THE ROUND-UP
In the range cattle business it is important for every owner of live
stock to have some mark by which he can tell his own cattle. It is
impossible for any man to remember and recognize by natural marks every
animal in a large herd. On the open range there are no fenced pastures
to hold the cattle, but all are permitted to run free and mix
promiscuously. To distinguish the cattle of different owners a system
of earmarks and brands has been devised by which each ranchman can
identify and claim his own stock.
The branding is usually done during a round-up when every calf found is
caught and branded in the brand of its mother. If a calf remains
unbranded until after it is weaned and quits its mother, it becomes a
maverick and is liable to be lost to its owner. A calf, if left to
itself, will follow its mother for several months and then leave her to
seek its own living. Occasionally a calf does not become weaned when
it should be, but continues the baby habit indefinitely. If a yearling
is found unweaned it is caught and "blabbed" which is done by fitting a
peculiarly shaped piece of wood into its nose that prevents it from
sucking but does not interfere with feeding.
If a calf loses its mother while very young it is called a "leppy."
Such an orphan calf is, indeed, a forlorn and forsaken little creature.
Having no one to care for it, it has a hard time to make a living. If
it is smart enough to share the lacteal ration of some more fortunate
calf it does very well, but if it cannot do so and has to depend
entirely on grazing for a living its life becomes precarious and is apt
to be sacrificed in the "struggle for the survival of the fittest."
If it survives the ordeal and lives it bears the same relation to the
herd as the maverick and has no lawful owner until it is branded. If
an unbranded calf has left or lost its mother it has lost its identity
as well and finds it again only after being branded, although it may
have swapped owners in the process. Theoretically, a maverick belongs
to the owner of the range on which it runs, but, practically, it
becomes the property of the man who first finds and brands it.
Although the branding is supposed to be done only during a round-up
there is nevertheless some branding done in every month of the year.
The ranchman is compelled to do so to save his calves from being
stolen. Therefore early branding is generally practiced as it has been
found to be the best safeguard against theft. Either the spring or
fall is considered a good time to brand, but the only best time to
brand a calf is when you find it.
Dishonest men are found in the cattle business the same as in other
occupations and every year a large number of cattle are misappropriated
and stolen from the range. Cattle have been stolen by the wholesale
and large herds run off and illegally sold before the owner discovered
his loss. Calf stealing, however, happens more frequently than the
stealing of grown cattle and many ingenious devices have been invented
to make such stealing a success. A common practice is to "sleeper" a
calf by a partial earmark and a shallow brand that only singes the hair
but does not burn deep enough to leave a permanent scar. If the calf
is not discovered as an imperfect or irregular brand and becomes a
maverick, it is kept under surveillance by the thief until he considers
it safe to finish the job when he catches it again and brands it with
his own iron.
Different methods are employed to win a calf and fit it for unlawful
branding. Sometimes the calf is caught and staked out in some secluded
spot where it is not liable to be found and away from its mother until
it is nearly starved when it is branded by the thief and turned loose;
or, the calf's tongue is split so that it cannot suck and by the time
that the wounded tongue has healed the calf has lost its mother, and
the thief brands it for himself. Again, the mother cow is shot and
killed, when the orphan calf is branded in perfect safety as "the dead
tell no tales."
The owner of cattle on the open range must be constantly on his guard
against losses by theft. Usually the thief is a dishonest neighbor or
one of his own cowboys who becomes thrifty at his employer's expense.
Many a herd of cattle was begun without a single cow, but was started
by branding surreptitiously other people's property. It is not an easy
matter to detect such a thief or to convict on evidence when he is
arrested and brought to trial. A cattle thief seldom works alone, but
associates himself with others of his kind who will perjure themselves
to swear each other clear.
The cow ponies that are used in range work are small but active and
possessed of great power of endurance. They are the descendants of the
horses that were brought into Mexico by the Spaniards, some of which
escaped into the wilderness and their increase became the wild horses
of the plains. They are known by the various names of mustang, bronco
and cayuse according to the local vernacular of the country in which
they roam. They are wild and hard to conquer and are sometimes never
fully broken even under the severest treatment. Bucking and pitching
are their peculiar tricks for throwing a rider and such an experience
invariably ends in discomfort if not discomfiture, for if the rider is
not unhorsed he at least receives a severe shaking up in the saddle.
The native cattle, like the horses, are small and wild, but are hardy
and make good rustlers. The native stock has been greatly improved in
recent years by cross breeding with thoroughbred Durham and Hereford
bulls. Grade cattle are better suited for the open range than are pure
bred animals, which are more tender and fare better in fenced pastures.
By cross breeding the quality of range cattle has steadily improved
until the scrub element has been almost bred out.
As a breeding ground Arizona is unsurpassed, but for maturing beef
cattle the northern country is preferable. Thousands of young cattle
are shipped out annually to stock the ranges of Wyoming and Montana and
to fill the feed lots of Kansas, Missouri and other feeding states. A
dash of native blood in range cattle is desirable as it enables them to
endure hardships without injury and find subsistence in seasons of
drought and scant forage.
