Lincoln County leader., March 01, 1912, Image 6

TAFT ASASHOPPER
Makes His Purchases Like an
Ordinary Citizen.
SHOPKEEPERS WELCOME HIM
Book-Shelves of Present President and
His Predecessor Contrasted An
other 8orrow for Mrs. John A.
Logan In Death of Her
Grandson.
By GEORGE CLINTON.
Washington. President Taft oc
casionally goes downtown afoot to do
bis odds and ends of shopping. He
has made several trips to the business
center recently, mingling with the
street and the shopping crowds and do
ing things generally like the ordinary
Amerlcaa citizen. When, the presi
dent goes Into a store, of ccurse, he
Instantly Is recognized and there Is
evidence of anxiety on the part of each
clerk that at his counter the president
shall do his shopping.
Mr. Taft makes liberal purchases
and as his patronage carries with It
something In the nature of an adver
tisement storekeepers hall his coming
with a good deal of satisfaction. Busi
ness comes pretty near to a standstill
tn the smaller shops when Mr. Taft ap
pears, and this is not the fault of in
attentive clerks who. after the first
minute of the "presence." turn back
again to their ordinary 'customers who
prefer to turn from the counters to
watch the president while be buys
things, it must be rather a trying po
sition in a way, but doubtless by this
time the president Is used to It It is
his custom to make liberal purchases
and this custom waj carried out to the
full during the days just before Christ
mas, and even now Mr. Taft Is making
up for certain forgetfulnesses before
Christmas by- laying in a greater store
of presents to send to friends.
Books of Two Presidents.
Theodore Roosevelt used to go shop
ping In the same way that William H.
Taft does. The former president
bought all kinds of things, but his fa
vorite shopping place was a certain
book store where be would go and
spend an hour or two every little while
looking over the new books and old.
books, giving perhaps a greater part
of his time to ancient volumes, many
of them second-band, In the hope of
flnding'somethlng of Interest not only
because of Its text, but because of Its
"rarity.
President Taft's White House office
library consists almost entirely of law
books. There were not more than two
or three law books in the office of for
mer President Roosevelt, for he was
no lawyer and was willing to admit It.
In the White House proper today In
the study of Mr. Taft there are books
of all kinds, poetry, fiction, history,
essays and miscellaneous works. On
the same shelves when Mr. Roose
velt was president was a great col
lection of nature books. He had
works on birds, mammals, mollusks
and in fact on every form which living
nature assumes, including vegetable
life. It must not be supposed from
this that Mr. Roosevelt did not have
poetry, fiction, history, essays and mis
cellaneous works, for it Is generally
admitted that he was the greatest
reader who ever served as president
of the United States and be had and
has a remarkable faculty of remem
bering everything that he reads. .
Mrs. Logan's Afflictions.
The body of Captain Logan Tucker,
Mrs. John A.. Logan's grandson, who
died in New York the other' day, has
been burled In the tomb of his grandfa
ther, General Logan, In the Soldiers'
Home cemetery. Mrs. John A. Logan,
who was in a good many respects the
strong right arm of the general during
his lifetime, still lives In Washington.
She writes for the press and the mag
azines occasionally and despite her
years Is still an exceedingly active
woman. She has had more eorrows
in recent years than ordinarily fall to
the lot of womankind. Her only son
was killed In battle In the Philippines.
Mrs. Logan accompanied the body to
this country. Now her grandson, also
an army officer, is dead. Mrs. Logan
is deeply interested in everything con
nected with the armed services of the
country. Her hair is pure white, but
she keeps the appearance of youth.
Plans of National Press Club.
. One of the thriving Washington
Institutions is the National Press
club In which virtually all the cor
respondents and local newspaper
men have membership, with a great
non-resident list on which the names
appear of hundreds of the well-known
newspaper men of the United States.
The club has had a great holiday time
of It In a properly quiet way. Hospital
ity has marked the season as it
should.
During the next few months there
will be many entertainments at the
press club, and they promise to be of
a character which will excite country
wide interest Last year at the club
there was a debate as to the compara
tive merits of whlskere and bain beads
as aids to statesmanship. Columns
were printed about this affair, with Jo
seph Q. Cannon, former speaker of the
house of representatives, leading one
side of the debate on behalf of whis
kers and Representative Nicholas
Longworth of Cincinnati, leading the
other side on behalf of bald heads
Something of similar nature, and
yet entirely different, will be one of the
features of the program for the time
between now and early summer, when
all Washington activities lag except
tnose or congress, which at times must
work under the broiling sun that
threatens occasionally to set the as
phalt pavements ablaze. The Natlon-J
al Press club entertains nearly, every
distinguished visitor from abroad who
comes to the capital. Some day its
visitors' book will be of immense value
for the autographs which it con
tains.
