May 2022 • Nebraskaland 37
eyewitness account of the following year's roundup in the
North Platte{Western Nebraskian of June 17, 1876:
"... The cattle [were] sighted, scattered here and there in
bunches, ranging from fi ve to two hundred head, which at
sight of a horseman would break and run. Then comes the
excitement — up gulch, down canyons, over hills and table-
lands, on a long steady run, in their vain eff orts to escape
from the boys who are pursuing them, horses and riders
equally thrilled with the excitement of the chase; 'tis grand,
exhilarating, and as the cattle are overtaken, checked and
put with another bunch or bunches, they are then driven to
the rodeo ground.
"Then comes the separation or 'cutting.' A band of a
thousand head [is] surrounded by twenty horsemen or more.
One party, employees of the owner, enter the herd, select the
animals bearing the owner's brand and mark, cutting each
animal from the main herd and making a bunch of that brand
until all are separated.
"This 'cutting' is exciting work. Now going at full speed as
the animal makes an eff ort to get again with the main bunch;
now stopping and wheeling as quick as a fl ash of lightning,
dodging, twisting, until the animal perceives the folly of its
eff orts and permits itself to be driven to the bunch or brand
where it belongs.
"No horsemanship can excel that which is displayed by an
experienced cow-boy. As they dash over the rough prairie at
the top of their mustang's speed, [avoiding] great numbers of
holes, the work of prairie dogs and our family of sub-soilers,
the utter disregard of their peril is something as courageous
as it is rash.
"The training of the 'cutting' horses is something
wonderful. No matter what distance the cutting horse has
traveled, how fatigued it may be, the moment you ride it into
the herd every muscle, every faculty, is on the alert and the
intelligence they display is something almost human; and
occasionally you hear a cow-boy speaking of his favorite, 'He
knows more than most of men,' is the usual expression.
"All the cattle separated, each man holds his brand separate,
another bunch is gathered and separated until night. ...
Such is the routine, each day having its incidents. In case
of dispute as to who owns an animal, the animal is lassoed,
thrown down, and all marks examined and the ownership is
readily proven. A great many true gentlemen can be found
among these wild fellows, men that are honest, intelligent,
and when one off ers his friendship, it is a friendship that will
stand all tests."
N
Visit History Nebraska's website at history.nebraska.gov.
A circa-1910 Nebraska roundup, from the collection of Chadron judge and newspaper editor Eli Ricker.
History Nebraska RG1227-15-3
