The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-03-07
TRIED TO RIDE A BRONCHO.
Lengths Which Newspaper Men Will
GO to Get q Story.

The average newspaper man VIII en-
dure toll, face danger and surmount diff
flculties to furnish readable copy Of
which the public knows little Here IS
a story told by a New York newspaper
man who was down on his luck and
willing to do wage in almost any des-
perate eAter2rise to raise the wind
8Ot course, he said. lit don't mean
that we are willing to do all these things
for the benefit of the dear public. be-
cause We expect money as well as salts
faction. but can tell you of one in
stance when I made quite a sacrifice
and didn't draw a check for it either
The summer is always a bit duh for
us in the METROPOLIS, and some of US
who make the pictures have to do some
close figuring. I was out Of a job when
Buffalo Bills wild west show came to
town, and I went around to one of the
Sunday editors and made a suggestion
for a story 1 told him I would go out
and try to ride one of Buffalo Bills
bucking steeds and write it up. I had
It all planned out, headlines and all,
something like this: The world as seen
from the hurricane deck OF a broncho.'
| made a pretty stiff talk to the editor,
for needed the money. but he merely
gave me the laugh, and told me the
story was no good, and even if it was I
couldn't hang on to the broncho. I went
out of the Office determined to try my
luck at riding, and thought I might get
q sufficient amount of interesting mat
ter to sell the story somewhere else. I
a tent back of the arena came across
a lot of the show hands dressed up like
cowboys. I told them I was a news
paper man. and stated my case. telling
them 1 wanted to tackle one of their
bucking horses. ! had spent two years
in the west and felt able to stick onto
pretty nearly anything in the line OF
horsefleSh-
The cowboys looked at one another
and winked. Then they told me they
could accommodate me if / was in earn
est. J told them that I had made the
proposition on the level and they
| brought out an understood, scraggy
roam and saddled and bridled him.
watched the brute carefully. He stood
there very Quietly-tOO- quietly. in fact.
His ears were tilted slightly back and
his tail moved with short, nervous jerks.
+ Here's trouble I said to myself. and
/ was not mistaken. The cowboy who
was holding the horse by the head told
me to get on. / grabbed the bride rein
and made a flying leap, for 1 knew the
broncho would get under way imme-
diately. The cowboy turned his head
/ loose before I could get my feet into the
stirrups and away we went. The beast
made few angular jumps and then
started to buckins- He was wonder
and the way he arched his back was
worthy of tom cat He came down
I Stiff-legged on his four feet like a pile
driver I could not regain my stirrup
I was too busy to think about it.
tried to quiz u9 his head to keen him
/ from buci-ing so much. but before
could do It he made one wild leap in
the air. came down so hard that I felt
/ my back teeth Jar loose, and then he
made another jump and I tumbled.
I lit on my shoulder and / thought I had
4 been killed.
THE cowboys came running up to me
and 1 did not let them know I had been
hurt then asked for another horse.
owning UP to the fact that the roam
was too much for me. They brought out
/ a black which I had them
riding in several performances. knew
i his style of buc1ing and hung on 10
4 him long enough TO satisfy them that J
was not exactly a tenderfoot After my
4 performance we went over to a nearby
saloon and they told me the roam was
the toughest proposition they had in the
outfit I went to bed as soon as I got
home, and it kept my wife busy for sew
eral days attending to my shoulder,
which had turned purple from the
] bruises. When I went around to the