Show j II I I t IJ w Much hits been written of the heroes J I > t the gicat VTubt of Ihelr labor ont on-t the plains rounding up enltlo herding 1 I slnep reclaiming the arid lands and 1 I aking the West llaelf a land of rIch r I machos find happy homes In places rlj I where thi Indian and the coyote had I things nil to themselves a couple of J 1 decades ago 1 I If 1 Praises have been sung of the ranchman ranch-man and cowboy eulogies have been I I written upon them their lives have I t I I boon depicted In many books comIC com-IC jncndatory in style Ever small boy I is famlllnr with the life of the cowboy 1 nnd burns with the dcshc to lead the I I I life of the plain to corral the cattle and buFt the Inoncho And this do 1 fC Ire for Vcstorn life Is by no means confined to small bo > for many a 1 man i I is no less eager to leave the ledger and l migrate lo the wild and woollj West f I I in seek his fortune in the new land I of the ranches the 3 I But the women l I patient brave and hardworking com anions of these heroes have had tant praise They have been the iccip i itnls of but little notice and have ri t touched In the shadow of the pedestal J upon which their husbands and sons I i have bwn raised Their labors have hud I no such recognition as those of the II men their tasks have been thankless l But no word of complaint has been I J I heard fiom thorn They are content In having fulfilled their missions of loving 1 I I II I and faithful helpmeets without whose eneourgaement the men would never j I have accomplished what they did I THE 17FJO OF A TtANCinVQMAN I I The life of a ramhwoman la by no I I means an enviable one In comparison II 1 the life of a Isew England l farmers wife if IJes In a pathway of roses The latter I vajoya fietiucnt trips to the nearest I ton The ranchwoman may live 100 J miles or more from the nearest settle I ment The farmer ulfe may take I > I books from the village library nnd FCC a dally paper MJie ranchwoman Js half a hundred miles from the nearest book I II and has no time to read a paper if she I I had one The farmers wife has neighbors with t whom she < van visit I The nnuh oman often sees no one for a year I I save a passinpr sheep herders wagon i i bunch of covboys or a trailer of freight wagons crossing the plains The new Kngland woman may have a Karl Kar-l n with Holers and plenty of grcon vegetables growing in It The woman of the plains has not even a square yaul of gieen giaKs to look upon The cactus cac-tus so carefully tended by the Eastern woman in Its little clay flower pot Is wit h rhe sagebrush and cottomvood tree the only growing thing the tl umihers wife may sec fiom one ycais ind Xo another 11 Sad Miserable doleful companion i compan-ion yon ask Not a bit of It There I I f Is no more cheerful person In the world k than she True her blessings are few 1 Hut the more scanty they are the more t i M RvoaLly they arc appreciated < 1 And she I is cry much of a philosopher too this > woman Hor lenrnlnjr may not have boon received from books but she has a wlsl head on hor shoulders and her I motto IF Make the best of everything and things will come your way sometime Ij I some-time I I QUISKX OF HER RANCH I The woman Is queen of her ranch I True she has no handmaidens nor tire women to serve her Her crown Is her husbands love Ilur throne a kitchen I ihar or maybe only a rough hewn heiicli made by the hands of her lord iind master Her jewels are her children f chil-dren < her coronation lobe a gingham v HOWIJ Her subjects are cowboys shcop herders forest range riders and sheep shearers Bui no queen ever I had a more devoted admiring and loyal set of subjects no woman In an I Kuslcrn l city Is treated with more deference I defer-ence or respect I Chivalry In its truest sense is met Aiih In the Vestem man Uncouth In I appearance ungrammailcal In speech unkempt and unpolished though he may he yet he revcies women and serves I them as loyally as any knight that ever tilted a ring lie guards her honor as I lli something holy and womans slightest wish Is Ills law I So with all this life on the plains ft I has Its compensations after all Many I u woman learns thr lesson of content inuit many a city bred man that uf a I I I womans true greatiKss 1 I In some parln of the Weal where the II il country Is neW and till ettleis are tryIng I try-Ing to make the most pitifully small let le-t oincs in noitlarn