CHAPTER XVI
A LESSON IN ROPING
The next day was devoted to cutting cattle and branding calves, andJack told Donald that this was his chance to practise roping. Jack veryhospitably, since Donald was to be the guest of his uncle, gave him hisown rope which was in excellent condition, and provided himself with asecond one, which had been used only a few times and so was somewhathard and stiff. Donald was much interested in the work, and anxious tosee how it was done, and Jack promised that, so far as he could, hewould look after him, and coach him in the work of catching calves.
"But you'll have to look out for yourself and do the best you can,"he added, "for there is no time for school-work on the round-up. Verylikely you'll make lots of breaks, and the fellows will make lots offun of you; but that you'll have to stand. They're all good-natured,but everybody that makes a mistake or blunder gets laughed at in a cowcamp. It isn't likely that you'll be able to catch calves by theirfeet. What you'd better do for a starter is to try and catch 'em bytheir necks, and not throw 'em, but just sort of lead and drag 'em overto where the boys are."
"All right," agreed Donald; "I suppose that's the best thing that Ican do. I don't understand this business of catching animals by theirfeet, and you'll have to tell me about that, before long. I'll try tocatch them by the neck, and lead them over; but I haven't a great dealof confidence that I'll do much with it."
The men who were cutting that morning were Charley Powell, Jack Danversand Jack Mason. Before long it happened that Jack drove a cow and calfover toward the Sturgis bunch, and as Donald was nearby Jack beckonedto him.
"Put your rope on the calf and lead it over to the fire," he called asDonald rode up.
Donald made ready to catch the calf and, though a little slow, he madea good throw before the calf was near the bunch; but unfortunately theloop was so large that the calf jumped through it and was following itsmother into the Sturgis herd when Jack, shaking with laughter, threwhis rope, caught the calf by the feet and started it for the fire.Donald, much mortified, slowly gathered up his rope and overtook Jackbefore he had reached the fire.
"That must have seemed a pretty stupid thing to you, but what was thematter?" he asked.
"Why," explained Jack, "your loop was too big, and the beast ranthrough it. If you had had experience enough you would have seen thatyour loop was too big, and that it was going beyond the calf's head,and by jerking up your throwing hand you could have stopped the loopso that it would have fallen just over the calf's head, and it wouldhave run against the noose with its chest and been caught. Usuallyyou can get right close to a calf and then throw with a small loopand a rather short rope; but, as I tell you, this is all a matter ofpractise."
"I am going to watch you," said Donald, "and the next time you cut acalf out, I will try it over again."
"That's right," declared Jack. "If you stay with it you will certainlyget there."
But Donald had to learn the lessons of experience. With the next calfthat he tried to rope he did better, but, being unable to control hisrope properly, the calf's head and forefeet went through the loop. Hethrew up his hand too late and caught the beast around the middle, andit gave as lively an exhibition of bucking as a three-month-old calfcould furnish. The cow had gone on into the bunch and Jack was watchingher, and, fearing lest she should turn about and come out to fight, heput his string over the calf's head and led and dragged it to the firewhile Donald meekly followed at the other end of his rope.
The boys at the fire shrieked with laughter when they saw what hadhappened, and declared that they would not cast the rope loose; whileDonald did not know how to free it.
"Just put that rope under the iron here, and we'll mark it for keeps,"one boy shouted.
Donald made no response except to smile and shake his head. He took itall very good-naturedly, and when his rope was turned loose gathered itup and again helped Jack drive the calf to the bunch.
"That's all right," said Jack. "You are improving; but you have got tokeep on practising. It does not take one day nor one year to make a mana good roper. Now I am no roper myself, and yet I have been doing itpretty nearly every summer for the last five or six years."
Donald's third trial was successful. He rode up pretty near to the calfand threw with a short rope and, catching the beast, he turned hishorse and dragged the calf up to the fire. When he got there he wasreceived by the boys with more laughter and louder shouts than before.They declared that this could not be Donald; that it must be some oneelse disguised to resemble him, for it was perfectly well known thatDonald never caught calves except around the middle.
Jack, however, was greatly delighted with his new friend's success, andcongratulated him warmly on the progress that he was making.
All through the morning they worked hard and all were glad when dinnertime came and there was a chance for a little rest. Most of the mensaddled fresh horses and those holding the herds were relieved and hadan opportunity to get something to eat. Jack and Donald were sent outto hold the Sturgis bunch, and while they were out there, and a littlelater when they pushed the cattle off to one side to feed, Donald askedJack to tell him something more about the art of roping.
