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Page 81
Only a man of tried and proved courage can hold his job. Skill
and daring are needed to handle the half-wild beasts of the
herds. The steer respects no one on foot, but has a wholesome
fear for a mounted man. Taken separately, neither man nor horse
has the smallest chance with range cattle, but the combination
inspires the fear noticeable among the Apaches for cavalryman as
compared with their contempt for foot-soldiers.
The longhorned steer will fight with the ferociousness of a
tiger. A maddened cow will attack even a man on horseback. The
most desperate battles of the range are with cows who have lost
their calves.
The cow-puncher first comes in contact with his cattle at the
round-up. The outfit consists of a foreman with eight men to
each thousand head as drivers. Each man has from six to ten
mounts. The broncos are only half-broken. But they follow a
steer like a terrier does a ball. They delight in the game as
much as a polo-pony.
A chuck-wagon accompanies each outfit. This is usually of the
United States Army type, solidly built and hauled by four mules.
The cook of the outfit is the driver. He has a helper, a
tenderfoot, or a boy learning the trade. In the field only the
bravest dares defy the cook. His word on the camp is law. All
the men are subject to his call. In the wagon are carried a
tent, the men's bedding, sleeping-bags, and stores consisting of
pork, navy beans, flour, potatoes, canned tomatoes, and canned
peaches. At the rear end of the wagon bed is a built-up
cupboard, the door of which can be lowered with straps to make a
table. Dishes, the lighter food supplies, and a small
medicine-chest are stored there. A water-barrel is strapped to
the side of the wagon. Enough fire-wood for emergency use is
packed under the driver's seat. No wagon is complete without a
bucket hanging from the axle.
The spare horses are driven with the herd, the men taking turns
at the task. At daybreak each morning the cowboys scatter from
the mess-wagon, riding up and down the draws and over the hills,
driving in the cattle for branding and the "cutting out," or
separating from the herd, of marketable beeves. These are known
as "dogies," "sea-lions," and "longhorns." The size as well as
the nickname depends upon the location of the range. The cattle
of the Sweetwater valley were smaller than the northern stock.
From four to six thousand were driven at a time. The calves are
lassoed and thrown, and the owner's brand is burned into the
hide, leaving a scar which, if the work is well done, will last
until the beef is sold. Branding is hard work. The dust, the
odor of burning flesh, the heat of the corral fire for heating
the irons, the bellowing of frightened mother cows, and the
bleating of the calves, the struggles with the victims, these try
men's strength and tempers severely. Once branded, the calf is
turned loose and not touched again until it is four years old and
ready for the market. Stray unbranded cattle over a year old are
known as "mavericks," and become the property of any person
branding them.
Having cut out the stock for the drive, a road mark, a
supplementary brand for identification burned into the hides. The
long march then begins.
A start is made usually in the late spring to reach the railroad
in the fall. The drive is as orderly as the march of an army.
By natural selection the leaders of the cattle take the head of
the herd. They are especially fitted for the place. The same
ones are found in the front every day, and the others fall into
position, so that throughout the drive the cattle occupy the same
relative position each day.
A herd of a thousand beef will stretch out for two miles. The
leaders are flanked by cowboys riding upon Mexican saddles with
high backs and pommels. The stirrups are worn long, the riders
standing in them in emergency. The Mexican is the only saddle
fitted for rough work. The cowboy's seat, his ease in the
saddle, would make a poor showing in a riding academy or in a
cavalry school. Yet the park rider and the soldier would be
helpless on the range. The cow-puncher of the plains and the
Cossack of the steppes are said to be the best riders in the
world, yet each has a different saddle and seat. An exchange of
equipment makes poor riders of both of them.
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