Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1912-01-24
TIC PUN(nfRos TO-DAY s :

IN If not In the R |II'
-6xd flesh, then at ~.A-E
c1 least in some ~V-1N
of the moving - R~<4
sS{ ~ picture shows
to be found in ~
z every street.
Go where you will In the - = ----
English speaking world. you cannot &
away from the puncher and his exploit
II you don't patronixe the picture show
themselves. You cannot fail to notice tt
man in the "chaps" printed in the gave
of colors on the posters outside
fact. no picture show seems complet
unless it includes In its program at lea
one cowboy picture.
The pictures usually represent tt
puncher as happy, we'll meaning ind
vidual with miniature arsenal to su
tain the effect, who has little to occup
his time except 1neddling with othe
peoples business. administering justie
with the aid of tree and length I
rope and being in at the finish of an
love affairs which may eliminate in h
neighborhood. According to the movin
picture authorities these latter episode
seem to crop up like mushrooms on
moor in the COW country. All this
very nice and romantic, but, unfortunat
". II the truth Is to be told, 1t can not /
stamped with the hallmark of veracit
After viewing these pictures mont
after month the public must have vel
exalted though none the less erroneo.
idea Of the average cowboy and h
work. If We leave out the inevitab
girl some Of these pictured exploi
might we'll have been duplicated in re
life in the "early" days, but any "loI
haired plainsmen who took part.
them have now to be content in the !
counting Of them with suitable en-
bellishments, probably to their grand
children-tf 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 a very. hazy and
sometimes absurd conception regard
ing the life and members Of both pro-
Z 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 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
! it is hard to imagine anything ro-
mantle connected with Chinese.
The bosses" see to 1t 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 gun. Years ago, when cattle
rustling was rampant, 1t 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
Z worth OF beef was running headlong
10 destruction and all ordinary means
81 had failed to check 1t, 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
4 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
I mass Of flesh.
But at the present time fences ana
restricted ranges have almost rendered
these big stampedes things Of the past
. and the type Of men who COPIED Win
them and with hostile Indians has dls-
appeared.
While the modern cowboy Is called
/ 3upon in a roundup to do much siren
uous work, during which the safety
from accident is measured almost en-
tirely by the sure footedness OF MS
\ pony and his skill as a rider. mis-
chance is the sum total OF risk to NE
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 Tor the
public's benefit and to demonstrate
\ the skill attained by certain individu-
\ ais picked out of thousands. Their
reckless 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
do for the love of applause or for
money, may be two widely different
things.
Some OF the most skillful and In
trepid broncho busters to be seen In
exhibitions never go near COW camp
from one years end to another. Sew
eral of these high priced attractions
are engaged in the sheep shearing
business: another drives his own team
and "rig'' in connection with the trans
far business. So these exhibitions
must not be taken as criterion OF
4 the character and work. of the $75
month puncher or the all the year
round stock hand. The fact Is there is