Cattle-Business Explained--Branding
Stock--Round-Up--Mavorick--Beef-Gathering--Stampedes--Tender-Feet--
Stock-Raising in Texas--Cattle-Trail--Buying Cattle from
Trail--How to Enter Stock Business--Sheep-Raising--Greasers--Texas
Cattle-Fever.
The country has now perhaps been _sufficiently described_; and though I
have doubtless been a little _tiresome_ in _minutiæ_, I _hope_ at least
to have succeeded in giving my readers a _good idea_ of the great
_prairie-land_, and can now perhaps _successfully_ explain the subject
of _stock-raising_ which is so extensively carried on there, and a
business that leads in occidental occupations. It has already been said
that the rivers and streams and little lakes that dampen the sands of
this great wilderness are nearly all watering-places for the herds that
range along their banks. It now yet remains to explain how the business
is _conducted_, as any person can see the positive necessity of some
_system_ where the country is so large and unfenced, and where there are
so many owners and such great herds. Sometimes a herd is owned by one
_individual_, but _usually_ there are _companies_; and often one firm
owns forty and fifty thousand cattle. It would of course be impossible
to stable or feed these vast numbers, and they are left upon the prairie
the year round, and never even get salt. They _usually_ keep in pretty
good _order_ during the winter; but when much snow falls and the grass
is covered for some time, and the weather is very cold, thousands of
them die. Poor and weak, they stand upon the railroad-track and are
knocked off in great numbers. Of course these winters are _unusual_; and
the profits are so large that a few cattle dying now and then is but a
momentary break in the financial stream.
Now, each firm has a home ranch, and this is built by some pure, cool
water, and nearly as practicable to a railroad or good trail. This
consists of a substantial and commodious ranch,--usually built of stone
or _adobe_,--also a good store-house in which to store feed and
provisions,--which are bought at wholesale and then given out to the men
as needed, a good stable,--and a large, strong _corral_. Hay is then cut
from the sloughs, and quantities of it stacked in the _corral_ for the
stock that is kept stabled. Though often in wild places, these home
ranches are usually pretty places, and stock-men often have their
families here with them. They have good, stylish buggies and carriages,
and riding and driving horses; and every pleasant morning and evening
the women and children go out to ride. They have a good track around the
ranch over the level plain; and while it is altogether delightful to
ride through the pure air of this healthy clime, the glitter of the
splendid vehicle in the morning sun attracts very little attention from
the neighbors. The girls can ride like rangers; and to see them dashing
over the prairie, the pony fall into a prairie-dog hole and send the
fair one somersaulting over the head upon the sand, is as funny a sight
as one could wish. Each firm has its own brand, and has it recorded in
the county of the home ranch. This brand is a piece of iron, wrought
into the shape wished. There is also a peculiar ear-mark accompanying
each brand. The branding-irons have long iron handles with which to use
them. They are made red-hot and then held against the animal until
burned sore, and often until the hide is burned through. Of course the
hair never grows out here again, and it is a perpetual mark. The home
ranch is located upon some good, rich pasture-range, and by a good
water. Thus, many cattle can be pastured in the vicinity of the ranch;
but when the herd is _large_ it is divided up and driven to sometimes
several other ranges that are not yet taken up--each firm having its
particular ranges, which it holds against all others, except
homesteaders or buyers. Upon each sub-range there is built one or more
little picket-ranches, with good _corrals_ in which to brand cattle. In
each of these little houses stays a cow-boy to watch over the cattle and
see that they are not killed or driven off by Indians, Mexicans, or
hunters. The cattle usually stay upon the range very well during
_summer_; but when winter comes, and storms set in they are drifted many
miles, and scattered over many ranges. Cattle drift from the Platte
country, Nebraska, all the way down to the pan-handle country every
winter. When the winter winds are severe, great numbers drift to ranges
where the country is very broken, or where there is timber; and they
often become so thick that it is necessary to drive part of them to
other ranges to keep them from starving. This is part of the cow-boys’
work.
