Unconventional Cow Loading

Cap and Ely had been cleaning out the back pasture for a week. Things had been so dry that, there was just no way to hang on any longer. They had penned and worked the other pastures, and shipped some of the older cows leaving the younger ones to hustle on their own for something to graze on. The back pasture was different story though. It had a big creek running through it and the country back there just wasn't as strong. Those cows, whether young or old, had to go.

Most of them had come without a fight. It's always depressing to pen skinny cows. The only bright side was that they seldom tried to run off because they just didn't have the energy. But did you know there was an exception to every rule? On the last "drag" through the pasture, a big Cross-bred cow was spotted and by the way she acted, it had been a while since she had seen a man. The chase was on.

To a regular day working cowboy, sometimes nothing is more fun than roping a runaway cow. The situation has to be just right for it to be fun though. First of all you have to be mounted correctly. It's better if you're not riding a colt. It's also better if you can get her to an opening and take a higher percentage shot at catching. Today both things were in the cowboy crew's favor.

The cow crossed through a "sendera", or a long narrow opening, then went back into a clump of brush. Evidently she thought she could make a break for it, across the next opening. She miscalculated.

Cap, Ely and the other boys were after her like a duck on a junebug. She ducked and dodged through some light brush, but made another mistake when she crossed in front of Monte, who had hired on for the day's work. He roped her, slowed her down, and Don showed up just in time to rope her back feet and lay her down.

Cap rode off to get the truck and trailer so she could be loaded and everyone took five. When he returned with the trailer and backed up to her, everyone took positions. The rope was run through the bars of the trailer up towards the front of the truck and Monte rode up there so he could pull her in, while the rest of the gang got behind her and tried to coax/scare her into jumping up into the trailer. She wasn't having it. After several attempts she laid down right in the gate and sulled up. Everyone stood around and scratched their head. After a few minutes of thinking, ideas were aplenty.

"I bet I can get her in there, and make it her idea." said Don hoping for some action.
"I bet you can't." said Cap. "Getting her out of the pasture and to the sale barn is the goal, and I'd prefer to do that without her having a broken leg."
"I won't break her leg." replied Don."Hell, you can tell Monte not to pull her if you want to."
"Don, what are you up to?" asked Cap.
"I'm gonna make this cow jump in the trailer, without anyone pulling her and it will be her idea, and she won't be hurt."

After a few minutes there were no other ideas, so Cap agreed.

"Don, you can try it, but if I don't like how it's going, I'm gonna stop you."

"No problem", replied Don and he casually walked over to the cow. She was still down on the ground, and he just eased right up beside her and then leaned on her like she was a bar in a saloon. Don rolled and lit a cigarette, from the tobacco in his pocket and took his time smoking it. No one talked or moved...but everyone wondered what was gonna happen next.

A few minutes passed and everyone still stood there watching Don smoke the cigarette. He looked like he was really enjoying it down the last puff. Right before he took that last puff, he leaned down real easy like and put the remaining cigarette in the cows nose and clamped the nostril shut with his hand. I guess the cow had never smoked before, because she didn't have the same look of enjoyment that Don did while he was smoking it. She slung her head from one side to the other, but Don never lost his grip on her nose. That cigarette was trapped and so was the smoke! She lurched one way, then the other and jumped to her feet! At the same time, Don jumped towards her rear, twisted her tail, hollered at the top of his lungs and she jumped right into that trailer!

After the dust settled and the gate was closed. Everyone stood around not knowing what to make of what they just saw, then they erupted in laughter. Cap couldn't stand it.

"Don, what the heck where you thinking? You coulda got hooked, or worse! And why in the world didn't you just put that cigarette in there from the start? We could be gone from here already."

"Cap, you bought any tobacco lately? It's higher priced than these ole cows. I wanted my money's worth before she got hers!"