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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Reed Anthony, Cowman, by Andy Adams
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Reed Anthony, Cowman
+
+Author: Andy Adams
+
+Release Date: July 11, 2004  [eBook #12884]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REED ANTHONY, COWMAN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team
+
+
+
+Editorial note: Randy Adams, the author of this book, wrote from
+                first-hand experience. As a young man he spent 8 years
+                traildriving cattle from Texas to markets in the 1880's
+                and 1890's. Project Gutenberg's library contains
+                several of his other books.
+
+
+
+
+REED ANTHONY, COWMAN
+
+An Autobiography
+
+BY
+
+ANDY ADAMS
+
+1907
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE COWMAN]
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+CAPTAIN JOHN T. LYTLE
+
+SECRETARY OF
+
+THE TEXAS CATTLE RAISERS' ASSOCIATION
+
+FORT WORTH, TEXAS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    I. IN RETROSPECT
+   II. MY APPRENTICESHIP
+  III. A SECOND TRIP TO PORT SUMNER
+   IV. A FATAL TRIP
+    V. SUMMER OF '68
+   VI. SOWING WILD OATS
+  VII. "THE ANGEL"
+ VIII. THE "LAZY L"
+   IX. THE SCHOOL OF EXPERIENCE
+    X. THE PANIC OF '73
+   XI. A PROSPEROUS YEAR
+  XII. CLEAR FORK AND SHENANDOAH
+ XIII. THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
+  XIV. ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH
+   XV. HARVEST HOME
+  XVI. AN ACTIVE SUMMER
+ XVII. FORESHADOWS
+XVIII. THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM
+  XIX. THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOE CATTLE COMPANY
+   XX. HOLDING THE FORT
+  XXI. THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACY
+ XXII. IN CONCLUSION
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+IN RETROSPECT
+
+
+I can truthfully say that my entire life has been spent with cattle.
+Even during my four years' service in the Confederate army, the
+greater portion was spent with the commissary department, in charge of
+its beef supplies. I was wounded early in the second year of the war
+and disabled as a soldier, but rather than remain at home I accepted
+a menial position under a quartermaster. Those were strenuous times.
+During Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania we followed in the wake of the
+army with over a thousand cattle, and after Gettysburg we led the
+retreat with double that number. Near the close of the war we
+frequently had no cattle to hold, and I became little more than a
+camp-follower.
+
+I was born in the Shenandoah Valley, northern Virginia, May 3, 1840.
+My father was a thrifty planter and stockman, owned a few slaves, and
+as early as I can remember fed cattle every winter for the eastern
+markets. Grandfather Anthony, who died before I was born, was a
+Scotchman who had emigrated to the Old Dominion at an early day,
+and acquired several large tracts of land on an affluent of the
+Shenandoah. On my paternal side I never knew any of my ancestors, but
+have good cause to believe they were adventurers. My mother's maiden
+name was Reed; she was of a gentle family, who were able to trace
+their forbears beyond the colonial days, even to the gentry of
+England. Generations of good birth were reflected in my mother;
+and across a rough and eventful life I can distinctly remember the
+refinement of her manners, her courtesy to guests, her kindness to
+child and slave.
+
+My boyhood days were happy ones. I attended a subscription school
+several miles from home, riding back and forth on a pony. The studies
+were elementary, and though I never distinguished myself in my
+classes, I was always ready to race my pony, and never refused to play
+truant when the swimming was good. Evidently my father never intended
+any of his boys for a professional career, though it was an earnest
+hope of my mother that all of us should receive a college education.
+My elder brother and I early developed business instincts, buying
+calves and accompanying our father on his trading expeditions. Once
+during a vacation, when we were about twelve and ten years old, both
+of us crossed the mountains with him into what is now West Virginia,
+where he bought about two hundred young steers and drove them back to
+our home in the valley. I must have been blessed with an unfailing
+memory; over fifty years have passed since that, my first trip from
+home, yet I remember it vividly--can recall conversations between my
+father and the sellers as they haggled over the cattle. I remember the
+money, gold and silver, with which to pay for the steers, was carried
+by my father in ordinary saddle-bags thrown across his saddle. As
+occasion demanded, frequently the funds were carried by a negro man of
+ours, and at night, when among acquaintances, the heavy saddle-bags
+were thrown into a corner, every one aware of their contents.
+
+But the great event of my boyhood was a trip to Baltimore. There was
+no railroad at the time, and as that was our market for fat cattle,
+it was necessary to drive the entire way. My father had made the trip
+yearly since I could remember, the distance being nearly two hundred
+miles, and generally carrying as many as one hundred and fifty big
+beeves. They traveled slowly, pasturing or feeding grain on the way,
+in order that the cattle should arrive at the market in salable
+condition. One horse was allowed with the herd, and on another my
+father rode, far in advance, to engage pasture or feed and shelter for
+his men. When on the road a boy always led a gentle ox in the lead of
+the beeves; negro men walked on either flank, and the horseman brought
+up the rear. I used to envy the boy leading the ox, even though he was
+a darky. The negro boys on our plantation always pleaded with "Mars"
+John, my father, for the privilege; and when one of them had made the
+trip to Baltimore as a toll boy he easily outranked us younger whites.
+I must have made application for the position when I was about seven
+years old, for it seemed an age before my request was granted. My
+brother, only two years older than I, had made the trip twice, and
+when I was twelve the great opportunity came. My father had nearly two
+hundred cattle to go to market that year, and the start was made one
+morning early in June. I can distinctly see my mother standing on the
+veranda of our home as I led the herd by with a big red ox, trembling
+with fear that at the final moment her permission might be withdrawn
+and that I should have to remain behind. But she never interfered with
+my father, who took great pains to teach his boys everything practical
+in the cattle business.
+
+It took us twenty days to reach Baltimore. We always started early in
+the morning, allowing the beeves to graze and rest along the road, and
+securing good pastures for them at night. Several times it rained,
+making the road soft, but I stripped off my shoes and took it
+barefooted through the mud. The lead ox was a fine, big fellow, each
+horn tipped with a brass knob, and he and I set the pace, which was
+scarcely that of a snail. The days were long, I grew desperately
+hungry between meals, and the novelty of leading that ox soon lost its
+romance. But I was determined not to show that I was tired or hungry,
+and frequently, when my father was with us and offered to take me up
+behind him on his horse, I spurned his offer and trudged on till
+the end of the day. The mere driving of the beeves would have been
+monotonous, but the constant change of scene kept us in good spirits,
+and our darkies always crooned old songs when the road passed through
+woodlands. After the beeves were marketed we spent a day in the city,
+and my father took my brother and me to the theatre. Although the
+world was unfolding rather rapidly for a country boy of twelve, it
+was with difficulty that I was made to understand that what we had
+witnessed on the stage was but mimicry.
+
+The third day after reaching the city we started on our return. The
+proceeds from the sale of the cattle were sent home by boat. With only
+two horses, each of which carried double, and walking turn about, we
+reached home in seven days, settling all bills on the way. That year
+was a type of others until I was eighteen, at which age I could guess
+within twenty pounds of the weight of any beef on foot, and when I
+bought calves and yearling steers I knew just what kind of cattle they
+would make at maturity. In the mean time, one summer my father had
+gone west as far as the State of Missouri, traveling by boat to
+Jefferson City, and thence inland on horseback. Several of our
+neighbors had accompanied him, all of them buying land, my father
+securing four sections. I had younger brothers growing up, and the
+year my oldest brother attained his majority my father outfitted him
+with teams, wagons, and two trusty negro men, and we started for the
+nearest point on the Ohio River, our destination being the new lands
+in the West. We embarked on the first boat, drifting down the Ohio,
+and up the other rivers, reaching the Ultima Thule of our hopes within
+a month. The land was new; I liked it; we lived on venison and wild
+turkeys, and when once we had built a log house and opened a few
+fields, we were at peace with the earth.
+
+But this happy existence was of short duration. Rumors of war reached
+us in our western elysium, and I turned my face homeward, as did many
+another son of Virginia. My brother was sensible enough to remain
+behind on the new farm; but with nothing to restrain me I soon found
+myself in St. Louis. There I met kindred spirits, eager for the coming
+fray, and before attaining my majority I was bearing arms and wearing
+the gray of the Confederacy. My regiment saw very little service
+during the first year of the war, as it was stationed in the western
+division, but early in 1862 it was engaged in numerous actions.
+
+I shall never forget my first glimpse of the Texas cavalry. We had
+moved out from Corinth, under cover of darkness, to attack Grant at
+Pittsburg Landing. When day broke, orders were given to open out and
+allow the cavalry to pass ahead and reconnoitre our front. I had
+always felt proud of Virginian horsemanship, but those Texans were in
+a class by themselves. Centaur-like they sat their horses, and for our
+amusement, while passing at full gallop, swung from their saddles and
+picked up hats and handkerchiefs. There was something about the Texans
+that fascinated me, and that Sunday morning I resolved, if spared, to
+make Texas my future home. I have good cause to remember the battle of
+Shiloh, for during the second day I was twice wounded, yet saved from
+falling into the enemy's hands.