Every spring each firm has about as many other brands upon its range as
of its own; and after a long, _stormy_ season one brand is distributed
along the waters of several states or territories. In order that each
firm may know how it stands, and to brand the calves and gather up such
as are fit for market, each spring the commissioners of each county
appoint a captain for the _round-up_ or _rodere_. The counties here are
very large. There is a place and day set for the meeting, and all the
cattle-men of the county are informed. The time of meeting is about the
last of April; but the time varies according to the grass and the
strength of the cattle. Some springs the grass comes on early, and some
quite late. Each firm sends men to this _round-up_ in proportion to its
herd--usually four or five to each county where it is expected that
there are cattle--sometimes more, and often but one. Each boy has from
four to eight horses; and when there are two or more from a company they
have a wagon along. The beds, feed, provisions, ropes, branding-irons,
etc., are hauled in it; and the driver of this wagon does the cooking
for the boys of that firm. Where there is but one, he usually makes
arrangements to go with some other firm.
The average cow-boy saddle weighs forty pounds, and _some_ weigh
_sixty-five_ pounds. They are made with large, strong horns, and the
back of the seat is very high. The skirt is leather, and comes back over
the pony’s hips. Upon either side of the saddle there is firmly fastened
two large, strong rings, and to each a strong strap, two feet long, and
one inch and a half wide. The girths (sinches) are about three feet
long, with a strong ring in each end. These sinches are generally made
of hair, twisted into ropes, and about ten ropes to a sinch, making it
three or four inches wide--two girths to each saddle. The straps to the
rings upon the right side of the saddle are each passed through the
rings at the end of a sinch, and run from one ring to the other and then
fastened. Two good blankets are then placed upon the horse, and the
saddle lifted to its place. The front sinch is then brought up and the
strap to the front ring is passed through the ring of the sinch, and
from one ring to the other three or four times, and then drawn up
tightly and fastened with a ranger’s loop. The back sinch is then
brought around behind the bulge of the belly and fastened as the other.
By this fastening a saddle can be drawn up very tightly, and fastened
upon the animal so firmly that the pony can be jerked down and pulled
away by the saddle-horn. There is not a buckle about the saddle. The
stirrups are wooden, and are covered with leathers which hang in two
large strips nearly to the ground. These leathers are called
_tapidares_. The bridles are strong, with raw-hide reins. Each boy has a
half-inch catch-rope, about forty feet long, and made out of sea-grass,
leather, or raw-hide. This is made fast to the saddle-horn at one end,
and then coiled and tied up to the saddle. Each boy has also a large
pair of spurs with rowels two inches long, and little bells to them, so
that when the boy walks the spurs roll along upon the ground or floor,
and the little bells make quite a noise. Now, with a belt around his
waist, and two six-shooters and a large knife upon it, he is rigged. The
clothing is made of California duck, lined with blanket, the shirt a
double-breasted blue, and the hat a large white broad-brim. In an
ordinary stock county, between two and three hundred cow-boys usually
come together for the round-up. And you bet this is a big day for the
hot coffee-houses of the place of meeting; for the boys usually draw
their wages for the occasion, and usually succeed in getting things
pretty well warmed up. The bosses try to keep their boys down; but
toward evening, when the boys gather in from far and near, there are
many social glasses drank. Often old feuds are stirred up; and when once
a fight is begun each boy sides one way or the other, and there are
seldom less than four or five killed. If a stranger comes in and gives
the least occasion, the boys will then have their fun. They will make
him stand still and hold out his hand, and then try to shoot between his
fingers, or shoot a hole through his ears, or see how closely they can
shoot to the top of his head by shooting through his hat. They can do
this very well; and there is not much danger until they get pretty full
and want to make _too fine_ a shot, such as shooting between the flesh
and skin, and then the thing is too fine to be pleasant. Persons coming
out here to learn this business find it necessary to keep lip and
braggadocio to themselves, or else the initiation is pretty heavy. The
boys generally get pretty well gathered in the first day, and the next
morning they pull out.
