Year: 1872

One of Their Periodical Excite


ments.


For ten days hundred men have been
sweeping every nook and corner of this
country, gathering in, rounding up. and
cutting out the stock. Men were there
from Wyoming and various parts Of
Colorado, eagerly watching every round
up to catch glimpse of the peculiar
mark or brand that should indicate an
animal of their own numbers. They
adopt half military plan, by appoint
ing new captain for each separate
roundup Before disbanding the place
of assemblage is designated for the fol-
lowing day, which is sometimes fifteen
or twenty miles distant from the preced-
ing roundup. Early in the morning
horsemen may be seen radiating from a
common center, and scattering over the
plains to every point OF the compass, and
from ten clock am. to four pm. they
come stringing in from as many direc-
tions, each with lot of cattle, number
ing from dozen head up to sometimes
several hundred. AS fast as the small
lots are driven in they are assembled in
one general herd, and surrounded by
enough horsemen to hold them until the
roundup is completed, when the work OF
cutting commences. Getting them to-
gether is only exhilarating exercise, but
cutting them out is quite different
thing. From FIVE hundred to two thous-
aud head constitute the usual number at
each roundup, and they are so densely
jammed together in a body that if one
moves it puts the whole herd in motion
Thus, with their long horns in the air,
they sway back and forth like leafless
forest shaken by the wind.


Six or eight men are designated as
buckaros, whose duty it is to ride into
the herd. and like so many wild Indians
in herd ef buffalo, they dash among
them whip in hand, select each an ami
NAL bearing the proper brand, and spur
ring their horses to their utmost speed,
they run the gauntlet of thousand
bristling horns, dash out Of the excited
herd through the surrounding picket
line of men, and out into the open coun-
try beyond, where the poor brute is left
to ponder over the sudden change, while
the buckaros return to the herd and 90
through WiLu duOluer tAClllub Cuhbc.
About every half hour they are relieved
by fresh men and horses, and so the
wild excitement continues amid the din
and confusion of perhaps 1900 older cat
tie and half that many calves in the be-
ginning, and all striving their best at
once to see which shall out-bawl the
other, until each man has separated
from the herd the entire number bearing
his brand. The labor is not long, but
extremely severe. while it lasts.


Horses and riders are severely taxed,
and some of the calves get their lives
crushed out of them, and occasionally
the elder ones succnmb from being
over-driven. Pending the cutting-out
period disputes sometimes arise be-
tween some of the different stockmen
over cattle with dim brands, or such as
have no brands at all. In this case, as
in other countries, men are finding
more stock than they anticipated, and
out of the several thousand head that
have come under my observation, not
one have | seen but was in q thriving
and very many of them are
fit for the butchers stall. 1t is now
well understood that seven per cent.
will cover the entire loss of the stock 10
Northern Colorado for the past winter.