278 RESOURCES OF CALIFORNIA. 



regularly killed as they reached the age of three or four years. 

 All had the freedom of the country and ranged where they 

 pleased, except that several times a year every man collected 

 his own upon his ranch. There was about one bull to fifty 

 cows. No attempt was made to improve the breed, nor was 

 any profit to be made from an improvement. Most of the 

 calves were born about the beginning of the year, and in 

 March the first rodeo was held. 



200. Rodeos. The word rodeo comes from the same 

 root with " rotate," and means a surrounding, a gathering of 

 all the cattle on a ranch, and the separation and removal of 

 those belonging to other ranches. There are general and spe- 

 cial rodeos. A rodeo may be for one ranch or for several ; 

 but every ranchero owning a large ranch and many cattle, has 

 his own rodeos : at least one rodeo in the spring and another 

 in the fall. The general rodeo is held for the benefit of all 

 the cattle-owners in the neighborhood ; the special rodeo is 

 held for the benefit of some particular person or persons who 

 desire an opportunity to remove their cattle from a ranch. 

 Every owner of a rancho is required by law to give a gen- 

 eral rodeo every spring. 



When a general rodeo is to be held, the ranchero sends no- 

 tice several days or weeks in advance to the cattle -owners in 

 the vicinity ; and in the cattle-districts the neighborhood ex- 

 tends forty or fifty miles, for cattle will stray that distance. 

 On the day appointed, the ranchero having selected some 

 place where the cattle are to be collected, sends out his 

 mounted vaqueros, or herdsmen, at daylight to drive the cat- 

 tle to the appointed place, where they are gathered at ten 

 o'clock. By that time, the interested rancheros with their va- 

 queros have made their appearance, and are on the ground, 

 all mounted and prepared for the day's work. 



The ranchero who gives the rodeo is present to entertain his 

 visitors, and his men are instructed to keep the cattle together. 

 The herd may be very large. I have seen eight thousand head 