"You men here catch your calves by the feet, and I've heard," saidDonald, "that there are men who can catch any foot of a running animal,if you ask them to. That seems perfectly impossible to me; and infact it seems to me impossible that anybody could catch the feet of arunning animal, but of course I've seen it done to-day."
"Yes," replied Jack, "it is done all the time. It is easy enough tocatch an animal by his fore feet, or his hind feet, or by one fore footor one hind foot, but I am not enough of a roper, and I don't believe Iever shall be, to pick up any foot when I am asked to."
"Well, I can't expect you to tell me how to do things that you say youcannot do yourself, but I would like to understand how to catch ananimal by the feet."
Jack laughed.
"Why, that's like most other things in the world: awful simple when youknow how to do it, or even how it is done. You just throw your rope sothat the animal steps into it either with his hind feet or with hisfore feet, as the case may be, but you've got to pull your rope just atthe right time. That is to say, if the beast puts his fore feet intothe noose lying on the ground, and you leave the noose lying there, whythe critter won't get caught. You've got to give a lift and pull onyour rope just at the right moment."
"That seems simple enough," declared Donald; "or at least it seems asif it would be simple enough to a man who knows how to rope."
"Yes," said Jack, "but it takes some judgment. You've got to put yourrope in the right place, and then, as I said, you've got to pull onit at the right time. You may see boys catching animals by any footbefore we get through this round-up, and it is constantly done on theprairie with horses that are mean. If you want to learn how to rope,and to see roping well done, you'd better watch Vicente, or TulareJoe, who was raised in California with the Mexicans there. He handles arope better than anybody else in the camp, except Vicente and Juan whoare Mexicans. As for Charley Powell and Jack Mason and myself, we arejust plain ordinary ropers that can catch horses and cows most of thetime but can't do any fancy tricks with a rope the way those Mexicanscan. I've seen one or two Mexicans do things with a rope that made myeyes stick out about a foot; but some Americans are pretty good. Theytell of a man down on the plains--in Nebraska, I believe--who once whenroping calves in a corral, caught and took to the fire a hundred andten calves in a hundred and ten throws. He didn't miss a single throw."
"I should like to see something of that kind; but for the present Iguess plain roping will occupy my attention. There is another thing Iwant to ask you. Are the Indians good ropers?"
"Fair," answered Jack, "but nothing to brag of--nothing great. They doas well as any of us ordinary cowboys. There is an interesting thingabout that--something that Hugh once told me--that a good many yearsago, when Hugh first came into th
e country--that was in 1849--theIndians could hardly rope at all. All the same they used to catch lotsof wild horses by just running them down. The country then was full ofwild horses. In the spring when the wild horses were poor and weak, theIndians used to take their best horses and start out and find a bunchof the wild horses and chase them as hard as they could, and finallycatch them. But they did not know how to rope them. They used to makebig hoops of willows and tie the noose of the rope to such a hoopwith small strings; then when they had run down an animal, so that theycould ride up alongside of it, they would pass the hoop over its headand pull back on the rope; the strings which tied it to the hoop wouldbreak, the noose would run up, and the animal could be choked down.
BRANDING IN THE CORRAL.--_Page 170_ _Photo by Mrs. A. C. Stokes, Lame Deer, Mont._]
"Of course, they could never catch good horses; those that they gotwere mostly colts or mares heavy with foal, and animals that wereparticularly weak from lack of food and the winter's cold.
"The Indians that I've seen did not appear to me to handle theirhorses very well, and they have no more feeling for a horse than theyhave for a saddle or a travois. They never consider that a horse hasany feelings: it is simply a tool to help them get about and to bearburdens. The Indians are really kind-hearted, but my notion is theyjust don't happen to think of the suffering they may cause the horse.Indians are kind to each other and to their friends, but I don't thinkyou could call them kind to animals."
"I suppose that is a matter of education," suggested Donald.
"I suppose so," answered Jack. "Besides that, when you are all the timestruggling with an animal, or a lot of animals, and trying to make themdo something that you want them to do, and that they don't understand,you get kind o' mad at them because they don't mind you. You forgetthat they don't understand, and you are likely to be brutal to them.Now, for example, I was thinking to-day that it would be a good ideafor you, after you get to know how to use a rope a little better, topractise on some of these cows, catching them and throwing them, but Idon't suppose a cow very much enjoys being thrown, and it is a questionwhich is the more important, for you to have practise in throwing cows,or to spare the cow the grief of being thrown. I don't suppose it isvery pleasant for an animal running at full speed to be checked up andmade to turn a somersault and hit the ground like a thousand of--beefwe'll say."
