The last of the roundups was held in Routt
County, Colorado, several years ago, so far as the writer knows,
and it had only to do with shifting cattle from the summer to the
winter range.
After the calf round-up came the beef round-up, the cowman's
final harvest. This began in July or August. Only the mature or
fatted animals were cut out from the herd. This "beef cut" was
held apart and driven on ahead from place to place as the
round-up progressed. It was then driven in by easy stages to the
shipping point on the railroad, whence the long trainloads of
cattle went to the great markets.
In the heyday of the cowboy it was natural that his chief
amusements should be those of the outdoor air and those more or
less in line with his employment. He was accustomed to the sight
of big game, and so had the edge of his appetite for its pursuit
worn off. Yet he was a hunter, just as every Western man was a
hunter in the times of the Western game. His weapons were the
rifle, revolver, and rope; the latter two were always with him.
With the rope at times he captured the coyote, and under special
conditions he has taken deer and even antelope in this way,
though this was of course most unusual and only possible under
chance conditions of ground and cover.
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