McLean Baby's Christmas.
A good many Tears ago Thomas F
Walsh, an Irishman, poor in purse, but
rich- in energy, went to Colorado.
There he worked as a laborer and
miner. Finally when he had a knowl
edge of prospecting, Mr. Walsh used
his senses and his strength to do
things for himself. He succeeded 'so
well that be acquired many millions,
and then In after life he came with
his wife and two children to live in
the Capital City.
About a year ago Thomas P. Walsh
died. Trouble -had come to him In
his latter years. His only son was
killed in an automobile accident and
his daughter was badly injuredbut
she happily recovered and later mar
ried Edward Beale McLean, son of
John R. McLean of Cincinnati and
Washington. Mrs. Thomas P. Walsh
Is Still living, and as she shared many
of the early privations of her husband,
she must have been struck by the con
trast between the scene in her Wash
ington home a day or two ago and the
scenes in the early Colorado days.
Vincent Walsh McLean, the three
year-old grandson of Mrs. Walsh, was
celebrating the coming of Christmas.
The child Is heir to an enormous
amount of money. Invited to
help him enjoy his Christmas were
some 35 or 40 children between the
ages of 18 months and 6 years. They
were all the children of either wealth
of of high official degree. Descendants
of Gen. Ulysses S. Grant were present
and of EHhu Root and of other men
who are or have been presidents army
commanders, senators or foreign am
bassadors. It Is probable that not In
the history of social life in the capital
have there been gathered together so
many little ones who have clutched
fast silver spoons ever since they
were born.
Sampson's Son In Arm v.
Harold Burling Sampson, son of thb
late Admiral S'.iroson, who was In
command of the fleet In front of San
tiago during the SDanlsh war has
appointed a second lieutenant In the
united States army by President Taft
Young Sampson wanted to follow his
father in a sea career, and hn wan
appointed to the United States Naval
Academy. He was compelled to leave
after having served as a cadet only
two years. So It is that from the
navy to the army has been trnnRfnrrpd
a name intimately connected for years
with the sailor life.
Vandalism In Washington.
As a result of the work of the
vandal who mutilated the picture,
"Perry at Lake Erie," which hangs
in the senate wing of the capl
tol, the police -watchfulness suppos
edly has been redoubled. If they
should treble the police force in the
District, however, the chances are
that a malicious person could cut any
picture or damage any statue that
ne cnose, unimpeded; but, of course,
he would have some difficulty In es
caping after the act
The capital city has been remarkab
ly immune from acts of vandalism of
this kind In the past. Rello hunters
occasionally have chipped pieces of
statuary and have tried to break bits
off bronze raised-work doors, but the
damage In the main has been slight
President Receives Socks.
Among President Taft's holiday
presents was a pair of band-made knit
socks sent to him-from War Branch,
Ky., by Miss Elizabeth Brock, who
sent with the gift a letter In which
she said that she hoped the president
would wear the socks on cold, damp
days.
Presidents of the United States get
many presents, most of which are re
turned to the donors if it can be done
gracefully. Gifts of great value al
ways are returned unless they are sent
for some specific occasion like a wed
ding anniversary or a birthday, and
are made for personal and not at all
for official reasons. Small gifts,
where the Inspiration is slniDlv from
the heart, are accented almost invar.
lably.
Up to her wedding day a girl be
lieves that if a husband has bad hab
its it is because his wife never feeds
him angel food or meets him at the
door with a kles.
The man whose wife seems to think
he is merely a piece of furnlturn tn
. , .
LT?J! ?t,tle? t0 a l0t mora
"fuvi frunu uo JfcC La,
Jut roNCHEMOtW :
HE e
puncher, like
the poor. Is al
ways with us,
If not In the
flesh, then at
least In some
of the moving
picture shows
to be found in
every street
Go where you will in the
English speaking world, you cannot get
away from the puncher and his exploits.
If you don't patronize the picture shows
themselves, you cannot fall to notice the
man in the "chaos" printed in th i
of colors on the posters outside
iaci, no picture show seems complete
unless it includes in Its orngram at lonaf
one cowboy picture.'
