by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER VII.
AMONG THE COW-BOYS.
"Well, now you have got your horses and outfit, Hugh, what air yougoing to do next?" Bill Royce said, after the rest of the party had gotup from breakfast and gone out.
"I don't quite know, Bill," Hugh laughed; "I thought of going teaming,but I am afraid my horse has spoilt me for that."
"Well, so I should say."
"I should like to be my own master for a bit," Hugh went on, "and dosome shooting and hunting on the plains, work across to Sante Fe, andthen take anything that turns up. I have got three hundred dollars incash; that will last me for a long time. But I don't like striking outfor myself, I know nothing of the country or the life. What do you sayto going with me, Bill?"
"That is just what I have been turning over in my mind," Bill said."I know the plains powerful well, and have been hunting and shootingthere for months. I was saying to myself, as like enough you wouldbe thinking of striking out for a bit afore you settled down again toanything, and you would be wanting some one with you as could put youup to the ropes. I have got pretty sick of working here, but I havespent my money as fast as I have got it, and cannot afford to get anoutfit; so I said to myself, if Hugh likes to start me with an outfitI think it would be about square, seeing as he knows nothing of thecountry, and I could put him straight there. We have worked togetherfor a bit, and I reckon we would get on first-rate. So if that wouldsuit you it would just suit me."
"It suits me capitally, Bill; nothing could be better; it is just whatI wanted. I don't suppose I should ever have gone by myself, but withyou it would be the very thing to suit me. There's my hand on it."
In another three days their preparations were made. Bill knew ofa horse that could be picked up for forty dollars; two rifles werebought, a saddle and bridle for Bill, and saddle-bags for the sparehorse. A large stock of ammunition was laid in; fifty pounds of flour,a few pounds of tea and sugar, four blankets, and a few odds and ends,completed the outfit. Royce had already a revolver, and on the morningof the fourth day they started from M'Kinney, striking nearly duesouth, so as to work round the range of hills. For the first few daysthey passed occasional settlements, and then struck out across an opencountry.
"Now we may begin to look out for game," Royce said. "You can shoot, Isuppose, Hugh?"
"I have had no practice whatever with the rifle, but I am a pretty goodshot with a shot-gun."
"You will soon pick it up, anyhow," Royce said; "anyone who can shootas you do with a Colt, is sure to shoot pretty straight with a rifle."
For the next four months Hugh and his companion wandered over theplains, and Hugh enjoyed the life immensely. They had directed theircourse toward the south-west, for winter was setting in when theystarted, and as the cold is sometimes severe in Northern Texas, theymade down towards the Mexican frontier, and there enjoyed delightfulweather. They found an abundance of game, and could have shot anynumber of deer, but they were useless to them, except for food.Herds of wild horses were sometimes seen, and occasionally, in quietvalleys, they came across half-wild cattle, which had strayed awayfrom far-distant ranches. It was strange to Hugh to travel thus atwill, to wander freely in whichever direction fancy led them; sometimespassing a week or two without seeing any other human being; sometimesstopping for a night at the camp-fire of a party of cow-boys; sometimesbivouacking with a wandering hunter like themselves, or with a ranchmanin search of stray animals. During this time their expenses had beennext to nothing, their sole outlay being for flour, tea, and sugar,and even these they generally obtained in exchange for venison or othergame.
Hugh had learned to use his rope with considerable skill on horseback,for as soon as he got fairly away on the plains he had begun topractise. The first time he tried it upon his companion he would havegiven him a very heavy fall, had not Bill reined in his horse on to itshaunches as soon as the rope fell over his shoulders; for Prince, asHugh called his horse, was thoroughly up in his work. The instant therope had been thrown he stopped and braced himself, with his fore-legsextended, to meet the shock, and had it not been for Bill's quicknesshe would in an instant have been torn from the saddle.
"Thunder!" the latter exclaimed. "Do you want to break my neck, Hugh?"
"I had nothing to do with it!" Hugh protested. "Prince nearly sentme over his head. I had not the least idea of pulling him in, and wasperfectly taken aback by his playing me that trick."