+
+My recovery was due to youth and a splendid constitution. Within six
+weeks I was invalided home, and inside a few months I was assigned to
+the commissary department with the army in Virginia. It was while in
+the latter service that I made the acquaintance of many Texans, from
+whom I learned a great deal about the resources of their State,--its
+immense herds of cattle, the cheapness of its lands, and its perpetual
+summer. During the last year of the war, on account of their ability
+to handle cattle, a number of Texans were detailed to care for the
+army's beef supply. From these men I received much information and a
+pressing invitation to accompany them home, and after the parole at
+Appomattox I took their address, promising to join them in the near
+future. On my return to the old homestead I found the place desolate,
+with burnt barns and fields laid waste. The Shenandoah Valley had
+experienced war in its dread reality, for on every hand were the
+charred remains of once splendid homes. I had little hope that the
+country would ever recover, but my father, stout-hearted as ever, had
+already begun anew, and after helping him that summer and fall I again
+drifted west to my brother's farm.
+
+The war had developed a restless, vagabond spirit in me. I had little
+heart to work, was unsettled as to my future, and, to add to my other
+troubles, after reaching Missouri one of my wounds reopened. In the
+mean time my brother had married, and had a fine farm opened up. He
+offered me every encouragement and assistance to settle down to
+the life of a farmer; but I was impatient, worthless, undergoing a
+formative period of early manhood, even spurning the advice of father,
+mother, and dearest friends. If to-day, across the lapse of years, the
+question were asked what led me from the bondage of my discontent, it
+would remain unanswered. Possibly it was the advantage of good birth;
+surely the prayers of a mother had always followed me, and my feet
+were finally led into the paths of industry. Since that day of
+uncertainty, grandsons have sat upon my knee, clamoring for a story
+about Indians, the war, or cattle trails. If I were to assign a motive
+for thus leaving a tangible record of my life, it would be that my
+posterity--not the present generation, absorbed in its greed of gain,
+but a more distant and a saner one--should be enabled to glean a faint
+idea of one of their forbears. A worthy and secondary motive is to
+give an idea of the old West and to preserve from oblivion a rapidly
+vanishing type of pioneers.
+
+My personal appearance can be of little interest to coming
+generations, but rather what I felt, saw, and accomplished. It was
+always a matter of regret to me that I was such a poor shot with a
+pistol. The only two exceptions worthy of mention were mere accidents.
+In my boyhood's home, in Virginia, my father killed yearly a large
+number of hogs for the household needs as well as for supplying our
+slave families with bacon. The hogs usually ran in the woods, feeding
+and thriving on the mast, but before killing time we always baited
+them into the fields and finished their fattening with peas and corn.
+It was customary to wait until the beginning of winter, or about the
+second cold spell, to butcher, and at the time in question there were
+about fifty large hogs to kill. It was a gala event with us boys, the
+oldest of whom were allowed to shoot one or more with a rifle. The
+hogs had been tolled into a small field for the killing, and towards
+the close of the day a number of them, having been wounded and
+requiring a second or third shot, became cross. These subsequent shots
+were usually delivered from a six-shooter, and in order to have it at
+hand in case of a miss I was intrusted with carrying the pistol. There
+was one heavy-tusked five-year-old stag among the hogs that year who
+refused to present his head for a target, and took refuge in a brier
+thicket. He was left until the last, when we all sallied out to make
+the final kill. There were two rifles, and had the chance come to my
+father, I think he would have killed him easily; but the opportunity
+came to a neighbor, who overshot, merely causing a slight wound. The
+next instant the stag charged at me from the cover of the thickety
+fence corner. Not having sense enough to take to the nearest
+protection, I turned and ran like a scared wolf across the field, the
+hog following me like a hound. My father risked a running shot, which
+missed its target. The darkies were yelling, "Run, chile! Run, Mars'
+Reed! Shoot! Shoot!" when it occurred to me that I had a pistol; and
+pointing it backward as I ran, I blazed away, killing the big fellow
+in his tracks.
+
+The other occasion was years afterward, when I was a trail foreman at
+Abilene, Kansas. My herd had arrived at that market in bad condition,
+gaunted from almost constant stampedes at night, and I had gone into
+camp some distance from town to quiet and recuperate them. That day I
+was sending home about half my men, had taken them to the depot with
+our wagon, and intended hauling back a load of supplies to my camp.
+After seeing the boys off I hastened about my other business, and near
+the middle of the afternoon started out of town. The distance to camp
+was nearly twenty miles, and with a heavy load, principally salt, I
+knew it would be after nightfall when I reached there. About five
+miles out of town there was a long, gradual slope to climb, and I had
+to give the through team their time in pulling to its summit. Near the
+divide was a small box house, the only one on the road if I remember
+rightly, and as I was nearing it, four or five dogs ran out and scared
+my team. I managed to hold them in the road, but they refused to quiet
+down, kicking, rearing, and plunging in spite of their load; and once
+as they jerked me forward, I noticed there was a dog or two under the
+wagon, nipping at their heels. There was a six-shooter lying on the
+seat beside me, and reaching forward I fired it downward over the end
+gate of the wagon. By the merest accident I hit a dog, who raised a
+cry, and the last I saw of him he was spinning like a top and howling
+like a wolf. I quieted the team as soon as possible, and as I looked
+back, there was a man and woman pursuing me, the latter in the lead. I
+had gumption enough to know that they were the owners of the dog, and
+whipped up the horses in the hope of getting away from them. But the
+grade and the load were against me, and the next thing I knew, a big,
+bony woman, with fire in her eye, was reaching for me. The wagon wheel
+warded her off, and I leaned out of her reach to the far side, yet she
+kept abreast of me, constantly calling for her husband to hurry up.
+I was pouring the whip into the horses, fearful lest she would climb
+into the wagon, when the hub of the front wheel struck her on the
+knee, knocking her down. I was then nearing the summit of the divide,
+and on reaching it, I looked back and saw the big woman giving her
+husband the pommeling that was intended for me. She was altogether too
+near me yet, and I shook the lines over the horses, firing a few shots
+to frighten them, and we tore down the farther slope like a fire
+engine.
+
+There are two events in my life that this chronicle will not fully
+record. One of them is my courtship and marriage, and the other my
+connection with a government contract with the Indian department.
+Otherwise my life shall be as an open book, not only for my own
+posterity, but that he who runs may read. It has been a matter of
+observation with me that a plain man like myself scarcely ever refers
+to his love affairs. At my time of life, now nearing my alloted span,
+I have little sympathy with the great mass of fiction which exploits
+the world-old passion. In no sense of the word am I a well-read man,
+yet I am conscious of the fact that during my younger days the love
+story interested me; but when compared with the real thing, the
+transcript is usually a poor one. My wife and I have now walked up
+and down the paths of life for over thirty-five years, and, if memory
+serves me right, neither one of us has ever mentioned the idea of
+getting a divorce. In youth we shared our crust together; children
+soon blessed and brightened our humble home, and to-day, surrounded by
+every comfort that riches can bestow, no achievement in life has given
+me such great pleasure, I know no music so sweet, as the prattle of my
+own grandchildren. Therefore that feature of my life is sacred, and
+will not be disclosed in these pages.
+
+I would omit entirely mention of the Indian contract, were it not that
+old friends may read this, my biography, and wonder at the omission. I
+have no apologies to offer for my connection with the transaction, as
+its true nature was concealed from me in the beginning, and a scandal
+would have resulted had I betrayed friends. Then again, before general
+amnesty was proclaimed I was debarred from bidding on the many
+rich government contracts for cattle because I had served in the
+Confederate army. Smarting under this injustice at the time the Indian
+contract was awarded, I question if I was thoroughly _reconstructed._
+Before our disabilities were removed, we ex-Confederates could do all
+the work, run all the risk, turn in all the cattle in filling the
+outstanding contracts, but the middleman got the profits. The contract
+in question was a blanket one, requiring about fifty thousand cows for
+delivery at some twenty Indian agencies. The use of my name was all
+that was required of me, as I was the only cowman in the entire ring.
+My duty was to bid on the contract; the bonds would be furnished by my
+partners, of which I must have had a dozen. The proposals called for
+sealed bids, in the usual form, to be in the hands of the Department
+of the Interior before noon on a certain day, marked so and so, and to
+be opened at high noon a week later. The contract was a large one, the
+competition was ample. Several other Texas drovers besides myself had
+submitted bids; but they stood no show--_I had been furnished the
+figures of every competitor._ The ramifications of the ring of which
+I was the mere figure-head can be readily imagined. I sublet the
+contract to the next lowest bidder, who delivered the cattle, and we
+got a rake-off of a clean hundred thousand dollars. Even then there
+was little in the transaction for me, as it required too many people
+to handle it, and none of them stood behind the door at the final
+"divvy." In a single year I have since cleared twenty times what my
+interest amounted to in that contract and have done honorably by
+my fellowmen. That was my first, last, and only connection with a
+transaction that would need deodorizing if one described the details.