The captain commands the men like an army officer. The loose ponies are
all turned together, and the herd often has several hundred heads. The
captain is a man who understands the country and knows every stream and
pool in the range. He lays his plans and arranges his route, and,
beginning at one side of the county, he takes a range; and dividing up
his men, he sends them here and there, up and down the forks of the
creeks and across to the little lakes over the range, and directs them
to bring in all the cattle of the range and round them up at a certain
place. In a week or ten days they generally come in with the cattle; and
they often round up a mighty herd. Each brand now has one or more
representatives, and they watch closely after the interests of their
employers. They then prepare to take out of the round-up all the brands
that belong to that particular range, brand the calves, and let them go.
The herd is surrounded and held by cow-boys; and fires are built around,
and all the different brands of that range are heated for action.
One man from each firm that pastures upon this range then goes into the
herd to get the calves that they find following their cows. When one is
found the noose is thrown, and whether it gets the calf round the body,
neck, leg, or tail it is all the same; the pony is whirled and loped
off to the fire, the little fellow rolling, tumbling, kicking, and
bawling, but all to no purpose. He is then held by the boys, and the
red-hot branding-iron is held against its tender skin until the hair is
all singed off and the hide burned sore. The little fellow rolls his
eyes in their sockets and bellows piteously as the smoke curls upward
from his own body; but the operation is soon over, and he is sent loping
into the free air upon the range. When all the _calves_ are out, the
cows and steers are then cut out as follows: Each firm has particular
horses trained for this business, and they are called “cutting horses.”
The boy goes among the herd, and when he sees his brand he needs follow
it but a little way until the pony knows what animal is wanted; and all
the rider has then to do is to stay on. The pony walks after the animal,
dodging from one side to the other, and when he has him driven to the
edge he lunges upon the cow with great fury. The cow, with fright, leaps
from the herd; and in spite of her efforts to get back, that pony keeps
her out. A rider has to be _experienced_ before he can stick a _cutting
horse_; for they sometimes go after a cow upon a dead run, and stop in
two jumps, whirl upon the hind feet, and go off the other way.
When the cattle of this range are all cut out and the calves branded,
the rest of the herd are then driven to another range. They are held
here by some boys and left graze, while the captain divides up the rest
of his men and sends them out over that range to gather in all the
cattle. They are then all rounded up together, and, as _before_, the
calves are branded, and all the stock belonging to the owners of that
range is turned loose upon it. In this way they go from range to range
until the whole county is gone over and each firm has its cattle upon
its own range or ranges, and the calves of that year are branded. It is
usually about three months before the boys all get in from the different
counties, bringing the cattle upon their own ranges and making their
reports to head-quarters.
A strict account is kept, by the boys of each firm, of all the cows and
steers and calves that are gathered from _each county_; and when the
round-up is over each company knows just how it stands. Sometimes the
boys are a little careless and do not brand _deep_ enough, and forget to
mark the ear. In a year the brand becomes so indistinct that many a
quarrel has arisen among the boys as to their identity; and I have seen
some bitter consequences.
A calf that is following no cow, and is unbranded, is called a
_mavorick_; and though by law these now belong to the state in some
places, they used to belong to the man who first put his brand there.
There are many calves _missed_ every year; and before the next round-up
they are weaned, and no one knows to whom they belong. There are men who
have made themselves good herds by gathering up _mavoricks_, and often
stealing calves from the mother, putting their brands upon them, and
taking them off to another range. Sometimes, however, the mother and
offspring get together again before they have entirely forgotten their
_relations_; and then a calf of one brand is following a cow of another.
This is very undesirable to the calf-brander; and if he can not destroy
that mother’s affection, or in some way arrange that mixed-up family
before other cow-men get to see it, from what I have seen I would advise
him to let the darned calf go to thunder and get out of that unhealthy
prairie atmosphere.
When the round-up is all over and the cattle are fat,--usually about the
latter part of the month of September,--the beef season begins. They
then go upon their respective ranges, round up the cattle, and cut out
such as are fit for beeves. _Four years_ is the sale age; and seldom is
one sold under this. Each firm has a foreman, who does the picking of
the beeves; and he who is able to tell when a cow or steer is fat is
considered a good cow-man. The beeves are then driven to the railroad,
where there are stock-pens; and after the cars are bedded with about six
inches of sand, the cattle are loaded up, making every other one face
one side of the car, and the others the other side. Twenty is the
average car-load, though this number varies with the size of the cattle.