"We ought to have thought of it," Bill said. "It was dead sure he wouldbe trained to the work. The idea flashed across me just as the ropecame down, and lucky it was so. Well, you will find plenty of otherthings to practise on as we go along. There are cattle enough runningabout here without owners, and if you come across a bunch of wildhorses you can give chase and rope some of the young ones; and thereare coyotes, they will give you plenty of sport that way."
Hugh had used all these opportunities, and had come to throw the nooseover the head of a flying animal as well as Bill Royce himself coulddo, but as yet he was unable to throw the rope round their legs withany certainty. As the spring approached Hugh proposed that instead ofcarrying out their plan of going to Santa Fe they should for a timetake service on a ranche.
"I enjoy this life immensely, Bill, and I should like to becomethoroughly up to all the work. At present I am what you call atender-foot, and I should certainly like to have a few months among thecow-boys."
"Just as well do that as anything else," Bill said. "It is always handyto know that you can hold your own in a round-up and know the ways ofcattle, and I tell you that there is plenty to learn. But, mind you, itain't going to be like this time we've been having. There's no foolingabout a cow-boy's life: it is just about the hardest life there is.However, it won't be as hard for you as it is for most fellows. You canride, though there ain't much merit in sitting on that horse of yours.Still I see you know your way among horses, and you have taught him tocome to you when you whistle, and to do pretty nigh everything you wanthim to; but you will find it a mighty different thing when you get onthe back of a broncho. However, it is worth learning to ride a horsethat has never been backed. Anyhow, I am with you. I have had a spellat it, and don't mind having another; and there is one thing--you canquit when you like."
"But how about this horse? I should not like to give up Prince."
"Well, you could do as you like about that. Each cow-boy has six oreight horses--sometimes he has as many as a dozen--and he just ropesone out of the crowd and rides him as he has a fancy; so you could letPrince run with the rest and use him when you liked, or you could leavehim at the headquarters station."
"What do they want such a lot of horses for?" Hugh asked.
"They want them to do the work," Bill said. "A man can go on prettynigh for ever, but a horse can't. You will find that you can use up sixhorses in the twenty-four hours, and they want a day to rest beforethey are fit for work again. Well, they will be starting on theirround-up soon, so we may as well head in their direction so as to gettaken on before they are full. I was working in the O triangle ranchetwo years ago; their station ain't above a hundred and fifty miles fromwhere we are. The boss wasn't a bad sort. We may as well go there as toanother."
"What do you mean by the O triangle, Bill?"
"That is their brand--a circle in a triangle. We call them always bytheir brands. They have all sorts of names of their own, but they arenever known by them. There is the O triangle, and the double A, andthe cross T's, and the diamond square, and the half-circles, and adozen others. Well, we will head that way to-morrow morning. I don'tknow that I shall be sorry to be in a crowd again for a bit. It getslonesome when there are only two of you after a while."
Hugh was beginning to feel this also. Their subjects of conversationhad long been exhausted, and after the events of the day's hunting hadbeen discussed there was little for them to talk about as they sat bytheir fire.
On the evening of the third day they arrived at the headquartersstation of the ranche. It consiste
d of a long, low building, whichformed the storehouse and general room. Near it was the manager'shouse, and behind the barracks for the men. A short distance awaywas a fence which inclosed fifty or sixty acres of ground. Here weresome of the more valuable of the animals: some handsome bulls and acouple of dozen good horses. Three or four waggons stood near the huts,and a number of horses were grazing about over the country. The hutsthemselves lay in a hollow, down which a small belt of trees extended.A score of men were standing or sitting near the huts, and as many morecame out as the new-comers rode up. One or two of these recognized BillRoyce.
"Hello, Bill!" one of them said; "back again! I thought you had gotrubbed out. Where have you been all this time?"
"Been down in Mexico, and then back among the settlements, got tired ofit, and here I am. Been hunting last. This is my mate, gentlemen. He isa good sort, a Britisher, and his name is Hugh. Now, you are properlyintroduced!"