Wyoming In the r 15ig Horn basin country for instance fl It I I tin ranchwoman has an unusuallv haul r time I I The ranch may be upon the main load where a thrice weekly Mage plies r I between two little towns one hundred 1 Jdlks apart If It Is I on this road It is I I I moro likely than not to become a toad I Vouch1 a hotel of the plains where the II I passengers on the stage may stop to gfl a arm auputr or the driver lo let I I 11 Ills horscx feed and itst whcio the loid of the jancli Is I jiostmafctor and where L tl Miiall atnek < l of supidles IH kcpt I In a I II I Uny stoni rm the convenlcmi of the ranirluiKMi back i > n the bunch twenty I mile 8 or jhoie who runnot spare the lime for very frequent trips to town h LJKK OX A nOD RANCH I I1 The woman on a road lanch may perhaps I I per-haps have a haider lime than her I sls i i I Ibi on a iniii > liolatod ninoli But the < d oicislonxl exeltomcnt more than nuikca u 1 I up to her for tIlt t = xtia work I I j Jn the morning she Is up at 1 oclock 1 in the summer and in winter I to gel I the breakfast for a number of hungry t ll men This IV done by lamplight And I tthllo the husband l lighting the tirE 1 and going with hta two pall i > down to I II the lll lIt for fresh wutur ili Is ptir l II I rlnjr up u batch or hot caJws bcatiut < I the HKKS for a Hcrainble and giludlug the coffee At 5 ur U oclock bnakfast I Is on the table and the ranchwoman Is I > 11 kept 1 hus y lilllng the cups frying fresh I I rakes tioiling1 back and forth from table to tot Not until I hoy lmv c lln I Ishd and lone nut to their work docs I she have lime to eat t Then Just as she Is beginning to enjoy her breakfast the children wale up and Iml Ist upon being dressed before nhe has finished Thou thiio Is a 1 groat batch of dishes to waiih bread to be baluul the milk to btruln and put away in the ahlnlnj paiia The milk must be skimmed and the cicam carried down to the little spring house by tho creek back of the house ISveryUiing is done In ono loom I a large kllchen for as a rule a ranch with a dining room la I as rare as a day Jn June It hUH often been said and moat pco pie who have lived on one will affirm Jt that u ranch Is the dirtiest place In wthe world And the dirt of the arid lands yollow etloky and fine Is I tho very dirtiest dirt In the world tho haidest to make an impiobMon upon with bioom or mop Some ono Intelestcd In statistics has flgutud that onefourth of a ranch womans life Is I spent In cleaning And when she has ilnisiiud its time to begin be-gin again Ho after the t dishes have been washca and the lread < 1 net to rise tin milk attended at-tended to and the babien washed drctpcd and fed she has to boat water In a lingo kettle on the stove bring In an armful of wood which more than likely she has to split herfclf If none of the men arc about and with soap and suds try to make with broom and mop some Impression on the noft wood floor into which the dirt has been ground by many feet This Is I an hourn work Then she has to make the 1N1F l and If I It I a road ranch there will be in another IOJ house nearby revcrnl bunks to be attended at-tended to whose hlankota l have to be shaken and and mallrctsds turned dully < to prevent them from becoming shape lesH masses SHE ALSO TEXDS TO THE STORM In tho meantime someone Is likely to ride up and ask for his mall and will at the wiine time want lo purchase a piece of bacon a few tins of sardines or tomatoes to-matoes and Fome beans With the lltrle ones tugging bashfully at her skirts and 1 the newcomers horse Impatiently champing his bits and stamping the ground In his hurry to be off she gets what Is I wanted and hurries hur-ries back to the little log house to set about Betting dinner Just then a dozen men on the way to a roundup may ride up and demand 1 dinner She cheerfully ndds a few more potatoes to the pot carves a few more thick slices of ham beats a few moic eggs for the omelet and lays half a dozen iilatcs on the table covered with oilcloth The men who have been feeding the cattle down In tho lease conn in and rach takes his turn at washing up at the tin basin outside thu door They exchange ex-change greetings with Ihe si rangers and fall to talking about the latent prices on stock while she dishes up tho dinner One of the strangers rushes to help her place tho platters on the table another seeing an empty pail volunteers volun-teers to go down to