+
+But I have seen life, have been witness to its poetry and pathos, have
+drunk from the cup of sorrow and rejoiced as a strong man to run a
+race. I have danced all night where wealth and beauty mingled, and
+again under the stars on a battlefield I have helped carry a stretcher
+when the wails of the wounded on every hand were like the despairing
+cries of lost souls. I have seen an old demented man walking the
+streets of a city, picking up every scrap of paper and scanning it
+carefully to see if a certain ship had arrived at port--a ship which
+had been lost at sea over forty years before, and aboard of which were
+his wife and children. I was once under the necessity of making
+a payment of twenty-five thousand dollars in silver at an Indian
+village. There were no means of transportation, and I was forced to
+carry the specie in on eight pack mules. The distance was nearly two
+hundred miles, and as we neared the encampment we were under the
+necessity of crossing a shallow river. It was summer-time, and as we
+halted the tired mules to loosen the lash ropes, in order to allow
+them to drink, a number of Indian children of both sexes, who
+were bathing in the river, gathered naked on either embankment in
+bewilderment at such strange intruders. In the innocence of these
+children of the wild there was no doubt inspiration for a poet; but
+our mission was a commercial one, and we relashed the mules and
+hurried into the village with the rent money.
+
+I have never kept a diary. One might wonder that the human mind
+could contain such a mass of incident and experiences as has been my
+portion, yet I can remember the day and date of occurrences of fifty
+years ago. The scoldings of my father, the kind words of an indulgent
+mother, when not over five years of age, are vivid in my memory as I
+write to-day. It may seem presumptuous, but I can give the year and
+date of starting, arrival, and delivery of over one hundred herds of
+cattle which I drove over the trail as a common hand, foreman,
+or owner. Yet the warnings of years--the unsteady step, easily
+embarrassed, love of home and dread of leaving it--bid me hasten these
+memoirs. Even my old wounds act as a barometer in foretelling the
+coming of storms, as well as the change of season, from both of which
+I am comfortably sheltered. But as I look into the inquiring eyes of a
+circle of grandchildren, all anxious to know my life story, it seems
+to sweeten the task, and I am encouraged to go on with the work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+MY APPRENTICESHIP
+
+
+During the winter of 1865-66 I corresponded with several of my old
+comrades in Texas. Beyond a welcome which could not be questioned,
+little encouragement was, with one exception, offered me among my old
+friends. It was a period of uncertainty throughout the South, yet
+a cheerful word reached me from an old soldier crony living some
+distance west of Fort Worth on the Brazos River. I had great
+confidence in my former comrade, and he held out a hope, assuring me
+that if I would come, in case nothing else offered, we could take his
+ox teams the next winter and bring in a cargo of buffalo robes. The
+plains to the westward of Fort Griffin, he wrote, were swarming with
+buffalo, and wages could be made in killing them for their hides. This
+caught my fancy and I was impatient to start at once; but the healing
+of my reopened wound was slow, and it was March before I started. My
+brother gave me a good horse and saddle, twenty-five dollars in gold,
+and I started through a country unknown to me personally. Southern
+Missouri had been in sympathy with the Confederacy, and whatever I
+needed while traveling through that section was mine for the asking.
+I avoided the Indian Territory until I reached Fort Smith, where I
+rested several days with an old comrade, who gave me instructions and
+routed me across the reservation of the Choctaw Indians, and I reached
+Paris, Texas, without mishap.
+
+I remember the feeling that I experienced while being ferried across
+Red River. That watercourse was the northern boundary of Texas, and
+while crossing it I realized that I was leaving home and friends and
+entering a country the very name of which to the outside world was a
+synonym for crime and outlawry. Yet some of as good men as ever it was
+my pleasure to know came from that State, and undaunted I held a true
+course for my destination. I was disappointed on seeing Fort Worth, a
+straggling village on the Trinity River, and, merely halting to feed
+my mount, passed on. I had a splendid horse and averaged thirty to
+forty miles a day when traveling, and early in April reached the home
+of my friend in Paolo Pinto County. The primitive valley of the Brazos
+was enchanting, and the hospitality of the Edwards ranch was typical
+of my own Virginia. George Edwards, my crony, was a year my junior, a
+native of the State, his parents having moved west from Mississippi
+the year after Texas won her independence from Mexico. The elder
+Edwards had moved to his present home some fifteen years previous,
+carrying with him a stock of horses and cattle, which had increased
+until in 1866 he was regarded as one of the substantial ranchmen in
+the Brazos valley. The ranch house was a stanch one, built at a
+time when defense was to be considered as well as comfort, and was
+surrounded by fine cornfields. The only drawback I could see there was
+that there was no market for anything, nor was there any money in the
+country. The consumption of such a ranch made no impression on the
+increase of its herds, which grew to maturity with no demand for the
+surplus.
+
+I soon became impatient to do something. George Edwards had likewise
+lost four years in the army, and was as restless as myself. He knew
+the country, but the only employment in sight for us was as teamsters
+with outfits, freighting government supplies to Fort Griffin. I should
+have jumped at the chance of driving oxen, for I was anxious to stay
+in the country, and suggested to George that we ride up to Griffin.
+But the family interposed, assuring us that there was no occasion for
+engaging in such menial work, and we folded our arms obediently, or
+rode the range under the pretense of looking after the cattle. I might
+as well admit right here that my anxiety to get away from the Edwards
+ranch was fostered by the presence of several sisters of my former
+comrade. Miss Gertrude was only four years my junior, a very dangerous
+age, and in spite of all resolutions to the contrary, I felt myself
+constantly slipping. Nothing but my poverty and the hopelessness of it
+kept me from falling desperately in love.
+
+But a temporary relief came during the latter part of May. Reports
+came down the river that a firm of drovers were putting up a herd of
+cattle for delivery at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Their headquarters
+were at Belknap, a long day's ride above, on the Brazos; and
+immediately, on receipt of the news, George and I saddled, and
+started up the river. The elder Edwards was very anxious to sell his
+beef-cattle and a surplus of cow-horses, and we were commissioned to
+offer them to the drovers at prevailing prices. On arriving at Belknap
+we met the pioneer drover of Texas, Oliver Loving, of the firm of
+Loving & Goodnight, but were disappointed to learn that the offerings
+in making up the herd were treble the drover's requirements; neither
+was there any chance to sell horses. But an application for work met
+with more favor. Mr. Loving warned us of the nature of the country,
+the dangers to be encountered, all of which we waived, and were
+accordingly employed at forty dollars a month in gold. The herd was to
+start early in June. George Edwards returned home to report, but I was
+immediately put to work, as the junior member of the firm was then out
+receiving cattle. They had established a camp, and at the time of our
+employment were gathering beef steers in Loving's brand and holding
+the herd as it arrived, so that I was initiated into my duties at
+once.
+
+I was allowed to retain my horse, provided he did his share of the
+work. A mule and three range horses were also allotted to me, and I
+was cautioned about their care. There were a number of saddle mules in
+the remuda, and Mr. Loving explained that the route was through a
+dry country, and that experience had taught him that a mule could
+withstand thirst longer than a horse. I was a new man in the country,
+and absorbed every word and idea as a sponge does water. With the
+exception of roping, I made a hand from the start. The outfit treated
+me courteously, there was no concealment of my past occupation, and I
+soon had the friendship of every man in the camp. It was some little
+time before I met the junior partner, Charlie Goodnight, a strapping
+young fellow of about thirty, who had served all through the war in
+the frontier battalion of Texas Rangers. The Comanche Indians had been
+a constant menace on the western frontier of the State, and during the
+rebellion had allied themselves with the Federal side, and harassed
+the settlements along the border. It required a regiment of mounted
+men to patrol the frontier from Red River to the coast, as the
+Comanches claimed the whole western half of the State as their hunting
+grounds.
+
+Early in June the herd began to assume its required numbers. George
+Edwards returned, and we naturally became bunkies, sharing our
+blankets and having the same guard on night-herd. The drovers
+encouraged all the men employed to bring along their firearms, and
+when we were ready to start the camp looked like an arsenal. I had a
+six-shooter, and my bunkie brought me a needle-gun from the ranch, so
+that I felt armed for any emergency. Each of the men had a rifle
+of some make or other, while a few of them had as many as four
+pistols,--two in their belts and two in saddle holsters. It looked to
+me as if this was to be a military expedition, and I began to wonder
+if I had not had enough war the past few years, but kept quiet. The
+start was made June 10, 1866, from the Brazos River, in what is now
+Young County, the herd numbering twenty-two hundred big beeves. A
+chuck-wagon, heavily loaded with supplies and drawn by six yoke of
+fine oxen, a remuda of eighty-five saddle horses and mules, together
+with seventeen men, constituted the outfit. Fort Sumner lay to the
+northwest, and I was mildly surprised when the herd bore off to the
+southwest. This was explained by young Goodnight, who was in charge
+of the herd, saying that the only route then open or known was on our
+present course to the Pecos River, and thence up that stream to our
+destination.
+
+Indian sign was noticed a few days after starting. Goodnight and
+Loving both read it as easily as if it had been print,--the abandoned
+camps, the course of arrival and departure, the number of horses,
+indicating who and what they were, war or hunting parties--everything
+apparently simple and plain as an alphabet to these plainsmen. Around
+the camp-fire at night the chronicle of the Comanche tribe for the
+last thirty years was reviewed, and their overbearing and defiant
+attitude towards the people of Texas was discussed, not for my
+benefit, as it was common history. Then for the first time I learned
+that the Comanches had once mounted ten thousand warriors, had
+frequently raided the country to the coast, carrying off horses
+and white children, even dictating their own terms of peace to the
+republic of Texas. At the last council, called for the purpose of
+negotiating for the return of captive white children in possession of
+the Comanches, the assembly had witnessed a dramatic termination. The
+same indignity had been offered before, and borne by the whites, too
+weak to resist the numbers of the Comanche tribe. In this latter
+instance, one of the war chiefs, in spurning the remuneration offered
+for the return of a certain white girl, haughtily walked into the
+centre of the council, where an insult could be seen by all. His act,
+a disgusting one, was anticipated, as it was not the first time it had
+been witnessed, when one of the Texans present drew a six-shooter and
+killed the chief in the act. The hatchet of the Comanche was instantly
+dug up, and had not been buried at the time we were crossing a country
+claimed by him as his hunting ground.
