Roping

“ Only in Buffalo Bill shows, where it gives more flourish to the proceedings, and sometimes when roping from 15a horse at the gallop, is this done—i.e. whirling the rope—and I have seen good ropers, both in Canada and Texas, even in the latter case trail a rope behind and throw it with one forward swing. Another point about ropes is never to tie one to the horn of your saddle while riding, if you have anything at the other end. I had gone out one day to bring in a two-year-old heifer from a neighbouring ranch. ”

“ To a sailor the rope is nothing and everything at once. Give a seaman even a piece of string and he will amuse himself all evening making lashings and knots. A piece of rope calls up in his mind the stout lines which hold the masts steady and the yards true in the gale, the comfortable cable which moors the ship at the end of the dreary voyage, and a thousand things between.
To the Westerner a rope is a different thing. It is not so much a useful material as a weapon. ”

“ Stoppers for ordinary running ropes are made by splicing a piece of rope to a bolt or to a hook and thimble, unlaying 3 or 4 ft., tapering it by cutting away some of the yarns, and marling it down securely, with a good whipping also on the end. It is used by taking a half-hitch round the rope which is to be hauled upon, dogging the end up in the lay and holding it by hand. The rope can come through it when hauled, but cannot go back. ”

“ Three ropes laid up left-handed form what is known as a cable-laid rope; four-stranded ropes are laid round a heart. Ropes are sometimes laid left-handed, but if the strands are to be laid left-handed the yarns are laid right-handed. If the parts of hemp, etc., be twisted more than is necessary to hold them together, strength is lost. Upon following the course of a yarn in a rope it will be found that, by this alternate laying, it runs nearly straight with the direction of the rope’s length. ”

“ FITTING THE ROPE TO ITS WORK Of the tricks in making ropes, there is no end. They are fitted for their work like a soldier or a gymnast, and built for it. A tiller rope must be flexible to the last degree, but it must be strong enough so it will stand up under the swift tensions of a storm or in the lightning manœuvers of a race. Therefore, like a few ropes built for other purposes, the composite parts are not mere strands of wire, but little ropes in themselves, complete in all parts. ”

“ To fasten a rope when it has been sufficiently hauled upon, by twining it several times round a cleat, belaying pin, or kevel, without hitching or seizing; this is chiefly applied to the running rigging, which needs to be so secured that it may be quickly let go in case of a squall or change of wind; there being several other expressions used for securing large ropes, as bitting, making fast, stoppering, &c.—Belay there, stop! that is enough!—Belay that yarn, we have had enough of it. Stand fast, secure all, when a hawser has been sufficiently hauled. ”

“ In the use of ropes, occasion arises, many times, where it is necessary to join two ends together in such a way that the union is as strong as the rest of the rope and still not too large or irregular to pass through a hole or pulley block. ”

“ HAWSER-LAID ROPE. Is rope made in the usual way, being three or four strands of yarns laid up right-handed, or with the sun; it is used for small running rigging, as well as for standing rigging, shrouds, &c.; in the latter case it is generally tarred to keep out rain. It is supposed that this style of rope is stronger in proportion to the number of yarns than cable or water-laid rope, which is more tightly twisted, each strand being a small rope. ”

“ Of course, if the boat's owner is inclined to spend more money, wooden blocks will make the rigging neater and run easier. Travellers are used to fasten sheet ropes to the boat, and may be made in two ways, either out of iron or rope. The iron traveller in this case is an iron rod carrying a ring to which the block is attached, bent down at the ends, which are threaded and fastened with nuts through the stern. The rope traveller is a strong cotton rope, the ends fastened on each side of the boat, and the rope passing through a ring on the lower side of the block. ”

“ Turf and solid rock are much the best substances for the rope to run over. In the Faroes, they tar the ropes excessively; they are absolutely polished with tar. Good ropes are highly valued. In St. Kilda, leather ropes are used: they last a lifetime, and are a dowry for a daughter. A new rope spins terribly.
Leaping Poles.--In France they practise a way of crossing a deep brook by the help of a rope passed round an overhanging branch of a tree growing by its side. They take a run and swing themselves across, pendulum fashion. It is the principle of the leaping-pole, reversed. ”

“ Each year, old industries keep expanding and new ones are created. In many of these, the use of hoists, tackle, rope transmissions, etc. is ever increasing in extent and importance. Information on the selection and use of ropes and tackles and the tying of knots is very scattering and incomplete. The purpose of this bulletin is to collect information from all the different sources possible and assemble it under one cover, in the hope that it may be valuable to people in many different fields of activity. ”

“ Over the shafts there are windlasses, with stout ropes, and hooks attached to the ends for winding up buckets of dirt, and also as the only means of descent. Looping the rope over one foot by the hook, straightening your leg, holding on to the rope well above your head, the other leg hanging, you dangle down into darkness, bumping against the sides of the shaft, until the ground below suddenly seems to rise up and hit you, and you find yourself in a heap on the bottom. ”

“ Now, the four men on the bridge were the most skillful rope-tossers in all that range. Rope-tossers, instead of swinging the rope around their heads before throwing, spread it out behind and to one side of them, and with a quick, graceful throw, or toss, launch it with unerring aim over the head of the animal at which they throw. This method is used almost entirely in catching horses out of the "cavyyard," and also in catching calves out of a herd, as it is done so quietly and easily that the animal is snared before it has a chance to dodge or move. ”