The pictures usually
puncher as a happy, well meaning indi
vidual, with a mlnlatur
tain the effect, who has little to occupy
his time except meddling with other
people's business. admlnlsterW ,i.tiM
with the aid of a tree and a length of
rope and being in at the finish of any
love affairs which
neighborhood. According to the moving
y;iure autnoruies these latter episodes
seem to crop up like mushrooms on a
moor In the cow country. All tM
very nice and romantic, but, unfortunate
ly, ii tne truth is to be told, it can not be
stamped with the hallmark of veracity.
Aiier viewing the3e nicturpn mnnth
after month the public must have a very
exalted though none the less erroneous
iaea ot tne average cowbov and hi.
work. If we leave out the inevitable
"girl" some of these pictured exploits
might well have been d imllrfttpri In rant
life in the "early" days, but any "long
nairea plainsmen who took part
them have now to be content In th
counting of them fwlth iiifoni m.
belllshments, probably) to their grand-
cnuaren if they are lucky enough to
have any. .
There are no two callings In the
world today surrounded by so much
romance, and about which so much
has been written as those of plains
men and sailors, and yet withal, the
general public has a very hazy and
sometimes absurd concentinn rpeard-
ing the life and members of both pro
fessions. Perhaps that the fact that
the real work of both callings is done
far away from the public ken, thus
allowing plenty of latitude for a vivid
imagination, is responsible for many
of the false impressions concerning
tbem.
In the first place, the average
puncher might work on the ranges
three or four years and at the end
of that period be able to count all
the "girls" he had ever seen'on the
fingers of one hand; and a visit to the
"home" ranches would probably re
veal as many Chinese as ladles, and
it is hard to imagine anything ro
mantic connected with a Chinese.
The "bosses" see to It that while the
puncher Is on the payroll he has
mighty little time for anything outs'.de
of hard work.
Again, in these days lew punchers
pack a gun. Years ago. when cattle
rustling was rampant, it was advisable
that the stockmen should be provided
with guns, as the rustlers themselves
went armed; but the real use of the
gun dates back to the time" when,
fences and lineriders were practically
unknown. Thus, during some big
stampede, when thousands of dollars'
worth of beef was running headlong
to destruction and all ordinary means
had failed to check it, as a last re
source the foremost Tider would shoot
down some of the leaders, thus check
ing the rush and enabling the riders
to "circle" the bunch; that process by
which alone big herds can be kept
under control, when they show a ten
dency to be restless. It consists in
making the fringe of the herd move In
a circle around the rest of the bunch;
thus te cattle themselves are made
to head off their fellows, until finally
the entire herd Is one huge revolving
mass of fiesh.
But at the present time fences and
restricted ranges have almost rendered
these big stamnedes things of the nast
and the type of men who coped with
them and with hostile Indians has dis
appeared.' While the modern cowboy is called
upon In a roundup to do much stren
uous work, during which the safety
from accident is measured aimost en
tirely by the sure footedness of his
pony and his skill as a rider, mis
chance is the sum total of risk to life
he has to run.
Some persons having in mind the
"frontier celebration" held at Chey
enne, Wyo., will be inclined to doubt
this statement, but it must be remem
bered that these gatherings, which
are held annually in all big cow cen
ters, are simply entertainments for the
publics benefit and to demonstrate
the skill attained by certain Individu
als picked out of thousands. Their
reckless disregard for limb or life Is
not general among the punchers. 'What
a man may do in the ordinary course
n tuau urn uu lu lug uruiimrj cuuibq
ot hi. work and what he is willing to
do for the love of applause or for
o w r : - V
'''gI'h '
' nn-ii-V saS 6(Ut V 'l
In
in
rn.
money, may be two widely different
things.
Some of the most skillful and In
trepid broncho busters to be seen in
exhibitions nevsr go near a cow camp
from one year's end to another. Sev
eral of these "high priced attractions"
are engaged in the sheep shearing
business; another drives his own team
and "rig" in connection with the trans
fer business. So these exhibitions
must not be taken as a criterion of
the character and work of the $75 a
month puncher or the all the year
round stock hand. The fact Is there Is
as much difference between the mod
ern stockhand and the old timer as
there is between a deckhand on a
river boat and a deep sea sailor.
The old time cowpuncher considered
teaming In any form beneath his
dignity, and would have viewed any
request to handle the lines much as a
present day plumber would regard the
suggestion of having a shovel added
to his tool bag. For this reason in
bygone days the roundup cook had to
be an expert teamster; but, as is to
be expected, where such an unusual
combination of talents is required, that
member of outfit's long suit was
seldom within the culinary depart
ment. While the old cowboy's lot was
cast in more Btrenuous days than now,
still he was more Independent and
enjoyed better opportunities of acquir
ing his own herd, whereas the present
day puncher can hardly expect to at
tain anything beyond the status of a
foreman.
