Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-08-20

long, bright horns-half a mile of solid
cattle with horse herd and wagons in
the lead. The silver conchos on spurs
and brides and the pearl-handled six
shooters of the cowpunchers flashed in
the sun and they made a brave show
ing. C%owpunchers of that time wore
the best quality of clothing and took
great pride in their outfit. They got
to be a distinct type and class. They
would 60 back to Texas after a drive
north. work all winter gathering a herd
in the brush and then start north again
in the spring. Many a time I've heard
a Texas c~owpuncher singing that old
song:
We go up north every spring
And come back in the fall.
We are bound to follow the Lone Star
trail
too a.. ''' 'uH"' get
"Of course. the cowpunchers thought
it would last forever.
las l said. a days drive was
times as long as 40 miles, but the av-
erage was only 10 to Is miles. accord
tng to the water. The straight steer
herds made the best time for they
were comparatively easy to handle. 1t
""R "hth an putllt LlpNtu ali IUplF
range cattle north that the trouble be
gan. The calves would get lame and
play out and the slowest cow set the
pace. The boys always took great
pride in getting the herd through in
good shape. though. and resented anv
slurs cast at their trail boss and the
way he handed his outfit. They were
surely loyal to their employers and
to one another.
Often the owner of a herd we were
taking north would show I'D where we
crossed the railroad. look the herd
over and say, 80 long. boys. I'll see
you in Miles City He would then
take the train and 60 there, sit around
the hote', drinking whisky. playing
poker and Dragging about his outfit.
I've got the best damned outfit of
c~owpunchers on the trail. he would de-
Why, that herds good beef
now. OF course when we heard
of such talk it made the salt taste
Some owners new at the business
occasionally tried to run their own
on the trail. but once was
enough. for no one ever paid the
slightest attention to them. The old
timers among the owners would tell
their range bosses to send an outfit
somewhere to receive q herd and trail
it to some place in Montana or Wvo-
ming. The range boss would cali n
boss, hand him a big roll of
bills and say: Fill up your outfit in
men and horses when you take over
the herd down south. Turn loose on
the Big Dry in Montana. SO long: the
old man will meet you in Miles City
The job would be done and done right:
just as well as if the trail boss owned
the herd. The big rivers might run
banks full. thunder and lightning might
stampede the herd; every kind of trou-
Bile might come-but leave it to the
trail boss to cross the Yellowstone on
Longest Drive Ever Made
The longest drive ever made on the
Trail in one season was in 1884.
when Johnny Burgess. now living at
Rosebud. Montana. look a herd of 1000
the Guadalupe river in Texas to
the mouth Of the Musselshell river in
Montana. That was only half of the
herd. the second outfit being in charge
Of John Bowen, another we'll known
trail boss.
I'm most outfits the c~owpunchers
uSeu " WOih toSttucI well anu, as /
said. they were always loyal TO one
another. If n or two were hurt or
sick, they rode the wagon and the
did their work cheerfully. Very
few orders were given, for every man
knew his work, had his place and kept
it. Trail cooks were rough and ready |
but mighty fast in their work. They
would drive four horses Over cutbanks
deep coulees and through deep
swift streams sometimes. They would
curse a lot but always have their meals
time. The horse %wrangler, who had
charge of the horse herd, used to help
the cook rustic feed and water. We
would often 60 all summer without see
ing a newspaper, but we often met q
rep as the representative of an out
brand was called, travelling from
one roundup to another. He would