I have seen cars crowded with sixteen large steers, and know of one firm
bringing in a thousand beeves at a time. The shipping-rates to St. Louis
and Chicago are usually twenty dollars per car, making one dollar per
head. The cattle are generally well fattened; and though they do not
command quite as high prices as eastern _grain-fed stock_, the profits
are nevertheless very large. One man is allowed to each car of stock, to
keep them up and arrange them should they get fast or become mixed up in
the car. In this way, during the shipping season, many persons are
furnished free transportation to the East.
Beef-gathering does not generally end until the snow flies and the
weather becomes severe. It is then very rough for the boys; for, good or
bad, they must take it, with no shelter but a gum-coat, called a
_slicker_. When they have a herd to hold they have to stand guard all
night, the same as day. Now, when the clouds suddenly roll from the
horizon and dash their contents upon the plain, when the thunder begins
to bellow and the lightning to dart its fiery tongues through the air,
then the cattle become perfectly frenzied and rush madly here and there;
and then comes what they call a stampede. Then there _is_ a time. Often
but five or six boys are holding a herd of several hundred large
beef-steers when the storm comes on, and as they rush madly to and fro
the boys dash their ponies here and there in front of them, and usually
hold them; but when the storm is furious and the cattle become frantic
and rush in all directions, they often break the circle, and then the
work begins for certain. The ponies understand their business, and with
all power they get to the front; and if the herd is not too badly
scattered, and (if it be at night) if it be not too dark, the herd may
again be rallied. Otherwise, they are gone, and the prairie fairly
trembles beneath them as they, bellowing, rush over the plain. When once
thoroughly stampeded they usually run a long way before checking, and it
takes several days to gather them in again; and if it be a strange herd
going through the country, the prospect is that many will never be
recaptured. It is a sight to see a large herd of big Texas steers in a
storm, with heads erect, racing here and there, clashing their great
horns together, and loudly snorting. There is _danger_, also; for when
once they are under full headway they are as irresistible as the
hurricane, and everything crumbles before them.
Sometimes when the tired, relieved guards are sleeping with their ponies
at their sides, the herd stampedes, and before they can get into the
saddle the pony escapes and the cattle rush madly over them, trampling
them into the sand. I recollect of camping close to a large herd of
Texas steers one cold November night, when the rain fell fast, and the
lightning played upon the cattle’s horns like morning sunbeams upon the
mountain-top, and lighted up the plain almost like day. The boys held
them for some time; but at length the ponies became worried, and away
went the steers, their trampling sounding like distant thunder. The boys
all rushed for the front, and after about a mile chase, in which I
joined, one of the boys dashed in front of the herd. In the darkness of
the night and the excitement of the occasion he had forgotten a
dangerous slough that lay in that direction, and his excited pony sprung
into the mire. Of course the first jump the horse sunk deeply into the
mud and could not extricate himself, nor could the rider get away before
the maddened herd plunged in upon him. The pony with its rider was
crushed into the mud and buried alive before our eyes, and the cattle
struggling in the mud above them. The next morning we took ropes and
pulled some of the steers from the bog with the saddle-horn; but some
were smothered in the mire with the good pony and gallant rider, whom we
left in their novel graves, knowing that they were dead anyhow, and
thinking that perhaps their self-made tombs were as respectable as any
we could hew.
As was said before, each firm sends a wagon with each squad of men that
goes out upon the prairie. The wagons all have nice large cupboards
(called mess-boxes) fixed in the back end, and when going out they take
provisions, feed, clothes, beds, ropes, etc., and a good set of camp
implements. This, then, is what is called a cow-outfit. The horses are
not fed any grain unless worked hard and having no time to graze. In
this case it is also necessary that they should be shod. Each company
has on hand a large number of pressed shoes of all sizes, and before the
boys go out they always fit their ponies with a couple pairs of shoes
apiece; and taking also a shoeing outfit, they shoe their own ponies.
