East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1913-09-10
(By George Gllmore.) J

With apologies TO the reader for
having TO use the personal pronoun
quite frequently. I Will launch head
foremost into telling how the Round
up impressed me year ago. You
see, I was green then. indeed mere
youngster In western ways, and
half expected to see something after
the manner OF the Wild west shows
that used to blow into our village back
in Massachusetts,. This impression
was gained. perhaps. from the fact
that when l came west / did not see
the wild and woody / expected. In
other words l found oregon good
deal like Massac husetts in many re-
spects. l found that Portland had
an excellent street-car system, tall
buildings and good streets. found
Salem, the capital city. nice little
town with beautiful trees and lawns
and wide streets. and / found Pendle-
ton n hustling city, modern and pro-
gressive So with these facts before
me. and the illusion of the shoot
'er-up- Bill type OF village entirely
disappeared. / thought to myself
This Roundup about which every
body is talking is bound to be sort
of side-show attraction, similar To
the travelling medicine shows used
to see back home.
I recalled to mind a certain Fourth
of July celebration we had once IN
Our Village when the boys whoope'
II up and rode their horses bare
backed through the streets, and
might say too. that they we're pretty
good riders considering that they
we're 'born and raised as the ex'
oression goes. within few miles o.
Boston. II the roundup Is anything
like this celebration. said to my self
ses I, then | shall feel that hav'
come west In vain, all other adv'ce
TO the contrary.
So 7 waited with bated breath and
oalpitating heart for the great days
TO come around. And as time has a
habit OF passing. soon the great
event was In full swing and / could
scarce control myself till l hal OPP
portunity of going down to see what
II was like. l approached the perk
with feeling that after all / was
going to get a rude awakening from
IN. past ideas l held of the Round
nm. began to believe. when ] saw
the thousands of people from all part
of the country, that after all TINS
show was going to beat the wnoop-
ne.a of that certain Fouth OF JUN
bv several whoops to the good and
wboops that would not be OF the
tame school boy variety.
And then | found myself Ill the
.prandstand, an atom in the congrega'
ton and the big. kicked-looking are
na stretched out before me.
surely said / to myself, there L
roipp to be something doing here to-
,Iov that will make everything else
ever saw look like bevy OF .n'
ladies' sewing circle hack in Our VII
lage. And was l right?
Zip-something started and thu
.great show was underway. Ther'
was no need of ringmaster to cal
attention to the various events
found that l had thousand eye
and each eye took In particula
scene. I saw that here was the rea
west the west / had dreamed abou
and read about. stalking in the flesl
before me. saw the genuine COW
boy the descendent of pioneer day
when death iurked at every turn
the undaunted man, whose watchwor'
ever was There Is no such thing n
defeat"
For the while I was back on tn
range. I saw myself not as the pro
duct Of a civilized age, but as tn
citizen of the wilds when there wer
beasts to be conquered. And h