Show THE COWBOY ay AS HE IS more stern ste rn and commonplace co 0 n place i reality ne ty than poetry ra la in HU his lite life the life ife of the cowboy boy b of the great west is but little known says the riehmond richmond dispatch somehow newspapers and especially the writers of dime novels have thrown a sort of romance about the cowboy that maksa his life seem charming but there is no charm about it As a rule there are no more hardworking hard working simple and unassuming men than thala the cowboys they have been maligned and slandered as much as any other men because all the depredations committed on the frontier are attributed to the cowboys it is not ot uncommon fo for him when hen he enters a town after spending weeks and perhaps months in the great solitude of the plains to get a little more whisky than is good for him and become a little frolicsome and reckless he heh has as a careless way of handling a six shoot er that makes a tenderfoot the least bit nervous but the cowboy drunk and the cowboy sober are two different persons drunk he is like all other drunken men insane for the time being and really not accountable for what he does sober he is usually usually y quiet and as genteel as he can be living li var a life of dang danger er makes hm him fe fearless and I 1 do not known of a real cowboy who will not at any time risk his life for a friend if he is treated cordially by strangers he be returns the compliment but woe to the unhappy tenderfoot who attempts to put on airs when the cowboy is around he has been known to make the plug hat or as the cowboys term them the hard knocker hat of a dude the target of his six shooter and he seems to delight in expectorating expect orating tobacco juice on a pair of freshly blackened boots in his wild western life his home is in the saddle he frequently passes weeks without seeing a house or having a tent or shelter of any ddn kind a where does he sleep louwill you will ask on the ground his saddle for a pillow and his slicker his only covering if it rains he usually sleeps on his pony sitting upright ire he has studied the habits of the cattle until he knows them he has to take his turn when driving in for the roundup round up to ride the circuit to keep guard luring during the night they guard by the cattle are bunched or got together and the boys save those on duty sleep through the night ni ht those on duty must keep continually riding around the herd for a young cow or steer will occasionally take tak e it into its head to steal away the darker the night the greater must be the vigilance |