"Glad to see you!" the man said, holding out his hand to Hugh. "Come topay us a visit?"
"No. I have come to work, if I can get work," Hugh said.
"Oh, there's plenty of work. Well, get off your horse. He is a goodun, he is!" Such was evidently the opinion of the rest of the cow-boys,for they gathered round and made remarks on Prince's points. "He is toogood for this sort of work altogether, leastways for most of it, thoughhe would do well enough for scouting round and hunting for cattle amongthe foot-hills. Where did you get him?"
"I bought him at M'Kinney," Hugh said. "Two fellows came along with himand wanted to sell bad, so I got him a bargain."
"I expect he didn't cost them much," the man said. "Well, it is allright as long as you don't fall across the chap he was stolen from. Ifyou do, there will be a good many questions asked, I can tell you. Iguess he came from some Mexican ranche down south. You don't often seesuch a bit of horseflesh about here."
"Here is the boss, Hugh," Bill said; "we may as well speak to him atonce;" and they walked together to a man who had just come out from themanager's house.
"Have you got room for two hands?" Bill asked. "I was here a couple ofyears back; my mate is new at this work, but he can ride and shoot andthrow a rope."
"Oh, it's you, Bill, is it? Yes, I can put you both on; I am not quitefull yet. Forty dollars a month for you; thirty for your mate till helearns his business."
"That will suit," Bill said. "He won't be long before he gets up to theforty."
"He will find it hard work at first," the manager said; "but he doesn'tlook as if that would hurt him."
Bill and his companion now rejoined the group of cow-boys, while themanager went into the store. Hugh looked with interest at the men whowere to be his associates for some time. Their dress was similar tothat of all the cow-boys he had met while hunting. They wore hats witha very wide, straight brim, and made of a stiff felt almost as hard asa board. Most of them wore a cord of gold or silver mixed with colourround it. All wore flannel shirts, with a handkerchief--which in themajority of cases was of silk--round their throats. Round the waistthey wore a Mexican sash of bright colour. Their trousers were eitherof thick material, or of very soft tanned leather, and over these werechaperajos or Mexican overalls, with a coloured fringe down the outsideseam. A few had jackets on, and these had also tufts of coloured fringeon the seams of the arms. They were most of them spare, active men,without an ounce of superfluous flesh. They were quiet in manner, withlittle of the reckless jollity of the ordinary frontiersman. Hugh wasparticularly struck with the keen, watchful expression of their eyes,the result of long nights of watching and of days spent on horsebackin search of stray animals, and of danger from Indians. All carrieda revolver on the hip or hind pocket, had a long knife stuck in theirsash, and wore high boots cut away behind at the bend of the knee, butcoming several inches higher in front.
Following Bill's example, Hugh unsaddled his horse. "Go off, old boy!"he said, giving him a pat; and Prince walked leisurely away accompaniedby his two companions, who always kept near to him.
"We cannot offer you a drink," one of the cow-boys said to Hugh. "Noliquor is allowed on the ranche. It comes rather hard at first, but itis best for us all."
"I have touched nothing for the last four months but tea," Hugh said,"and don't care for spirits anyway."
"It would be a good thing if none of us did," the other said; "but onemust do something when one goes down to a town." Just at this moment abell began to ring. "There is supper," the man said.
There was a general movement into the large hut. Here long tableswere laid out, and dishes piled up with meat, and great platters ofpotatoes, were ranged along at short intervals. Hugh was gifted with anexcellent appetite, but he was astonished at the way in which the fooddisappeared. The meal was accompanied by a supply of very fair breadfresh from the oven, and tea with milk.
"Ewart keeps a few cows down here," the man next to Hugh said in answerto his remark about his not having seen milk for three months. "Ofcourse we don't get it at the out-stations."
"Who is Ewart?" Hugh asked.
"Oh, he is boss; we don't have any misters out here--one man is asgood as another. You have just arrived here at the right time. We havebeen driving in the horses from the ranche for the last three days, andto-morrow we are going to begin breaking them. Of course a good many ofthem were ridden last year, but there are a lot of bronchos among them.We have got a broncho-breaker out here."
