COWBOYS' TOURNEY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12818, 18 March 1905, Page 2 (Supplement)

COWBOYS' TOURNEY.

'- ROPING STEERS FOR CHAMPION- . - : ■:■■■ ■;'■'■ SHIP HONOURS. * \ .' ' , AN nUSH-AMLKICAN CARRIES OFF ..BELT AKp PURSE. , '''•' Ellison- '.Cmuiou.,-. of ' Oklahoma, A is < the champion steer roper and tier of the United States, which is to-nay of the world.' Some may look lightly on the possession of such '.. a title; not knowing fully the difficulties of acquiring it, but ii any of these could have been present at the ground in San Antonio, Texas, when Mr. Carroll wrested the "belt" from his good friend, but bitter rival, Clay McConagill, of Texas, they would regard it at its true value. . No prize-ring contest, no •tourney with lance and battleaxe, was ever fought'more fiercely. And the thousands of spectators, cowboys and their wives, daughters and sweethearts from all over the Southwest, who had seen many previous contests of the kind, cheered themselves into a frenzy and declared the battle he be the greatest ever waged. Wherever tattle ami cowboys congregate, the title of champion ' steer-roper is looked on as the highest honour a man can wear. Tho cowboy who can claim it and hold it is a king. And in the case of Mr. Carroll, of Oklahoma, it is not an empty title, for with it went a purse of £1200 and side bets of nearly as much again. Tho contest had been extensively •advertised and talked about for months. It had been the solo topic of conversation among tho men of tho ranges, and yet, when the entries were closed, there were but two 'competitors. Not that there were not enough cowboys in tho country—there are still thousands" of them—but Clay McConagill had been the champion for so many vears, and his prowess was so well known and feared, that nobody had any hope of bring able to beat him—that is. no one but Ellison Carroll; of Mangum, Okla., and even lie Was looked on as being bumptious and foolhardy in his ambition. But, if only to see Clay McConagill take the conceit out of another man, there were thousands who were willing to travel by rail and on horseback any distance, so that San Antonio on the dav of the contest was full of visitors. _ There was none of the old-time shooting, veiling, maudlin behaviour that the effeto East considers necessary to a cowboy's enjoyment. The cowboy of the present is a physical giant, handsome in his way, honest, charitable, and brave. Ho has foresworn the old fringed trousers and the big pistols, but he is "all there" in every respect, and quite as dangerous a proposition when you are looking for trouble as he ever was. So when Clav McConagill and Ellison .Carroll, mounted on their best ponies and stripped for business, galloped out to the scene of the big battle for championship honours there was a fine array of friends to cheer them on. - . The process of roping and tying a steer •is interesting and exciting— in fact, what might be called hair-raising to one who has never seen it. Tho Texas steer used on such occasions is not the fat, sleek fellow that Easterners cut up for porter.-bouse steaks, nor yet the sleepy kind that, Mexicans are wont to employ in'their ■' savage", bull fights. He is a lean, olean-linibed fellow, with long, sharp horns and an eye that can find trouble anywhere. He is a "maverick," as a rule, and.'a,' bad customer, angry at being kept in confinement:.-- - ,••■• ■-For a man with no assistance except a trained ponv and a rope to throw such a beast to the ground and tie him so that he "cannot get-up in the space of something less than half a minute is no tea party. Both Ellison Carroll and Clay McConagill are of the modern type of cowboy, bale, hearty fellows, good-natured and happy. MeConasill is over six feet high, proportionate] strong and weighs about 1801b. while his rival is three inches taller and. tips the scales at 2101b. They are both well off and own their own cattle ranges. 'In" spite of their bitter rivalry—and none who docs not know the cowboy s- nature can understand how bitter it is— they are 'good friends. ; * •' "" ' , . ' . * '. . \n incident occurred during tae .contest which 'shows the true spirit of good fellowship that exists between cowboys even wh«n Kg money and the championship of the" world are at stake. After McConagill broke two lariats on one steer and started hack to his corner for another his opponent, Carroll, came riding out with his own rope for his unfortunate competitor. Both men smiled as the lariat was handed over, f and Clav said: " Much ' obliged,«old man. The steers were corralled in a small pen at the corner of the baseball park on the outskirts of the town. .The contest was to -ceo which man could rope and tie Ob of ihese animals in the 'shortest space of time. And this is how it was waged: From a small chute in the corner of the corral.these wild and suspicious creatures were liberated one at a time. With a big whoop and veil from all the cow-punchers the frightened animal left bis prison. Back . of- the"line was the cowboy waiting on a ' prancing and anxious horse, which watched the steer with more eagerness than the man. ' *=! the longhorn crossed the mark the umpire gave the word "Go!" and the red flag dropped. From the drop of this flag the stop-watches commenced to click. The ponv needed no urging, and the rider never used spur or rein, but, with a leap and a bound, every' muscle rigid, he soon closed up the 200 ft or 300 ft between them and came up within half the rope's length of the animal, which distance he kept, until with one steady and skilful sweep of the great, strong arm the lariat was sent gyrating through the air, to settle over the spreading horns ° f 'thehors-'s turn, and he knows ■just what to do. He is off to the right or left turning in nearly an, opposite direction When the steer reaches the end of his rope down goes his head, and.be turn? a complete somersault, cither leaving the ground entirely flat or .falling on his back or side: Frequently their necks are broken and no tying is necessary. Sometimes the Serin turned sideways, but nine times out of ten he finds himself flat on the ground in "some position. ■ . , ~ . - Tho moment the steer falls the rider is off his horse like a flash, and with almost human intelligence the faithful pony digs his hoofs into the ground and pulls at his cud of the lariat, which is attached to the pommel of lie saddle. Ho keeps the rope taut, and cither drags the steer or holds him so tightly that it is impossible for the animal'to gain his feet until the cowboy has one hind and one front leg securely tied together, three quick loops and a final ' When this is finished up.go the hands of 'the'expert, and the umpire calls out "Take him!" The timers stop the ticking of tho watches, and another -umpire rides out to ' examine the knot. The steer must remain 'tied five minutes. If he gets up before that time the contestant loses the steer. The umpire returns to the timers, and reports "all safe." 'Mr McConagill gave up the contest on the twenty-eighth steer, and acknowledged that he was badly defeated. Owing to inclement weather, and some of the cattle escaping; he agreed to surrender m favour of Carroll, McConagill being then more 'than three minutes' behind his opponent, with no possible chance to ever-win out in the six remaining trials. ". # • 'The result was a great surprise to most ranchmen, as.it was thought bv them that the "King," as . they called McConagill, - could neve? be defeated. Mr. Carroll made the marvellous record of roping and tying 23 steers in 18m. .58 l-55., his best time on one being 21 4-s*. His average on the 1 28' wag 40 2-ss. Mr. McConagill s average was 46 4-55.. and his best time for one ropq and tie was 225. flat. But he has a previous record' of 21 #~ made at El Paso, Texas, about- two years ago. Mr. Carroll rode three different horses during the tournament— Hill. Red • "Buck, and Necktie. All are splendid animals, and well trained. Jack Hill threw ono steer after Mr. Carroll left his back. The steer jumped to his feet, and the horse ; knew just what was required of him. He started after the steer, and pot him going at a.good rate of speed, and gave one of thf.se. quick side turns, and Mr. Steer, apparently much surprised, measured his length ' on the ground, badly stunned, am] willing to : lie quiet long enough to be tied. ; ' When asked how ho trained his horses i Mr. Carroll replied : " I can't tell you how, I but I can show you.if you will come out to : ?my ranch. A steer is naturally afraid of a .< horse,, and 'will always run from him unless}'

