給牛犢打烙印 美國西部不褪色的傳統

DENVER — Time has changed much in the American West. On some ranches, cowboys round up cattle on four-wheelers and track livestock with drones. While technology is easing tasks, though, some think it is also threatening the skills that make a cowboy a cowboy: roping, riding and a near-religious devotion to hard work.

丹佛——美國西部發生了翻天覆地的變化。在一些牧場，牛仔騎着四輪車趕牛，用無人機追蹤牲畜。科技正在降低各項任務的難度，儘管一些人認爲，科技也正在威脅牛仔安身立命的技能：使用套索、騎馬和對繁重工作近乎宗教般的投入。

But for centuries, neighbors have gathered each spring for a day of branding newborn animals. Well-trained cattlemen pull a hot iron from the fire, and calves mewl as curved steel singes hair and burns flesh. Afterward, there is cheap beer and a meal, maybe a band and a dance.

但幾個世紀以來，每年春天左鄰右舍都會挑出一天聚在一起，給新出生的牲畜打上烙印。訓練有素的放牧人從火裏取出燒好的烙鐵，當身上的毛被捲曲的烙鐵燒焦，皮肉被燙糊時，牛犢發出一片嗚咽聲。之後，會有廉價的啤酒和聚餐，可能還有樂隊和舞會。

The branding process has been criticized as cruel. And some families have moved to other methods, including freeze brands created with liquid nitrogen and ear tags they can read with an electronic wand. Perhaps the most notable innovation is the calf table, a viselike device that allows people to trap, flip and mark an animal, eliminating the need for a crew of helpers.

給牲畜打上烙印的過程被指太殘忍。一些家庭改用其他方式，包括用液氮做成的冷凍式標記和可用掃描筆識別的耳標。最重大的創新或許是牛犢桌。這是一種像鉗子一樣的設備，使人們無需召集一羣人來幫忙，便能關住和放倒動物，並給其做上記號。

In some places, that is sending the community gathering known as branding day into the past. But not on Bill Gray’s ranch, outside Ordway, Colo.

這導致一些地方的“烙印日”社區聚會成了歷史，但不包括比爾·格雷(Bill Gray)在科羅拉多州奧德韋郊外的這座牧場。

Mr. Gray, 65, is a third-generation rancher who still tracks and marks his cattle the old way. His brand serves a practical purpose, allowing him to prove ownership at sale and ward off cattle thieves. (Rustling is not just a crime of the past.) “You can put the ear tag in them,” he said. “But you can tear the ear tag out.”

作爲第三代牧場主，現年65歲的格雷仍用老辦法追蹤和標記自己的牛。他的標記有實際的用途，讓他能夠在銷售時證明自己的所有權，並防止偷牛賊。（偷牛這種罪行並沒有停留在過去。）“可以給它們戴上耳標，”他說。“但也可以把耳標扯下來。”

He has two symbols he uses to identify livestock. One, called a P-slash-T, was passed to him by his grandfather, like a family crest.

他用兩種標誌來辨認自己的牲畜。一種叫P/T，是他祖父傳給他的，像族徽一樣。

Ordway is three hours southeast of here and has about 1,000 people. Mr. Gray calls on many of them to help in the ritual. “Tradition has a lot to do with it,” he said. “Part of ranching is neighbors helping neighbors.”

奧德韋位於丹佛東南三小時車程處，人口約爲1000人。在舉行給牲畜打烙印這一儀式時，格雷會叫很多人來幫忙。“這和傳統有很大的關係，”他說。“牧場經營的一部分內容就是左鄰右舍互幫互助。”

Among his chief concerns is an urban-rural divide. “I’m sure urban people think that what we do, some of the practices, are barbaric. But they’re not,” he said. “If I mistreat my cattle, it’s going to cost me money. I can’t do that.”

他主要擔心的問題之一是城鄉分歧。“我敢肯定城裏人認爲我們的做法，其中的一些習慣，是很野蠻的。但他們不懂，”他說。“如果虐待自己的牛，那是虧我自己的錢。我不會那麼幹。”

As for his neighbors who have moved to calf tables, “I don’t hold it against them,” he said. “Some people need to use it if they’re not proficient at what we do.”

對於轉而使用牛犢桌的鄰居，他說，“我不會因此而鄙視他們，”他說。“如果對我們的做法不夠精通，一些人是需要用那種東西的。”

Mr. Gray has eight children and 22 grandchildren and has been through a lot lately. A dry period lasting 14 years was followed by a recent drop in cattle prices. In February, his home burned down, cause undetermined.

格雷有八個子女和22個孫輩。近來，他經歷了很多事。先是持續了14年之久的乾旱，接着又遇上了最近的牛價下跌。二月，他家因不明原因失火。

On a recent day, Mr. Gray’s roundup began just as the sun bumped over the muddy prairie. His son, grandson, neighbors and part of the high school wrestling team rode up to help.

前不久的一天，當太陽在泥濘的草場上冉冉升起時，格雷組織的圍捕開始了。他的兒子、孫子、鄰居和高中摔跤隊的部分成員一起上陣幫忙。

Cowhands on horseback pushed hundreds of animals into corrals, and ropers lassoed the calves by the legs, flipping them onto their sides. Flankers rushed to hold the animals down as older men took out the irons. Next came vaccination, the injection of a growth hormone and, for the males, castration.

騎着馬的牧牛工把數百頭牲畜趕進畜欄，套索手套住牛犢的腿，將它們放倒在地上。側翼手跑上前去把牛犢摁住，年長的男子取出烙鐵。接下來，還要進行接種，爲其注射一種生長激素，並對公牛進行閹割。

Many brandings are governed by an unspoken cowboy etiquette: Young people wrestle the cattle onto the ground, while older ones handle the iron. But Mr. Gray said that he is a bit different. “I try to let everybody do some of the jobs,” he said. “That way, when it comes their time, they’ll know how to do it.”

很多給動物打烙印的活動都要遵守一條不成文的牛仔規矩：年輕人把牛摔倒在地上，年長者操作烙鐵。但格雷說他有一點不同。“我努力讓所有人都動手試一試，”他說。“這樣輪到他們時，他們就知道該怎麼做了。”