Title
AS I REMEMBER
Creator
Harry Roberts
Coverage
TOWNSHIP 141N RANGE 93W
Text
AS I REMEMBER
By Harry Roberts
The Old Time Cowboy
The old time cowboy was a hardy individual. You often had a job on some far out ranch. You did the work that was assigned to do with no questions asked as to the conditions that you lived with. In working with wild cattle or horses, you were subject to being seriously hurt or injured, but this was all in the days work on most ranches. Whenever such a thing did happen such as a broken leg, you were paid off on the spot and you were on your own. Someone may take you to town, or you would try to catch a ride with some teamster that was going that way. Pierre Wibaux was the only ranch owner that I knew of that had concern of the welfare of his men. If any of them ever got injured while on the job, he made every effort that he could to see that they had a doctor's care. I have heard that at one time he paid to have a special locomotive bring a doctor from Dickinson to the town of Wibaux to care for the man. The man was also kept on the payroll while he was laid up.
In working on these ranches, you would be assigned 8 or 10 head of horses to ride. You were to change for a fresh horse each day and sometimes you would change horses twice a day, depending on the long rides you were doing. You often had two or three mean horses in this line up, but you were expected to ride them when their time come, regardless whether you liked to or not.
Your life was spent out in the weather most of the time. You slept and ate outdoors for weeks at a time. All of this for $30 or $35 per month. If you had a winters job, you were still out in the weather most of the time.
This class of men only got to town once or twice a year, and would have a real “Fling” as long as their money lasted, which maybe would go on for a week. When they returned to the ranch, they always vowed this would be the last time they would squander their money in such a short time, but after being away from town such a long spell, they always thought they would have one more “Blow out”, and so it would go from year to year. A few of these men did not spend all their money on this kind of entertainment. These men would soon have a place of their own, or become a foreman with an increase in wages.
The cowboys of the early days did not wear the fancy boots that you see today. They wore a plain comfortable boot with high tops that came up to your knees. They did wear fancy silver mounted spurs, which they wore with their boots most of the time, as you spent a big part of the daylight hours in the saddle. As to dress, most of them wore a vest, which as a rule was unbuttoned. These vests had two pockets on each side which was handy to carry smoking tobacco, matches and cigarette papers in. You never saw a ready made cigarette in those days.
Most every rider had a gun belt and a gun on him, it was considered part of your dress. It did not mean that you were trouble, it was more or less to avoid trouble. Sometimes it was used to protect you or your horse from some charging mad cow. Sometimes a gun was used to save a man's life when he would have a bad fall with his horse, and the horse would get up with the riders spur and boot caught in the lariat rope and could not get free, then the horse would proceed to run and kick you to pieces. If you had a partner riding with you, he would use his gun to kill your horse.
I remember of seeing several men thrown from their horses and get their spurs tangled up in the lariat rope on the saddle, or in the horse's tail, and also spurs caught in the saddle blanket. The man was about to get dragged or kicked to death, as the gun was about to be fired, the rider came loose, and the horse and man were saved from death.
Some of these men had an unknown past, and were prepared to resist any law man that might be looking for them.
Most of the up and coming cowboys owned their bedding, and often a saddle horse of their own.
A cowboy's life, is a rough way to make a living. You never know from one day to the next, what is going to happen. There is more or less excitement involved, which I guess is why they carry on as long as they do.
They say of cowboys that have done many nights outdoors sleeping on the ground, that they undress from the feet up, and then they dress, they dress from the head down. When he undresses, the first thing to take off is his boots and spurs, then his gun belt and trousers, followed by his coat and vest. The last to come off is his hat. You sleep with your socks, underwear and shirt on. When you dress, the first thing you put on is your hat, and the last is your boots and spurs. It does not take long to get ready for bed.
By Harry Roberts
The Old Time Cowboy
The old time cowboy was a hardy individual. You often had a job on some far out ranch. You did the work that was assigned to do with no questions asked as to the conditions that you lived with. In working with wild cattle or horses, you were subject to being seriously hurt or injured, but this was all in the days work on most ranches. Whenever such a thing did happen such as a broken leg, you were paid off on the spot and you were on your own. Someone may take you to town, or you would try to catch a ride with some teamster that was going that way. Pierre Wibaux was the only ranch owner that I knew of that had concern of the welfare of his men. If any of them ever got injured while on the job, he made every effort that he could to see that they had a doctor's care. I have heard that at one time he paid to have a special locomotive bring a doctor from Dickinson to the town of Wibaux to care for the man. The man was also kept on the payroll while he was laid up.
In working on these ranches, you would be assigned 8 or 10 head of horses to ride. You were to change for a fresh horse each day and sometimes you would change horses twice a day, depending on the long rides you were doing. You often had two or three mean horses in this line up, but you were expected to ride them when their time come, regardless whether you liked to or not.
Your life was spent out in the weather most of the time. You slept and ate outdoors for weeks at a time. All of this for $30 or $35 per month. If you had a winters job, you were still out in the weather most of the time.
This class of men only got to town once or twice a year, and would have a real “Fling” as long as their money lasted, which maybe would go on for a week. When they returned to the ranch, they always vowed this would be the last time they would squander their money in such a short time, but after being away from town such a long spell, they always thought they would have one more “Blow out”, and so it would go from year to year. A few of these men did not spend all their money on this kind of entertainment. These men would soon have a place of their own, or become a foreman with an increase in wages.
The cowboys of the early days did not wear the fancy boots that you see today. They wore a plain comfortable boot with high tops that came up to your knees. They did wear fancy silver mounted spurs, which they wore with their boots most of the time, as you spent a big part of the daylight hours in the saddle. As to dress, most of them wore a vest, which as a rule was unbuttoned. These vests had two pockets on each side which was handy to carry smoking tobacco, matches and cigarette papers in. You never saw a ready made cigarette in those days.
Most every rider had a gun belt and a gun on him, it was considered part of your dress. It did not mean that you were trouble, it was more or less to avoid trouble. Sometimes it was used to protect you or your horse from some charging mad cow. Sometimes a gun was used to save a man's life when he would have a bad fall with his horse, and the horse would get up with the riders spur and boot caught in the lariat rope and could not get free, then the horse would proceed to run and kick you to pieces. If you had a partner riding with you, he would use his gun to kill your horse.
I remember of seeing several men thrown from their horses and get their spurs tangled up in the lariat rope on the saddle, or in the horse's tail, and also spurs caught in the saddle blanket. The man was about to get dragged or kicked to death, as the gun was about to be fired, the rider came loose, and the horse and man were saved from death.
Some of these men had an unknown past, and were prepared to resist any law man that might be looking for them.
Most of the up and coming cowboys owned their bedding, and often a saddle horse of their own.
A cowboy's life, is a rough way to make a living. You never know from one day to the next, what is going to happen. There is more or less excitement involved, which I guess is why they carry on as long as they do.
They say of cowboys that have done many nights outdoors sleeping on the ground, that they undress from the feet up, and then they dress, they dress from the head down. When he undresses, the first thing to take off is his boots and spurs, then his gun belt and trousers, followed by his coat and vest. The last to come off is his hat. You sleep with your socks, underwear and shirt on. When you dress, the first thing you put on is your hat, and the last is your boots and spurs. It does not take long to get ready for bed.