54 



RANCH LIFE AND THE HUNTING-TRAIL 



the horn of the saddle the delighted onlookers meanwhile earnestly 

 advising him not to "go to leather" and is contented to get through the 

 affair in any shape provided he can escape without being thrown off. An 

 accident is of necessity borne with a broad grin, as any attempt to resent 

 the raillery of the bystanders which is perfectly good-humored would 

 be apt to result disastrously. Cowboys are certainly extremely good 

 riders. As a class they have no superiors. Of course, they would at first 

 be at a disadvantage in steeple-chasing or fox-hunting, but their average 

 of horsemanship is without doubt higher than that of the men who take 

 part in these latter amusements. A cowboy would learn to ride across 

 country in a quarter of the time it would take a cross-country rider to 

 learn to handle a vicious bronco or to do good cow-work round and in 

 a herd. 



On such a day, when there is no regular work, there will often also be 

 horse-races, as each outfit is pretty sure to have some running pony which 

 it believes can outpace any other. These contests are always short-dis- 

 tance dashes, for but a few hundred yards. Horse-racing is a mania 

 with most plainsmen, white or red. A man with a good racing pony 

 will travel all about with it, often winning large sums, visiting alike cow 

 ranches, frontier towns, and Indian encampments. Sometimes the race is 

 ''pony against pony," the victor taking both steeds. In racing the men 

 ride bareback, as there are hardly any light saddles in the cow country. 

 There will be intense excitement and very heavy betting over a race 

 between two well-known horses, together with a good chance of blood 

 being shed in the attendant quarrels. Indians and whites often race 

 against each other as well as among themselves. I have seen several 

 such contests, and in every case but one the white man happened to win. 

 A race is usually run between two thick rows of spectators, on foot and on 

 horseback, and as the racers pass, these rows close in behind them, every 

 man yelling and shouting with all the strength of his lungs, and all waving 

 their hats and cloaks to encourage the contestants, or firing off their revolv- 

 ers and saddle guns. The little horses are fairly maddened, as is natural 

 enough, and run as if they were crazy : were the distances longer some 

 would be sure to drop in their tracks. 



Besides the horse-races, which are, of course, the main attraction, the 

 men at a round-up will often get up wrestling matches or foot-races. In 

 fact, every one feels that he is off for a holiday ; for after the monotony of 

 a long winter, the cowboys look forward eagerly to the round-up, where 

 the work is hard, it is true, but exciting and varied, and treated a good 

 deal as a frolic. There is no eight-hour law in cowboy land : during 



