Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-05-14
asliseellansuus 8sadins.
END OF THE COWBOY.
The West Finds That It No Longer
Needs Him.

Loved of all the nation as an institu-
ton particularly American and wor-
shipped by the small boy, the day oi
the cowboy is passing.
The dashing swashbuckler, with MS
Ieesings, his staggering sombrero, his
belt, revolvers and lariat will soon be
no more; he is vanishing from the
plains, a victim of the coming of
more modern way of doing things.
The knell Of the cowboys passing ex-
istence is sounded in the decision to
abandon the reunion Of cowpunchers
for many years an annual event In
Texas.
This used to be held at Seymour, Tex
II was an event to which the whole
southwest looked forward, and COWBOYS
from half a dozen states made long
trims in the saddle in order to be on
hand for this reunion. 1t had been
MANNED to hold 1t as usual this spring
bnt those who had 1t in charge found
so little interest that they started an
Investigation to find out what had be-
come Of all the cowboys.
Their discoveries were depressing
from the standpoint Of the small boy
who in dime novels and pictures has
worshipped the deeds of the sharp
shooting, broncobusting, fearless men
Of the plains.
So widely has the cowboy been scat
tered by changed conditions that, ike
otbello. he could truthfully say that
his occupation Is gone. Not more than
q few hundred cowboys could by any
possibility have been brought to Sey-
mour. and as this would have been as
far short Of a true reunion as swai-
low Is from composing a summer III
was reluctantly decided to have no con-
claye. and this means, likely, that the
old picturesque institution has passed
for all time.
Yet It has not been so long since tha'
a reunion was held that was a remark
able success.
Seymour, now the centre of Guilt
waited and agricultural section, was
dozen years ago given over to grazing
In 1897 It was the scene Of the larges'
gathering of cowboys ever seen in this
country.
The men from ranches in Texas, In
dian Territory and Oklahoma rode to
the gathering, and more than 2o'ooC
cowboys and 500 Indians rallied to the
camp and pitched their tents in Sey-
mour.
The influx of the settlers to the Pan
handle and the ranch territory Of west
ern Texas had at that time just be-
gun, and the advance of the farmer
who was destined to take the soil from
the cattle grazer was yet in the future
One man bore the assignment o1
keeping this army of visitors in order
Capt. w. ]. L. Sullivan, recently elect
ed doorkeeper Of the Texas house OF
representatives. His proven courage
and knowledge Of the men of the plains
had led him to be picked as the man
who could best be relied on to keep
them in check, and he did not shirk the
responsibilities of being named as grand
marshal.
Sullivan was the only peace officer
in Seymour and everything was up to
him. But so skilfully did he discharge
his duties that during the four days
that the conclave lasted he found II
necessary to make only two arrests
and these were for minor offences
which shows that the cowboy was new
er as needlessly quick on the trigger
as the eastern public had been led to
believe.
But Mr.. Sullivan was diplomat. He
wouldn't take any chances on clash
between the Indians and cowboys. He
put the Comanches on one side Of the
town, while the cowboys had their camp
in another direction.
On the second day matters looked a
little squally for the Indians, but Sui
livan was on the job and chased back
the first party who suggested going
over and paying a night visit to the
redskins.
Seymour had admirable advantages
for a gathering of this kind. The road
to the town, which then had popula-
ton of 300, was wide and fiat, and gave
them a fine course for the furious races
between the cowboys on their swift
ranch horses.
On the second night of the reunion
Seymour saw the remarkable spectacle
of 10000 cowboys riding back into town,
at breakneck speed, each man with his
sixshooter out, firing into the air.
The bombardment lasted for more
than an hour, and the splitting of the
flashes and the detonation Of the shots
made most thrilling effect.
Prohibition was another visitor that
had not yet made its way into the far
west, and in order to take care Of the
thirst needs Of the guests, thirty tenn
porary saloons were instituted. These
were crowded night and day, and yet
In spite of the amount Of liquor con-
SuIIlSu tIleTe was lllic ulSoiuSi'
Occasionally there were fights. Two
big cowboys battled furiously with
their fists for an hour before one was
forced to give up, but there was no
shooting in the affray, for each man
turned over his pistol to friends before
the combat started.
Some Of the men who took part In
the festivities had hundreds of miles t.
ride to get back to their ranches. In
fact, there were some who came from
as far as New Mexico, Arizona, Colo
RADIO and Montana.
So great success was the whole af-
fair that it was resolved to make it an
annual event, and it looked as though
the spirit of the western life had beep
saved by getting the comrades together
once more.
Then came the war with Spain. That
helped the game Of the cowboy, for
Theodore Roosevelt, remembering the
valor Of some Of the men who had been
his companions in the days when he
was recruiting his present robust health
by life on the plains, formed regi-