io Hunting Trips of a Ranchman 



ranchman or foremen. The best are those from 

 Oregon ; most of them come from Texas, and many 

 are bought from the Indians. They are broken in 

 a very rough manner, and many are in consequence 

 vicious brutes, with the detestable habit of bucking. 

 Of this habit I have a perfect dread, and, if I can 

 help it, never get on a confirmed bucker. The 

 horse puts his head down between his forefeet, 

 arches his back, and with stiff legs gives a succes- 

 sion of jarring jumps, often "changing ends" as he 

 does so. Even if a man can keep his seat, the per- 

 formance gives him about as uncomfortable a shak- 

 ing up as can be imagined. 



The cattle rove free over the hills and prairies, 

 picking up their own living even in winter, all the 

 animals of each herd having certain distinctive 

 brands on them. But little attempt is made to keep 

 them within definite bounds, and they wander 

 whither they wish, except that the ranchmen gen- 

 erally combine to keep some of their cowboys rid- 

 ing lines to prevent them straying away altogether. 

 The missing ones are generally recovered in the 

 annual round-ups, when the calves are branded. 

 These round-ups, in which many outfits join to- 

 gether, and which cover hundreds of miles of ter- 

 ritory, are the busiest period of the year for the 

 stockmen, who then, with their cowboys, work from 

 morning till night. In winter little is done except 

 a certain amount of line riding. 



The cowboys form a class by themselves, and 

 are now quite as typical representatives of the wild- 



