The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-03-20

few men in Bill Harts outfit who
could ride with any of them. In fact,
the old-timer, Bert Rollins, sat on
as bad a horse as they have in the
the Aircraft picture THE Money Cor
raj" in which Bill Hart staged the
biggest roundup ever held for mo-
| ton pictures.
Here is a very Interesting bit OF
cow-saddle history.
Tying a coat or blanket across the
fork of the saddle in the old days"
said Bill Hart, first gave cattlemen
the idea of building swell fork sad
dies In other words, the saddles are
now built much wider in front. The
old cow-Saddle was the plainest of
plain Workmanship. 1t was for rop-
| ing.-not comfort"
In the picture Bill Hart is now pro-
ducing. Wagon Tracks" which is an
| historical romance of the Santa Fe
essays the role of Buckskin Harpilton.
modelled to a certain extent on the
character of Kit Carson. And Bill is
riding in one of the Oldest COW saddles
| ever used.
II is very narrow, in fact, it is only
six or seven inches wide in the fork
and comes up to a point about three
! inches wide
To-day, the cow-saddle averages
| fourteen inches in the swell, and some
/
Quite a change from the old days
However, in bucking bronco contests
the rider is not allowed to use more
than a fourteen inch swell.
The pommei, or seat OF the SADDLE
tree, was also very narrow in the old
| fashioned saddles. 1t was always
made in a sixteen inch length. Now
the saddle tree is made to fit the
rider. The bigger the man. the long
er the tree. And the front OF the
| 1ica6 6o O
rider can sit Back against the cantle.
| said Bill Hart: "Our old stock sad
/ dies had flat wooden box stirrups. De-
cidedly. the wooden 'ox-boWs are
| great improvement because the bot
! tom of the stirrup is bent in the shape
| Of an 'ox-bow,' which makes 1t lit the
| foot much Better. In a fall the foot
would come out of an 'ox-bow much
easter. An 'ox-bow' is much narrower
than the box-stirrup- Most cowmen
nrefar the .ox-bows.' Ring stirrups
which are made of steel are perfect
| for all purposes because when they
turn they are always right side up.
But, believe me. they are sure hard on
the feet for riding"
| The first cowboy stock saddles were
cut out of a piece of wood. covered
with rawhide and then leather. they
were all made in one style Or course.
time brought many improvements and
the. cowboy today can get saddle
built to suit his fancy
= Cowmen often refer to their saddles
! as :"kacks'' or "hulls.
/ Fancy, hand-carved saddles became
popular after most of the necessary
| changes had been male. and official
rodeos and wild west shows had come
into being. The old timers didn't have
I time to bother about anything but a
plain saddle. If a puncl1er wants to
be a dandy in these days he can get
a fancy hand-carved leather sado lie
enhanced with sterling silver >slount-
! ings. OF course, the decorative silver
! is confined to the ornaments, altho
some prize saddles boast sterling sill
yer horns. However, these would be
! impractical for roping. Sooner or
! later the puncher would cut his
hands. Tho best roping horn is
covered with green rawhide.
| BAl Hart owns an ancient squaw
saddle which was given to him by
Minnie, the famous Indian woman who
7 has appeared in SO many pictures.
. "Afinlie is Il Cheyenne said Bill, land
she said this squaw saddle belonged to
her grandmother. 1t is made of cedar
wood covered with green rawhide.
| Strips OF green rawhide form the rest
of this primitive contraption. The
wood is put up in front for the fork
and in back for the cantie. The