334 CRUISINGS UN THE CASCADES 



willing and eager steeds, and there ensues a wild r 

 headlong, reckless race that can have but one result. 

 The steer may be fleet of foot, and may lead, through 

 a half-mile dash, but sooner or later is headed off 

 and turned. He may make a fresh break in another 

 direction, but his pursuers are down on him again 

 like a pack of hungry wolves on a stray sheep. And 

 now, as the riders close in on him, they belabor him 

 unmercifully with their heavy coils of rope, or with 

 rawhide ' ' quirts ' ' carried for this purpose. If par- 

 ticularly wild, obstinate, or obstreperous, he still 

 keeps breaking away, and refusing to come into 

 camp. A riata glistens in the sunlight, whistles 

 through the air and falls over his head. Another 

 follows and puts a foot in the stocks. Taking twa 

 or three turns of the lariat around the horn of the 

 saddle, the men ride in opposite directions till the 

 ropes come taut, the steer is fairly lifted from the 

 earth and falls with a dull and thudful sound that 

 may be heard a hundred yards. Then another rope 

 is thrown over his head, the spurs are put to the 

 faithful ponies, they are transposed for the time into 

 draft horses, and the luckless victim is ignominiously 

 ' ' snaked ' ' toward the herd, while the other boys 

 c ' bang ' ' him with coils of rope from behind. A few 

 yards of this mode of travel is usually sufficient to 

 tame the wildest long-horn Texan on the range, an d 

 a few vigorous bellows soon announce an uncondi- 

 tional surrender. The ropes are then taken off, he 

 is let up, and it is short work to put him in the herd. 

 The valiant riders scour the country hither and 

 thither, far and near, "gathering beef" from east, 

 west, north, and south. Every hoof found, regard- 