Practically all the cattle ranches of
any consequence are now owned or
controlled by companies, or perhaps
trusts would be a better name.
During the last ten years wages
have decreased for range work, and
with the decline in wages (he .work
has become more general. Nowadays
the cattle owners hire their regular
help by the season or the year, and
outside their work during the roundup
their "Job" and surroundings are
much the same as those of the farm
er's hired man. The states of Montana
and Wyoming pay the highest wages
for range work, riders receiving $75 a
month and board. On the other Bide
of the line wages are about 20 per
cent, lower for the same work. These
wages only obtain during the roundup,
which time corresponds in the con
duct of a cattle ranch to the harvest
Beason of the grain farmer, and many
of the punchers work for $40 a month
and less for the rest of the year.
There are two big roundupB during
the year, the spring roundup and fall,
or beef, roundup. The spring roundup,
which takes place in May or June, is
perhaps the busiest time of the year.
A foreman Is chosen from each dis
trict. Usually be Is the son or ml a.
tive of the manager or owner of the
rancn ne is attached to. Each fore
man or captain brings a number of
cowooys with him, the number vary
ing according to the cattle his em
ployer Is estimated to have running
range.
The riders travel in pairs, as a mi a.
and much patience, coupled with keen
observation, Is necessary If their work
is to be thorough; watercourses must
be followed, and the country carefully
searched for stragglers.
Daybreak finds a roundun rnmn
astir, and the saddle horses having
been corralled by the night wrangler
whose duty It . Is to herd the work
ponies during the night, by 6 so'clock
the riders have caught and saddled
their respective mounts and are away
"chasing beef." In the first stages of
the roundup they will probably not be
back for 15 or 16 hours.
The puncher must stand alike severe
heat and drenching rains when after
cattle, and this with no prospect of
relief until the work of the roundup is
completed. When all the cattle appar
ently have been rounded up to a com
mon center an enumeration is made,
beef stock selected and calves brand
ed. It might be mentioned here that
if during these expeditions thA rlripra
come across any unbranded yearlings,
and there is nothing to sncst n-hnt
outfit they originally belonged to, they
iot-e no time in branding them with
their own outfit's brand imlnir a "nm.
ning iron" which they carry for the
purpose.
The herd being now hnnrho un
fires are lighted and the "hempen
rifles are uncoiled. Calves are roped
and dragged to the orandirig fires.
Where a couple Of men on font trrnh
and hold the calf, clearing the lariat
so that the rider may be free to fetch
anotner one. They then apj)ly the
heated Irons for two Or three seconds.
The branding completed, they admin
ister a gentle kick to the bewildered
calf to remind him he Is free, and
they are ready for the next This
goes on until all the calves and yearl
ings have been branded.
The climatic and physical conditions
of the. country seem to have quite an
effect on the cattle running wild.
Their breeding propensities vary ac
cording to the country.
Each member of a herd seems to
know Its place, and prefers its own to
any other herd, but like all other rules
this one is proved by exceptions, and
sometimes in a large herd calves will
get mixed up and separated from their
mothers, and in such cases disputes
will arise as to the ownership of the
calves. If not satisfactorily settled
otherwise, the calf in dispute is taken
to the fire and the branding irons ap
plied with not sufficient pressure, how
ever, to make a permanent mark, but
sufficiently to burn the calf and make
it cry out. In a moment there is an
answering bellow from one of the
herds, followed by a stir among the
cattle, who seem almost to make a
gangway for the concerned mother as
she rushes to answer the call of her
calf. A rope is shot around her hind
legs as she leaves the fringe of the
herd, allowing her no chance to make
any serious objections, her hrnn u
observed and the calf branded accord
ingly. Justice Is served. The cow and
calf are turned loose again, and it is
a fine sight to watch them "beat It"
together for the herd.
The branding done and stock taking
finished, the beef ready for shipping is
driven to the home rancn tn nn-nir
actual shipment, and the remainder of
me cattle are once more free to wan
der the hlllB and plains until thn fnii
when the big drive will take place.
ine rounding up of cattle Is some
times difficult, as they. tinliVo hnn..
frequently take a notion to split up in
bunches and head off in all directions,
making much work for the riders.
The kind of cow punpher we read
about who was as indelibly marked
with the physical characteristics of
bis calling as were the cattle be herd
ed with the brand of their owners,
has given way to the less hardy and
picturesque cowboy or stockhand of
today, who may be beating a train to
morrow or driving team tn the city.