Next to the horse, ropes were the cowboys’
most important pieces of equipment. Students can see ropes being used by
cowhands in the following photographs:
- Little Joe the Wrangler, Three Block Ranch, New Mexico, (LC
S6-367)
- Emory Sager Catching up the Mounts for the Boys from a Remuda Held by a Rope Corral,
Shoe Bar Ranch, Texas, (LC S59-351)
- Taking Care of Cows [Zack T. Burkett, Range Boss of the LS, and Ysabel Gurule,
Mexican Cowpuncher, Coming to the Rescue of a Cow that has become wedged under an
overhanging rock on a dangerous trail, LS Ranch, near Tascosa, Texas] (LC S59-126)
- Hot Iron and Sharp Knife [Working a Herd, Three Cutting Horses and riders keeping
a set of branders and flankers busy with the hot iron, Spur Range, Texas] (LC S6-81)
- Smearing His Loop on a Wild One [A JA cowpuncher making a houlihan catch in the
remuda as the horses attempt to dodge his lariat, JA Ranch, Texas] (LC S6-285)
- A Tight Dally and a Loose Latigo, 1961.196
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Erwin E. Smith (1886–1947)
"Pink" Murray, famous wagon boss of the
OR ranch in southern Arizona, mounted on his favorite horse. Navajo Indian
blankets were used as saddle blankets, and "Pink" had a good one. OR Range,
Arizona. 1909
Gelatin dry plate negative
Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
LC.S6.102 |
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While examining these images, it is easy to see that ropes had
many uses, including:
- Catching the horses of the day
- Staking out horses on the grass
- Making a rope corral for the remuda
- Pulling cattle out of bogs, mud holes, and other tight places
- Making lifelines
- Making quirts—small whips made of braided rawhide, stitched
leather, and braided horsehair—used to keep unruly horses under
control
- Making bullwhips
- Warding off rattlesnakes
- Pulling the chuck wagon out of a muddy rut over rough terrain
- Scaling heights
- Transporting gathered firewood
- Creating a recreational diversion
- Tying up a bed
- Securing packs
- Hobbling horses
- Helping fight prairie fires
- Tying up corral gates
- Guiding the cowhand from bunkhouse to corral in snowstorms.
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