Monday, July 9, 2007

Roping buffalo and breaking horses

Many leisure moments was spent, pencil in hand, pondering over a tablet, wondering what to write the girl back home. Other leisure time was spent in breaking broncos, and the ranch paid us five dollars a head for all we broke.
From The Camp Life of a Cowpuncher by Carroll Doshier as told by Jim Christian

Scott laughingly added that he roped the first buffalo he ever saw, being young and not guessing what would happen once he had it roped. The Goodnight buffalo herd was started about 1882. Mrs. Goodnight offered $75 for each live buffalo brought in. Scott states that he was thinking of that when he roped the buffalo. The buffalo ran the length of the rope and the abrupt jerk broke off the top of its head and the last Mr. Scott saw of it, it was headed in the direction of Plainview.
From Fred Scott transcripts