+
+Yet these drovers seemed to have no fear of an inferior race. We held
+our course without a halt, scarcely a day passing without seeing more
+or less fresh sign of Indians. After crossing the South Fork of the
+Brazos, we were attacked one morning just at dawn, the favorite hour
+of the Indian for a surprise. Four men were on herd with the cattle
+and one near by with the remuda, our night horses all securely tied to
+the wagon wheels. A feint attack was made on the commissary, but
+under the leadership of Goodnight a majority of us scrambled into our
+saddles and rode to the rescue of the remuda, the chief objective
+of the surprise. Two of the boys from the herd had joined the horse
+wrangler, and on our arrival all three were wickedly throwing lead at
+the circling Indians. The remuda was running at the time, and as we
+cut through between it and the savages we gave them the benefit of our
+rifles and six-shooter in passing. The shots turned the saddle stock
+back towards our camp and the mounted braves continued on their
+course, not willing to try issues with us, although they outnumbered
+us three to one. A few arrows had imbedded themselves in the ground
+around camp at the first assault, but once our rifles were able to
+distinguish an object clearly, the Indians kept well out of reach. The
+cattle made a few surges, but once the remuda was safe, there was
+an abundance of help in holding them, and they quieted down before
+sunrise. The Comanches had no use for cattle, except to kill and
+torture them, as they preferred the flesh of the buffalo, and once
+our saddle stock and the contents of the wagon were denied them, they
+faded into the dips of the plain.
+
+The journey was resumed without the delay of an hour. Our first brush
+with the noble red man served a good purpose, as we were doubly
+vigilant thereafter whenever there was cause to expect an attack.
+There was an abundance of water, as we followed up the South Fork and
+its tributaries, passing through Buffalo Gap, which was afterward a
+well-known landmark on the Texas and Montana cattle trail. Passing
+over the divide between the waters of the Brazos and Concho, we struck
+the old Butterfield stage route, running by way of Fort Concho to
+El Paso, Texas, on the Rio Grande. This stage road was the original
+Staked Plain, surveyed and located by General John Pope in 1846. The
+route was originally marked by stakes, until it became a thoroughfare,
+from which the whole of northwest Texas afterward took its name. There
+was a ninety-six mile dry drive between the headwaters of the Concho
+and Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos, and before attempting it we
+rested a few days. Here Indians made a second attack on us, and
+although as futile as the first, one of the horse wranglers received
+an arrow in the shoulder. In attempting to remove it the shaft
+separated from the steel arrowhead, leaving the latter imbedded in the
+lad's shoulder. We were then one hundred and twelve miles distant from
+Fort Concho, the nearest point where medical relief might be expected.
+The drovers were alarmed for the man's welfare; it was impossible to
+hold the herd longer, so the young fellow volunteered to make the ride
+alone. He was given the best horse in the remuda, and with the falling
+of darkness started for Fort Concho. I had the pleasure of meeting him
+afterward, as happy as he was hale and hearty.
+
+The start across the arid stretch was made at noon. Every hoof had
+been thoroughly watered in advance, and with the heat of summer on us
+it promised to be an ordeal to man and beast. But Loving had driven it
+before, and knew fully what was before him as we trailed out under a
+noonday sun. An evening halt was made for refreshing the inner man,
+and as soon as darkness settled over us the herd was again started.
+We were conscious of the presence of Indians, and deceived them
+by leaving our camp-fire burning, but holding our effects closely
+together throughout the night, the remuda even mixing with the cattle.
+When day broke we were fully thirty miles from our noon camp of the
+day before, yet with the exception of an hour's rest there was never a
+halt. A second day and night were spent in forging ahead, though it
+is doubtful if we averaged much over a mile an hour during that time.
+About fifteen miles out from the Pecos we were due to enter a caņon
+known as Castle Mountain Gap, some three or four miles long, the exit
+of which was in sight of the river. We were anxious to reach the
+entrance of this caņon before darkness on the third day, as we could
+then cut the cattle into bunches, the cliffs on either side forming a
+lane. Our horses were as good as worthless during the third day, but
+the saddle mules seemed to stand grief nobly, and by dint of ceaseless
+effort we reached the caņon and turned the cattle loose into it. This
+was the turning-point in the dry drive. That night two men took half
+the remuda and went through to Horsehead Crossing, returning with them
+early the next morning, and we once more had fresh mounts. The herd
+had been nursed through the caņon during the night, and although it
+was still twelve miles to the river, I have always believed that those
+beeves knew that water was at hand. They walked along briskly; instead
+of the constant moaning, their heads were erect, bawling loud and
+deep. The oxen drawing the wagon held their chains taut, and the
+commissary moved forward as if drawn by a fresh team. There was no
+attempt to hold the herd compactly, and within an hour after starting
+on our last lap the herd was strung out three miles. The rear was
+finally abandoned, and when half the distance was covered, the drag
+cattle to the number of fully five hundred turned out of the trail
+and struck direct for the river. They had scented the water over five
+miles, and as far as control was concerned the herd was as good as
+abandoned, except that the water would hold them.
+
+Horsehead Crossing was named by General Pope. There is a difference of
+opinion as to the origin of the name, some contending that it was due
+to the meanderings of the river, forming a horse's head, and others
+that the surveying party was surprised by Indians and lost their
+stock. None of us had slept for three nights, and the feeling of
+relief on reaching the Pecos, shared alike by man and beast, is
+indescribable. Unless one has endured such a trial, only a faint idea
+of its hardships can be fully imagined--the long hours of patient
+travel at a snail's pace, enveloped by clouds of dust by day, and at
+night watching every shadow for a lurking savage. I have since slept
+many a time in the saddle, but in crossing that arid belt the one
+consuming desire to reach the water ahead benumbed every sense save
+watchfulness.
+
+All the cattle reached the river before the middle of the afternoon,
+covering a front of five or six miles. The banks of the Pecos were
+abrupt, there being fully one hundred and twenty-five feet of deep
+water in the channel at the stage crossing. Entrance to the ford
+consisted of a wagon-way, cut through the banks, and the cattle
+crowded into the river above and below, there being but one exit
+on either side. Some miles above, the beeves had found several
+passageways down to the water, but in drifting up and down stream
+they missed these entrances on returning. A rally was made late that
+afternoon to rout the cattle out of the river-bed, one half the outfit
+going above, the remainder working around Horsehead, where the bulk of
+the herd had watered. I had gone upstream with Goodnight, but before
+we reached the upper end of the cattle fresh Indian sign was noticed.
+There was enough broken country along the river to shelter the
+redskins, but we kept in the open and cautiously examined every brake
+within gunshot of an entrance to the river. We succeeded in getting
+all the animals out of the water before dark, with the exception of
+one bunch, where the exit would require the use of a mattock before
+the cattle could climb it, and a few head that had bogged in the
+quicksand below Horsehead Crossing. There was little danger of a rise
+in the river, the loose contingent had a dry sand-bar on which to
+rest, and as the Indians had no use for them there was little danger
+of their being molested before morning.
+
+We fell back about a mile from the river and camped for the night.
+Although we were all dead for sleep, extra caution was taken to
+prevent a surprise, either Goodnight or Loving remaining on guard over
+the outfit, seeing that the men kept awake on herd and that the guards
+changed promptly. Charlie Goodnight owned a horse that he contended
+could scent an Indian five hundred yards, and I have never questioned
+the statement. He had used him in the Ranger service. The horse by
+various means would show his uneasiness in the immediate presence of
+Indians, and once the following summer we moved camp at midnight on
+account of the warnings of that same horse. We had only a remuda with
+us at the time, but another outfit encamped with us refused to go, and
+they lost half their horses from an Indian surprise the next morning
+and never recovered them. I remember the ridicule which was expressed
+at our moving camp on the warnings of a horse. "Injun-bit,"
+"Man-afraid-of-his-horses," were some of the terms applied to us,--yet
+the practical plainsman knew enough to take warning from his dumb
+beast. Fear, no doubt, gives horses an unusual sense of smell, and I
+have known them to detect the presence of a bear, on a favorable wind,
+at an incredible distance.
+
+The night passed quietly, and early the next morning we rode to
+recover the remainder of the cattle. An effort was also made to rescue
+the bogged ones. On approaching the river, we found the beeves still
+resting quietly on the sand-bar. But we had approached them at an
+angle, for directly over head and across the river was a brake
+overgrown with thick brush, a splendid cover in which Indians might be
+lurking in the hope of ambushing any one who attempted to drive out
+the beeves. Two men were left with a single mattock to cut out and
+improve the exit, while the rest of us reconnoitered the thickety
+motte across the river. Goodnight was leery of the thicket, and
+suggested firing a few shots into it. We all had long-range guns, the
+distance from bank to bank was over two hundred yards, and a fusillade
+of shots was accordingly poured into the motte. To my surprise we were
+rewarded by seeing fully twenty Indians skulk out of the upper end of
+the cover. Every man raised his sights and gave them a parting volley,
+but a mesquite thicket, in which their horses were secreted, soon
+sheltered them and they fell back into the hills on the western side
+of the river. With the coast thus cleared, half a dozen of us rode
+down into the river-bed and drove out the last contingent of about
+three hundred cattle. Goodnight informed us that those Indians had
+no doubt been watching us for days, and cautioned us never to give a
+Comanche an advantage, advice which I never forgot.
