FIRST THROW OF THE ROPE 



ers have gone from rodeo to movies and almost any 

 night you can see Hoot Gibson, Art Acord, Jane Ber- 

 noudy, Walter Sterling, Ben Corbett and others rep- 

 licating on the film some real romance of their 

 adventurous lives. 



But of those big-hearted, open-handed, courageous 

 souls in the Great Game, none have followed the 

 romance of life or death, none played more headily, 

 yet openly with fate, than the cowboy of yesterday and 

 today. Of those buckaroos and Round-Up officials 

 who have graced the great Pendleton arena, there are 

 some familiar figures who have ridden out and beyond 

 across the Great Sunset — Bert Kelley, Mark Moor- 

 house, Harry Gray, Otto Kline, Floyd Irwin, Del Blan- 

 cett, Newt Burgess, George Peringer, Til Taylor, 

 Earl Pruitt, H. C. Caplinger, Homer Wilson, Narcise 

 McKay, Winnamucca Jack and others. You see their 

 silhouettes in the passing, against its golden afterglow. 



Some errors are naturally unavoidable, one cannot 

 always rope a "critter" right, but if anyone picks up 

 any "strays" both publisher and author will appreciate 

 it if you'll rope 'em and lead 'em in and we'll put on the 

 right brand if we ever make a second throw with this 

 rope. But I'll offer no apology to the West for having 

 slipped over a highbrow expression or two — or to the 

 East for having dropped into the vernacular of the 

 cowboy — because when you're through jogging along 

 chapps to chapps, in this story, you'll both know the 

 other feller better. 



C. W. F. 



XV 



