"
"What do you consider a good 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.
Then they are braided into a rope, care being taken, of course, to pull
the strands as tight as possible. When the riata is made it should be
buried for a week, ten days, or even a fortnight, in the sand. It
takes up moisture from the ground, without getting hard. Soaking it in
water won't do, nor will anything else that I know of except, as I say,
burying it. When the riata is resurrected it should again be left for
a time stretched over a block, with a weight to hold it taut. Then the
hair should be sandpapered off the outside, and when the riata is
greased with mutton tallow and properly noosed it is ready for use.
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.
"Now, as to throwing it:
"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.
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