Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 July 1891 — A GENUINE COWBOY’S SADDLE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A GENUINE COWBOY’S SADDLE.

The cowboy saddle, illustrated herewith, was drawn from a photograph sent by a Montana correspondent whois himself a cowboy. He describes the • saddle and its uses as follows: An ordinary saddle would never on earth stand the racket of cow work. You see, when a puncher ropes—l guess in the East you would call it “lassoes”—a. big, healthy 4-year-old steer, which is lighting out on a Salvator gait, and undertakes to stop him with a jerk, he has a big contract on his hands. When a steer is running, and you rope him, he will run still faster; then you “take your turns,” that is, vpu twist the'end of the lariat, which you have in your hands, around the horn of

the saddle two or three times and jerk your cayuse up short; the steer comes to the end of the rope or lariat, suddenly turns a double somersault, and lands on his back, pawinjc the air. So you can see that it takes a good strong saddle to stand the jerk. The horns of our saddles here aremade of steel, and are strongly fixed to a mahogany or ironwood tree. Thewhole thing is then covered with wet rawhide, which shrinks on, and then, the leather parts of the saddle are put on. A saddle ordinarily weighs thirtyfive to forty-five pounds, and nearly alt good cow-puncher saddles are made in the range country. The saddle I send the photograph of is not particularly ornate or costly, I paid $35 for minewhen it was new. Fine saddles are the desire of every cow-puncher’s heart, and they are willing to pav big" prices, although they are not willing to take care of them after they get them. A man often has a riding outfitcosting $l5O or S2OO. Indeed, these are average, although some have outfits that come much higher. Silver inlaid bits, spurs, guns, conchas, and. so on cost like not a little out here.— American Agriculturist.

MONTANA COWBOY'S SADDLE.