The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1902-03-08
sUsTs BRoNcos FOR A LIVING.
A Diana Of the Oregon Plains Who IL al
Expefs ~ the Cowboys.

A Diana Of the Oregon Plains Who IL al
Expefs - the Cowboys.
East and west there are .womer
drummers. women lawyers. doctors
and f1oorwalkers, but in Woodstock
Oregon, there is a woman who busts
broncos and rounds up cattle for liv
ing, a cowboy in petticoats, who has
all the nerve and daring Of the pion
eer of the plains.
She isn't the brawny Amazon, rid
ing astride In buckskin trousers, that
might be imagined. She is the re
verse Of that-a rather frail looking
woman, neither tall nor short, slight
ly built. but 1.-the and muscular, witt
cool determined gray eyes and face
tanned by outdoor life.
She has q modest tendency to disa
VOW being or doing anything extraor
binary, and she does the little things
that are inherently feminine just a;
we'll as any other woman, perhaps bet
ter than some. She can darn a teal
or bake biscuits with Just as mucl
ease az she can rope steer and a
that she 10 as expert as any Of he
cowboy neighbors.
Mrs. Minnie Thorpe Austin is tn
woman bronco busters name. He
father was Thomas Thorpe, one of thu
shrewdest dealers who ever did bust
ness In Oregon.
He had one of the largest ranche
in the state and it contained some o
the Widest horses and cattle eve
offered for sale. With the horses AM
cattle his baby daughter passed he
early life and she became proficien
and daring horsewoman.
Several years ago it was notices
that some of the wild horses from
Tom Thorpe's ranch were better brok
en- when they came up for sale thai
those from any other ranch arount
and presently the secret came out
Miss Thorpe had broken them in.
She had become used to seeing thu
cowboys busting the broncos, ponies
for her own use had occasionally re
called bucking feats of their earle
days and had taught her the knacl
of sticking to the saddle and she hat
been fred with ambition to do all tina
the men did with wilder steeds.
First she tried a horse that hat
been partly broken, then fiercer AMI
NAL and finally she was breaking il
with ease horses which had never be
fore known bride or rope. She dis
dained the Mexican saddle the COW
boys used and accomplished her feat
In the conventional side saddle an,
wearing a riding skirt, a trick few
cowboys would care to attempt.
From the day she first mounted al
unbroken steed Mrs. Austin has neve
seen the horse she could not master
Since that time she has had to ear
her own living and she has done il
from choice, by breaking in broncos.
She likes 1t, and when she isn'twdo
ing 1t for business she Is doing it TO
her own pleasure. She can hanil
cattle equally well and not long ag'
she was regularly employed by a firm
of cattle dealers to round up bunche
of cattle and drive them to the city.
In a recent carnival at Portland on
of the most attractive features to Wis
tors from the east was Mrs. Austin
daring horsemanshhip. She jumps
hurdles. riding tandem, busted bron
cos and did fancy tricks and no othe
part of the show was greeted with hal
SO much applause. The applause wa
the heartier because she plainly en-
ioyed the tasks she performed.
She herself says that the enjoy
ment which other women get out o
milder pleasures she finds in rock
ing. swaying saddle which threaten
momentarily to send her to the groun
with velocity sufficient to break he
neck il the Feast she is riding sue
ceeds in his efforts to dismount her.