lling in such a way that my leg caught under the
saddle, holding me fast. Quick as I could I gave the steer a bullet in
the head and he stumbled and fell dead on top of my horse and me, so
that the boys had to interfere to the extent of dragging the steer and
horse off of my leg.
[Illustration: Riding the 7-Y-L Steer]
The cowboy who is successful in roping the steer must then mount and
ride him. If he does that successfully the steer becomes his personal
property to do with as he will, only a slight reward for the risking of
his life and the trouble of accomplishing the feat. But it is done more
for sport's sake than anything else, and the love of showing off, a
weakness of all cow boys more or less. But really it takes a high class
of horsemanship to ride a long horn, to get on his back and stay there
as he runs, jumps, pitches side ways, backwards, forward, up and down,
then over the prairie like a streak of lightning. I have had the
experience and I can assure you it is no child's play. More than one 7
Y-L steer has fallen to my lot, but I had to work for it, and work hard.
After all it was only part of the general routine of the cow boy's life,
in which danger plays so important a part. It is seldom thought of being
merely a matter of course, and none of us would have foregone the sport,
had we known that sure death awaited us as the result, because above
all things, the test of a cow boy's worth is his gameness and his nerve.
He is not supposed to know what fear means, and I assure you there are
very few who know the meaning of that word.
Most of my readers no doubt have heard of the great round ups and
cuttings, connected with the cattle raiser's life. But not one in a
hundred has any idea as to how an immense herd of wild cattle are
handled in a big round up. My many years of experience has given me
unusual knowledge on the subject, and you may bring any cattleman or
boss to me, and I will guarantee to answer any question he can ask me
about the cattle business. The first general round up occurs about the
first of April. This round up is to run in all the near cattle belonging
to each man, and head them toward our respective ranges. If we find any
other brand mixed up with ours we head them toward their own range, and
keep our own together. Every cow boy does the same and in this way every
cattleman is enable to get his own brand together on his own range, so
that when the next general round up occurs he wil
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