Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-20
TAFT IN A ROUNDUP
Rides a Cayuse on His Broth
er's Big Ranch.
SEES THE "cATTLE Dip
Shows Interest in Slaughter of the
Terrible Texas Tick.
CUTS OUT WILDCAT HUNT
But Will Go After Jack Rabbits To-
day if the Cayuse Can
Stand It.

Taft stood on shore yesterday and watch
ed his Suite as he jokingly calls the
members of his party, bathing in the
warm waters of the Gulf Of Mexico.
/ How are you enjoying 1t, Mr.. Presi-
dent?" dripping member of the suite
called out.
I'm having a good time" Mr. Taft
answered land I'm not going to let any
one break in on it,
The wild west touch necessary to the
day was added by the cowpunchers Of
La Quinta ranch, and by Capt. Archie
Butt and Secretary of War Dickinson
The cowpunchers took to Mr.. Taft a
wildcat. javelina and an opossum. All
of these were dead, except the opossum,
which had been caught alive in the Bap-
fist Church at Arkansas, ten miles away.
! In talking about the javelina down here
on the Mexican border one must be care
full to give the u" the sound Of III The
! 'havelna" is a counterpart of the wild
boar that Kaiser Wilhelm fights in the
forests OF Germany, except that It Is not
quite so big. But it is fierce animal.
Every hunter that kills one is a witness
Capt. Butt, aid to the President. and
Secretary Dickinson went duck hunting
with notable success.
Watches the Sunset.
The final feature of the day was sunset
on the plains and it impressed President
Taft more than anything he has seen
since coming to the southwest. He studied
the western sky a long time in silence.
1T is the most beautiful scene l ever
Witnessed he said
When the President was taken three
miles from Gregory Monday night in an
automobile to the farmhouse Of the
Charles p. Taft ranch and took good
look at the farmhouse he laughed hear
lilly.
Camping out,' he replied. Charlie.
you told me that l was to come down
here and camp out-and look at it,
! pointing to the mansion.
asked of other members of his party
yesterday morning. Are you camping.
out, too?'
They are-the other members OF the
way has only in size. On this plain,
broken by mesquite brush. at town
| built at the frog of a switch, Charles P.
Taft has put up a hosiery that would
was completed just before the party ar
rived and Charles p Taft insists that it
was not made for the occasion but in an
ticipation of city that is to grow about
1t. The site of the city extends as far
as the eye can reach to the four points
Of the compass, and all of it Is on the
ranch of 100000 acres and bare Of human
habitation.
| In the Saddle Today.
While the President did not exert him
self yesterday beyond game of golf with
his niece. Miss Louise Taft he will be In
the saddle at a roundup today on the
Rincorn ranch That is part of the vast
estate of his brother. The saddle was
do OF
presented by the cowpunchers of La
Quinta, the home section of the ranch,
| where the mansion is Mr.. Taft will ride
a cayuse. about which he was doubtful
| until he saw it. The horse has no recon-
mendations except size. strength and an
air of philosophy that makes light of 300
pounds
Besides the roundup, the President
will witness the branding and dipping"
OF cattle. Dipping Is a process to rid
the cattle of ticks. narrow vat. 100
! feet long, is used. and a liquid that Is
death to ticks. The cattle, thousands of
them, are driven into chute whose only
exit is a plunge into the 1OO-foot bath.
Instinctively, the cattle swim through
this, and the treatment is over, funerals
in the tick family following at once.
The tick. as explained here In the home
of the cattle raiser, is a product of civil
| ization. In the old days, before there
were. fences and towns, the Indians
burned off the dry grass in the fall, and
in the spring had new crop Of short,
green grass, without pernicious insects.
But If those fires were started now they
would burn all the evidences of civiliza-
tion The tick has taken advantage of
these conditions, and has multiplied far
beyond anything covered by the
highest schools of arithmetic. AS a re-
suit, the raiser of modern cattle has to
| give them a medicine bath every once in
a while. Mr.. Taft Is much interested in
this phase of ranching as the government
| is taking active part in instructing
| ranchmen in the new methods.
Will Not Hunt Wild Cats.
| After the roundup there will be a hunt
Of jack rabbits, but the President has not
decided that he will participate. He will
! wait until he sees how the cayuse stands
his weight earlier in the day. The Wild
| cat hunt arranged for him the President
has definitely cut out. He is much inter-
| ested in 1t, and will receive bulletins. but
he will not ride to hounds
Col. Cecil Lyon. republican boss of
Texas, who Is in the Taft party at the
Taft ranch home, had an exciting time
Monday night. He had a room with three
windows. and Dragged about it, Near
morning small cyclone, accompanied
by rain, came up, and Col. Lyon awak-
ened suddenly to find himself STRUGGLING
with some wooden incumbrance that was
trying to wrestle him out of bed
Being in the lumber business" said