
cans once told me that one night the
hampton dreamed of a new cast and at
nee got up and went out scantily clad,
nd in half an hour had mastered it. l..
In spinning the rope have been ae-
used of sticking Or securing the "honda"
r slip moose from sliding. but in reality
: Is perfectly free to move along the
ope. In fact, can readily start spin
ing moose two feet in diameter and in
rease it steadily to eight or ten feet
cross.
There are several uses which the lasso |
Duld be put to, 1t seems to me, even in q
ute densely populated districts. In (
apable hands It would afford an excel !
mt means Of stopping the many street i
lnaways, and it also could almost al
'ays be utilized where n skater broke
trough the ice. And as regulator Of Il
lst bicycling 1t would easily stand un-
vailed, for no scorcher would dare to 9
de past guardian of the peace equip !
I'd with the persuasive lariat.--Howard
eynolds in Wide World Magazine.
He Knew His Hus1nesu Ii