The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-05-06

no otayeo with the Ora00!
In . series Of stories Of the old
west published two years ago, Emer-
son Hough described the old-time
cowpuncher - the personification OF
loyalty. He stayed with the brand"
said Hough; and that was often q
real mans job In the old days Of the
long drives from the plains Of Texas
to Powder river and the Yellowstone,
enduring all kinds Of weather from
hot, dry summers to billiards and
below-5ero temperatures.
Words Not I'm His Speller
The discomforts Of weather were
only of minor importance, however.
TO the old-time cowboy the dangers
from marauding indians, rowing cat
''t0ugh guys" we're all in the days
work. He was always ready at the
drop OF hat to shoot himself OUT
Of . tight place, regardless Of the
circumstances, and either he did that
or he was carried out" But when
no was out with the boss's herd, his
job, first, last and all the time. was
to ''stay with the brand" And he
never failed to stay. The words
run" and "Quit" Just naturally
weren't in his blue-back spelling
book.
When off the range and "in town"
for . spell, he shook off business as
. duck does water and had grand
and glorious time''-as long as his
money lasted; then to throw . leg
over his cayuse and lope back to
camp. At such times he was tout for
. fight or frolic" and he generally
had both. II they couldn't uncover
. bunch from some other outfit to
night with, they'd fight among them
selves, and everybody would have q
perfectly lovely time, except, possibly
the barkeep. who had lot Of clean
ing up to do, and some new glass
ware to buy. after the smoke Of bat
tie had slfted out and he emerged
from behind . double tier Of bour-
bon stock along the sidelines.
Not "Riding'' Much Now
Not many Of the old-time cow
punchers are left today and the few
who are still alive are not doing
much riding" Most of them have
their own punches of white-face cat
tie, few hills to Craze them on and
IN alfalfa patch for hay for winter
feeding. Others are comfortably
sliding down Sunset hill, sitting at
bank desks labeled president" In
any Of the old COW states-Montana
Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico,
Texas, Arizona-a bankers conven-
ton roll-call sounds to an old-timer
''in these parts" like the old days on
the range.
Stickups Keep Away
This is significant when hooked
up with the fact that these states
have been remarkably free during the
country's period of "re-adjustment,"
Of bank hold-ups. Very seldom do
the newspaper wires record raids on
banks in the old COW states. The
present-day stickup men confine their
operations to the corn belt and the
effete civilization further eastward.
They give these western states a wide
berth knowing that many of their
banks are manned by squinty-eyed
men who rode the ranges and have
never gotten out Of the habit of
shooting quick and straight.
No Water In Their Veins
A good deal Of water has some
how got into the blood of the young
er generation but none of it has filt-
cred into the veins of these cldsters
Of the Santa Fe trail and the Montana
roundups.
They stayed with the brand" in
those days: and they are no less true
to themselves and their fellow men
in these times Of rapid changes.