A broncho, Hugh knew, was a horse that had never been ridden. "How doyou do about horses?" he said.
"Well, three or four of those that have been ridden before are toldoff to each man. Then, if anyone fancies a broncho, he can take him andbreak him for himself. Then men can swop with each other. You see somemen ride better than others. Some men like quiet mounts; others don'tmind what they sit on; and you see the best horses are very often themost full of tricks. You ride your horses as you like, but everyonekeeps his quietest for night watches. You must have a quiet horse forthat, for if your horse was to begin to play tricks he would stampedethe cattle, sure."
"I suppose after they have been ridden one season they are quietenough?" Hugh said.
"Not a bit of it," the man replied. "Some of them seem to get wickederand wickeder. They get a bit better towards the end of the season, butsix months' running wild does away with all that. I would just as soontake my chance with a fresh broken broncho as with one that has beenridden before. They are wilder, you know, but not so cunning. An oldhorse seems to spend most of his time in thinking what game he shall beup to next, and when you see one walking along as if he had never doneanything but walk along all his time, just look out, or you will findyourself six feet up in the air."
Supper over, pipes were lighted, and Hugh listened with great interestto the talk going on around him. Some of the men had been on the rancheall the winter; others had been away, some back in the settlements,others in New Mexico, where they had been either loitering away theirtime in the towns or working on Mexican ranches. Hugh was struck withthe quiet way in which they talked, the absence of argument, and theair of attention with which each speaker was listened to. He thoughthe had never been among a more quiet set of men, and wondered if thesecould be really the cow-boys of whose wild doings he had heard suchtales.
Gradually one by one they lounged off to the hut behind, and he andBill soon went off also. It consisted of one room about sixty feetlong. A stove with a huge fire burned in the middle, for the nightswere cold. Down both sides and along the ends extended a double row ofbunks. In the great majority of these lay blankets, showing that theywere occupied. Choosing two empty ones, they placed the blankets andother articles they had taken from their saddles in them, put theirbelongings under their heads, rolled themselves in their blankets, andwere soon sound asleep. The first thing next morning they handed overto the storekeeper the remainder of their flour, tea, and sugar. Thevalue of these was credited to them, and they took out the amount in acouple of pairs of chaperajos, two cow-boy hats and two pairs of highboots, paying the balance in c
ash; they then joined the cow-boys. Thesewere gathered in an inclosure with a very strong fence adjoining thefenced-in ground.
Several cow-boys rode off as they entered, and in a quarter of an houra mob of horses was seen approaching, the men riding behind crackingtheir whips and yelling at the top of their voices. The gates wereopened, and a couple of minutes later the horses rushed in. Therewere some forty or fifty of them, and of these about two-thirds werebranded. In the first place the others were speedily roped both by thehead and hind legs. Four cow-boys hung on to the ropes while anotherapproached with a heated brand and applied it to the animals' hindquarters, the horses kicking and struggling wildly. As soon as theoperation, which lasted but a second or two, was completed the ropeswere loosed, and the frightened animals rejoined their companions, whowere huddled in a corner of the inclosure.
"Now, each man of No. 1 and No. 2 outfit take one of the horses," themanager said.
Hugh and Bill had the night before been told that they were to formpart of No. 2 outfit. Like the others they had their ropes in theirhands, and had brought their saddles inside the inclosure. Hugh pickedout a horse that struck him as being a good one, and threw his lassoround its neck. One of the cow-boys belonging to the other outfit, whowas standing by, said: "That is a pretty bad horse, mate. I would takea quieter one if I were you."
"I have got to learn to sit them," Hugh replied; "so I may as wellbegin with a bad one as a good one."
"All right," the other said, taking hold of the rope, and helping Hughhaul upon it. The animal resisted violently, but the pressure of therope half-choked him, and he was forced to leave the group and come upto them. "I will hold him," Hugh's assistant said. "Get your saddle andbridle."
