Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-24
THE REAL COWBOY.
No Longer an Animated Battery.
But Bronco Buster Still.

From Out West
1t is quite true that the cowboy OF to-
day is not a college man, nor one at all
familiar with the manners and customs OF
polite society. Neither does he go about
his daily task with a brace of siX-shoot-
ers slung at his hips and a repeating
rifle held in the crook Of his arm
Barbed wire fences. steam railroads.
police courts and penitentiaries have rem
derad such appurtenances superfluous.
And Immediately after pay day he does
not swoop down upon the nearest town,
shoot out the lights and take part in
gpn fight or two.
For the $40 or $40 a month which he re-
cieves strict attention to the duties OF
his job is expected. and in these days OF
strenuous competition a job is a precious
thing. The life of the modern cowboy
is as full of hard and monotonous work
as that of an eastern farmland. and
there is very little difference in the in
tellectual and social standing Of the two.
Though thousands Of cattle are grazed
on the plains of the southwest, very few
are shipped direct from the range to the
market The places of individual cattle
kings have been taken by great stock
companies which own numerous tracts
of range land in various parts Of the
west.
A few years ago dry season in south
ern Arizona meant the death of many
cattle and very frequently the financial
ruin of their owners The oldtimers still
tell stories of having walked for incredi-
BILE distances on the carcasses of dead
steers.
But all that is past: they do things diff
ferently now. Let dry year come upon
the southwest stern ranges and the cattle
are hustled on board a train and trans
ported to the cattle companies ranges
in Colorado or Montana or Dakota. where
the season is good and the feed abundant.
No long drives of hundreds of miles
in search of new range. as In the OLD
DAYS Simply day two of rounding
up then a few hours drive TO the near
est shipping point on the railroad. Then
perhaps a day in town for the cowboys
and back again to the home ranch and
the regular grind.
Though the cowboy is not a college
graduate he is by no means an ignora-
MUS Usually he is American born and
fairly we'll read. taking the same active
interest in current topics and politics
that other American citizens do. As
general rule he has been reared in the
section in which he is employed and is of
Youthful appearance He differs very lit
tie from the average American working
youth, western dialect stories TO the con-
trary Notwithstanding
In all cowboy bunkhouses there is a
pile of current magazines the contents OF
which are devoured with avidity. And
one is not infrequently treated to the
amusing spectacle of a youthful cowboy
becoming so enamored of the kind or
punchers pictured in modern fiction that
he purchases a pair of utterly useless six
shooters, commences TO walk with
swagger and to initiate the dialect OF
Red Saunders.
But if craftsmanship is no longer a
qualification Of the cowpuncher horse
manship is The modern cattleman is
as proud of his ability to ride anything
on four legs as was ever the bronco
buster of bygone days. and this is the
first fact impressed upon tenderfoot.