+
+On our return every one of the bogged cattle had been freed except two
+heavy beeves. These animals were mired above the ford, in rather deep
+water, and it was simply impossible to release them. The drovers were
+anxious to cross the river that afternoon, and a final effort was made
+to rescue the two steers. The oxen were accordingly yoked, and, with
+all the chain available, were driven into the river and fastened on
+to the nearest one. Three mounted drivers had charge of the team, and
+when the word was given six yoke of cattle bowed their necks and threw
+their weight against the yokes; but the quicksand held the steer in
+spite of all their efforts. The chain was freed from it, and the oxen
+were brought around and made fast again, at an angle and where the
+footing was better for the team. Again the word was given, and as
+the six yoke swung round, whips and ropes were plied amid a general
+shouting, and the team brought out the steer, but with a broken neck.
+There were no regrets, and our attention was at once given to the
+other steer. The team circled around, every available chain was
+brought into use, in order to afford the oxen good footing on a
+straight-away pull with the position in which the beef lay bogged.
+The word was given for an easy pull, the oxen barely stretched their
+chains, and were stopped. Goodnight cautioned the drivers that unless
+the pull was straight ahead another neck would be broken. A second
+trial was made; the oxen swung and weaved, the chains fairly cried,
+the beef's head went under water, but the team was again checked in
+time to keep the steer from drowning. After a breathing spell for oxen
+and victim, the call was made for a rush. A driver was placed over
+every yoke and the word given, and the oxen fell to their knees in the
+struggle, whips cracked over their backs, ropes were plied by every
+man in charge, and, amid a din of profanity applied to the struggling
+cattle, the team fell forward in a general collapse. At first it was
+thought the chain had parted, but as the latter came out of the water
+it held in its iron grasp the horns and a portion of the skull of the
+dying beef. Several of us rode out to the victim, whose brain lay
+bare, still throbbing and twitching with life. Rather than allow his
+remains to pollute the river, we made a last pull at an angle, and the
+dead beef was removed.
+
+We bade Horsehead Crossing farewell that afternoon and camped for the
+night above Dagger Bend. Our route now lay to the northwest, or up
+the Pecos River. We were then out twenty-one days from Belknap,
+and although only half way to our destination, the worst of it was
+considered over. There was some travel up and down the Pecos valley,
+the route was even then known as the Chisum trail, and afterward
+extended as far north as Fort Logan in Colorado and other government
+posts in Wyoming. This cattle trace should never be confounded with
+the Chisholm trail, first opened by a half-breed named Jesse Chisholm,
+which ran from Red River Station on the northern boundary of Texas to
+various points in Kansas. In cutting across the bends of the Rio Pecos
+we secured water each day for the herd, although we were frequently
+under the necessity of sloping down the banks with mattocks to let the
+cattle into the river. By this method it often took us three or four
+hours to water the herd. Until we neared Fort Sumner precaution never
+relaxed against an Indian surprise. Their sign was seen almost daily,
+but as there were weaker outfits than ours passing through we escaped
+any further molestation.
+
+The methods of handling such a herd were a constant surprise to me, as
+well as the schooling of these plainsmen drovers. Goodnight had come
+to the plains when a boy of ten, and was a thorough master of their
+secrets. On one occasion, about midway between Horsehead Crossing and
+our destination, difficulty was encountered in finding an entrance to
+the river on account of its abrupt banks. It was late in the day,
+and in order to insure a quiet night with the cattle water became an
+urgent necessity. Our young foreman rode ahead and found a dry, sandy
+creek, its bed fully fifty yards wide, but no water, though the sand
+was damp. The herd was held back until sunset, when the cattle were
+turned into the creek bed and held as compactly as possible. The heavy
+beeves naturally walked back and forth, up and down, the sand just
+moist enough to aggravate them after a day's travel under a July sun.
+But the tramping soon agitated the sands, and within half an hour
+after the herd had entered the dry creek the water arose in pools,
+and the cattle drank to their hearts' content. As dew falls at night,
+moisture likewise rises in the earth, and with the twilight hour, the
+agitation of the sands, and the weight of the cattle, a spring was
+produced in the desert waste.
+
+Fort Sumner was a six-company post and the agency of the Apaches and
+Navajos. These two tribes numbered over nine thousand people, and our
+herd was intended to supply the needs of the military post and these
+Indians. The contract was held by Patterson & Roberts, eligible by
+virtue of having cast their fortunes with the victor in "the late
+unpleasantness," and otherwise fine men. We reached the post on the
+20th of July. There was a delay of several days before the cattle were
+accepted, but all passed the inspection with the exception of about
+one hundred head. These were cattle which had not recuperated from the
+dry drive. Some few were footsore or thin in flesh, but taken as a
+whole the delivery had every earmark of an honest one. Fortunately
+this remnant was sold a few days later to some Colorado men, and
+we were foot-loose and free. Even the oxen had gone in on the main
+delivery, and harnesses were accordingly bought, a light tongue
+fitted to the wagon, and we were ready to start homeward. Mules were
+substituted for the oxen, and we averaged forty miles a day returning,
+almost itching for an Indian attack, as we had supplied ourselves with
+ammunition from the post sutler. The trip had been a financial success
+(the government was paying ten cents a pound for beef on foot),
+friendly relations had been established with the holders of the award,
+and we hastened home to gather and drive another herd.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A SECOND TRIP TO FORT SUMNER
+
+
+On the return trip we traveled mainly by night. The proceeds from the
+sale of the herd were in the wagon, and had this fact been known it
+would have been a tempting prize for either bandits or Indians. After
+leaving Horsehead Crossing we had the advantage of the dark of the
+moon, as it was a well-known fact that the Comanches usually choose
+moonlight nights for their marauding expeditions. Another thing in our
+favor, both going and returning, was the lightness of travel westward,
+it having almost ceased during the civil war, though in '66 it showed
+a slight prospect of resumption. Small bands of Indians were still
+abroad on horse-stealing forays, but the rich prizes of wagon trains
+bound for El Paso or Santa Fé no longer tempted the noble red man
+in force. This was favorable wind to our sail, but these plainsmen
+drovers predicted that, once traffic westward was resumed, the
+Comanche and his ally would be about the first ones to know it. The
+redskins were constantly passing back and forth, to and from their
+reservation in the Indian Territory, and news travels fast even among
+savages.
+
+We reached the Brazos River early in August. As the second start was
+not to be made until the latter part of the following month, a general
+settlement was made with the men and all reëngaged for the next trip.
+I received eighty dollars in gold as my portion, it being the first
+money I ever earned as a citizen. The past two months were a splendid
+experience for one going through a formative period, and I had
+returned feeling that I was once more a man among men. All the
+uncertainty as to my future had fallen from me, and I began to look
+forward to the day when I also might be the owner of lands and cattle.
+There was no good reason why I should not, as the range was as free
+as it was boundless. There were any quantity of wild cattle in the
+country awaiting an owner, and a good mount of horses, a rope, and a
+branding iron were all the capital required to start a brand. I knew
+the success which my father had made in Virginia before the war
+and had seen it repeated on a smaller scale by my elder brother in
+Missouri, but here was a country which discounted both of those
+in rearing cattle without expense. Under the best reasoning at my
+command, I had reached the promised land, and henceforth determined to
+cast my fortunes with Texas.
+
+Rather than remain idle around the Loving headquarters for a month,
+I returned with George Edwards to his home. Altogether too cordial a
+welcome was extended us, but I repaid the hospitality of the ranch by
+relating our experiences of trail and Indian surprise. Miss Gertrude
+was as charming as ever, but the trip to Sumner and back had cooled
+my ardor and I behaved myself as an acceptable guest should. The
+time passed rapidly, and on the last day of the month we returned to
+Belknap. Active preparations were in progress for the driving of the
+second herd, oxen had been secured, and a number of extra fine horses
+were already added to the saddle stock. The remuda had enjoyed a good
+month's rest and were in strong working flesh, and within a few days
+all the boys reported for duty. The senior member of the firm was the
+owner of a large number of range cattle, and it was the intention to
+round up and gather as many of his beeves as possible for the coming
+drive. We should have ample time to do this; by waiting until the
+latter part of the month for starting, it was believed that few
+Indians would be encountered, as the time was nearing for their annual
+buffalo hunt for robes and a supply of winter meat. This was a gala
+occasion with the tribes which depended on the bison for food and
+clothing; and as the natural hunting grounds of the Comanches and
+Kiowas lay south of Red River, the drovers considered that that would
+be an opportune time to start. The Indians would no doubt confine
+their operations to the first few tiers of counties in Texas, as the
+robes and dried meat would tax the carrying capacity of their horses
+returning, making it an object to kill their supplies as near their
+winter encampment as possible.