There was some difficulty in putting these on, for the animal kicked,plunged, and reared furiously, and it was only when another cow-boythrew a rope, and, catching one of its hind legs, pulled it out stifflybehind, that Hugh succeeded in saddling it. "Now, up you go!" theman said. Gathering up the reins Hugh sprang into the saddle, and thetwo men, as soon as they saw him seated, slipped off the ropes. For amoment the horse stood perfectly still. "Keep his head up," one of themen shouted; but before Hugh could draw in the reins the horse droppedits head to its knees. Then it seemed to Hugh that it doubled itselfup, and before he knew what had happened he felt himself flying throughthe air, and came down to the ground with a crash. There was a shout oflaughter from the cow-boys, but two or three of them helped Hugh, whofor a moment was almost stunned, to his feet.
"That is bucking, I suppose," he said as soon as he could get breath.
"That's bucking, sure enough," one of those who had helped him said.
"Well, I will try again in a minute," Hugh said.
"Take it quietly," the man said good-naturedly. "You fell pretty heavy,and you are shaken up a bit. You'd better hitch him on to the fence,and look about you for a few minutes before you try again."
Hugh thought the advice good, and after fastening up the horse stoodwatching the man they called the broncho-breaker, who was fightingone of the most vicious of the last year's horses. Had he not seen it,Hugh would not have believed it possible that a horse could go throughsuch performances. He had ridden many vicious brutes at home, and hadthought that he knew something of horses, but this was a new experiencefor him. In the rearing, kicking, and plunging there was nothing novel,and as the horses were much smaller than the English hunters to whichhe had been accustomed he felt that if this had been all he should haveno difficulty in keeping his seat, but the bucking was new to him. Toperform it, it was necessary that the horse should be able to get itshead down. The moment this was done it sprang straight into the air, atthe same moment rounding its back, and this with such a sharp, suddenjerk that it fairly threw the rider into the air.
On coming down the animal kept its legs stiff, so that the jerk tothe rider was scarcely less than that of the upward spring, and beforehe had time to settle himself in the slightest the horse repeated theperformance, varying it occasionally by springing sideways, backwards,or forwards. The breaker, or as they were generally called thebroncho-buster, kept his figure perfectly upright, with a tremendousgrip upon the saddle with his thighs, but depending, as Hugh couldsee, rather upon balance than upon his hold. The exertion was evidentlygreat. The man's hat had been jerked off, the perspiration stood uponhis bronzed forehead. From time to time he dug his spurs into theanimal's flanks, and excited it to continue its desperate efforts,until at last the horse was utterly exhausted and stood with its headdrooping unable to make another effort. There was a shout of applausefrom the cow-boys looking on.
"Bully for you, Jake! He is a brute, that is, and no mistake."
"I will give him a turn every day for a week," Jake said. "He is worthtaking trouble with. I will take him for a gallop to-morrow."
"Do they buck when they are galloping?" Hugh asked the cow-boy next tohim.
The latter nodded. "Not when they are going at their best pace. Theyhaven't time to do it then, but when they are going at hand-gallop theywill do it. They wait until you are off your guard, and then up they goin the air and come down perhaps three yards sideways, and it's fiftyto one against your being on their back when they do come down."
"I see how it is done now, though I don't see how I can do it," Hughsaid. "But I will try again."
"THE NEXT JUMP THREW HIM FAIRLY OVER THE HORSE'S HEAD."]
The horse was led out, and Hugh again mounted. This time he wasprepared for what was to come, but in spite of the grip with his legsthe blow lifted him far above the saddle. It seemed to him that thenext buck came before he had fairly descended, for it struck him withthe force and suddenness of an electric shock. Again and again he wasthrown up, until he felt his balance going, and the next jump threw himfairly over the horse's head, but as he was prepared for the fall itwas much less heavy than the first time.
"Well done! well done!" several of the cow-boys said as he rose to hisfeet. "You will do, you will, and make a good rider before long. Thatwill do for to-day; I would not try any more."
"I am going to try it until I can sit him," Hugh said. "I have got todo it, and I may as well go on now before I get stiff."