"No," Donald said slowly; "I guess not; and I think the question youhave suggested is rather a nice one."
"Well, we needn't worry about that. There will be plenty of chances foryou to practise on cows before long; and meantime you've got to learnto catch calves."
The boys had an idle, easy time watching this bunch of cattle which wasconstantly being added to by animals cut out from the big bunch. Beforeevening all the cattle had been separated and Jack and Donald rode backto the camp together.
Supper over, the boys sat about the fire lazily smoking and talking.After a while there was a pause, which was presently broken by McIntyre.
"I met one of the boys from the Bar Lazy A to-day when I was riding. Hewas going back to the ranch. Said he had been sent in with a messageand spent a day or two in town. I asked him if he had seen anything ofClaib Wood, and he said yes, he met him a couple of nights ago; thatClaib was full, and looked as if he were hunting trouble. Then he saidthe next day they had quite a little excitement in town--let's see,Mason, that must have been about the time you were there. Did you hearof any excitement?"
Mason had looked up quickly when McIntyre began to speak and thenlowered his eyes and was looking at the fire.
"Why, no, Mac," he replied; "I didn't see anything that excited me verymuch. The town seemed about as usual--dogs lying in the sun, asleep;two or three men reading a month-old newspaper; lots of flies buzzingin the windows; passenger comes in once a day going east, once a daygoing west, and freight trains happen along occasionally. Not muchexcitement in town."
At this answer, the usually grave McIntyre slapped his thigh and burstinto a loud guffaw.
"Bully for you, Jack Mason!" he cried. "You've got some sense of humor,darned if you ain't. Why, boys," he went on, addressing the group,"this is what Red Casey of the Bar Lazy A told me. He said that theother morning--meaning the morning Jack Mason here got to town--he wassettin' in Jim Decker's saloon playin' a little game of poker withSlim Jim Rutherford, when Jack here come into the saloon. Claib Woodhad been drunk all the night before, and had just come in for hismorning nip. Jack here walked up to him and they talked for two orthree minutes and then Claib tried to draw his gun. In a jiffy Jackgrabbed him and held him and called to Ross to take both guns away; andthen after a minute Jack picked Claib up and threw him across the roomso hard that when he hit the wall and fell on the floor his arm andcollar-bone were broken, and his shoulder was out of joint. Claib hitthe wall so hard that the boys thought he was dead; but it seems not,and it's a darned pity too. Now, Jack Mason, why didn't you tell us allthis when you came back from town?"
The boys shouted with laughter, but Mason said nothing--only continuedto look at the fire.
When the tumult of cheers and jokes had somewhat died down, McIntyrerepeated his question, but without receiving an answer. Then he turnedand looked over toward Donald.
"Say, boys, there's another criminal here, it seems to me. Here's thisBritisher that came out the other night with Jack Mason. He must haveknown all about the thing, and I would like to know why he didn't tellus. He's tryin' to learn how to be a cowboy, but he sure will neverlearn to be a good cowboy until he's ready to give the news, and tomake fun of any other puncher that he gets a chance to josh."
After a moment, Donald spoke.
"Well, Mr. McIntyre, I am new at the cowboy business," he said. "Ihave only been trying to learn it for a day or two, and so I cannot beexpected to do my work very well. I did tell one boy when I got here,and it made him laugh so much that I got a little scared and asked himnot to say anything about it until the news reached the boys in someother way. Isn't that so, Jack Danvers?"
"Sure," vouched Jack. "Donald told me the whole story the morning hegot in, and I wanted to make a whoop and hurrah about it right off, buthe begged me not to, because he didn't want to be counted a gossip.Don't you remember last night, when I was asking you men all thosequestions about Claib Wood? I was watching Jack Mason all the time tosee if he would make any sign, but he never let on that he had evenseen Claib Wood when he was in town."
This speech of Jack's called forth a series of yells of delight fromthe little company. Many jokes were made; and Jack Mason, becomingsomewhat embarrassed, finally rose and went to his blankets. The otherboys soon afterward dispersed to their beds.