When the boys are on a cow or horse hunt, they tell the cook where they
will be for the next meal, and he goes immediately there and has grub
prepared for them as they come in. From the cook being alone so much of
the time, he is exposed to great dangers; and many an outfit has
gathered to their wagon to find their cook lying murdered by the
dinner-fire. It is necessary that the cook should be thoroughly
acquainted with the country, for he is sent across the prairie in every
direction from one range to the other. He is sometimes called upon to
get up a meal for ten, fifteen, or twenty men at very short
notice--often in twenty or twenty-five minutes; and you may imagine the
skill that these fellows have acquired when this can be done, especially
when the buffalo-chips are damp. The boys will run a dirty cook out of
camp; but they think nothing of seeing the cook gather up buffalo-chips
with his hands and then make up bread without washing. There is a great
difference in camp-cooks; and some make nice doughnuts and puddings for
the boys, while others get nothing but bread and meat, and sometimes
beans and potatoes. Imagine an eastern girl scolding the boys for not
procuring sound, dry hickory wood, or grumbling because the stove is not
a good baker, and spreading paper over the bread, or flavoring here and
seasoning there, touching up her delicate tidbits for an hour before the
table is prepared. Ha, ha, ha! The cow-boys’ dinner is twice as good;
and it is gotten without wood (and often wet at that), without a stove,
and without any of the delicious flavorings, and is forgotten in half an
hour. Why, if a cow-boy had to wait an hour for dinner he would go into
camp and kick over the pots and skillets, and then step off and see how
close he could shoot to the cook’s ear, just to hurry him up a little.
Whenever they are out of meat, they shoot down a nice fat calf, and
always have the best. It is seldom that they kill their own brands; but
when there is no mavorick, they slide a ball into another man’s calf. Of
course they always cut out the brand and destroy it. It is quite
pleasing to see a cow-outfit taking dinner upon the wide, level prairie,
with their ponies grazing by the camp-side. They all get around the
hash, which sits in pans and skillets, and then crossing their legs they
sit down upon their feet. This is the cow-boys’ seat; and when they come
into a house where there are plenty of chairs they squat to the floor
upon their own seats. Hot or cold, sunshine or storm, the greater part
of the year they sleep and dine upon the wild, unsheltered plain. They
are so used to it, though, that they think nothing of it, and stand out
in the storm eating their biscuit and broiled beef with unqualified
relish. They move their loose ponies from place to place in a herd--each
boy having his own particular riding-horses. When camped they hobble the
leaders, and the rest will not leave. The hobble is made by taking a
piece of cow-hide about three feet long and two inches wide, tying a
knot in one end, and cutting a loop in the other. This is put around one
leg, above the pasture-joint, and then twisted and looped around the
other. The twist keeps the hobble from working down, and the horse does
not get around fast nor leave camp far unless stampeded by Indians or
wild horses; and even in this case they are easily captured. Some of the
ponies are very shy, and when the boys want fresh horses they tie a rope
to a wagon-wheel, and a boy holds the other end. The others then drive
the herd up to this and throw the noose over the heads of the wanted
ones. They are so used to this rope that they will not attempt to cross
one if it is but knee high. All idle mules are always hobbled; for the
cow-boys say “a mule is hell in a stampede.” The boys of course do their
own washing; and they usually keep pretty clean, with the exception of a
few gray-backs, which are their warmest bosom and inseparable friends.