The general round-up occurs in the fall, just after the summer rains,
when there is plenty of grass and the horses and cattle are in good
condition. The ranchmen of a neighborhood meet at an appointed time
and place and organize for systematic work. A captain is chosen who is
in command of the round-up and must be obeyed. Each cowboy has his own
string of horses, but all of the horses of the round-up not in use are
turned out to graze and herd together. A mess wagon and team of horses
in charge of a driver, who is also the cook, hauls the outfit of pots,
provisions and bedding.
The round-up moves from ranch to ranch rounding up and marking
the cattle as it goes and is out from four to six weeks, according to
the number of ranches that are included in the circuit.
When camp is made and everything ready for work the cowboys ride out in
different directions and drive in all the cattle they can find. After
the cattle are all gathered the calves are branded and the cattle of
the several owners are cut into separate herds and held until the
round-up is finished when they are driven home.
Every unbranded calf is caught and branded in its mother's brand. In a
mix-up of cattle as occurs at a round-up, a calf sometimes gets
separated from its mother so that when caught its identity is
uncertain. To avoid making a mistake the calf is only slightly marked,
just enough to hurt it a little, and is then turned loose. A calf when
it is hurt is very much like a child, in that it cries and wants its
mamma. As quick as it is let go it immediately hunts its mother and
never fails to find her. When cow and calf have come together the calf
is again caught and the branding finished.
The pain produced by the hot branding iron makes the calf bawl lustily
and struggle to free itself. The mother cow sometimes resents the
punishment of her offspring by charging and chasing the men who are
doing the branding; or, if she is of a less fiery disposition, shows
her displeasure by a look of reproach as much as to say, "You bad men,
what have you done to hurt my little darling?"
A peculiarity of brands is that they do not all grow alike. Sometimes
a brand, after it is healed, remains unchanged during the life of the
animal. At other times it enlarges to several times its original size.
Various reasons are assigned to account for this difference. Some
claim that the brand only grows with the calf; others assert that it is
due to deep branding; and, again, it is ascribed to lunar influence.
But, as to the real cause of the difference, no explanation has been
given that really explains the phenomenon.
The cowboy's work is nearly all done in the saddle and calls for much
hard riding. He rides like a Centaur, but is clumsy on his feet.
Being so much in the saddle his walking muscles become weakened, and
his legs pressing against the body of his horse, in time, makes him
bowlegged. In addition he wears high-heeled Mexican boots which throw
him on his toes when he walks and makes his already shambling gait even
more awkward.
A cowboy's life has little in it to inspire him with high ideals or
arouse his ambition to achieve greatness. He leads a hard life among
rough men and receives only coarse fare and rougher treatment. His
life is narrow and he works in a rut that prevents him from taking a
broad view of life. All that he has is his monthly wages, and,
possibly, a hope that at some future day he may have a herd of cattle
of his own.
Managing a herd of range cattle successfully is an art that can only be
acquired by long practice, and it is surprising how expert men can
become at that business. All the work done among cattle is on
horseback, which includes herding, driving, cutting and roping. The
trained cow pony seemingly knows as much about a round-up as his
master, and the two, together, form a combination that is invincible in
a herd of wild cattle. The cow or steer that is selected to be roped
or cut out rarely escapes. While the horse is in hot pursuit the rider
dexterously whirls his reata above his head until, at a favorable
moment, it leaves his hand, uncoiling as it flies through the air, and,
if the throw is successful, the noose falls over the animal's head.
Suddenly the horse comes to a full stop and braces himself for the
shock. When the animal caught reaches the end of the rope it is
brought to an abrupt halt and tumbled in a heap on the ground. The
horse stands braced pulling on the rope which has been made fast to the
horn of the saddle by a few skillful turns. The cowboy is out of the
saddle and on his feet in a jiffy. He grasps the prostrate animal by
the tail and a hind leg, throws it on its side, and ties its four feet
together, so that it is helpless and ready for branding or inspection.
The cowboys have tying contests in which a steer is sometimes caught
and tied in less time than a minute.
It is a comical sight to see an unhorsed cowboy chase his runaway horse
on foot as he is almost sure to do if caught in such a predicament. He
ought to know that he cannot outrun his fleet steed in such a race, but
seems to be impelled by some strange impulse to make the attempt.
After he has run himself out of breath he is liable to realize the
folly of his zeal and adopt a more sensible method for capturing his
horse.
The cowboy who works on the southwestern range has good cause to fear
the malodorous hydrophobia skunk. At a round-up all of the cowboys
sleep on the ground. During the night, while they are asleep, the
little black and white cat-like animal forages through the camp for
something to eat. Without provocation the skunk will attack the
sleeper and fasten its sharp teeth in some exposed portion of his
anatomy, either the nose or a finger or toe and will not let go until
it is killed or forcibly removed. The wound thus made usually heals
quickly and the incident is, perhaps, soon forgotten; but after several
weeks or months hydrophobia suddenly develops and proves fatal in a
short time.
The only known cure for the bite of the skunk is the Pasteur treatment
and, since its discovery, as soon as anyone is bitten, he is
immediately sent to the Pasteur Institute in Chicago for treatment.