LET 'ER BUCK 



those indispensable factors of range work, to break and 

 train. Often a man's standing or usefulness depended 

 on his ability in this work, so it was but natural that 

 each "outfit" tested out their men in bucking contests. 

 This led to these champions meeting in competition, 

 often at town or ranch on certain holidays or festival 

 occasions, usually at a time of year when work was 

 slackest in their locality. 



But a few years ago, every camp and hamlet in the 

 cow country had its bucking contests. As the range 

 began to disappear before the wire fence, the cultivated 

 fields and the railroads, so did the cattle and the cow- 

 boy and the bucking contests. But his is a tenacious 

 clan and dies hard, as do all inherent potential elements 

 of a nation or a civilization. Many a remote ranch or 

 hamlet still "pulls off" its old time bucking contest, tho 

 they are more centralized now in certain local points. 

 The contestants come in from greater distances to com- 

 pete, and give to many the character of great range 

 shows or carnivals. 



Such carnivals are held in certain centers of the 

 West; to each is given its name. Cheyenne has its 

 "Frontier Days"; Fort Worth, Texas, the "Cattle 

 Men's Carnival"; Denver has its "Festival of Moun- 

 tain and Plain"; Winnipeg, has its "Stampede"; 

 Grangeville, Idaho, its "Border Days"; Kearney, 

 Nebraska, its "Frontier Round-Up"; Idaho Falls, its 

 "War Bonnet Round-Up"; Salinas, California, its 

 "Rodeo"; Ukiah, Oregon, its "Cowboys' Conven- 

 tion"; and Walla Walla, Washington, has its "Fron- 

 tier Days"; a civic show in which there is more 

 real competition than in any other outside of Pendleton. 

 Then there are minor and more sporadic contests 

 held in Belle Fouche, South Dakota; Billings and 



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