The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-10-08
NIGHT in COWBOY LAND.
An INDIGEsTIBLE BUT DELI
oIoUS MEAL.

Phases OF Social Life.
This is the place, border town,
where President Roosevelt, during his
tourney across the continent last sum-
mer, halted to partake of cowboy sup
per. 1 had the pleasure of enjoying
similar hospitality, on the same ground,
at the same "chuck wagon, and of like
yiands prepared by the same cook as
the president enjoyed. My companions
were a score of other newspaper Wrl-
tiers, and to all of us the experience was
doubtless more novel than it could have
been to our distinguished predecessor
after his life on the ranch. l.
1t must be confessed that the novelty
and the scene are to a visitor to the
western country the most enjoyable fea-
ture Of this particular form of enter
tainment. AS Hugo is on the route OF
the old Ogalalla trail northward from
Texas. and as it is in the midst of the
enormous area of "short grass prairie,
that stretches from eastern Colorado to
middle Kansas, the place retains many
of the characteristics of an early border
settlement.
A noisy greeting saluted the train
when it halted at the station. A troop
of cowboys mounted on Texas ponies
charged across the plain, emitting
whoops and yells and trying to make
their bronchos buck. They Were the
real thing, upon the real prairie; but
their exhibition was notable example
of how art improves nature. Their re-
alisrn seemed a mild imitation of the
performance Of the wild West shows
men. with which blase eastern specta-
tors are familiar. 1t was anothag ex-
ample of how much betterthey dothings
on the stage
But the guests of the occasion were
quite ready to make their raid upon the
supper. With even that most eastern
readers probably have some acquaint-
ance The menu is beefsteak, hot bread,
roast potatoes, army beans, pickles and
coffee. The steak is tender and deli
cious.s The bread is as good as the
lightest and most inviting tea biscuit.
The coffee is clear, strong and fragrant.
The potatoes, beans and pickles are as
they are anywhere. The entire conbi-
nation is about as indigestible and de-.
licious meal as ever was concocted.
Each man helps himself to a tin plate,
knife fork, spoon and cup He fishes
his piece Of steak from skillet that
seethes over hot wood fire. The cow
boy cooks are too busy to do any serv-
ing In real camp the cooks are the
autocrats and woe betide the hungry
cowboy who approaches the chuck wag-
on until he is hidden to the feast with
an invitation yelled in the unprintable
language Of the plains. The hospitali-
ty is profuse. There is no limit tothe
qtantity Of food except that Of appe-
tfte, which is sure in this elevation to be
keen.
Many household cooks would wonder
how steak thus prepared can be tender.
But it is. Perhaps the process of prep
Hration may explain a result of which a
Fifth avenue chef might be vain. The
steer that we helped devour had been
killed four days, and the mat had been
hung in a refrigerator car. That prob
ably is preliminary not possible to a
real drovers' camp in summer. The
steaks were simply dropped into a ket
tie half full of boiling lard, favored
with little bacon. This was so in.
y tensely hot that the cooking was very
quick, thus retaining the juices Of the
meat.
The hot bread Of the cowboy supper
\ is made with baking powder, exactly
Nike tea biscuit. The popularity of it's
baking is that the dough is put in the
bottom Of an iron kettle, which is placed
upon a bed Of live Goals and covered
with concave lid, upon which live
GOALS are also piled. This makes an
exceedingly hot and quick oven.
But the charm of such a cowboy sup
per lies in its scenic effect. In the dusk
Of evening the flames leap about the
kettles, shedding a rudy glow upon
the faces of the agile cooks and sur
rounding groups. Those who eat perch
themselves upon the wagon or kneel
upon the grass. After the first pangs
of hunger are satisfied, laughter, the
hum of conversation and an occasional
song fill the night air. And then, in
our case, there was an adjournment to
neighboring schoolhouse, where we
were hidden to anold- fashioned cowboy
danceiw anything in this land of Won
dr0ls growth can he called old-fash-
ioned
TO this dance had come perhaps two
hundred guests from ranches within a
radius of twenty miles. Here, too, the
stockgrowers and the cowboys were the
'real thing, while the women and girls
were their wives, daughters and sweet
hearts. Some entire families had come.
They represented the best Of the coun-
! try society.
The dancing room was the large
square school-roonn, from which the
desks had been removed. Flags covered
the blackboards and the teachers plat
form was occupied by melodeon, the
fiddler and the master Of ceremonies.
The costumes of the ladies j will not
Il venture to describe further tflan3to say
that most of them seemed to be of
white lawn with a predieection of pink
and blue ribbons. The wearers had the
beauty of robust health and many of
4 them We're graceful. .,.s*@gey ..
One of the cowboys was easily the
beau of the ball. He wore loose ting
y trousers of buffalo hide, with wide
stripes of hair down the outside, dyed
black and looking as fine and fiossy as
silk. About his waist was a belt full o
cartridges. From his hip-pocket gleam-
de the handle of his gun" In front
was suspended leather pouch of Curl
GUS Indian workmanship. His shirt, Of