Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-up — John Shaqi
Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-upGrinnell, George Bird
General
Jack the Young Cowboy: An Eastern Boy's Experiance on a Western Round-up
Grinnell, George Bird
Cowboys -- Juvenile fiction; Western stories
The cávaya was driven very slowly toward this rope corral and some of
the boys ran out to it, one handling the rope which was to act as a
wing and the others the ropes which ran from corner to corner of the
corral. The horse wrangler drove his animals along at a walk and turned
them into the opening of the corral, the men at the ropes raising them
as the horses entered. The horses stopped and made no attempt to push
against the ropes. After the whole bunch had entered the corral, the
man at the wing rope walked around and stood by the middle one of the
three stakes in line, thus completely closing the corral. Ducking under
the ropes, the boys now went slowly and quietly into the enclosure,
and caught the gentle horses, which, one by one, they led out and tied.
Over the heads of any horses that were not willing to be caught, ropes
were quietly tossed, and the horses led out.
Jack, who was taking part in all this work, was interested, as he had
been so many times before, in seeing the remarkable change of demeanor
in a horse, just as soon as it feels a rope on it. The animal may be
wild and frisky--apparently untamable--in the corral, but let the rope
drop over its head, and it is at once transformed into the meekest and
most commonplace of animals.
Of course, this is not true of young colts that have not been broken,
but the horse that has had a few falls, and has learned the power of
the rope, always fears it.
When all the men had caught up their horses, and the ropes had been
taken from the corral, the rest of the bunch were allowed to wander
off, while the horse wrangler went to the cook tent to get his
breakfast.
Now followed a scene more or less amusing and exciting, or irritating
and tiresome, as one happened to look at it. Many cow horses, even
though well broken, always object to being saddled, while some
object both to being saddled and to being mounted. Now and then was
found a horse that had to be blinded before he could be saddled; and
occasionally one that refused to be bridled. The younger men shouted
and made much fun of their fellows who had horses that were disposed to
be nervous, or to object to the saddle.
The older men, when after some trouble they had succeeded in getting
the saddles on their horses, and the cinches drawn, were likely to
lead the animals up and down by a rope, and let them buck with the
empty saddle.
The horse selected this morning by Tulare Joe was young, skittish and
rather disposed to make trouble. When Joe approached him, carrying the
blanket in his hand, he reared and sometimes came forward on his hind
legs striking with his forefeet. The young man was cool and quick, and
showed no impatience whatever, but after a few minutes' fruitless work
of this sort he called to Jack, who was standing looking on, having
saddled his own quiet horse, and asked him to bring his rope. As Jack
approached, Joe called to him:
"The next time this horse goes up in the air catch him and throw him
for me."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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