Smoke From the Branding Fire

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Early  Roundups

By  H.  G.  Pallister.

 

   The territory that laid between the American border and the Bow River was open range country for the period of twenty five years between 1882 and 1907, where large herds of cattle and horses grazed this virgin grassland on a year round basis.  If it were possible to turn back the calendar for a complete century or more, the larger ranches throughout this area of southern Alberta considered the annual round-ups an important function of their existence.  Two general round-ups were held each year. One in the spring to brand the calves and another held during the fall to gather the beef, that were mostly three and four year steers.  The old time round-up outfits became a way of life and a necessary operation in order for the ranches that were established to remain in business. Having cattle that ranged over millions of unfenced acres, the ranchers saw it necessary to form an association that would set dates for the round-ups and take care of other important issues like prairie fires, stray animals, brands not registered, and stolen livestock.

   The writer of this chapter has a heritage that relates back to this same period of time, when my late father experienced the freedom and life-style of an open range cowman of an era that will never again return.  I can recall many stories told by him and other early cowmen, which have inspired me to write on this subject, explaining some of the equipment used by the old time round-up outfits during their days of the open range.  Modern day technology has helped the livestock industry to take advantage of new practices that differ greatly from the open range method of handling livestock.  Meanwhile, the rangemen who pioneered the raising of livestock in Alberta over a century ago should be acknowledged for their ability and knowledge of how to handle large herds of cattle in open country without the use of portable corrals, mechanical chutes and pick-up trucks. 

   The first general round-up was held during 1886, with most spring round-ups thereafter being an interesting and colorful affairs.  Round-up wagons came from six or eight different ranches and met on a specific date and location set by the association. This location was usually above the forks of the Bow and Belly Rivers, or else near High River.  The association decided which ranches needed to send "Reps" or representatives to help on certain wagons.  Ranches who were not represented on any wagon were charged one dollar per head for every animal gathered.

   Every outfit used a chuckwagon, sometimes called the mess wagon, a bed wagon, a wagon boss, a horse wrangler, a night- hawk who herded the horses at night, a cook, and about eight or nine cowhands.  The most important man on most outfits was the cook who was paid ten dollars a month more than the cowhands; ten dollars that was well earned. 

It was not unusual to have more than a hundred head of cow ponies in the cavvy, which was a term used to describe the horses used by the cowhands. Each cowhand had the use of eight to ten horses in his string, some of which were green broke or bronks.  Each man was given several tough circle horses to make long rides to gather cattle, a well broke horse for working the herd, a rope horse to heel calves at brandings, a gentle night horse, and a strong horse for swimming rivers.

   Round-up outfits went out each spring about the first of June, after the horses had lost their winter hair and their backs were free of warbles. The wagon boss always led the outfit along with the cowhands, followed by the chuck wagon and bed wagon and the horse wrangler trailed the procession with the horse cavvy. The wagon boss would decide where to make camp, which was usually near good water and sheltered from the wind.  The cook drove the chuckwagon with four horses and the nighthawk followed behind with the bed wagon. 

   When the wagons reached a suitable camp site, the wagon horses were unharnessed and turned loose with the cavvy.  The cook tent was set up first, directly behind the chuck wagon; close enough for the mess box on the back of the wagon to be inside the cook tent when the weather was not favorable.  Otherwise there was room left between the mess wagon and the cook tent. The chuck wagon was nothing more than a traveling cook house where meals could be thrown together in a hurry. The mess box that was built into the back of the chuck wagon served as a cupboard that held granite cups and plates, knives, forks, salt, pepper, sugar, all types of spices and other things such as jam and syrup pails. The door to the cupboard was hinged at the bottom, and let down to form a table with a hinged leg to support it.

  The nighthawk had additional duties of helping the cook unload the grub and set up camp.  The rope corral was set up next and then the bed tent for those who wanted to use it.  The horse cavvy was grazed near camp during the day so the horse wrangler could pack water and cut firewood for the cook.  The night wrangler was able to sleep all day if he so wished; except the days when camp was being moved.  Both wagons were equipped with hardwood bows attached to both sides of the wagon boxes to carry wagon sheets made of heavy duty canvas, necessary to protect the food supplies and bed rolls from the weather when it rained or snowed. 

  The chuckwagon carried a large wooden barrel of fresh water on the near side with a platform built on the off side for the cook stove.  Dry firewood that was slung on ropes under the running gear was usually carried from camp to camp to help the cook get meals ready at locations where wood was scarce.  Beans, flour, and sugar were purchased in one hundred pound sacks. Every kind of dried fruit was bought in twenty-pound boxes, which was always part of the dinner menu.  Salt pork was purchased in the slab and plenty of fresh beef was always available for the cook.

