给牛犊打烙印 美国西部不褪色的传统

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——美国西部发生了翻天覆地的变化。在一些牧场，牛仔骑着四轮车赶牛，用无人机追踪牲畜。科技正在降低各项任务的难度，尽管一些人认为，科技也正在威胁牛仔安身立命的技能：使用套索、骑马和对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.

但几个世纪以来，每年春天左邻右舍都会挑出一天聚在一起，给新出生的牲畜打上烙印。训练有素的放牧人从火里取出烧好的烙铁，当身上的毛被卷曲的烙铁烧焦，皮肉被烫糊时，牛犊发出一片呜咽声。之后，会有廉价的啤酒和聚餐，可能还有乐队和舞会。

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.

给牲畜打上烙印的过程被指太残忍。一些家庭改用其他方式，包括用液氮做成的冷冻式标记和可用扫描笔识别的耳标。最重大的创新或许是牛犊桌。这是一种像钳子一样的设备，使人们无需召集一群人来帮忙，便能关住和放倒动物，并给其做上记号。

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.

这导致一些地方的“烙印日”社区聚会成了历史，但不包括比尔·格雷(Bill Gray)在科罗拉多州奥德韦郊外的这座牧场。

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.”

作为第三代牧场主，现年65岁的格雷仍用老办法追踪和标记自己的牛。他的标记有实际的用途，让他能够在销售时证明自己的所有权，并防止偷牛贼。（偷牛这种罪行并没有停留在过去。）“可以给它们戴上耳标，”他说。“但也可以把耳标扯下来。”

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.

他用两种标志来辨认自己的牲畜。一种叫P/T，是他祖父传给他的，像族徽一样。

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.”

奥德韦位于丹佛东南三小时车程处，人口约为1000人。在举行给牲畜打烙印这一仪式时，格雷会叫很多人来帮忙。“这和传统有很大的关系，”他说。“牧场经营的一部分内容就是左邻右舍互帮互助。”

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.”

他主要担心的问题之一是城乡分歧。“我敢肯定城里人认为我们的做法，其中的一些习惯，是很野蛮的。但他们不懂，”他说。“如果虐待自己的牛，那是亏我自己的钱。我不会那么干。”

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.”

对于转而使用牛犊桌的邻居，他说，“我不会因此而鄙视他们，”他说。“如果对我们的做法不够精通，一些人是需要用那种东西的。”

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.

格雷有八个子女和22个孙辈。近来，他经历了很多事。先是持续了14年之久的干旱，接着又遇上了最近的牛价下跌。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，当太阳在泥泞的草场上冉冉升起时，格雷组织的围捕开始了。他的儿子、孙子、邻居和高中摔跤队的部分成员一起上阵帮忙。

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.

骑着马的牧牛工把数百头牲畜赶进畜栏，套索手套住牛犊的腿，将它们放倒在地上。侧翼手跑上前去把牛犊摁住，年长的男子取出烙铁。接下来，还要进行接种，为其注射一种生长激素，并对公牛进行阉割。

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.”

很多给动物打烙印的活动都要遵守一条不成文的牛仔规矩：年轻人把牛摔倒在地上，年长者操作烙铁。但格雷说他有一点不同。“我努力让所有人都动手试一试，”他说。“这样轮到他们时，他们就知道该怎么做了。”