The broncho-breaker came up to him as, after waiting a minute or two toget his breath, he again prepared to mount.
"Don't keep your back so stiff, young fellow. Just let your back go asif there was no bones in it. I have known a man's spine broke beforenow by a bucker. Sit easy and lissom. Keep your head, that is theprincipal thing. It ain't easy when you are being pitched up and downlike a ball, but it all turns upon that. Let your legs close on himtight each time you come down, if only for a moment, that saves youfrom being thrown clean away from him."
Hugh sprang on to the horse, and the struggle again began. It endedlike the last, but Hugh had kept his seat somewhat longer than before.Again and again he tried, each time with more success. The fifth timehe felt that the horse's action was less sudden and violent, and thatit was becoming fatigued with its tremendous exertions. "Now, youbrute," he muttered, "it is my turn;" and he dug his spurs into thehorse. A spring more violent than any he had yet felt followed theapplication, and for a minute or two he was almost bewildered by theforce and rapidity of the animal's springs; but he was now confidentthat he was gaining the mastery, and the moment he found that itsefforts were decreasing, he again applied the spurs. The responsewas less vigorous than before, and in five minutes the animal stoodexhausted and subdued. A cheer broke from the cow-boys who werestanding round looking on at the struggle.
"Well done, young fellow! you are the toughest tender-foot I have everseen," one of them said, shaking him by the hand. "I don't believethere are ten men in the camp who would have sat that horse as youhave, and you say that it is the very first time you have been on abucker."
"I have beaten him," Hugh said, "but he has pretty well beaten me. Youmust help me off my saddle, for I feel as if my back was broken, andthat I could not lift my leg over the saddle if my life depen
ded onit."
Two cow-boys lifted him from his seat. "That is a hard tussle, mate,"the broncho-breaker said, coming up to him, "and you have stuck to itwell. You are clear grit, you are. The best thing you can do is to walkabout for the next hour; just keep yourself moving, then go and wrapyourself up in two or three blankets and lie down in your bunk for abit, have a thorough good sweat, and then strip and rub yourself down.Get your mate to rub your back well, and then dress and move about.The great thing is not to get stiff; but you will feel it for a day ortwo."
Hugh followed the advice, but he found it hard work to do so. He wasbruised all over with his falls; he scarce seemed able to put one legbefore another, and at every movement a sharp pain shot through theloins, and he felt as if his spine had been dislocated. Still, foran hour he walked about, and at the end of that time felt that hismovements were more easy; then he went to the hut, wrapped himself inBill's blankets and his own, and presently dozed off to sleep. A coupleof hours later he woke and saw Bill standing beside him.
"Now, Hugh, you had better turn out and let me give you a rub. Justtake off that shirt. I have got a lump of hog's grease here."
Hugh got out of the bunk with some difficulty and took off his shirt."Now, you lean your hands on that bunk and arch your back; that's it.Now here goes."
For a good half-hour Bill worked at his back, kneading it with hisknuckles down both sides of the spine and across the loins. "Now, youwill do," he said at last. "Put on a dry shirt and come out."
Hugh strolled down to the stock-yard. He felt wonderfully better afterthe rubbing, and was able to walk with far greater ease than before.The scene in the yard was unchanged. Fresh groups of horses had beendriven in as fast as the others had been saddled and mounted, and bynightfall each of the cow-boys had been provided with three horses.Hugh was greatly amused at the scene, for the spills were numerous,and the shouting and laughter incessant. The next day the work ofbreaking in the bronchos commenced. One after another they were ropedand dragged out of the drove. The bridle was slipped on, and they werethen blindfolded while the saddle was put on and fastened. Then Jakemounted. The cloth was drawn off the animal's head, and the strugglecommenced. The horses tried every means to unseat their rider, but invain. Some submitted after comparatively short struggles. Others foughtlong and desperately. As soon as the first victory was won bars werelet down, and the horse was taken for a long gallop across the country,returning home subdued and trembling. Then the process was repeatedwith a fresh animal.
"How long does he take to break them?" Hugh asked a cow-boy.
