Why were they hanging a sheep farmer in the first place?
Land encroachment? Sex crimes? What?
shareSame reason so many Nazies enjoyed tormenting Jews. They were hanging him simply because he couldn't stop them from hanging him and they liked the violence. He was weaker than them, and they enjoyed lording their "power" over him just as bullies have since the dawn of time.
shareThey were hanging him because he was a sheep herder and they were cowboys. If you know anything about the real OR the cinematic West, you know there was a serious hatred of sheep herders on the part of cattlemen. Sheep were thought to destroy the grass by overgrazing it, rendering it useless for cattle. Ignore the bull$h!t reply by t1mpani. He doesn't know $h!t from apple butter on this topic.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
Ignore the bull$hit reply by Captain Augustus McCrae. He is busy pretending he's an old cowboy from another classic western story, and as such has cows on his mind. There is not a single mention of those fellows being "cattlemen" anywhere in that movie. Nor do I recall anything about cattlemen having a well-known fetish for kicking Mexican kids, though doubtless the mental giant here will wax philosophical about apple butter again.
shareGood job of side-stepping the issue.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
Good job of sidestepping the fact that there's no mention of them being cattlemen. Just because they have hats and boots doesn't make them cattlemen. Case in point, remember in Lonesome Dove when Augustus said to Woodrow that Woodrow was no more a cowman than he was? They both had boots and hats too, Pilgrim. Arm thyself before entering into a battle of wits. :)
*By the way, OP, I actually do seem to remember reading about "men of beef hating men of mutton", so the captain may indeed be correct, but given his choice to enter the conversation in an a$$holic manner, I'm now just enjoying twisting his tail.
And driving 3000 cattle to Montana doesn't make Call and Gus cattlemen? You make this sh!t too easy.
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
You don't even remember dialog from the story you took your name AND your tag line from. They weren't cattlemen until they got a bunch of cows and started moving them. Until then they were retired lawmen, self-admittedly not cattlemen and Gus really thought their ignorance of the trade made it a stupid idea. Once again, mental giant, you impress us. Keep dancin', puppet! :)
sharea. If you look at the clothing and equipment worn and used by Jim Davis and his cronies in Big Jake, there is no doubt that they are cowboys. Wrist cuffs, chaps, stockman's saddles and ropes, etc. They were probably sent out by their boss to get rid of the sheepherder.
b. I think you are confusing "cowboys" with "cattlemen" Cowboys actually work stock, rope, ride drag and do the work around a ranch or cow camp.
Cattlemen own ranches and herds of cattle, but usually don't spend much time in the saddle. They hire cowboys to do the day-to-day work of herding cattle. How do you tell the difference? A cowboy has a big buckle over his belly, a cattleman has a big belly over his buckle.
c. You might recall that when Call goes berserk on scout Dixon, Gus shows considerable roping skill in tossing a loop over Call. Not bad for a "non-cattleman".
"It ain't dying I'm talking about, it's LIVING!"
Captain Augustus McCrae
a) As I said, upon reflection I think you're likely right.
b) Now that quote (the last sentence) would gain you fame in my neck of the woods. I'm only one generation removed from cowfolk (my word) myself---though I'm a whole lot better with horses than cows.
c) Yes, but Gus was also able, in his sixties, to woo Diane Lane in her twenties, and as such is just an overall badass. Plus, again, HE is the one (I mean you of course) who said out loud that he wasn't a cattleman. You learn rope work with horses too.
Ah well, the important thing in all of this is it's awesome that the Scottish farmer was arguing the price with a rope around his neck. Beyond that, after a sixteen hour ER shift, I don't have the energy to keep this up any longer. I appreciate the banter, though. I felt a tad bit like Woodrow...
Sheep were right below barbed wire on a cowboy's *beep* list.
Remember Rabbit Ears with tin foil?