The San Juan County index. (Aztec, N.M.) 1890-19??, 1901-08-02

movement was made, he simply kept
on and on. each jump being alost SEMI
circular, that IS. landing with his head
where his tail had started from. and
vice versa.
This is what the cowpunchers cali
changing ends. and It Is not dimoult
to imagine the effect Of such a pro-
tracted merry-go-round sensation on
the rider. The bucking was neither
high nor fierce, but the strain Of that
continuous swirl must have been rack
ing. There was one slight variation
which the scru5by buckskin allowed
himself IN his system, though this was
Of such nature as to be rather discon-
eerting to a rider with a head already
far from steady. II was to turn in the
air after the usual fashion, but instead
Of allghung on stihened legs. to fall
clumsily on n side, the pony saving
himself by bending his foreleg back
under him. 10 was an ugly trick TO
evade. and the black New Mexican
must have been clear grit to hold his
" 30 long. His face grew pallid
and drawn, and after awhile his stom-
ach revolted.
At the close Of the second hour he
was helpless; his will was still in the
thing, but his body was limp and in
effective, and the blood slowly trickled
from his nose and ears. The pony
still worked with the %monotonous reg
ularity Of a steam exhaust, and the
end was unquestionably near.
When It came, the man was sprawled
to n side, and the horse immedl-
ately lapsed into his usual dropping
attitude of watchful sleepiness. Some
Of us a to assist Rawlins, who lay
just as he had fallen, too weak to rise.
But he waved us back; his face was
malignant with shame and anger. and
distorted by pain; altogether, with the
pallor and the blood-streaked beard,
he was not IN e~xhilarating sight. Roll
ing over to his side, he raised himself
partially On an elbow, and before we
could close on him had drawn his
Colts and fired. The big gun spoke
sharply, and with a moan that was al
most human the buckskin pony lurched
heavily to the ground.
We reached Rawlins in time to take
the smoking revolver from his nerve
less grasp; but as he fell back again.
heard him mutter thicklY; There.
curse ye, y mud-skinned hell-houndl
Yen wear no more men out!"
The PROSTATE broncho-buster's
friends had taken him up, and Dillon
was in the midst Of a brilliant address,
awarding with much ornate language
the purse to Curlew, when an incident
in the form of anti-climax took the
floor from the speaker and wound up
the sport with a hearty burst Of good
natured reclamation.
l had the history OF this incident
afterward. It seems that the boys OF
the town-the juveniles. / mean-had
organized and schemed to place an un-
registered and unexpected entry in the
contest; and their scheme was emf
nently suecessful-and amusing. The
camp supported q little half-breed
youth of about 70 years. a marvel in
his love for and command over horses;
he must have been born and reared
upon their backs, SO easily did he be-
come them. It was this urehin, Pc
dro by name. who was elected to rep
resent the younger faction in the rid
ing. There was one difficulty that
would have bafied most boys; no bad
horse was forthcoming, but Pedro was
so extremely Indifferent as to the ma
ture OF build Of his mount that even
this was an easy adjustment. At the
extreme upper end OF the town was a
butchers COW corral, and in It confined
a bunch OF cattle new from the range;
one Of these, a great red and white
~4-year-Old steer, was selected, and Pc
dro eagerly started on his ride to fame.
Dillon was getting well warmed to
his much-prepared and patriotic ora
ton, when Pedro and the frantic steer
appeared, rushing down the pitch from
the town above. There wal an unre-
strained howl from the assemblage, in
which even Dillon Joined. and the
dirty, daredevil brat shot out an an
swering grin from the careening back
Of his astonished steer. II was a thing
to make the old gulch culver with
laughter. Some one had dressed the
boy especially for the game; he had on
a pair OF heavy fringed. full-sized
snaps, at least eight inches too long
for him, and only kept from entirely
covering his feet by the shanks Of a
pair Of huge Mexican spurs, all bells
and bangles. His impish face was sur
mounted by a 5-inch sombrero, a heavy
quirt in one hand and In the other a
coil OF rawhide lariat. which was
looped only over the steers horns
And how that animal was twisting
himself, head down and tail up! But
the boy chung like a barnacle, by what
means / have no conjecture. It is well
known that a steer has no withers
that he can buck through the clnchei
Of any saddle, and a cowboy without q
saddle is not formidable. Yet Their,
wal that lean youth heather, hampered
by the awkward ~trapplngs they had put
on him, perehed on his arching, un
glrded steed with all the pert compos.
ure OF a tomtit on a pump handle
which is old Joe's smile.
Cum an av that, ye young limb,
shouted Dillon, as the steer rushed
madly by us; the boy waited, however
till the crowd was passed, and then
skillfully twitching his rope from th'
steers horns, slid harmlessly to the
ground. He could scarcely walk fol
the grotesque aecouterments. but wher
he did reach US, the boys greeted hin
%riotously.
Give the money to the KID" sale
CurleW laconically. That's a trick