very angry or torced to fight. A horse likes to chase a steer. Take a young pony out and rope a few steers with him, and he will soon learn to enjoy the sport as much as the man." Mr. McUonagill's horses ore Rowdy, Gambler,' and 'Sunflower. Old Rowdy has helped him to win over 50,000d015. in roping contests during the last five, years. McConagill roped one steer in eight seconds, and, much to Ha chagrin, discovered when ho reached the animal that he had left his tie-rope at the chute. Here he lost the opportunity of breaking all records, as he seldom takes over nine or ten seconds to tie a steer after he leaves his mount. After ranch delay, the animal was tied, and Clay went hack to the fence, sat down, and commenced dipping up the earth with ■his boot-heel, and muttered away to himself as follows: "Walk, dog-gone you, walk. Reckon,vou thought you wuz a right pert roper, eh? 'Spose you thought you'd find a rope laving arouud there some place nil ready for you when you got there ? Don't believe Von could rope a yearlin'. You'll bo clawing leather next. You a cowpuncher ! Why, you couldn't ketch a goat. Them wuz fine ropes you bought for yourself the other dav. Wouldn't give you two bit" for a waggon load o' 'em. You'd better stay off the range now, or the boy 11 fix your clock. You belong 'long with the chuck waggon, and there's where you'll stay after this, too."