Evening star., 1936-07-19
Bv Mafhilde Bahar.
CHEYENNE.


CHEYENNE.
TIME romance Of the old wild
West of Cheyennes Hell on
Wheels" days will flame anew
i next Wednesday with the an
nual celebration of frontier days.
Wyoming women will once again listen
to the cowboys singing:
Shy Ann, shy Ann, hop on my
pony,
There's room here for two, dear,
But after the ceremony
Well both ride back home, dear.
as one,
On my pony from old Cheyenne.
CHEYENNE homes arr already over
flowing with relatives and frlenos
anxiously awaiting the dashlng cow
bows, the handsome cowgirls, the
whoops of the Indians, the spill OF
the bronco, calf roping and bull
dogging, the blood curdllng, breath
taking contests between wild men and
wilder beasts.
The women in preparation OF the
yearly revival are rushing around
gathering up old horse e-drawn vehicles,
the furniture and costumes OF by
gone days. For their hearts delight
is the parade, with its pageant OF
floats portraying the growth and de-
yelopment of the West from the day
of the Indians and frontier scouts to
the present. Many a phaeton and
shay will carry fluttering females IN
their full skirts. tight bodices and
little hats as they depict the gentler
sex of the '80s. Ladies attired in the
garb of their great-grandmothers will
ride the covered wagon or in the
old stage coach.
Others are planning to be on floats
representing the old-fashioned rooms.
with their spinning wheels and harpsi-
| chord. Or If a little bolder, they
may participate in the hanging
a float displaying an episode of early
| history showing the VigilantS deal
| ing out justice. The younger girls
are making bids for their place on
the one displaying the rip-roaring,
old time dance hall. Which reminds
me that right now there are exciting
! goings on about the tremendous old
| time dance hall being built for frontier
nights. They say that on one end
all kinds of refreshments will be
served while on the other a sky
is your limit" game casino will be
mighty busy.
EOUR days of the old wild West,
and then with signs of pleasure
and WEAKNESS Cheyenne returns to
its colorless respectability. A quiet
countrified city, it serves as State
| capitol and as a trading center for
Fort Warren and the great ranches
of the surrounding country.
Those enticing Western pictures
which appeal to the feminine popr-
| lation of many lands, according to
the women of the city, are just pub
licity for the dude ranch business.
This is one of the most important
| industries in the State. So if you
have any illusions about the gallant
cowboy riding his noble steed to court
the ranch heiress with banjo and
song" they laughingly told me, shake
them of for that is nonsense"
| The women are careful to explain
that the cowboy is the salt of the
earth, that there can be no better
friend and pal when you need him.
But marriage is another matter. And
| they express amaZement and diSmay
| at the ways of the Eastern woman
who comes out West seeking romance.
She will fall for a $35-a-month, curly
headed cowhand with an attractive
pair of chaps, marry him and expect
to live happily ever after. 1T cannot
be DONE" says the wyoming miss.
"You see people do it over and over
again, and it generally results in
| tragedy"
| The ranch woman has set OF
/ social distinctions peculiarly her own.
1t is the old-timer that counts with
her. not the newcomer. She never
forgets that she is part OF the cow
baron faction holding on to the water
rights of the land. That the world
depends upon the purity and quality
of those great herds of cattle roaming
her thousands upon thousands OF
acres. Held intact" she carefully ex-
plained to me, "for each COW must
have upward 20 acres to Craze upon"
| Yet you find her always referring to
the democratic freedom OF the country
and its Western hospitality. But she
does not fool herself. She knows it
is her duty to be the social mentor,
for her husband Is too rough and
ready working with his men over the
range to care about such niceties.
A THOUGH you are slways welcome
"A to a meal in true Western fashion,
it will depend upon who you are where
you will eat it. You may be served
the home-cu chicken fried steak or
the native mulligan stew in an enamel
plate on the long table Of the ranch
hands In the cook house. Or you may
be invited to more varied fare in the
family dining room. This does not
imply that her ladyship does not occa-
sionally enjoy a meal and q CAB
with the boys in the cook house, par
ticularly after she has ridden the
range or helped with the branding.
They may call each other by their
first names In country fashion, but a
deep social chasm exists between ythe
ranch woman and her neighbor the
dry farmer. While her husbands an