ON A CATTLE-RANGE 297 



the old bell mare, the only feminine influence of the 

 outfit, without which no power on earth would, in all 

 probability, have kept together our herd of sixty to 

 seventy cow-ponies. 



Week by week the work went on. Gradually, and 

 day by day, our herd of beef steers increased, and our 

 tally of autumn calves branded went up. The beef 

 herd accompanied us wherever we went, constantly 

 under guard day and night, representing, in fact, the 

 outward and visible sign of our labours. 



The artistic part of a cow-puncher's work is 'cutting 

 out.' This is the process by which the beef cattle and 

 the cows with unbranded calves are respectively 

 separated from the gathered herd. Half a dozen 

 riders surround the morning's gather of, say, 1,500 to 

 2,000 cattle. A couple of the more experienced 

 hands, on specially-trained mounts, then ride gently 

 into the herd. One will pick out a cow with un- 

 branded calf, the other a fat steer fit for market, and 

 gradually edge the animals to the outside of the herd. 

 This must be done quietly and cannily, so as not to 

 disturb the general body of the cattle too much. As 

 the particular cow or steer reaches the outside of the 

 herd, it has to be driven out some few hundred yards 

 to where a couple of boys are stationed to hold it. 

 This last act of separation is the ticklish part of the 

 work. The cow-pony must thoroughly understand 

 his business, and be quick and active as a cat to follow 

 every turn of the animal being cut out, and to prevent 

 its frantic efforts to rejoin the main herd. Gradually 

 the main herd is resolved into three parts : on the one 

 side the selected beef steers, on the other the cows 

 with calves to be branded ; in the centre the main 

 body from which the selection has been made. 



