The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-09-16

HE old time cowboy who ruled the
range in what is now Montana is
rapidly becoming a tradition. When
the public domain was settled and
fenced by the homesteaders 1t brought
the end of the era of the big outfits"
which grazed beef cattle by the thou
sands upon the u~ndulating prairies. Mon
tana will continue to be an important
beef-growing state, but it will not be
under the conditions which prevailed in
the seventies, eighties n nineties Of the
last century. Our beef cattle OF today
are being grown more efficiently, ana
perhaps in greater number, but not as
dramatically.
Motion picture stories and western
novels have done much to immortalize
the cowpuncher, but often his faults as
we'll as his good qualities have been ex-
aggerated. Montanans of the present
generation and the generations to come
should endeavOr to keep in mind the true
picture of the men who rode the ranges
and got so muc enjoyment out OF the
free and broad XpanSes OF nature.
No one has better described the true
Montana cowboy than Granville Stuart
did in his book, Forty Years on the
Frontier" Mr.. Stuart, in 1880, organized
one Of the first big outfits in this state,
and for several years thereafter was It's
superintendent. He knew the cattle men,
anu blC CdJIlC bhoAAACoo III
timately. He knew the Texas trail, too,
over which many Of the cattle were
brought to this section from Texas and
Arizona. Hence, his description Of the
cowboys he knew. the life they led, the
hazards they faced fearlessly, and the re-
s-ponsibilities they carried unf1inchingly
are worthy Of keeping fresh in ones
memory. Mr.. Stuart said:
Here I wish to give my impression Of
cowboys or 'cowpunchers' as they called
themselves, gathered from my 10 years
association with them on the range. They
were a class by themselves and the gen
uine dyed in the wool ones came from
h southwest, most Of them from Texas
Born n raised on those great opeT
ranges, isolated from everything but cat
tie, they came to know and understand
the habits and customs of range cattle
as no one else could know them. Away!
on the frontier beyond organized societ!
or law. they formulated laws Of thei
own that met their requirements, anC
they enforced them, if necessary. at TIT
point of the SiX-shOOter. They were re-
luCtant to obey any law but their owl
and chafed under restraint. They werl
loyal to their outfit and to another
A man that was not square could no
long remain with an outfit.
Cowboys Code of Hon
"A herd was perfectly safe in the hand
of a boss and his outfit. Every mai
wOul sacrifice his life to protect tn
herd. If personal quarrels or dispute
arose while on a roundup or on a drive
the settlement of the same was left unit
the roundup was over and the men re
leased from duty, and then they Settle
their differences man to man and with
out interference from their comrades
They often paid the penalty with thei
lives.
"Cowpunchers were strictly honest a
they reckOned honesty but they did no
consider it stealing to take anything the
could lay hands OF from the government
or from Indians. There was always
bitter enmity between them and soldier
"A shooting scrape that resulted in ID
death OF one or both OF the Ombatant
was not considered a murder but a
affair between themselves. If a sheri
from Texas or Arizona arrived on one {
our northern ranges to arrest a man fC
murder, the other c-Owpunchers would in
variably help him make his escape.
They were chivalrOus and held wome
in high esteem and were always gentle
men in their presence. They wore til
best clothes that they could buy n toe
q great pride in their personal appear
ance and in their trapping. The men
II outfit used to pay S25 a pair f
m~ade-tO-Order riding boots when the be-
store boots in Helena we're $40 a pair.
Their trappings consisted Of a fl
saddle. silver mounted bride, pear-hal
died six shooter, latest model cartridg
belt with silver buckle, silver spurs,
fancy quirt with silver mountings, a fl
RATA sometimes made of rawhide, a pa
of leather chaps, and a fancy hat bar
often made from the dressed skin of
diamOnd-backed rattlesnake. They wO
expensive Stif-brimmed light felt hat
with brilliantly cOlOred silk handkerchie
knOtted about their necks. light colorC
shirts n eXquisitely fitted, very his
heeled riding boots.
Each cOwpuncher owned one or mo
fine saddle horses, often a thoroughbre
on which he lavished his affections, al
the highest compliments he could p
you was to allow you to ride his favori
horse. Horse racing was one of his f
vOrite sports.
Were Steady, Hard Workers
There were men among them vi