The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1925-12-04

the cattle ranges. The cowboy was a
part of the West. Fiction may dis
tort him, but, today, when the orig
inaI of his race has all but dis
appeared, he withal, stands out clear
cut against the western sky, a glOr-
ious symbol of the Open-air life, and
the prime moving spirit in a NAM
moth enterprise which was destined
to pioneer this enormously wealthy
and productive empire.
A Man of Stern Qualities
The present m~iscOnceptiOn Of the
cowboy is doubtless due to the fact
that stern qualities were necessary
in the makeup of a man of his call
ing. Circumstances forced him to the
level of the rude conditions which
surrounded life in a se~mi-civiliZed
wilderness. He was a distinctive
character, alone typical of the cOUn-
try where his operations took him.
He was born with the industry of
which he was a part.
In other words, when the cattle
business started in the southwest and
west, America gained a new citizen
a new character. These young men
who travelled west from Iowa, Illinois
and the far eastern states, left the
east behind, cOnfOrmed to an entire
ly new life, and became cowboys.
They became men of courage and
constitution, with a love for the
ground and the open sky. True it is,
sometimes there had been trouble
back home, trouble with a man, with
a sweetheart, a creditor. But, it made
small difference in the early days
who the cOwpuncher was, so long as
he was equal to the task which his
new calling set before him. The
range had called him and claimed
him for it's own, and judged him
alone by his conduct after it had
adopted him.
MOntana's Cattle Industry
A knowledge of the cattle indus
try is essential to an understanding
of the cowboy. A brief outline of the
history and phenomenal growth of
this enterprise will best serve to eX-
plain how it was responsible for the
introduction of this distinctive sort
of individual, and how it was respOn-
sible, to no small extent for his rough
exterior.
Stock raising in Montana COM
menced on a small scale as early as
1852. The immediate cause was the
necessity for supplying beef to the
mining camps. It was found that the
cattle thrived remarkably we'll on the
rich virgin grasses, and during the
following years of the late sixties,
the new industry reached substantial
proportions.
5 In the early 70s, there came from
the crowded ranges of the south and
southwest, IN urgent cry for addi-
= tional territory out Of the empire of
l free grass, and the consequence was
- that vast herds of the Texas 'lOng-
= horns" were driven north over the
famous "Texas Trail to Craze on the
prairies of eastern and central Mon
, tana.
This was the great impetus of the
/ cattle industry in the state, and, ac-
e cOrding to reliable estimates, there
were in Montana in 1884 $500
f head of cattle distributed throughout
= the territory on large ranches owned
= and operated by the famous cattle
n barons of those days. In the mean
time many horse ranches had beer
f established, bringing the total Of
. livestock being then grazed in the
Territory to almost one million head
1 1t was then that the cowboy" OF
"eOWpuncher" was at the zenith o.
his career. These two terms were o.
purely western origin, and referred
to those who herded and drove cattle
g while the name "brOncO buster" Of
d "twister'' was applied to the SAM
IS individual who handled horses in
like manner, as we'll as brake then
It to ride and to work.
Was BOrn-NOt Made
t. In many respects this OId-timu
cowboy was a most wonderful crea
t, ture. This type of men were born, no
IF made. They we're entirely differen
e. from the present day MontgOmer,
Ward or Cinema product.
k The cowboy endured hardship
s. that would take the lives of mos
Is men of today, and he was therefor
D. a perfect type Of manhood. AS a class
they were the finest hOrsemen in tn
world and their many feats of DARN
on horseback, together with thei
dexterity in handling a lariat, en-