The Newest Woman of the West.
Like young Lochinvar, many wonders ride out of the West, and surely one of the most interesting these days is Miss "Bossie" Mulhall. according to the baptismal register her name is Agnes, but down in Oklahoma Territory records of that sort command small attention. Miss Mulhall is the most fearless rider of her sex who has ridden a broncho in the West for many moons. Those that know say that half of the marvels she accomplishes have never been told.
To gain the place in public esteem that Miss Mulhall holds is no easy task in that section of the country. Not only has she gained it, however, but she holds it with the tenacity of the proverbial leech. She is the daughter of "Zach" Mulhall, the livestock agent of the Frisco railroad, the only daughter of a famous father, for the cattleman that doesn't know "Zach" Mulhall must be a tenderfoot indeed.
There have been all sorts of stories written of the mysterious heroine of the range, most of which were directed at Miss Mulhall, but this is the first time the actual story of her personality has been gleaned from facts. The accompanying illustration, which is drawn from a photograph, is the only truthful one that has ever appeared in any newspaper, for Miss Mulhall is as modest as she is capable, and it would be difficult to pay her a higher compliment.
Those that have ridden the range in the Southwest well know that it is a task which calls for constant pluck and iron endurance. The copuncher must be as strong as his broncho and his nerve equal to the "gun" that he carries in his holster. Therfore it is wise for those who have had no experience to dismiss from their minds the idea that it is no great task for a woman to become one of the rough riders of the plains. If there are those who insist on retaining the idea let them try the actual experience. There is nothing more convincing
Miss Mulhall is only 18 years old, but the fame of her accomplishments extends to every cattleman in Texas, Oklahoma, and the Nation. Nature made her a brunette originally and her active out-of-door existence has added several shades to the darkened tinge that originally graced her cheeks. She is by no means an ethereal young lady, but is the possessor of an admirable figure, surnounted by an admirable and very pretty face. Her abundant dark hair is generally worn upon the top of her head, because it is always easier to wear a sombrero that way, or a cap, as inclination my suggest.
Miss Mulhall does not hesitate to ride man fashion, as they call it in the land of steer and lariat. She can cinch a California saddle upon her broncho with a grace and a skill equal to that of the best cowpuncher of them all. It isn't necessay for her to grasp either horn or pommel of the saddle if she doesn't choose to to mount the whicked little beast that she best likes to ride. Of course every cowpuncher expects to be able to do the same thing, but with a woman it is different. Not an easy trick to learn, and one which requires great agility and judgement, for the bronco is quite likely to move as he is to stand still.
The accompanying illustration shows Miss Mulhall in the costume she wears when she rides astride. When thus clad there is no wolf or deer hunt that she will hesitate about engaging in. As for following the hounds, as the Eastern huntsmen have it, she his yet to engage in a chase of this sort where she has not been in at the death. Many a wolf scalp does she own, and they are rightfully hers, too, because she shot the wolves and scalped them herself. She is a sure shot with a rifle or shotgun, and knows exactly the spot in the anatomy of the deer in which to place the bullet.
Now, Miss Mulhall is a very up-to-date rider. Her rope is of the finest rawhide, and she has muscle sufficient to cast it well and properly. Her pony is well trained of course, and that is half the battle. In fact it has been said that if the cowpony could only throw a rope there would be no necessity of haveing a rider at all. All the requisites of a rider are, however, possessed by Miss Mulhall, and those who know declare that she roped her first steer with the skill of a veteran.
With all these accomplishments, she can break a broncho with skill and dexterity. That is an ugly task on general principles. The broncho is always vicious before he is broken. It is just as natural for him to bite and kick as it is for a Mississppi River mate to use profanity, and there is nothing more natural than that in all the world. In the first place the pony has to be roped, and it is a fine dance he leads whoever has the lariat after that happens.
These are the things that Miss Mulhall has endured. She looks at them lightly, and as any girl in Smith and Wellesley looks with far more terror upon the annual "exam" than does this young woman upon what many a man would hesitate a long while before attempting.
With all her accomplishments of out-of-door life she has never neglected those things which help make a woman so attractive. There is nothing in her appearance or demeanor that savors in the least of the rough edge which frontier life is supposed to impart. Thoroughly cultured and refined, she receives her fathers friends from the city at her beautiful home just outside Mulhall, O. T., with the same finished deneanor that one observes in the hostess in metropolitan society. Hard it is indeed to recognize in Miss Mulhalls, the St. Louis society girl, "Bossie" Mulhall, the cowgirl of the Southwest. Yet they are one and the same.
And this is a true story that will be corroberated by any Southwestern cattleman who has ever known the girl that is the pride of every rider of the range.
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M'COY TO WED A PRAIRIE BELLE
Miss Agnes Mulhall Will
Have Pugilist for
Spouse.
Young Woman Is a Famous
Rider of Oklahoma.
Territory.
Special Dispatch to The Call.
WICHITA, Kans., July 6--Kid McCoy, the noted prizefighter. is engaged to marry Miss Agnes Mulhall, the famous bareback rider of Mulhall, O. T. McCoy is spending his summer vacation at Mulhall, and in the meantime is becoming familiar with the cattle-raising business. His future, father-in-law is Seck Mulhall, livestock agent for several Western rail roads and a stock raiser of prominence.
The woman whom McCoy is to marry is also a fine ranch manager and she has in her own right several thousand head of cattle. As soon as they are married in the fall McCoy will quit pugilistic and stage work and go at once to ranching in Oklahoma. The young woman who is to be his bride is at a reunion of cowpunchers in Oklahoma. She is a personal friend of Vice President Roosevelt, having become acquainted with him by winning the first prize at the Oklahoma rough riders' reunion for fast roping of steers. Recently she killed a wolf in Colorado and sent the hide to "Teddy."
Roosevelt has already sent his congratulations to the couple on their approaching marriage. The girl is worth $25,000 in her own right. |
CATTLE KING GIVES BOND
Colonel Zach Mulhall, Who Shot Three Men at World's Fair, Released From Jail
HAS HOST OF FRIENDS
Man Behind Gun a Wealthy Oklahoman an an Acquaintance of Roosevelt
Special Dispatch to the Call
ST. LOUIS. June 20.--Colonel Zach Mulhall, the wealthy cattleman, who shot three men on the "Pike" at the Worlds Fair Saturday night, was released today on bonds of $20,000. Colonel Edward Butler was his surety. This causd some surprise, as it had been decided to hold Mulhall pending the outcome of the wounded mans injuries.
"There is only one thing I am sorry for," declared Mulhall today, "and that is that this innocent boy got hurt. Whose bullet it was I don't know, but I do know there were several in that crowd who were popping at me."
Nearly 200 friends of Colonel Mulhall called on him to-day and about seventy telegrams expressing sympathy were received from various parts of the country.
The colonel is an old friend of President Roosevelt, but he refused to say whether he had received any message from the President. The shooting was the culmination of a dispute between Mulhall and Reed that started sometime ago, when Reed objected to the amount of feed given to the colonel's horses, which were a part of the Wild West show.
One of the attractions of the show is Lucille Mulhall, the colonel's daughter, who recently won a $10,000 prize for being champion steer roper of the world.
Colonel Mulhall is one of the best known men in the Southwest. He has been in the cattle business since he was a boy and owns a ranch of six thousand acres near Mulhall, O. T., which is named after him. He has frequently been urged to become a candidate for Governor.
Lucille Mulhall is 19 years old and won her title of champion steer roper in South McAlester, I. T. She once gave a performance before President Roosevelt in Cheyenne Wyo., when she tied a steer in twenty-eight seconds.
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