The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-08-23
THE HENRY STAMPEDE


Woman . Heroine
The annual stockman's stamped
and rodeo at Henry the last half o
last week was opened in blaze o.
enthusiasm and ended In q scatter
ing of tired and happy people.
The event was put on by a ioca
organization with Bill Larkins, presi
dent; Levi Bitton, vice president
James Chester, secretary and A. H
Game, treasurer. The show opened
on Thursday afternoon with q pro
gram of about twenty events In rae
ing, bucking and professional riding
with Walter Hogan as manager OF
the arena. The attendance was
about 500 on Thursday, with most
of them remaining in the grounds for
Friday and 100 more entering that
day. Most of them remained and on
Saturday about 500 more entered
They came from considerable dis
tances and had camping outfits.
There was an open air pavilion
for dancing each evening, and after
the ball everybody took to their beds
and blankets and 1t was a great
bivouc of fun-makers dead to the
world.
This kind of entertainment origin
ated q hundred years ago with the
opening of the west to a new pro-
gram of trapping and trading. The
new method was for caravan OF
pack horses to come out from the
east each spring with trappers' sup
plies and Indian goods, and exchange
them for furs. All trappers and
traders met at some place, agreed
upon year In advance and the meet
ing was known as the rendezvous
(ron de voo.) 1t was period of
rest and of visiting, with drinking
and feasting. 1t was a period of
love-making, of courtship and mar
coming year.
rendezvous the chief factor or COVER
nor of the event, proclaimed a day of
license, or absolute freedom. On
that day everybody could do as they
pleased and be responsible to no
body. Even the little law that ex-
listed among themselves was sus-
pended for that day. If anybody
wanted to run races or fight or
wrestle or have free fight" with
all rules for fair play suspended, iii
was their privilege. They could
shoot, choke, strike below the belt /
punch eyes out or anything which I
the participants agreed upon, and
interferred. If persons in
the camp agreed to violate the moral
law that was their business
and 1t was recognized as fair
For the day, tho an aggrieved
party could hold grudge and
call for an accounting the day
after, and the offenders might have
to make peace as best they could
with the aggrieved. While the day
asted, license and absolute freedom
reigned.
AS the trapping and trading died
)ut and the stock business developed,
practices changed very slowly and
he things of the previous generation
leld sway as do the things of gen.
grafton ago receive attention at this
ime. The tendency was always to
evert back to old customs at the
or the roundup or the
stampede or whatever the annual
was called, and there has
llways been a disposition to have a
period of no restraint.
In the annual gathering at Henry
here has generally been whiskey.
there have generally been f1stic en-
COUNTERS. There has generally been
ess restraint than at ordinary !
On the occasion of the
Irst rodeo at Henry it was expected {
hat daily admission would be .
harged, and people paid to go in the {
rst day, but remained in and de-
lined to pay on the second day when
equested to. Every move made by {
he management to collect admission {
ees for the folks already in met s
nth failure. 1t was as if it were a {
ay of license, and some said, eve
ill pay when the rest do and {
aughed at the collectors. Finally a ,
ew hundred feet of rope was
across the grounds and an
fort was made to move the crowd s
cross the rope as they paid, but the q
rowd took it as a joke and either t
contented where they were
r stepped across the line and said a
ley would go home or that they a
ere ready to be put OF the grounds Ii
The committee simply could not v
oliver, and control passed from p
lem to the crowd, and it was con- h
dered a part of the game. 1t was v
) If they had adopted an eleventh n
that read, "He that a
eateth the game thereby giveth unto
le Lord "
At the open air dance on a great
CONTINUED on Page 81 b