"Three days generally; sometimes he will ride them four or five times,but three is generally enough. Then they are handed over to us tofinish."
"It must take a lot out of them," Hugh said. "It would be better to doit more gradually. You see they are scared nearly to death before theyare begun with."
"He cannot afford the time," the man said. "He gets two dollars a horsefor breaking them. He will be here for a fortnight, and in that time hewill do pretty well a hundred. Then he will go off somewhere else."
"It must be tremendous work for him," Hugh said.
"It is that, you bet. A broncho-buster seldom lasts above two years.They get shaken all to pieces and clean broke up by the end of thattime."
As fast as the horses were broken in they were handed over to thecow-boys, and Hugh, who had been unable to do any work for two days,then began to break in the lot that were to be his particular property.But he was fond of horses, and could not bring himself to use suchviolent measures as those which he saw adopted by his companions. Thefirst lesson they taught them was to stand still the moment a rope fellover their necks. The animal was led up to the stump of a tree and thenloosed; it at once went off at full speed, but as it did so its ownerthrew the noose of his rope over its head, and then gave the otherend a turn round the stump. The shock was tremendous, the horses beingfrequently jerked right over on to their backs.
Two or three experiences of this sort was sufficient, and the animalthenceforth learned to stand, not only when a rope was thrown round itsneck, but even when the reins were dropped upon it, so that when itsmaster dismounted it remained perfectly quiet until he again mountedand took the reins in his hand, even if he was absent a considerabletime. As the teams were to start in a few days on the round-up, Hughfelt that it would be useless for him to attempt to break the horsesin by English methods, and he was therefore obliged to adopt those inuse by his companions. He mollified them, however, to some extent bygetting another rope and tying it to his own. He then took only halfa turn round the stump, and let the rope run out, at first fast, butchecking it gradually until its pressure upon the neck brought theanimal half suffocated to a stop.
It took him longer to accomplish his object, but he found that by theend of a week the seven horses had all learned their lessons; eachhaving been ridden for an hour every day. He had had several severebattles with the animal he had first mounted, which was by far the mostvicious of them; but the struggle each day had become less severe, asthe horse recognized the futility of endeavouring to unseat its master.Hugh had many falls during the schooling, but he was upon the wholewell satisfied with the result.
Several of the cow-boys had advised him to use the methods they adoptedfor securing them in their seats upon specially vicious horses. Oneof these methods was the fastening of a loop of leather to the highpommel. Holding this in the hand, it was well-nigh impossible to bebucked from the saddle, but there was the disadvantage that if thestrap broke, nothing could save a rider from a fall far more violentand heavy than that which came from being pitched from the saddle inthe ordinary way. Another method was to fasten a strap passed underthe horse's belly tightly below each knee; but this, although it heldthe riders in their saddles, had the serious disadvantage, that in theevent of the horse rearing and falling back, or of its falling headlongfrom putting its foot in a hole, the rider could not free himself,and was almost certain to be crushed under the horse. Others, again,fastened themselves by bringing their feet together, and crossing theirspurs, under the horse's belly, a safer measure than the last, butobjectionable inasmuch as the spurs when the animal bucked struck himin the belly, and so increased the violence of his action.
Of course the best riders refrained from using any of these methods,trusting only to their leg grip and to balance; and Hugh determinedto ride in this way, even if it did cost him a few more falls. He wason excellent terms with the rest of the cow-boys. The tender-foot,as a new-comer is called, is always the subject of endless pranks andannoyances if he evinces the least timidity or nervousness; but if, onthe other hand, he shows that he has pluck, determination to succeed,and good temper, he is treated with kindness and cordiality. Hugh'sexhibition, therefore, of courage and horsemanship on the occasion ofhis first attempt at once won their liking and admiration, and allwere ready to lend him a hand when necessary, and to give him hintsand advice, and he was free from any of the annoyances to which newhands are often exposed. There were several other tender-feet among theparty. Two or three of these got on fairly and soon ceased to be butts;but the rest, before a week was up, found the work altogether tootrying, and one after another went off in search of some less dangerousoccupation.
