The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-04-19

~ ESPrTE the regrets of the senti-
mentalists and the lovers Of the
strenuous literature OF Border
land the romance If the Old
West is giving way to the more peace
full responsibility and reality Of the New
West. Rowing bands of wild Indians
no longer attack the prairie schooner
caravans of the pioneers, and the out
laws who formerly held up the Dead
wood coach have adopted the more
scientific method of dynamiting the eX-
press car on the limited mail"
Nevertheless there is still something
invigorating in the life of the ranch
and the prairie. The cowboy no longer
considers it necessary to shoot up the
town" in order To qualify for the best
cow range society, and in recent years
a "tenderfoot' has even been known
to wear a silk hat on ranch with
out inviting the craftsmanship of the
crack shots among the COW punChers.
but Ranchland is a distinctive country,
and its habitants still have pecuiari-
ties that are essentially and pictur-
esquely their own.
Ranchland is exceedingly Self-ccn
tered 1t has its own recognized so
ciety 1t has provincial ideas Of what
constitutes good fellowship. 1t has n
code of ethics that is peculiar to its
kind, and it makes its own fashions,
more or less adapted from the Mexican
ideal. but having in view utility, COM
fort and semi ostentatious display. The
essential features of cowboy and cow
girl fashion are uhe wide brim. high
crown felt hat. the high heel, short
vanp boots. the loosely knotted neck
erchief and with the cowboys the
"chaperaj JOS which in ranch vernacu
lar has been abbreviated into chaps
the woody leggins worn in COW punch
ing.
This ranch vernacular is also peculiar
to itself. Sometimes II Is based on alb
breviations of Spanish words some
times on corruptions of English words,
and sometimes on created words and eN-
pressions that have become idioms. In
the vernacular of the range slick
ear" Is yearlng that has escaped
branding or being earmarked, and the
name "mavrick" came into use from the
unethical actions of a pair of ''rustlers,
Jim and Joe Maverick, who had IA weak
ness for stealing these unmarked year
lngs. The spring roundup when
the young cattle are branded. is n
"rodeo," or a cattle drive. "Naqucro
is the Spanish name for cowboy. a
who has reached the dignity of a
"bronco buster" \ BRONX is n ma
tive or Mexican horse of small size
"Cayuse" is the range name for an In
dian pony. An OUTLAW" is "A horse that
cannot he successfully broken" 10 sad
die or harness. Pulling leather" is q
term applied to the grabbing of any part
of saddle when trying to ride a
quicker" This is considered extremely
bad form. and the rider who does il
may he disqualified In 'bronco bust
ing" contest. Choking the horn
Squeezing Lizzie" grabbing the post.
and "holdng the jug handle" mean tn,
same thing in the ranch yernacular as
pulling leather" Riding sloppy" Is q
term applied to riders who sit loosely
in the saddle and allow the body to sway
with the movements of the horse. This
Is also bad form, CLOSE seat" a sea
which Is steady and firm, is what tn,
cowboy strives for, when IA rider lcavc'
the saddle at each bound of his horse
so that riders can see between ride
and saddle. il is called seeing daylight
There are scores Of other words and eX
pressions peculiar to the range, and the!
are utilized with the same glibness a
the Fast Side gangster uses his Otter
unintel igible argot.
While the Western cities do not know
so much Of tn" CONWAY and his life n
in the old days, largely because hc nov
goes to town by train or trolley lnstra,
OF On a bronx" and also because h
sometimes dofrrs to fashion To the ex
tent Of substituting "A derby for
snmbrcrO, out on the ranch life Is prctt
much the same as 1t has always beer