270
THE WEST SHORE.
THE COW AND THE COWBOY.
1M10M Oregon to Nebraska, and from Montana to
Trsxi, va;:t ttrckl.cs i,t uuUi-y iuo JuvoLJ exclu
sively to tho grazing of millions of cattlo, raised solely an
a beef supply (or the Eastern markets aud packing
houses, Wherever are to !e found broad expanses of
grass-covered plain, valley or hills, unoccupied by the
agriculturist or so devoid of natural moisture as to ren
der thcru practically valueless for cultivation, thore may
be seen great bands of cattle ranging under the care of
the much abused and much misunderstood cowboy. These
cattle represent hundred of millions of dollars, all in
trusted to the care of cowboys, non whose integrity,
faithfulness to duty and bravery in tiroes of danger the
ownnra are compelled to rely for the safety of their
prowrty. Those millions of cattle grace almost unre
strained during the winter, but in the spring they are
gathered in, the calves branded, and steers of suitable
age select! out to be sent to market. Thus each year
the inorease is tuken'cAre of aud the surplus marketed.
During the summer cattlo on the drive may lie seen
everywhere, some of them going to market and others
being ohanged from one range to another. In this way
the cow and cowboy are constantly shifting from one
locality to another. Formerly cattle were driveu hun
dreds of miles to reach a shipping point; but now rail
road facilities have ao increased that in most regions
long drives for that purpose are no longer necessary, and,
in consequence, the cattle reach their destination in much
bettor condition. The present season cattle have been
sent by rail from Oregon aud Washington to Chicago, a
distance of more than two thousand miles. It is gen
erally admitted that this journey is too long, and that it
is tho Utter plan to send them to the Montana ranges
one season, aud from there to market the next In pur
suance of this plan nearly fifty thousand have been taken
by rail this season, while many large (tends are annually
driven north from Texas to fatten on the bunch grass
ranges of Montana. The bulk of the cattle shipped to
ami from that Territory are handled by the Northern
raciflo lUilroad, and this is the leading item of freight
traflk This includes the shipment from the East of
thousands of high grade breeding cattle aud young cattle
for fattening npon the ranges.
For the purpose of handling stork to the best advan
tage Hie company has established yards and feeding sta
tious at convenient distances between Wallula and 8t
FauL These consist of several large pens, accommodat
ing a thousand cattle, having large water Unit connected
with tlmra by means of service pipe, Stock trains un
load at these placea and lay over a number of hours for
rest and refreshment of the cattle with water and feed.
By Ihis system stock arrive at their destination in the
best possible condition. These yards are located at Horse
Mains, Heleua, Livingston, Glendive and Mandan. On
another page are given ricwa of the yard at Helena and
a few characteristic scenes in handling the cattle, as well
aa the portrait of a typical cowboy.
Tha idea eutertaiued of the cowboy by the Eastern
public is as erronoous as it is possible to be. The cow
boys, aa a class, are a brave, intelligent, honorable, kind
huttiUiJ mil cool-headed class of men. Ia tliuir liiiiU
will be found college graduates, sons of many of the first
families of the East, men worth their thousands in their
own right, scions of nobility from Europe and natives of
the plains and mountains, the last, of course, by far the
most numerous. That their life of freedom from re
straint should develop certain wild traits of character, or
that among them should drift an occasional refugee from
justice is not surprising; but such a recruit must
Iwhave himself like a man, and should he commit any
outrage or crime his companions would be the first to see
that he was properly punished. They have no great love
for Indians, nor, for that matter, has any man who has
been brought into actual contact with that lazy, pilfering,
ignoble race, and if they occasionally have trouble with
Mr. Lo, the blame is by no means entirely their own.
No better description of them and their characteristics
can le given than the following by a cattleman, who has
lived and worked with them for years:
" The cowboy ia the most thoroughly misunderstood
man, outside of the localities where he is known, on the
face of the earth. I know him in all his alleged terrors,
and as a class there are no nobler-hearted or honorable
men in the world. Brave to rashness and generous to a
fault, if you should be thrown among them you would
find them ever ready to share their lost crust with you,
or lie down at night with you on the same blanket Say
that I have ten thousand cattle whioh I am about to send
overland from Texas into Montana to fatten for the' mar
ket Those cattlo will be on the drive from the first of
April until the middle of September. They are divided
into three herds, with a dozen or sixteen men with each
herd I intrust those cattle in the hands of a gang of
oowboys. For six months I know absolutely nothing of
my stock. I trust their honosty to the extent of many
thousands of dollars without a contract, without a bond,
with no earthly hold upon them, legally or morally, be
yond the fact that I am paying them $35 or $40 a month
to protect my interests. And these are the men pictured
in the East as outcast of civilization! I trust absolutely
to their judgment in getting those cattle through a wild
and unbroken country without loss or injury. I trust as
absolutely to their bravery and endurance in the face of
danger, for a man to be a cowboy must be a brave man.
For instance, we are on a drive. The cattle are aa wild
aa deors naturally, and being in an unknown country are
aa nervous and timid as sheep. The slightest noise may
startle them into a stampede. We have been on the
drive all day and night is coming on. It ia oold and
raining. We have reached the point where we intend to
round np for the night The men commence to ride
around the drove, singing, shouting and whistling to en
courage the animals by the sounds they are familiar with
and to drown any noise of an unusual -character which
might provoke a stampede. Round and round the cattle
they ride until the whole drove ia traveling in a circle.
Slowly the oowboys close in on them, still shouting and