Against the elements,
pile-driving buckers, rough range country and wild cow cattle, courage
was an earmark of the cowboy's trade.
Spring roundup on the old San Marcus Ranch in 1905, with several pairs of ropers at work.
By LUIS B. ORTEGA
Courage was an earmark of the cowboy's trade. Many suddenly lost their riding nerve after suffering a serious injury or after seeing a close friend kicked all over the ground when his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged and kicked to death: If he was an exceptionally good rough rider often the terrific beating from bucking would shake loose a kidney or injure the liver or cause some other personal injury and put him out for all time. The most common injury is the hernia, which is a "gift" from riding hard fast, pile-driving buckers.
Once a rider has quit riding this type of horse, whether through injury or loss of nerve, he will continue to ride gentle ones. Much as he regrets the humiliation of having to give up forking anything on four hoofs he continues to ride the less tough ones, as plenty of courage is needed in the cow game besides riding the back of a bucker.
The cowboy, by nature of his trade, is from time to time required to fight the elements. In the southern part of the country he has the hot deserts and in other parts the night and day vigils in the cold rain and sometimes in snow, being wet or damp most of the time. When on roundup and the wet season caught up' with the crew the puncher slept on the wet ground and rode in a wet saddle in slippery country on young horses that were ready to break in two if the opportunity came their way.
Swimming rivers or running in country where the ground was pitted with gopher, ground squirrel, or badger holes was all part of his work. All the time he faced the chance of having to take a fall that might kill or cripple him for life, and most of the time he rode alone. Rarely would he complain for he figured that by complaining he might as well quit and he was no quitter.
Steer leading out. In the earlier days when the rawhide reata
was extensively used it was made of heavy stock and usually ranged in
length from 45 to 70 feet. Although the long rope has often been a topic
of discussion, consideration must be made regarding the kind of cattle
and the country that had to be contended with when the working season
was on. Wild cattle are handled much differently than gentle-raised.
When "wild" is mentioned it does not describe a few head of stock
running down to a water hole or coming into the wooded area for
protection from the hot sun or from cold winter winds, rain or snow.
Wild cattle look, act, and live differently. They never have been
branded and are what we call orejanos. They never saw the
inside of a corral and in most cases their first acquaintance with one
was when they had been roped and led in off the range.
It is a pretty sight to see a large bunch of this type running down a slope to go into hiding. How gracefully they will jump over a large clump of chaparral or sagebrush or rocks and never touch any part of it with their feet! Cattle of this caliber will take away gentle ones with them so each season it was customary on big spreads to try and clean out as many as could be caught by roping them. Some ranches paid each cowboy $2.50 to $5.00 a head for each one caught. This was in addition to his regular wages.
Spring roundup on the old San Marcus Ranch in 1905, with several pairs of ropers at work.By LUIS B. ORTEGA
Courage was an earmark of the cowboy's trade. Many suddenly lost their riding nerve after suffering a serious injury or after seeing a close friend kicked all over the ground when his foot caught in the stirrup and he was dragged and kicked to death: If he was an exceptionally good rough rider often the terrific beating from bucking would shake loose a kidney or injure the liver or cause some other personal injury and put him out for all time. The most common injury is the hernia, which is a "gift" from riding hard fast, pile-driving buckers.
Once a rider has quit riding this type of horse, whether through injury or loss of nerve, he will continue to ride gentle ones. Much as he regrets the humiliation of having to give up forking anything on four hoofs he continues to ride the less tough ones, as plenty of courage is needed in the cow game besides riding the back of a bucker.
The cowboy, by nature of his trade, is from time to time required to fight the elements. In the southern part of the country he has the hot deserts and in other parts the night and day vigils in the cold rain and sometimes in snow, being wet or damp most of the time. When on roundup and the wet season caught up' with the crew the puncher slept on the wet ground and rode in a wet saddle in slippery country on young horses that were ready to break in two if the opportunity came their way.
Swimming rivers or running in country where the ground was pitted with gopher, ground squirrel, or badger holes was all part of his work. All the time he faced the chance of having to take a fall that might kill or cripple him for life, and most of the time he rode alone. Rarely would he complain for he figured that by complaining he might as well quit and he was no quitter.
Steer leading out. In the earlier days when the rawhide reata
was extensively used it was made of heavy stock and usually ranged in
length from 45 to 70 feet. Although the long rope has often been a topic
of discussion, consideration must be made regarding the kind of cattle
and the country that had to be contended with when the working season
was on. Wild cattle are handled much differently than gentle-raised.
When "wild" is mentioned it does not describe a few head of stock
running down to a water hole or coming into the wooded area for
protection from the hot sun or from cold winter winds, rain or snow.
Wild cattle look, act, and live differently. They never have been
branded and are what we call orejanos. They never saw the
inside of a corral and in most cases their first acquaintance with one
was when they had been roped and led in off the range.It is a pretty sight to see a large bunch of this type running down a slope to go into hiding. How gracefully they will jump over a large clump of chaparral or sagebrush or rocks and never touch any part of it with their feet! Cattle of this caliber will take away gentle ones with them so each season it was customary on big spreads to try and clean out as many as could be caught by roping them. Some ranches paid each cowboy $2.50 to $5.00 a head for each one caught. This was in addition to his regular wages.
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