Some companies have as high as seventy-five or a hundred men employed
during the work-season; and about the first of December they discharge
about half of them until spring, keeping the best men over winter, and
_they_ are scattered over the ranges among the little lonely shanties
to watch over the cows during winter. They are compelled to keep some
men who understand the business and the country, and then they can make
use of _some_ greenhorns. But oh! how those cow-boys curse the
tender-feet. They usually try to get them upon a pony that understands
bucking, to get their necks broken or disable them in some way or other
to get them out of the way. There is no better fun than to get a big,
clumsy tender-foot upon a well-trained cow-pony. He goes dodging along
like a monkey, holding to the saddle-horn, with his stirrups shortened
up and his knees under his chin, gaping in every direction. Pretty soon
a steer dashes from the herd; the pony, quick as a flash, springs after
him to round him in. The steer dodges; the pony braces, whirls upon his
hind feet, and starts off in another direction, with the tender-foot
hanging upon his side with one foot fast in the stirrup, the other leg
wrapped around the saddle-horn, and holding to the mane with both hands.
With a loud bellow the steer makes another whirl; the pony follows in a
twinkle; and this time the grip gives way, the leg slips over, the horn
ripping the cloth and bruising the skin, and with a heavy thud
tender-foot comes to the ground, and after rolling over fifteen or
twenty times he lies upon his belly and raises his head to see if the
steer had run over the pony too. The boys are usually slow about going
to help a walloped tender-foot, for fear he will not die if he is
helped.
Cow-boys are ranked in the business something like officers in the army.
There are foremen, bosses, and sub-bosses, down to privates; and they
are paid according to their experience and ability. Some of them have
been cow-punching--as it is called--for many years, and know every water
for hundreds of miles around; and, of course, they command high wages.
The common boy gets twenty-five and thirty dollars per month; and the
wages range from this up to one hundred and twenty-five dollars. Of
course, one has to be highly experienced to command the latter.
Ponies, riding-outfits, beds, etc., are furnished by the companies; but
nearly all the boys have ponies and riding-rigs of their own. The object
of this will be explained hereafter. They all furnish their own
_fire-arms_, and are usually pretty well belted.
There are large, wealthy firms in Texas--such as Hunter & Evans, and
others,--who make it a business to breed cattle; and they sell to the
ranchmen thousands upon thousands of stock-cattle every year. They
usually cross the short-horn with the long-horn; for the _Texican_,
while he is a good rustler and will find enough to live on where an
American will die, does not fill out well, besides being usually very
fierce and wild, while, on the other hand, the _American_ has the set,
and is tame; but when the pasture is poor or the weather severe he will
not rustle as hard nor feed as far out upon the range as the other.
The trail comes over the prairie, from Texas, by Dodge City, Kansas, and
goes on up into the Platte country, Nebraska. This trail is several
hundred miles long, and is divided up into regular drives; and some of
the stretches between waters are very long. It has been used for many
years, and is worn wide and deep. Every spring and fall these
stock-breeders send great herds up this trail. Sometimes as many as
twenty-five thousand are strung out in one herd. At these seasons,
persons wanting cattle gather along the trail and wait for a herd. The
herds are composed of from one to three yearlings; and for first choice
the usual price is twelve dollars, and ranging down to seven dollars.
There are large _horse_ companies in the South, and great herds of
ponies are also driven up the trail each fall and spring. They sell for
from twenty to fifty dollars per head.
Many cattle give out on the long march, and numerous riding-ponies get
their backs scalded and rubbed and are worn down weak and thin, and can
be bought for a song; and after a month or two of rest they are all
right.
Many new wagons are brought up with the herds to haul the necessary
supplies, and, not being needed for the return, they can be bought very
cheap, from the inconvenience of running them back so far. There are
persons ranched along this trail who buy the worn-out cattle and ponies
and the wagons; and there have been fortunes made at it.
When a man wants to go into the cattle-business and does not know the
country well, he finds out from the cow-boys some place that is
unoccupied and that would make a good cattle-range. He then goes there,
and at some good place builds a good ranch and strong _corral_, then
gets a branding-iron made and procures a wagon and camp outfit, ponies,
etc., and then, hiring an experienced man to manage the business, he
goes to the trail during one of the aforesaid seasons and buys what he
wants. By paying twelve dollars per head he gets his choice from the
mighty herd, and can make up his herd of good cattle nearly three years
old. Buying half steers and half heifers, he will have the heifers to
immediately breed from, and thereby have some steers ready for market in
one year. This will pay his expenses. The next year he will have more to
sell, and the _calves_ will be coming on. By selling every marketable
steer each fall and investing the money in young cattle, it is not long
until the herd is numerous and the shipments can be great. When he has
his herd he drives them upon his range, and hires some boys to help him
brand them. Two strong posts are firmly planted in the _corral_, about
twelve feet apart, and part of the herd is driven in at a time. A boy
rides in, throws his rope over the horns of an animal, and, all
understanding their business, the cow is soon pulled upon her side. A
rope is put around the hind feet and wrapped around one of the posts and
held by a boy, and another rope is put around the front feet and wrapped
around the other post and held by another boy, while the brander applies
the iron.
