You've heard of Goat Ropin'?

A long time Stirman family friend sent this little tidbit to me after reading my last post. He was present when he heard the cowpoke tell his tale...enjoy!


True story...I was witness to the conversation. The Fowler family was
on vacation in Colorado in about 1955...stopped at a little store, Dad
was visiting with the old cowboy whose wife was running the store. They
got to talking about deer hunting and things, and the old salt offered,
'I did rope a bear one time.' Well, Dad couldn't resist wanting the
details, and it turned out that the guy had some odd circumstance and a
good horse, and actually tossed a loop around a black bear. And not a
particularly large bear, either. The bear resented the act, and after a
little test of wills with the horse, the bear set himself and PULLED the
horse to himself, paw over paw. the bear killed the horse, and the
cowboy escaped with his life. Dad, always the practical kind of man,
asked, 'But, why did you rope the bear in the first place?'

The cowboy shrugged and looked embarrassed. "I don't honestly know. It
seemed like a good idea at the time."

Lesson learned. Let sleeping dogs lie, and do not practice cowboy
skills on wild animals. They are meant to be shot, not roped. Unless,
of course, one has plenty of backup in place of brains.


Friends - don't let friends - rope bears!