+
+Some twenty days were accordingly spent in gathering beeves along the
+main Brazos and Clear Fork. Our herd consisted of about a thousand in
+the straight ranch brand, and after receiving and road-branding five
+hundred outside cattle we were ready to start. Sixteen men constituted
+our numbers, the horses were culled down until but five were left to
+the man, and with the previous armament the start was made. Never
+before or since have I enjoyed such an outing as this was until we
+struck the dry drive on approaching the Pecos River. The absence of
+the Indians was correctly anticipated, and either their presence
+elsewhere, preying on the immense buffalo herds, or the drift of
+the seasons, had driven countless numbers of that animal across our
+pathway. There were days and days that we were never out of sight of
+the feeding myriads of these shaggy brutes, and at night they became
+a menace to our sleeping herd. During the day, when the cattle were
+strung out in trail formation, we had difficulty in keeping the two
+species separated, but we shelled the buffalo right and left and moved
+forward. Frequently, when they occupied the country ahead of us,
+several men rode forward and scattered them on either hand until a
+right of way was effected for the cattle to pass. While they remained
+with us we killed our daily meat from their numbers, and several of
+the boys secured fine robes. They were very gentle, but when occasion
+required could give a horse a good race, bouncing along, lacking grace
+in flight.
+
+Our cook was a negro. One day as we were nearing Buffalo Gap, a
+number of big bulls, attracted by the covered wagon, approached the
+commissary, the canvas sheet of which shone like a white flag. The
+wagon was some distance in the rear, and as the buffalo began to
+approach it they would scare and circle around, but constantly coming
+nearer the object of their curiosity. The darky finally became alarmed
+for fear they would gore his oxen, and unearthed an old Creedmoor
+rifle which he carried in the wagon. The gun could be heard for miles,
+and when the cook opened on the playful denizens of the plain, a
+number of us hurried back, supposing it was an Indian attack. When
+within a quarter-mile of the wagon and the situation became clear, we
+took it more leisurely, but the fusillade never ceased until we rode
+up and it dawned on the darky's mind that rescue was at hand. He had
+halted his team, and from a secure position in the front end of the
+wagon had shot down a dozen buffalo bulls. Pure curiosity and the
+blood of their comrades had kept them within easy range of the
+murderous Creedmoor; and the frenzied negro, supposing that his team
+might be attacked any moment, had mown down a circle of the innocent
+animals. We charged and drove away the remainder, after which we
+formed a guard of honor in escorting the commissary until its timid
+driver overtook the herd.
+
+The last of the buffalo passed out of sight before we reached the
+headwaters of the Concho. In crossing the dry drive approaching the
+Pecos we were unusually fortunate. As before, we rested in advance of
+starting, and on the evening of the second day out several showers
+fell, cooling the atmosphere until the night was fairly chilly. The
+rainfall continued all the following day in a gentle mist, and with
+little or no suffering to man or beast early in the afternoon we
+entered the caņon known as Castle Mountain Gap, and the dry drive was
+virtually over. Horsehead Crossing was reached early the next morning,
+the size of the herd making it possible to hold it compactly, and
+thus preventing any scattering along that stream. There had been
+no freshets in the river since June, and the sandy sediment had
+solidified, making a safe crossing for both herd and wagon. After the
+usual rest of a few days, the herd trailed up the Pecos with scarcely
+an incident worthy of mention. Early in November we halted some
+distance below Fort Sumner, where we were met by Mr. Loving,--who had
+gone on to the post in our advance,--with the report that other cattle
+had just been accepted, and that there was no prospect of an immediate
+delivery. In fact, the outlook was anything but encouraging, unless we
+wintered ours and had them ready for the first delivery in the spring.
+
+The herd was accordingly turned back to Bosque Grande on the river,
+and we went into permanent quarters. There was a splendid winter range
+all along the Pecos, and we loose-herded the beeves or rode lines in
+holding them in the different bends of the river, some of which
+were natural inclosures. There was scarcely any danger of Indian
+molestation during the winter months, and with the exception of a
+few severe "northers" which swept down the valley, the cattle did
+comparatively well. Tents were secured at the post; corn was purchased
+for our saddle mules; and except during storms little or no privation
+was experienced during the winter in that southern climate. Wood was
+plentiful in the grove in which we were encamped, and a huge fireplace
+was built out of clay and sticks in the end of each tent, assuring us
+comfort against the elements.
+
+The monotony of existence was frequently broken by the passing of
+trading caravans, both up and down the river. There was a fair trade
+with the interior of Mexico, as well as in various settlements along
+the Rio Grande and towns in northern New Mexico. When other means of
+diversion failed we had recourse to Sumner, where a sutler's bar and
+gambling games flourished. But the most romantic traveler to arrive or
+pass during the winter was Captain Burleson, late of the Confederacy.
+As a sportsman the captain was a gem of the first water, carrying with
+him, besides a herd of nearly a thousand cattle, three race-horses,
+several baskets of fighting chickens, and a pack of hounds. He had
+a large Mexican outfit in charge of his cattle, which were in bad
+condition on their arrival in March, he having drifted about all
+winter, gambling, racing his horses, and fighting his chickens. The
+herd represented his winnings. As we had nothing to match, all we
+could offer was our hospitality. Captain Burleson went into camp below
+us on the river and remained our neighbor until we rounded up and
+broke camp in the spring. He had been as far west as El Paso during
+the winter, and was then drifting north in the hope of finding a
+market for his herd. We indulged in many hunts, and I found him the
+true gentleman and sportsman in every sense of the word. As I recall
+him now, he was a lovable vagabond, and for years afterward stories
+were told around Fort Sumner of his wonderful nerve as a poker player.
+
+Early in April an opportunity occurred for a delivery of cattle to the
+post. Ours were the only beeves in sight, those of Captain Burleson
+not qualifying, and a round-up was made and the herd tendered for
+inspection. Only eight hundred were received, which was quite a
+disappointment to the drovers, as at least ninety per cent of the
+tender filled every qualification. The motive in receiving the few
+soon became apparent, when a stranger appeared and offered to buy the
+remaining seven hundred at a ridiculously low figure. But the drovers
+had grown suspicious of the contractors and receiving agent, and,
+declining the offer, went back and bought the herd of Captain
+Burleson. Then, throwing the two contingents together, and boldly
+announcing their determination of driving to Colorado, they started
+the herd out past Fort Sumner with every field-glass in the post
+leveled on us. The military requirements of Sumner, for its own and
+Indian use, were well known to the drovers, and a scarcity of beef was
+certain to occur at that post before other cattle could be bargained
+for and arrive. My employers had evidently figured out the situation
+to a nicety, for during the forenoon of the second day out from the
+fort we were overtaken by the contractors. Of course they threw on the
+government inspector all the blame for the few cattle received, and
+offered to buy five or six hundred more out of the herd. But the shoe
+was on the other foot now, the drovers acting as independently as the
+proverbial hog on ice. The herd never halted, the contractors followed
+up, and when we went into camp that evening a trade was closed on one
+thousand steers at two dollars a head advance over those which were
+received but a few days before. The oxen were even reserved, and after
+delivering the beeves at Sumner we continued on northward with the
+remnant, nearly all of which were the Burleson cattle.
+
+The latter part of April we arrived at the Colorado line. There we
+were halted by the authorities of that territory, under some act of
+quarantine against Texas cattle. We went into camp on the nearest
+water, expecting to prove that our little herd had wintered at Fort
+Sumner, and were therefore immune from quarantine, when buyers arrived
+from Trinidad, Colorado. The steers were a mixed lot, running from a
+yearling to big, rough four and five year olds, and when Goodnight
+returned from Sumner with a certificate, attested to by every officer
+of that post, showing that the cattle had wintered north of latitude
+34, a trade was closed at once, even the oxen going in at the
+phenomenal figures of one hundred and fifty dollars a yoke. We
+delivered the herd near Trinidad, going into that town to outfit
+before returning. The necessary alterations were made to the wagon,
+mules were harnessed in, and we started home in gala spirits. In a
+little over thirty days my employers had more than doubled their money
+on the Burleson cattle and were naturally jubilant.
+
+The proceeds of the Trinidad sale were carried in the wagon returning,
+though we had not as yet collected for the second delivery at Sumner.
+The songs of the birds mixed with our own as we traveled homeward, and
+the freshness of early summer on the primitive land, as it rolled away
+in dips and swells, made the trip a delightful outing. Fort Sumner
+was reached within a week, where we halted a day and then started on,
+having in the wagon a trifle over fifty thousand dollars in gold and
+silver. At Sumner two men made application to accompany us back to
+Texas, and as they were well armed and mounted, and numbers were an
+advantage, they were made welcome. Our winter camp at Bosque Grande
+was passed with but a single glance as we dropped down the Pecos
+valley at the rate of forty miles a day. Little or no travel was
+encountered en route, nor was there any sign of Indians until the
+afternoon of our reaching Horsehead Crossing. While passing Dagger
+Bend, four miles above the ford, Goodnight and a number of us boys
+were riding several hundred yards in advance of the wagon, telling
+stories of old sweethearts. The road made a sudden bend around some
+sand-hills, and the advance guard had passed out of sight of the rear,
+when a fresh Indian trail was cut; and as we reined in our mounts to
+examine the sign, we were fired on. The rifle-shots, followed by a
+flight of arrows, passed over us, and we took to shelter like flushed
+quail. I was riding a good saddle horse and bolted off on the opposite
+side of the road from the shooting; but in the scattering which ensued
+a number of mules took down the road. One of the two men picked up at
+the post was a German, whose mule stampeded after his mates, and who
+received a galling fire from the concealed Indians, the rest of us
+turning to the nearest shelter. With the exception of this one man,
+all of us circled back through the mesquite brush and reached the
+wagon, which had halted. Meanwhile the shooting had attracted the men
+behind, who charged through the sand-dunes, flanking the Indians, who
+immediately decamped. Security of the remuda and wagon was a first
+consideration, and danger of an ambush prevented our men from
+following up the redskins. Order was soon restored, when we proceeded,
+and shortly met the young German coming back up the road, who merely
+remarked on meeting us, "Dem Injuns shot at me."