        The cook would inform the wagon boss when he was out of fresh meat.  Two cowhands were always appointed from the crew to select an animal out of the herd, which was usually a fat dry heifer.  The critter would be butchered where the grass was clean and fresh and taken back to camp in quarters. Both men were most likely representing different ranch outfits and very seldom did they butcher a beef critter that was owned by the outfit either of them worked for. The meat was kept fresh in burlap sacks by hoisting it with a lash rope to the top of a thirty-foot pole that was tied to the hind wheel of the chuckwagon. This would keep the meat high enough and safe from spoiling when kept out of range from the blow -flies.

The bed wagon carried all the extra food supplies and heavy cooking utensils that were not needed daily by the cook.  The tents were rolled and thrown into the bed wagon along with the rope corral every time the outfit moved camp.  Each cowhand was responsible for his own bedroll and his personal belongings that were carried in a bag called a war sack.  They rolled their beds every morning after crawling out and left them in the bed tent so they could be quickly thrown into the bed wagon in case the wagon boss decided to move camp anytime during the day.

   The rope corral was made of two-inch hemp rope that ran through metal rings that were attached to the top of wooden posts and driven into the ground. The posts were allowed to remain above the ground about four feet; a height that allowed the rope to touch a horse about chest high.  When set up it could be made any shape or size, but usually assembled large enough to corral the complete horse cavvy of over a hundred head.  One end of the rope was tied to the hind wheel of the bed wagon for stability. The corral was set away from the wagon in a circle, having the rope coming back to the other hind wheel where a gate was made that could be dropped and tied up again when necessary.

   The night wrangler corralled the horses before breakfast, which was at five o'clock.  The cowhands, who were on circle gathering cattle, would take ten to fifteen minutes to eat dinner at eleven o'clock or when they got back to the wagon. A fresh horse was then roped out for them to make a second circle or day herd duty.  Supper was at five o’clock after which a fresh horse was caught and saddled for a shift on night herd.  Two men worked together on each two-hour shift throughout the night.  They would circle the herd in opposite directions until it was time to change shift, then one would ride into camp to wake the new guard. 

  The beef roundup usually got underway each fall about the first of October.  Most wagon boss’s plan of action was to have two experienced men work out about fifteen miles from each side of the wagon, and pick up the bigger steers that were wanted without disturbing the rest of the cattle.  These men worked very slowly and brought these steers into the herd that was being held close to water.  The men with less experience rode along each side of the herd to keep them moving in the right direction.  Most of the time the herd would be strung out for several miles but was never allowed to move any faster than a slow walk.

   If things were going well the line riders could quit the herd and ride into camp, which gave the steers a chance to get a drink, graze or lie down.  Sometimes the men gathering beef would be away from the wagon all day, not getting back until evening.  The line riders would go back to the herd about three o'clock in the afternoon and slowly drift the herd along, just enough to keep them moving into new territory.  At supper time the herd was left to their own until the following morning because night herding was not a common practice on the majority of beef roundups.

With the work was finished in the fall, all but the regular hands were taken off the payroll.  Some would spend the winters at an isolated cow camp, others got jobs tending bar in some cow town, while others rode the grub-line.  These grub-line riders rode through the country, stopping at different ranches for a week or more.  They were usually welcome guests as they brought bits of news, as there were no radios, newspapers, or telephones on the early ranches.  A very pleasant winter could be spent in this manner for someone who was willing to lend a hand around a ranch with anything that had to be done.

  A book could be written of the men that rode with the roundup wagons, most of who wanted no other life.  Many had been raised on the back of a horse with a rope or gun in their hand.  Some had come up over the trail with the herds out of Texas while others were born in cow country of the North-Western States. There is no doubt some had crossed the line on a tired horse, looking back because of a reward on their head.  Most were lean-flanked weather beaten cowhands who were loyal dependable men to the outfits for which they worked. 

   When working the range, no one was supposed to ride ahead of the man-leading circle.  Everyone followed the boss until told otherwise by the wave of a hand as what to do.  When riding into camp, everyone was careful to approach downwind from the fire and cooking pots.  The space between the fire and the mess wagon was "sacred ground" occupied for the cook only! The general routine on any of the old time round-up outfits, was not actually what anyone would considered easy work.

The general roundup of 1907 told the death of the open range days, when the wagons scoured the country to gather the remnant of the once thriving herds. Homesteaders were fast fencing the country and the disaster of the previous winter had killed over seventy percent of the range cattle.  When the wagons pulled into their home quarters that fall, the glamour year of the open range, the general round-ups, and the old time cowmen, had become a thing of the past; which has left only a history to remember.