Edward S. Ellis

Name: The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata
Author: Edward S. Ellis

The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

Summary

“The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata”, is a work by Edward S. Ellis. It explores elements such as noose, riata and rope.

Quotes from The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata (Edward S. Ellis)

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ The riata, say, is hanging from the horn of the saddle—not tied, but ready for use. No vaquero who understands his trade ties his rope to his saddle. He knows that his life may depend on his ability to let go of his rope in an instant, and he isn't going to chance killing himself or his horse. You see, the vaquero might be on a side hill, and a bull or steer he wishes to catch be on a trail below him, and the ground between them to be too steep to admit of his riding down to it. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ I have seen vaqueros swing a lasso swiftly almost in the midst of a thicket, and keep it clear without losing speed, and then let it drive straight as an arrow between two close trees and rope an object that could not pass where the noose had gone. Such skill, to be sure, comes only after long practice.
"Well, now we have got the noose circling about the vaquero's head, and the next thing is to let it fly. There is not much to describe about this part of throwing a riata, important though it may be. It is only incessant practice that will enable a man to make a certain cast. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ A steer jumping along changes his position constantly as regards you. If you throw at his head high up the chances are that it will be away down when your rope reaches him, and you will overthrow. Now, if you pick out a foot you must reckon so that that foot will be off the ground when your rope reaches him. The noose does not travel like a bullet, and this element of time is most important.
"Of even more importance is it that the distances are gauged correctly. You remember I spoke about holding the coils lightly in two or three fingers. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ Our vaquero is trotting along with his rope hanging at his saddle bow or fastened behind him. He sees a deer or whatever else he wants to catch, and grabs his rope with the left hand if he is a right-handed man, though a man to really excel in this business should be ambi-dextrous. A right-handed man can, under ordinary circumstances, rope a steer; but he has frequently to turn his horse to gain a good position. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ Now, suppose the noose, instead of catching around the horns of the steer, should circle his neck and draw down to his shoulders? Accidents are, of course, as likely to happen in catching cattle as in anything else, and give a bull such a hold and he could pull a house, let alone a mustang. That would be one case where it would be very handy to let go quickly. Then a man is likely to get his hand caught, and if he can't let his rope go free he is likely to lose a finger or two. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ I never put myself up as a crack riata man, and I am out of practice now, but I can lay the noose on the ground at my feet and kick it around your neck, or pick it off the ground from my horse and land it around you while the horse is going at full speed, and do lots of things like that, but none of them is any good. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ It is not an uncommon thing for them to settle their differences by such a fight, and I have heard of the trick of ringing the other man's rope, but if that man can catch an antelope one hundred feet away, by the foot or any other way, he is a better riata man than I ever encountered. In the first place mighty few men are strong enough to throw a rope such a distance. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ You keep it open, as I said, by holding the noose from quarter to half its length from the knot, and by a peculiar twist of the wrist that is only attainable by practice. To keep it clear of the brush is often a more difficult job, for the cowboy is not always in a clear place when he wants to throw his rope. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ You see, in that country the traveler always looks out for danger from the rear and is prepared for it, but when a pleasant horseman rides past him, playing with his riata, and wishing him 'Good-day' as he passes, he is likely to consider the danger as gone by, as well as the man. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ Every vaquero that pretends to take care of his apparatus will bury his riata and stretch it every six or eight months.
"A hair rope does not make a good riata. It is useful to stretch around camp at night to keep snakes away. For some reason snakes will not cross a hair rope. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Edward S. Ellis, The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata

“ Well, I can only tell you how a good one is made. First, the rawhide is cut in thin strips, as long as possible, and half tanned with the hair on. Then these strips are soaked and stretched over a block. ”

Edward S. Ellis

Summary

Quotes from The Jungle Fugitives — Throwing the Riata (Edward S. Ellis)

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