+
+The Indians had evidently not been expecting us. From where they
+turned out and where the attack was made we back-trailed them in
+the road for nearly a mile. They had simply heard us coming, and,
+supposing that the advance guard was all there was in the party, had
+made the attack and were in turn themselves surprised at our numbers.
+But the warning was henceforth heeded, and on reaching the crossing
+more Indian sign was detected. Several large parties had evidently
+crossed the river that morning, and were no doubt at that moment
+watching us from the surrounding hills. The caņon of Castle Mountain
+Gap was well adapted for an Indian ambush; and as it was only twelve
+miles from the ford to its mouth, we halted within a short distance
+of the entrance, as if encamping for the night. All the horses under
+saddle were picketed fully a quarter mile from the wagon,--easy marks
+for poor Lo,--and the remuda was allowed to wander at will, an air of
+perfect carelessness prevailing in the camp. From the sign which
+we had seen that day, there was little doubt but there were in the
+neighborhood of five hundred Indians in the immediate vicinity of
+Horsehead Crossing, and we did everything we could to create the
+impression that we were tender-feet. But with the falling of darkness
+every horse was brought in and we harnessed up and started, leaving
+the fire burning to identify our supposed camp. The drovers gave our
+darky cook instructions, in case of an attack while passing through
+the Gap, never to halt his team, but push ahead for the plain. About
+one third of us took the immediate lead of the wagon, the remuda
+following closely, and the remainder of the men bringing up the rear.
+The moon was on the wane and would not rise until nearly midnight,
+and for the first few miles, or until we entered the caņon, there was
+scarce a sound to disturb the stillness of the night. The sandy road
+even muffled the noise of the wagon and the tramping of horses; but
+once we entered that rocky caņon, the rattling of our commissary
+seemed to summon every Comanche and his ally to come and rob us. There
+was never a halt, the reverberations of our caravan seeming to reëcho
+through the Gap, resounding forward and back, until our progress
+must have been audible at Horsehead Crossing. But the expected never
+happens, and within an hour we reached the summit of the plain, where
+the country was open and clear and an attack could have been easily
+repelled. Four fresh mules had been harnessed in for the night, and
+striking a free gait, we put twenty miles of that arid stretch behind
+us before the moon rose. A short halt was made after midnight, for a
+change of teams and saddle horses, and then we continued our hurried
+travel until near dawn.
+
+Some indistinct objects in our front caused us to halt. It looked like
+a caravan, and we hailed it without reply. Several of us dismounted
+and crept forward, but the only sign of life was a dull, buzzing sound
+which seemed to issue from an outfit of parked wagons. The report was
+laid before the two drovers, who advised that we await the dawn,
+which was then breaking, as it was possible that the caravan had been
+captured and robbed by Indians. A number of us circled around to the
+farther side, and as we again approached the wagons in the uncertain
+light we hailed again and received in reply a shot, which cut off the
+upper lobe of one of the boys' ears. We hugged the ground for some
+little time, until the presence of our outfit was discovered by the
+lone guardian of the caravan, who welcomed us. He apologized, saying
+that on awakening he supposed we were Indians, not having heard our
+previous challenge, and fired on us under the impulse of the moment.
+He was a well-known trader by the name of "Honey" Allen, and was then
+on his way to El Paso, having pulled out on the dry stretch about
+twenty-five miles and sent his oxen back to water. His present cargo
+consisted of pecans, honey, and a large number of colonies of live
+bees, the latter having done the buzzing on our first reconnoitre. At
+his destination, so he informed us, the pecans were worth fifty cents
+a quart, the honey a dollar a pound, and the bees one hundred dollars
+a hive. After repairing the damaged ear, we hurried on, finding
+Allen's oxen lying around the water on our arrival. I met him several
+years afterward in Denver, Colorado, dressed to kill, barbered, and
+highly perfumed. He had just sold eighteen hundred two-year-old steers
+and had twenty-five thousand dollars in the bank. "Son, let me tell
+you something," said he, as we were taking a drink together; "that
+Pecos country was a dangerous region to pick up an honest living in.
+I'm going back to God's country,--back where there ain't no Injuns."
+
+Yet Allen died in Texas. There was a charm in the frontier that held
+men captive. I always promised myself to return to Virginia to spend
+the declining years of my life, but the fulfillment never came. I can
+now realize how idle was the expectation, having seen others make the
+attempt and fail. I recall the experience of an old cowman, laboring
+under a similar delusion, who, after nearly half a century in the
+Southwest, concluded to return to the scenes of his boyhood. He had
+made a substantial fortune in cattle, and had fought his way through
+the vicissitudes of the frontier until success crowned his efforts. A
+large family had in the mean time grown up around him, and under
+the pretense of giving his children the advantages of an older and
+established community he sold his holdings and moved back to his
+native borough. Within six months he returned to the straggling
+village which he had left on the plains, bringing the family with him.
+Shortly afterwards I met him, and anxiously inquired the cause of his
+return. "Well, Reed," said he, "I can't make you understand near as
+well as though you had tried it yourself. You see I was a stranger in
+my native town. The people were all right, I reckon, but I found out
+that it was me who had changed. I tried to be sociable with them, but
+honest, Reed, I just couldn't stand it in a country where no one ever
+asked you to take a drink."
+
+A week was spent in crossing the country between the Concho and Brazos
+rivers. Not a day passed but Indian trails were cut, all heading
+southward, and on a branch of the Clear Fork we nearly ran afoul of an
+encampment of forty teepees and lean-tos, with several hundred horses
+in sight. But we never varied our course a fraction, passing within a
+quarter mile of their camp, apparently indifferent as to whether they
+showed fight or allowed us to pass in peace. Our bluff had the desired
+effect; but we made it an object to reach Fort Griffin near midnight
+before camping. The Comanche and his ally were great respecters, not
+only of their own physical welfare, but of the Henri and Spencer rifle
+with which the white man killed the buffalo at the distance of twice
+the flight of an arrow. When every advantage was in his favor--ambush
+and surprise--Lo was a warrior bold; otherwise he used discretion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A FATAL TRIP
+
+
+Before leaving Fort Sumner an agreement had been entered into between
+my employers and the contractors for a third herd. The delivery was
+set for the first week in September, and twenty-five hundred beeves
+were agreed upon, with a liberal leeway above and below that number
+in case of accident en route. Accordingly, on our return to Loving's
+ranch active preparations were begun for the next drive. Extra horses
+were purchased, several new guns of the most modern make were
+secured, and the gathering of cattle in Loving's brand began at once,
+continuing for six weeks. We combed the hills and valleys along the
+main Brazos, and then started west up the Clear Fork, carrying the
+beeves with us while gathering. The range was in prime condition, the
+cattle were fat and indolent, and with the exception of Indian rumors
+there was not a cloud in the sky.
+
+Our last camp was made a few miles above Fort Griffin. Military
+protection was not expected, yet our proximity to that post was
+considered a security from Indian interference, as at times not over
+half the outfit were with the herd. We had nearly completed our
+numbers when, one morning early in July, the redskins struck our camp
+with the violence of a cyclone. The attack occurred, as usual, about
+half an hour before dawn, and, to add to the difficulty of the
+situation, the cattle stampeded with the first shot fired. I was on
+last guard at the time, and conscious that it was an Indian attack I
+unslung a new Sharp's rifle and tore away in the lead of the herd.
+With the rumbling of over two thousand running cattle in my ears,
+hearing was out of the question, while my sense of sight was rendered
+useless by the darkness of the morning hour. Yet I had some very
+distinct visions; not from the herd of frenzied beeves, thundering at
+my heels, but every shade and shadow in the darkness looked like a
+pursuing Comanche. Once I leveled my rifle at a shadow, but hesitated,
+when a flash from a six-shooter revealed the object to be one of our
+own men. I knew there were four of us with the herd when it stampeded,
+but if the rest were as badly bewildered as I was, it was dangerous
+even to approach them. But I had a king's horse under me and trusted
+my life to him, and he led the run until breaking dawn revealed our
+identity to each other.