“ Fig. 89. The one man Diamond Hitch is employed by one packer working alone and requires that he make two trips around the animal in tying it. The rope is braided into a ring on one end of the cinch. The other end of the cinch carries a hook. Standing on the near side of the [42] animal at its shoulder he first lays the middle of the rope across the pack from forward to back with the free end of the rope forward. He then throws the cinch over the pack and catches the hook under the animal’s belly. A loop of the rope is then caught under the cinch hook and pulled tight. ”

“ One type of tackle will give great mechanical advantage, but requires an excessive amount of rope or requires frequent overhauling to complete the job, while another type, [9] using the same equipment, will not give such great mechanical advantage but does not require overhauling so often during the progress of the load.
Rope is coming more and more into favor for the transmission of power—replacing gears and heavy leather belts. It is important that the proper sized sheave wheel be used with a rope of given diameter in order to secure the longest service from the transmission. ”

“ It might be well also to adopt the plan of the few feet of loose end wound round the waist, to make a foot noose with, if the circumstances and position allow.
When the double rope is worn, the rear man should always carry the spare rope. If the double ropes are then, as is quite possible, twisted and jammed in the snow groove, he has yet a third chance of making free and quick connection with his leader; and unless, as I have said, both men can begin instantly to use their full strength upon distinct ropes, there is small chance that one man can get another out of an undercut crevasse. ”

“ This done, they passed the rope through a hole in the top of a high post behind me, and by tugging at it, strained my arms upwards in a way that, had I been less supple, would certainly have broken them. When all their strength combined could not stretch me another inch without tearing my body to pieces, they made the rope fast, and I remained half suspended, and feeling as if all the bones of my limbs were getting, or had got, pulled out of their sockets. ”

“ In this way, the ropes counteract one another in the twist, hanging like a ribbon down the shaft; and are stitched strongly together by a small cord. Such rope bands are not only very pliable for their strength, which protects the heart of the rope from breaking, but as they lap upon themselves, a simple sheave serves as a rope-barrel. They possess the additional advantage, that by so lapping, they enlarge the diameter of the axle in which they coil, and thus make a compensation mechanically against the increasing length of rope descending with its corve. ”

“ If we have fair room to balance, we play the rope [Pg 222] entirely free with our arms and the spring of our body, using only an anchor to the rock if we need it. If we have not room, and especially if we are protecting a leader, whose fall would jerk us off most positions of free balance, we put the rope over the point and play it round with both hands, ready to grip and spring it upon our arms if a jerk comes. Or we pass the active rope round our forearm or over the thigh or across the shoulder, on its way to the belay-point. ”

“ The resulting tendency of the strands to untwist is counteracted, partly by a left-hand revolution of the foreturn spindles, and partly by the presence of the “hard” or surplus twist just described.
As the top truck is forced ahead by the twisting process, the rope-maker preserves a correct lay in the rope by means of greater or less leverage on the “tails”—the loose ropes shown in our picture. The stakes on which the strands rest are removed one by one to allow the top truck to pass and are then replaced to support the rope until the laying is finished and the reeling in of the rope begun. ”

“ The worst of screwing by endless ropes this way is that the pile very probably may be pulled over towards the source of power as it comes from one direction, therefore, support is required on the side of the pile to prevent this tendency. The circumference of the ropes used varied from 41⁄2 to 6 inches, but I have used a 10 inch rope. Small ropes are generally relatively stronger than large ones. Stretch a rope well before using, as it yields, especially hemp ropes. The distance between the point at which the power is applied, and the ground should be as little as possible. ”

“ It must never be jerked or tightened, which may pull him off his balance holds. If it appears to be [Pg 249] catching on intervening points, it must be loosened with the lightest of flicks: a strong flick will run up the rope and jerk him like the crack of a heavy whip. It must never be left loose to drag or catch close to his feet, where it will get in the way of his foothold or get round his feet or legs. If he has a long rope out, the weight alone of the rope, if we hold it anything like taut from below, will drag on him. ”

“ The more common sling now on the market is made of ropes, four ropes the length of the hayrack and with ropes across like a rope ladder, and used to handle one-third or one-fourth of a load. Others are made like the carriers of a threshing machine with slats and ropes. ”

“ This rope will act as a drag on the balloon, when, from any of the causes we have referred to, it tends to rise, for, in that case, it will draw up a portion of the rope, and, by thus adding to its weight, will be impeded in its upward course; and, on the other hand, when, from opposite causes, it tends to descend, it will, during every foot of its descent, have its weight, and consequently its descending tendency, diminished, by throwing on the earth the labor of supporting an additional portion of the rope. ”

“ This “top” thus placed prevents the strands from twisting, except in the direction of the smaller end; while a man stationed immediately behind, compresses the rope by a simple piece of apparatus, and causes the twist to become hard and firm. The “top” as the rope closes behind it is slowly urged on from one end to the other—if small it is managed by a top-man, but if large it is supported on a carriage, as in the engraving. No difference exists in making a larger or smaller rope, so far as the principle is concerned. ”

“ Quick as lightning the man settles back on it, both front legs are pulled out from under the horse and he falls on his side; the helper runs to his head, seizes the muzzle and twists it straight up, thrusts one knee against the neck and holds the top of the head to the ground. The roper puts two or three more loops above the front hoofs, passes the rope, now doubled forming a loop, between the legs, to one of the hind feet, then pulls on the end that he has all the time held. ”

“ Forty feet will be found long enough for a sling rope. No written directions or pictorial illustration will give the least idea how to lash fast the heterogeneous objects constituting a general pack load; nothing but experience and ingenuity in the handling of rope will ever teach the traveller how to form the intricate spider-web-like lashing, interlacing, and cross-binding, which by a professional Spanish or Mexican packer are woven until as tense as a harp string. ”