THE ROUND-UP 



his teeth, and all this against the strength — yes, and 

 sagacity, too — of a fighting steer, you'll agree that it 

 is a man's game and one of the sports of the range 

 which is not overrun with competitors. 



At Cheyenne the object used to be to force the ani- 

 mal's horns into the ground; thus man and steer 

 turned a complete somersault. This has an unneces- 

 sary element of danger — to both man and steer — the 

 man may be crushed under the steer, while the steer's 

 horns or even its neck broken. But this "hoolihan- 

 ing" is not allowed at Pendleton, where the rules favor 

 the steer. 



When the fifty megaphone horns with which the 

 arena is installed announce the steer bulldogging con- 

 test for the championship of the world, there is a hush ; 

 all eyes turn toward the stock pens at the western end 

 of the arena. 



Here he comes ! The long-horned brute, with head 

 and tail raised, glaring defiance at the vast throng 

 safely screened behind the strong wire fencing, flaunts 

 down the track with that half hesitant, shuffling gait 

 which bespeaks the angry steer. Thirty feet is his 

 start from a mounted cowboy and his helper called a 

 "hazer"; then, on signal, the pair "hit the wind" at 

 breakneck speed. As the bulldogger swings to the 

 left, his helper swings to the right, for the helper's 

 main purpose is to keep the steer in the track. 



In a perfect turmoil of hoof, head, and huddle, Run- 

 yan, the bulldogger, dives from his saddle for the 

 steer, but instead of landing on the steer's head, lands 

 on his own. Visitors from large cities and sedate 

 centers of learning gasp. 



"Whoop!" goes the cowboy and ranch contingent. 

 "Go get 'im steer!" "Hook 'im cow!", while Runyan 



151 