th cieck n git some ficrh water Still another aaslhls in drawing up the chah > while another whtaperx lo his companions In the corner cor-ner of the kitchen Blamed pretty girl blessed cT she aint She serves I them all generously with food and does rot stop lo sit do n Just as the table has boui veil nigh cleared of edibles and sho is preparing to eat her own dinner throe range riders 1 rid-ers trot up and demand dinner Smiling Smil-ing cheerfully thc goes about the task of cooking yet another meal and they sit down as the first six cowboys gallop gal-lop off turning In their btlrrups to wave n goodby to her ns she goes lo the door to give them a J parting smile After the dinner dishes are washed she Is tired enough to lie down but Just hor apron her hus as she Is inilyln while In and ays IIulc J > awl comes calfs lost and two of thC slteis Wo ve not lo have them I before we begin dehorning de-horning Cant you Jump on your h > ro anl 1 ride up tho other Hide of the creek and help me find ihtin So shc sets hastily Into her divided klrl pins a wide limned felt hat over her I louplcd heir and by tho time slu iJ saddled and lied to icady I her horse Is I the post waiting for her She jump on and fording lilt creek digs her little spurs into the horses sides and they aro off on a tenmile ride acrofs she bench hunting tho iiin llnd in thC aways which they finally most i emote corner of the lease tholr Jligiit stopped by several lows of ic stralnlng barbed wire drivo thesr It Is no easy manor to wild oatllo home Inn they do It und each i home only lo find I hut I wo of Ihe boys have been ent for by Iho owner of one of the noighboilnp ranche togo to-go oMi and help him butcher There are several catlie in the roiral wailing lo be dehorned and as theics I no one elso to help she volunleeia to assist This she docs setting down from her hoirc to help tie the calves heels together and even wields the I dehorning de-horning shears herself giving uecr a gasp as a tiny stream of bipod Hqulrts I > forth from the suffering animals head and the horn diops to the ground Then the chickens have to bo fed and she takes l the saddle off her horse harnesses har-nesses > him Into the drag and gots down to the crock to dip up a barrel full of water and haul It to the house aftc1 which she puts the horse in the corral and starts to get supper LAST DUTIES OF THE DAY Fivo or six more people may drop Into In-to supper on their way to or from town or to pome other ranch Always tmlllng and cheerful with a little 1 Joke wilh onn of the boys over his sweetheart sweet-heart back East she lllcs about preparing pre-paring the evening meal which Is not over until nearly S oclock The range riders wipe the dishes for her and I while she is putting them awn the men gather around the kitchen table for a game of i ounce or poker rolling their cigarettes for the inevitable Miiokc Theie is mending lo be done and she slU > down near the table darning socks and putting1 a patoh on the Flecvc of her only woolen gown as the game progresses 1 pro-gresses At n oclock lights go out Ihe last iood night is said ard the woman who has not until now slopped lo think how llrod she Is sinks down on her haid bed afcleop almost before her head has touched the pillow Every day has its own work One day there Is I washing to bo done an olher butter lo be churned another honing stili another a fifteenmile ride on horseback to n neighboring iinch to honow n branding lion or I i ra5or strop for her lord Tind master I Always busy but always cheerful the ranchwoman Is loved and respected l b > of r 00 miles every I nrin within a radius > I She la I known as Harding s Molly and 1 her husband Is famous because she is hij wlfeUthc prettiest smartest smart-est I brightest gal In Big Horn basin as the l cowboys call her I Once in a while one of them bashfully I slips a new ribbon fiom town Into her hand and Is rowaided I by secIng her put It In hrr hair or at hor neck with i a daxllnt sivllo and a Thank you Hunk that makes him draw u grimy = hand across Ills oyes and think of hl mother or that t girl bark l East I and wish ho loiihl change places with llmd inp Yes ranch life has Its comjionsatlon and who shall nay that Ihc life of the woman of the plains Isnt happlor nf tor all lhiii that of hor Now York sly I 11 lor who leads a butterllys llfo and tl whom a fomented spirit Irs I unkiownV l1 Lloslon Herald J |