This branding business is fine sport for persons who are not accustomed
to seeing it; and when I first came to the country I was present on all
such occasions when possible. The boys used to let me lasso the cattle,
and took great pains in showing me how it was done; and at length it was
a small job to catch a cow, still or running. I recollect very well the
first branding I ever attended. The boys caught a two-year-old steer and
threw him down, and, putting a rope around the hind feet, they gave it
to me to hold. They told me to wrap the rope three or four times around
my body and then turn my back to the steer and pull as hard as I could,
and I could hold him easily. Well, I had seen steers enough to know that
they could kick like thunder. But I thought that perhaps by having his
legs pulled straight out behind I could manage him; and I was pulling
like a _wheel-horse_, when something happened. There was a sudden jerk
from back toward the steer, and a loud snort. Then I whirled round so
fast that it looked as though there were steers all around me; and I
made a jump backward that beats the best on record. When I recovered I
had a little pain in the stomach, and half the buttons were torn off my
clothes; and I was altogether changed about. I tell you, boys, you can
have your own opinion about it, but I believe that steer would have
jerked the hind end of the world out if he had been fastened to it. I
wish it distinctly understood that whenever there is a red-hot iron to
be poked against a steer’s skin I want to be on the side where there are
no legs.
It is not _usually_ much of a job to catch and throw an animal; but
sometimes there is a large, powerful, wild Texican in the bunch, and the
boys have some fun. In this case they throw two or three ropes upon the
animal, and the ponies hold him fast. When the herd is all branded they
are turned upon the range; and having prepared it, he takes up his abode
in his humble little ranch. If his herd is not large, he and his little
help can ride out every day to look after the cattle and keep them upon
the range, and his herd will not be much scattered in the spring.
In choosing a range it is best, if possible, to take up a rough part, or
where there is timber; for being thus sheltered from the fierce winter
blasts, the cattle are not apt to drift. Of course if he or they want
to go into the business very largely, it will be necessary, perhaps, to
hunt _several ranges_, and build cabins there for the boys.
It is interesting to see a well-trained pony play his part in the roping
process. He watches the lariat, and as the rider throws it he makes two
or three rapid jumps to give the rope slack, and if it catches, he then
stops, plants his feet in the sand, and turns to suit the cow. A small
pony, if well trained, can hold a good steer by the horns or foot. The
rider can dismount and go to the captive, and the pony will do the
holding. Sometimes the animal is too much, however, and in spite of his
greatest efforts, the pony is jerked heavily to the ground. I have seen
the saddle jerked from the pony and taken across the prairie by the
horns of a steer. This mostly happens when there is a bad throw, and the
animal is caught around the neck or body. The saddles, as has been said,
are large and very heavy, with big blankets under them, so that the back
of the pony is never injured by the surges of any captive. I have often
thought of the pieces that one of the eastern turtle-shell saddles would
be jerked into should one of these powerful wild steers be tied to the
horn. The catch-rope has a knot in one end of it, and when thrown in a
certain way it will lap around the foot and tie. This is a good catch,
and can be done at a dead run; but it requires much more skill than the
regular noose-catch. The foot is sometimes caught in chase with the
noose; but this requires superior skill, and the Mexican _only_ can
practice this successfully. In case a steer gets cross, or is wild and
mean about going into a _corral_ or stock-pen, several boys dash upon
him, some throwing their ropes around his horns, others around his feet,
and others around his neck and tail, and with a whoop they drag him in.
