The Story of the Cowboy. By E. Hough. (Gay and
Bird.)— Mr. Hough in a very interesting book tells us the story of the great cattle-ranching business of the Far West, beginning with the old Texas days, and following the movement of the cattle northwards to its present limits. The gradual change of the cowboy from the Mexican who was as handy with his six-shooter as his lariat, to the American cowboy of to-day, who is something of a farmer as well, is followed also with a keen appreciation and insight into his picturesque figure and views of life. Very interesting are the accounts of the troubles which arose between the cattle-owners and the settlers, or " nesters " as they were contemptuously called, who came into the big leases, and had to fight for a living ; of the " rustler" trouble, where a party of cattle-men attempted to drive out the "rust- lers" and got surrounded; and of that earliest but fiercest war of all, the Lincoln County War of New Mexico, the most determined and bloody feud ever known. Cowboy society and its amusements, the "round-up," a brilliant description of a storm and stampede and a blizzard, and all phases of the cowboy (or cowpuncher's) life, are described with felicity and many a good anecdote.
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