The Love of the Game

The mid morning sun bore down. Humidity just made the heat sweltering, and there was not enough breeze to move the tree tops. The air just hung motionless. It was the last pasture they had left to work, and the thick South Texas brush made gathering a new adventure every year, since you couldn’t see much past the end of your horse’s nose. The only way to keep up with everyone’s position once inside the brush was to holler once in a while. That way, they could try to keep up with each other and stay in a fairly straight line and also to make sure they kept pretty close. The cowboys took turns locating each other by their whoops and the first ones out to the clearing would wait for all of the other ones to see if any cattle came out ahead of the last guys emerging from the dense brush. Cap and Ely were the first ones out and sat waiting for Jay and Louis to make it.

“Wooooooo!!” Cap hollered to no response. “Wonder what could be takin’ so long? They shoulda beat us out for sure. What we rode through was thicker and shoulda took longer.
“Whoooop!” Was Ely’s signature call. Everyone kinda had their own way. Still no response.
“Listen. You hear anything?” whispered Cap.
“Nope. Not even brush crackling or horses moving through it. Something ain’t right. We shoulda heard from’em by now.” Said Ely.

About that time, came the loudest commotion either one of’em had ever heard. It sounded like someone had fired up a locomotive and decided to drive it right over the top of them. There was hollerin’ just like a train whistle blowing then brush crackling and breaking apart. Their pulse quickened with excitement as anyone’s does when they know something wild is about to happen.

And people wondered why they did this.

Cap and Ely both pulled their ropes from the leather ties to their saddle horns and built loops. They were ready for anything, well they thought.

About that time a crossbred maverick yearling bull came crashing through the brush and out into the clearing. Right on his heels came Jay and Louis each with their hand on top of their head holding their hats on while they looked down at the saddle horn to keep mesquite limbs from slapping them in the face. The race was on and it was just a short distance until the next thicket. Something had to happen fast.

“Rope him Jay!” hollered Louis as they both came barreling across the opening.

Right about that time Cap and Ely caught up and right before the bull made his escape back to the brush Cap managed to get a rope on him. He tried to hook and Cap kept him logged off long enough for someone to get another rope on him. He was sideline tied in the opening in just a short time, and that provided just enough of a break for the mosquitoes to start biting. The cowboys all took a break to take stock of injuries, and scratches, while the ground crew came with the truck and trailer.

“How many of these cattle are we missin’?” asked Jay.
“Well, to tell you the truth we don’t have an exact count on what’s in this pasture. It’s been a while since we cleaned it out. That’s what we have you fellas hired for.” Smiled Cap.
Louis swatted mosquitoes with a mean look on his face and Jay peered at Cap in disbelief.

The cattle trailer could be heard rattling down the brecha (or Sendera which is a long opening usually for a pipeline) on it’s way to pick them and the bull up. When it pulled up several hands bailed out along with a photographer from town who was documenting the work for a book. The city lady with the camera peered at the bull lying on the ground waiting to be loaded into the trailer.

“You mean they don’t all just bunch up together and head down the trail like on TV?” she asked.
All the cowboys looked at each other soaked in sweat, mosquito bitten, scratched and they continued to work getting ready to load the bull.

“Well ma’am, guess it just wouldn’t be any fun that way.” Said Ely.


Here's hoping your a/c is working,
Walker