Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1912-03-01

nienI wen nave Deen duplicated In r
life In the "early" days, but any az
haired" plainsmen who took part
them have now to be content in the
counting Of them with suitable EN-.
bellishments, probably to their grand.
chiidren-if they are lucky enough to
have any.
There are no two callings in the
world today surrounded by so much
romance. and about which SO much
has been written as those of plains.
men and sailors, and yet withal, the
general public has very hazy and
sometimes absurd conception regard
Ing the life and members of both pro-
fessions. Perhaps that the fact that
the real work of both callings is done
far away from the public ken, thus
allowing plenty of latitude for a vivid
imagination. is responsible for many
of the false impressions concerning
them.
In the first place, the average
puncher might work on the ranges
three or four years and at the end
of that period be able to count all
the girls" he had ever seen on the
fingers of one hand; and visit to the
home ranches would probably re-
veal as many Chinese as ladies', and
1t Is hard to imagine anything ro-
mantle connected with a Chinese.
The bosses" see to it that while the
puncher is on the payroll he has
mighty little time for anything outside
of hard work.
Again. in these days few punchers
pack a gun. Years ago, when cattle
rustling was rampant, It was advisable
that the stockmen should be provided
with guns. as the rustlers themselves
went armed; but the real use of the
gun dates back to the time when
fences and lineriders were practically
unknown. Thus. during some big
stampede, when thousands of dollars
worth of beef was running headlong
to destruction and all ordinary means
had failed to check it, as a last re-
source the foremost rider would shoot
down some of the leaders, thus check.
ing the rush and enabling the riders
to circle" the bunch; that process by
which alone big herds can be kept
under control, when they show ten.
dency to be restless. It consists in
making the fringe of the herd move in
a circle around the rest of the bunch;
thus the cattle themselves are made
to head off their fellows, until finally
the entire herd is one huge revolving
mass of flesh
But at the present time fences and
restricted ranges have almost rendered
these big stampedes things of the past
and the type of men who COPIED with
them and with hostile Indians has dis
While the modern cowboy is called
upon in roundup to do much siren
uous work, during which the safety
from accident is measured almost en-
tirely by the sure footedness of his
pony and his skill as rider. mis-
chance Is the sum total of risk to life
he has to run.
Some persons having in mind the
frontier celebration" held at Chey-
enne. Wyo., will be inclined to doubt
this statement, but it must be remem-
bered that these gatherings. which
are held annually in all big COW CEN
ters, are simply entertainments for the
public's benefit and to demonstrate
the skill attained by certain individu.
ais picked out of thousands. Their
disregard for limb or life is
not general among the punchers. What
4 man may do in the ordinary course
of his work and what he is willing to