The new enterprise., 1904-12-29

4 Il pected of Rim and bravely
ssose executing it like fremen
Of the city. Cowboys are the fire
fighters OF the plains" and burning
grass is the material consumed.
We will take, for illustration, says
the Fort Worth Record, the great
Espuela or "spur" ranch in the lower
Panhandle country OF northwest
Texas, and go back n dozen years,
when destructive fires were more fire.
quent than they are now, Hundreds
Of cowboys were employed on that
ranch, living in camps widely sep
arated, covering the unsettled counties
Of Dickens, Crosby. Cara and Kent
Great and very destructive prairie
fires often occurred, and systematic
plans were adopted to fight success
fully the deyourlng element which not
/ only involved a great loss Of grass,
/ but OF stock also. One Of the most
| successful plans was the following: 1t
was understood among the men at the
various camps that when smoke was
! discovered ascending from the prairie,
/ each and every cowboy must saddle
his horse and gallop away toward the
fire straight out in a line from his
camp.
This had to be done at night also,
the fire then being detected by the
| light; and the boys would come from
every direction, striking the line Of
fire at many different points almost at
the same time. II the fire had spread
much, the men from the different
camps would somtimes be many
miles from each other, those from the
same station going in a squad together.
II it was at night the scene would be
one Of wild and weird grandeur. The
great line Of fire, the galloping horses
as the cowboys approached 1t, some
from camps on opposite sides, their
forms and those of their horses stand.
ing in relief in the bright glare Of the
burning grass. Herds Of believing,
frightened, stampeding cattle made
the scene more terrible and exciting
as they ran before the pursuing crack
ling, roaring flames. Above the din
could be heard loud shouts Of com
mand from leaders of the assembling
men which would remind soldiers Of
a battlefield. The resemblance be-
came more realistic when rapid pistol
shots were heard far out on the pairle
in the midst Of the running cattle.
The men were not standing still on
their horses; the fire was travelling,
and they were going with it until
ready to begin their attack. Cattle
must be sacrificed TO save cattle. AS
soon as an animal fell, four cowboys
dismounted and sharp knives and
hatchets were at work, and in less
time than it takes to tell the slain
animal was cut in twain. The halves
were split so as to lay fiat upon the
ground and to each hoof the end of
rope was fastened, the other end
being around the pOmmel Of cow
boys saddle. They dashed away to
the line Of fire, dragging the severed
parts after them.
When they have reached this, two
men would cross-plunge through the
blaze Tom tried it, but his horse
wheeled and turned away from the
blaze, snorting loudly and in terror.
"Give me your end of the rope
Tom," one Of lie other men said, Il
can got over; Black Duncan will face
it," and with great plunge he clear
ed the line Of fire.
One of the other two also crossed
and without q moments halt and with
scorched faces, they wheeled their
horses and ran parallel with the fire.
dragging the bloody half of the beef
over 1t, smotherlng the fire out as fast
as their horses could run and drag
the weight. One man was thea on one
side of the fire and the other on the
opposite, each with his rope to the
foot of a beef, straddling the blaze
and beating out the greater part Of it.
They wore slick duck jackets and
legglngs upon which the fire could not
easily take hold. 1t was hot work.
however. They could get only the
length Of their ropes from the fire.
The two men with the other half of
the beef were going in the opposite
direction, taking the other end Of the
line Of fire. Suppose the fire was
travelling south and the line extend
ing east and west, two dragged east
and two west, fast recedlng from each
other and every moment widening the
black streak which marked the trail
of the smothered flames.
While these four men were getting
ready to do this work other cowboys
were sitting their horses nearby, their
faces lit up by the burning grass and
cheering their companions who were
crossing the FIRE line to fight the main