I have seen fifteen-hundred-pound steers dragged in this way. These
ponies would pull nothing by a _collar_; but they are trained to pull by
the _saddle_, and can draw a big load that way. Cow-boys often pull
emigrant wagons out of streams and sloughs, where good teams have left
them stand. Of course this roping all requires practice, and the skill
that may be acquired at it would astonish one who had never seen the
performance here upon the prairie. Sometime a single and lone cow-boy is
crossing the prairie, and happens to run across a two or three year old
that in some way has been missed. Riding upon it he ropes it; and while
the pony holds it he takes his knife and marks the ear, and brands it by
cutting the hair to the skin in the brand shape. This will stay until
branding season, and then it can be done over.
Great flocks of sheep are also raised out here, and it is said that
there is much more profit in them than in cattle, _ordinarily_. But the
risk is much greater, as in case of a severe winter, like sometimes
visit the prairie, many of them die; for there is no chance to shelter
or feed them like in the East among barns and stocks. Experienced
stock-men say that sheep usually pay from seventy-five to one hundred
per cent upon the investment, and cattle from forty to sixty per cent.
But of course this varies a good deal according to the season. There is
an amalgam here called the _greaser_, who is part Mexican, Indian, and
negro, and _they_ do most of the sheep-raising. They have straight black
hair, very dark complexion, and are extremely wicked and cruel. They are
very filthy, and hence the name greaser. They use the donkey, or burro,
and pack from place to place. To see them with their flocks and asses
upon the hill-side is suggestive of ancient times, and causes one to
think of flocks and herds upon the plains of historical Europe and Asia.
In order that all my readers may know the nature of these vile and
odious specimens of humanity, I will describe them as the ugliest,
meanest, most slovenly, cruel, treacherous, and quarrelsome beings I
ever saw. Each greaser carries a large knife; and you bet he knows how
to use it. He can _throw_ it into a man’s body at the distance of ten
feet every time; and upon the least provocation, if close enough, he
will cut your jugular-vein the first whack. They sometimes move their
flocks upon the stock-ranges, and any one acquainted with sheep knows
the condition in which pasture is left after several thousand sheep have
ranged over it. This enrages the cattle-men, and they send cow-boys to
move them off. There have been many bitter battles fought between these
parties for this cause, and many a Mexican has bitten the dust and had
his flock scattered and destroyed. When cow-boys start out to do
anything that can be done with six-shooters, they usually do it; and
could the bleaching Mexican skeletons but speak, the truth of the
assertion would only be too well evidenced.
Most persons have heard of the _Texas cattle-fever_ and its terrible
ravages. It is almost entirely confined to the regions along the trail;
and though not often the case, it is some years very destructive, and
hundreds of cattle are stretched out dead upon either side of the trail,
and stock-men are afraid to buy. Stock can then be bought cheap. There
is much speculation as to what this disease is; and many theories have
been advanced by scientific men as to its cause, and whether it is
contagious. The following is one of the theories; and to me it seems the
most plausible: In driving the cattle so far through the hot sand, their
feet become sore and fester; and when they are halted by the drivers and
left graze out upon the range the matter from their feet is imparted and
deposited on the grass, and this grass being eaten by the cattle causes
the affection. Others say that it is a regular disease, that it
originated in Texas, and that it is contagious. But I have observed that
the disease is not prevalent in Texas or any other country except the
ranges along the trail. I have also observed that the disease is not
contagious if cattle are not left graze upon the same range too soon
after coming off the trail. The cattle that are once badly affected
with the disease seldom do much good afterward.
The stock-business being the almost exclusive occupation of the people
upon the vast western prairie world, which to this is so particularly
adapted, I hope I have been justified in treating of this subject at so
great length. I have tried to picture the country in the imagination of
persons (who have never been here) as it really is, and to satisfy the
curiosity of those who have heard so much of the great western herds, as
well as to inform those who would wish to engage in the business upon
the vast free domain. Thinking that perhaps the subject has been
sufficiently spoken of I shall conclude, and refer the reader to the
closing letters of this work for further information.