Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-04
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kSakGl Texan cow-boy-a complete speci
E0GM9DI men, | may say, of the reckless
ssss2szS rOllcking, ready-for-apything rider
whom one meets with so frequent
ly among the mesquite bush and upon the
great rolling prairies Of the Southwestern
stock range.
A fellow who has spent his life, almost from
the cradle up, bestriding huge, red-leather
saddle, mounted upon slim but mettle-
some range pony of racing speed and won
derful endurance
A fellow who wears wide-brimmed white
ssombrero, a pair of ghtopped, high-heeled
boots, with a pair of wicked iinplinp SPURS
attached, around whose waist, also. is con-
stantly strapped wide cartridge-belt, stucl.
tuIl OF metallic cartridges, that will exactly
mt the chambers of the huge six-shooter which
bangles at his hip.
fellow who carries an Notwithstanding
coll OF rope hung to his saddle-horn; loop
of innocent folds, however, that undergoes
a sudden metamorphosis when caught up by
MS practiced hands and sent Kissing after the
luckless steer, who would fain escape the
second application of a red-hot brand, and
brings the poor brute to the ground with a
force that seems sufficient to crack all his
bones.
dangerous-looking fellow-this wild rider
Judged by his reckless air and his accouter-
ments, yet wlthal a generoushearted chap,
who would share the last crumb with you in
a tight PINCH" and at whose camp the lost,
belated or hungry traveller may always find
a hearty welcome and blanket to spare.
Such one is Zeb Ryerson, who rides the
Brazos Range-a trihe more daring, perhaps.
but neither better nor worse than the average
of his species.
Like all the rest of them, Zeb has had his
adventures host of them-and can spin
yarns by the hour, if you have a mind to lis
ten.
His browning achievements feat indeed
which has given him wider reputation than
falls to the lot of many upon the range-was
won early IN his career, when in fact, he was
but'a lad of eighteen years.
Zeb was at that time working with a party
on on the September roundup" and as the cat
tie were well scattered and their circuit
large one, they found themselves during the
last OF the month out upon the Clear Fork
OF the BRACES, at some distance beyond what
was usually the extreme edge Of their range
Ihey had camped on the bank of small
run, or branch, of the Clear Fork, and that
DAY, leb had followed the run clear up to its
source demonstrating to his satisfaction that
there were then, and had been, no cattle along
the banks that summer
lie was returning at his leisure. and late
IN the afternoon had reached a point some
tour miles from camp, when he suddenly
espled the humps and backs of a small herd
OF buffalo feeding among the mesquite bush of
ms right, and almost in the direction he was
travelling. WIS
Now buffalo were already getting extreme
ly scarce on the Brazos, and though he had
seen, large numbers of them in his early
youth, when they were plentiful as the cat
tie had become since, he had never killed
one.
Late years. when he had learned well the
use of Winchester and colt, his work had
been done on the eastern range. where there
was no game larger than the deer and tur-
ky.
Now was the opportunity to redeem his
reeordEfor rtsf 6 never to have killed buffalo was
and, in the wink of an eye, almost, he had
determined to slaughter that whole herd.
The buffalo were only little distance of,
and did not see the young herdsman, for
their heads were down and their big laws
quietly cropping the rich mesquit grass which
grew among the bushes.
Edging his pony slowly around to the
right, so as to get the feeding herd between
himself and camp, Zeb drew his Winchester
from the Saddle scabbard," and chucked the
partially-filled magazine "jam full" of we'll
creased cartridges.