The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-11-09
AN AMATsUR ROPER OF BEARS.

When riding through the foothills
which border the Santa Clara Val.
ley, l fell in with an elderly horse
man whose weather-beaten saddle and
service-g CLOSED rata proclaimed him
a knight of the open range. Con-
versation developed that be had taken
a bunch of beef cattle" to Palo
Alto, and was now returning to his
ranch in the mountains.
At this point we were interrupted
by pair of bareheaded youths in an
automobile, who footed US out of the
road, and grinned broadly when our
horses tried to climb the fence.
My companion was smiling remi-
niscently when we resumed our
journey.
"Those automobiles are good
thing, said he. Before they came
out, that class of people had to turn
cowboy for excitement. In the early
days 1 rode with one such, and he
made me lot of trouble.
Gwen before he could ride a gen.
tie horse he was much more of cow
boy than we who were raised in the
saddle. He wore a fringeG buckskin
suit and tucked his trousers into his
boots like the cowboys in pictures.
about the time he got so that he
could ride an animal that bucked a
little, and could make an occasional
catch with a lasso, he was turned
over to me for a side partner. The
boss apologized for it few days
later said the lad was nephew of
the owner, and asked me to keep him
from killing himself and his mounts
if / could.
81 soon found that Bill, as he in
sisted on being called, was all right,
except that he was young for his
twenty-one years and wanted excite
ment. He needed excitement. His
system craved it as cattle craved salt
and he got it. 1t came in such a
bunch that he became nice, quiet,
useful cowboy.
1.-THE range we were riding was
along the base of the pine hills that
border the seacoast below Monterey
Bay. One day, as we were crossing
a stretch of drift sand which ran back
perhaps half-mile from the beach,
we came upon big cinnamon bear
prowling about among the piles of
kelp thrown up alongshore. Iwould
have given ten dollars for rife, be-
cause he had been pulling down our
calves.
Young Bill at once made grab
for his lasso. 1t was sixty-foot one,
longer by ten feet than any man can
use to advantage.
"'What you going to dor asked.
"'Going to lasso him, of course T
he snapped out, scornfully. Come
on I
"'Not much 7 / said. This horse
of mine isn't broke to hold, and he
isn't fit to hold a bear +; his back is
tender
"Bill didn't quite dare to say,
You re afraid 7 but he looked it good
and strong as he began shaking out
his moose.
"'You'd better let the bear alone"
1 said. 1T needs three men to handle
one of those fellows.
''But Bill, acting mighty mad and
important, plunged his spurs into his
mustangs TANKS like the cowboys
you read of, and raced after Mr.. Gin
namon, who was now Logging it for
the timber.
81 rode after them, though not in
much alarm, because Bill wasn't what
you would call an expert with RATA.
But with the first cast he nooSed him.
What was more, he took his turns
round the saddle-horn and set his
horse back like a sure enough va
quero. If he had been a vaquero,
though, he would have dropped the
RATA and let the bear go; for the
moose had taken in foreleg and was
drawn about the shoulder in such a
way that the best man and horse on
earth could not have held the brute
or chicken him down.
1.-The cinnamon began to fight the
rope the moment the horse settled
back, rolling over and over, and claw
ing and swapping like a bear gone
mad. Then Bill allowed his mount
to turn so that he caught the strain
sidewise.
In this event one of two things
must happen-either the horse is
pulled over or the saddle turns. 1t
was the saddle this time. It was a
lucky thing for the owners nephew
that the rope came free from the sad
dle-horn If it hadn't, nothing in
the world would have prevented him
from being cut in two or kicked to
death, or both.
cit was bad enough, anyway, for
Bill got mixed up with the extra ten
feet of RATA and the bear-well, the
bear took a new start for the timber.
"Bill yelled for help then in way
that I'll never forget. knew that a
drag through the sand wouldn't dam
age him any worth mentioning, but
just hearing him yell made my hair
lift my hat off. At least my hat flew
off just about that time.
''Bill and the bear made the sand
scatter far and wide. The bear had
settled down to business, and was