when he wants to throw
his rope. Then it is that his judgment comes into play and determines
whether his cast is a lost one or not. I have seen vaqueros swing a
lasso swiftly almost in the midst of a thicket, and keep it clear
without losing speed, and then let it drive straight as an arrow
between two close trees and rope an object that could not pass where
the noose had gone. Such skill, to be sure, comes only after long
practice.

"Well, now we have got the noose circling about the vaquero's head, and
the next thing is to let it fly. There is not much to describe about
this part of throwing a riata, important though it may be. It is only
incessant practice that will enable a man to make a certain cast. The
main thing is to swing the rope just long enough--neither so long as to
give it a side-wise motion when you throw it, nor short enough to
prevent its getting all the force you require. Then the riata man must
throw at a particular limb or projection. This thing of tossing
blindly at an object and trusting to luck that the animal will get into
the rope somehow will not do. You must pick out your mark as carefully
as if you were shooting at it, and then time it. A steer jumping along
changes his position constantly as regards you. If you throw at his
head high up the chances are that it will be away down when your rope
reaches him, and you will overthrow. Now, if you pick out a foot you
must reckon so that that foot will be off the ground when your rope
reaches him. The noose does not travel like a bullet, and this element
of time is most important.

"Of even more importance is it that the distances are gauged correctly.
You remember I spoke about holding the coils lightly in two or three
fingers. Well, that is done in order that as many coils as may be
considered necessary may be let go. If you are wielding a riata you
know that each of your coils is almost two feet or two and one half
feet long. So if you want to lasso something twenty feet away you let
go ten coils.

"As to letting go, you simply open your hand at the correct time and
the rope slips off.

"But even after you have roped your steer your work is not over.
Almost any animal can pull you from your horse, and to prevent this you
must get your rope around the horn of your saddle. There is where you
have to be quick. There are two ways of making this hitch that are
used ordinarily. The one I prefer is simply to take two turns aroun