Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-08-08
COWBOYS VOCATION GONE.
Changing Conditions Have Displaced
Old Order of Thinqs.


all that are left to tell the story Of the
most picturesque occupation that Won
derful America ever developed. Hun
dreds Of them are emigrating from
the west and finding their way into
other fields of work. There are hun
dreds or maybe Thousands earning
their living in every imaginable way,
all of them getting along and many Of
them markedly successful. They all
lament the passing of the old days,
and would give a great deal to get
back to the freedom Of the plains IL
the onward march of progress did
not make it impossible. Their chances
are past and never again will they see
saddle service unless they emigrate to
South America or Cape Colony. Even
then they would only again witness the
destruction of their vocation"
Buck Mckee Of Oklahoma, born and
bred in a saddle, cattle ranger and
cowboy, scout and Indian fighter,
spoke. He was one Of the many
driven from the plains by changing
conditions:
"Pd like mighty we'll to feel a real
COW pony under me again, and you can
bet I will when Col. Mulhall gets here
with his horses and cattle. It'll be an
excuse for a real ride like I haven't
had since the settlers spread so thick
over the plain that they busted the
game. The land Is so cut up there
are mighty few stretches where the
cattle can run wild. Every thing is
fenced In and all the boys have to do
now Is to ride the line morning and
evening to see that the wires are all
In place.
"Only in the semi-annual roundups
for branding Is there a chance to rope
a steer, except for the four summer
shipments. when they are corralled to
pick the fat ones for market. Then a
short drive over the country to the
nearest stretch of railroad and that
won't be far, is all the action you'll get
Tor your money.
"All the pasture land Is now cut up
and 1t forces the cattleman to raise his
own feed to keep the herds in winter.
In the old days the cattle could always
find canons and foothills where the
grass grew so long that 1t was easily
found under the snow. There was no
necessity to provide feed. Nature did
1t all. Now you have to raise grain
to save the rough for winter. In Ok
lahoma with the new cotton industry
and the finding of oil there will be less
chance than ever.
when l was a kid out there, scarce
ly big enough to sit In the saddle
there were miles and miles Of land
over which the cattle grazed. They
were as wild as could be, and man
took his life in his hands many, many
times when he went out to round them
up. And in driving them he was COM
PEELED to drive 200 or 800 miles to get
them to market over the roughest
kind Of territory. / remember on one
occasion when we were taking 5000
head to ship them to Kansas City or
where the current was running a reg
ular mill race.
"The banks were so steep 1t was
impossible to mount them. save in one
stretch OF about 100 yards. There was
solid mass of cattle swimming from
one bank to the other. The leaders
were across before the tail enders
started. and between the banks you
could have walked across on their
backs. We lost 100 head, drowned,
and would have lost many more had II
not been for some mighty quick work
on the part of the cowboys.
You know when a herd starts to
swim a stream they all follow certain
leaders. If one Of these leaders gets
bewildered by anything they will swim
around in q circle. The others will
follow until a score or more are lock-
ed so tight you couldn't get leg be-
tween them. There they would swim
II you would let them until every one
of them are drowned from exhaustion.
The cowboy has to ride out and mount
the backs of the outsiders. Then he
fights his way across to the leaders.
STOPPING over he throws water In
their eyes until he distracts them and
defects their course until they are go
ing straight. There Is no chance to get
back on his horse, and he has to
ride the steer ashore. There he has a
pretty ticklish job dismounting and
getting his pony again.
"A steer, when he's tired, will at
tack man afoot In minute, and 1t
takes lively moving to avoid being
gored or trampled under foot by them.
In fact, there Is always danger afoot
to look out for. But a COW brute will
never attack a horse unless 1t Is bad
ly wounded or completely worn out
and unable to run. Then it's fight
anything. If there's a chance to run,
II will bolt, though.
"Then there is danger Of being
thrown in the water from the back Of
the steer. If man goes In ahead Of
a herd it's all day with him. steer
will hit him with his fore feet II there
Is a chance, and try to put him under.
In fact, horse will do that unless he's
trained as a cow pony Is. Even a cow
pony will try to climb into boat in
a stream, and he's pretty sure to
swamp 1t II he gets near.
Most Of the cattle lost In crossing,
however. are lost by being trampled
under and drowned by their fellows.
The weak ones that can't swim as fast
as those behind are climbed on by the
followers and driven under. Once down
there Is never a chance for them to
get up again.
This is one of the most serious
sources of loss to cattle herders. The
blizzard Is another. In blizzard
weather the herder knows he's the
man who has gone broke through a
bad stretch. The cattle go crazy and
stampede. Then they huddle together
In some sheltered spot so close that
you could not wedge between them. A
weak one goes down and Is trampled
to death. Others stumble over him,
and never come up. In a night / have
seen hundreds trampled to death
through one falling. On riding out In
the morning l have found a pile Of
dead carcasses as high as your head
and as broad as the Flatiron building.
It's mighty tough work driving the
herd out to prevent more from going
under l tell you.
"The instant steer smells blood he
Is wild Hundreds are drawn to the
spot and paw the ground and below
till you'd thing bedlam was loose.
They are sure to fight among them
selves and kill more every time a
steer goes down, and you have to
mount a cowboy guard around a dead
one to keep them away from wake.
have known men to have to stay for
three days over dead carcasses to keep
the herds moving.
IT'S peculiar how a stretch Of prai-
rie where you can scarcely see three