+
+The presence of two other men with the running herd was then
+discovered. We were fully five miles from camp, and giving our
+attention to the running cattle we soon turned the lead. The main body
+of the herd was strung back for a mile, but we fell on the leaders
+right and left, and soon had them headed back for camp. In the mean
+time, and with the breaking of day, our trail had been taken up by
+both drovers and half a dozen men, who overtook us shortly after
+sun-up. A count was made and we had every hoof. A determined fight had
+occurred over the remuda and commissary, and three of the Indians'
+ponies had been killed, while some thirty arrows had found lodgment
+in our wagon. There were no casualties in the cow outfit, and if any
+occurred among the redskins, the wounded or killed were carried away
+by their comrades before daybreak. All agreed that there were fully
+one hundred warriors in the attacking party, and as we slowly drifted
+the cattle back to camp doubt was expressed by the drovers whether it
+was advisable to drive the herd to its destination in midsummer with
+the Comanches out on their old hunting grounds.
+
+A report of the attack was sent into Griffin that morning, and a
+company of cavalry took up the Indian trail, followed it until
+evening, and returned to the post during the night. Approaching a
+government station was generally looked upon as an audacious act
+of the redskins, but the contempt of the Comanche and his ally for
+citizen and soldier alike was well known on the Texas frontier and
+excited little comment. Several years later, in broad daylight, they
+raided the town of Weatherford, untied every horse from the hitching
+racks, and defiantly rode away with their spoil. But the prevailing
+spirits in our camp were not the kind to yield to an inferior race,
+and, true to their obligation to the contractors, they pushed forward
+preparations to start the herd. Within a week our numbers were
+completed, two extra men were secured, and on the morning of July 14,
+1867, we trailed out up the Clear Fork with a few over twenty-six
+hundred big beeves. It was the same old route to the southwest, there
+was a decided lack of enthusiasm over the start, yet never a word of
+discouragement escaped the lips of men or employers. I have never been
+a superstitious man, have never had a premonition of impending danger,
+always rather felt an enthusiasm in my undertakings, yet that morning
+when the flag over Fort Griffin faded from our view, I believe there
+was not a man in the outfit but realized that our journey would be
+disputed by Indians.
+
+Nor had we long to wait. Near the juncture of Elm Creek with the main
+Clear Fork we were again attacked at the usual hour in the morning.
+The camp was the best available, and yet not a good one for defense,
+as the ground was broken by shallow draws and dry washes. There were
+about one hundred yards of clear space on three sides of the camp,
+while on the exposed side, and thirty yards distant, was a slight
+depression of several feet. Fortunately we had a moment's warning, by
+several horses snorting and pawing the ground, which caused Goodnight
+to quietly awake the men sleeping near him, who in turn were arousing
+the others, when a flight of arrows buried themselves in the ground
+around us and the war-whoop of the Comanche sounded. Ever cautious,
+we had studied the situation on encamping, and had tied our horses,
+cavalry fashion, to a heavy rope stretched from the protected side of
+the wagon to a high stake driven for the purpose. With the attack the
+majority of the men flung themselves into their saddles and started to
+the rescue of the remuda, while three others and myself, detailed in
+anticipation, ran for the ravine and dropped into it about forty yards
+above the wagon. We could easily hear the exultations of the redskins
+just below us in the shallow gorge, and an enfilade fire was poured
+into them at short range. Two guns were cutting the grass from
+underneath the wagon, and, knowing the Indians had crept up the
+depression on foot, we began a rapid fire from our carbines and
+six-shooters, which created the impression of a dozen rifles on their
+flank, and they took to their heels in a headlong rout.
+
+Once the firing ceased, we hailed our men under the wagon and returned
+to it. Three men were with the commissary, one of whom was a mere boy,
+who was wounded in the head from an arrow during the first moment of
+the attack, and was then raving piteously from his sufferings. The
+darky cook, who was one of the defenders of the wagon, was consoling
+the boy, so with a parting word of encouragement we swung into our
+saddles and rode in the direction of dim firing up the creek. The
+cattle were out of hearing, but the random shooting directed our
+course, and halting several times, we were finally piloted to the
+scene of activity. Our hail was met by a shout of welcome, and the
+next moment we dashed in among our own and reported the repulse of the
+Indians from the wagon. The remuda was dashing about, hither and yon,
+a mob of howling savages were circling about, barely within gunshot,
+while our men rode cautiously, checking and turning the frenzied
+saddle horses, and never missing a chance of judiciously throwing
+a little lead. There was no sign of daybreak, and, fearful for the
+safety of our commissary, we threw a cordon around the remuda and
+started for camp. Although there must have been over one hundred
+Indians in the general attack, we were still masters of the situation,
+though they followed us until the wagon was reached and the horses
+secured in a rope corral. A number of us again sought the protection
+of the ravine, and scattering above and below, we got in some telling
+shots at short range, when the redskins gave up the struggle and
+decamped. As they bore off westward on the main Clear Fork their
+hilarious shoutings could be distinctly heard for miles on the
+stillness of the morning air.
+
+An inventory of the camp was taken at dawn. The wounded lad received
+the first attention. The arrowhead had buried itself below and behind
+the ear, but nippers were applied and the steel point was extracted.
+The cook washed the wound thoroughly and applied a poultice of meal,
+which afforded almost instant relief. While horses were being saddled
+to follow the cattle, I cast my eye over the camp and counted over two
+hundred arrows within a radius of fifty yards. Two had found lodgment
+in the bear-skin on which I slept. Dozens were imbedded in the
+running-gear and box of the wagon, while the stationary flashes from
+the muzzle of the cook's Creedmoor had concentrated an unusual number
+of arrows in and around his citadel. The darky had exercised caution
+and corded the six ox-yokes against the front wheel of the wagon in
+such a manner as to form a barrier, using the spaces between the
+spokes as port-holes. As he never varied his position under the wagon,
+the Indians had aimed at his flash, and during the rather brief fight
+twenty arrows had buried themselves in that barricade of ox-yokes.
+
+The trail of the beeves was taken at dawn. This made the fifth
+stampede of the herd since we started, a very unfortunate thing, for
+stampeding easily becomes a mania with range cattle. The steers had
+left the bed-ground in an easterly direction, but finding that they
+were not pursued, the men had gradually turned them to the right, and
+at daybreak the herd was near Elm Creek, where it was checked. We rode
+the circle in a free gallop, the prairie being cut into dust and the
+trail as easy to follow as a highway. As the herd happened to land on
+our course, after the usual count the commissary was sent for, and it
+and the remuda were brought up. With the exception of wearing hobbles,
+the oxen were always given their freedom at night. This morning one of
+them was found in a dying condition from an arrow in his stomach. A
+humane shot had relieved the poor beast, and his mate trailed up to
+the herd, tied behind the wagon with a rope. There were several odd
+oxen among the cattle and the vacancy was easily filled. If I am
+lacking in compassion for my red brother, the lack has been heightened
+by his fiendish atrocities to dumb animals. I have been witness to
+the ruin of several wagon trains captured by Indians, have seen their
+ashes and irons, and even charred human remains, and was scarce moved
+to pity because of the completeness of the hellish work. Death is
+merciful and humane when compared to the hamstringing of oxen, gouging
+out their eyes, severing their ears, cutting deep slashes from
+shoulder to hip, and leaving the innocent victim to a lingering death.
+And when dumb animals are thus mutilated in every conceivable form
+of torment, as if for the amusement of the imps of the evil one, my
+compassion for poor Lo ceases.
+
+It was impossible to send the wounded boy back to the settlements, so
+a comfortable bunk was made for him in the wagon. Late in the evening
+we resumed our journey, expecting to drive all night, as it was good
+starlight. Fair progress was made, but towards morning a rainstorm
+struck us, and the cattle again stampeded. In all my outdoor
+experience I never saw such pitchy darkness as accompanied that storm;
+although galloping across a prairie in a blustering rainfall, it
+required no strain of the imagination to see hills and mountains and
+forests on every hand. Fourteen men were with the herd, yet it was
+impossible to work in unison, and when day broke we had less than half
+the cattle. The lead had been maintained, but in drifting at random
+with the storm several contingents of beeves had cut off from the main
+body, supposedly from the rear. When the sun rose, men were dispatched
+in pairs and trios, the trail of the missing steers was picked up, and
+by ten o'clock every hoof was in hand or accounted for. I came in with
+the last contingent and found the camp in an uproar over the supposed
+desertion of one of the hands. Yankee Bill, a sixteen-year-old boy,
+and another man were left in charge of the herd when the rest of us
+struck out to hunt the missing cattle. An hour after sunrise the boy
+was seen to ride deliberately away from his charge, without cause or
+excuse, and had not returned. Desertion was the general supposition.
+Had he not been mounted on one of the firm's horses the offense might
+have been overlooked. But the delivery of the herd depended on the
+saddle stock, and two men were sent on his trail. The rain had
+freshened the ground, and after trailing the horse for fifteen miles
+the boy was overtaken while following cattle tracks towards the herd.
+He had simply fallen asleep in the saddle, and the horse had wandered
+away. Yankee Bill had made the trip to Sumner with us the fall before,
+and stood well with his employers, so the incident was forgiven and
+forgotten.
+
+From Elm Creek to the beginning of the dry drive was one continual
+struggle with stampeding cattle or warding off Indians. In spite of
+careful handling, the herd became spoiled, and would run from the
+howl of a wolf or the snort of a horse. The dark hour before dawn was
+usually the crucial period, and until the arid belt was reached all
+hands were aroused at two o'clock in the morning. The start was timed
+so as to reach the dry drive during the full of the moon, and although
+it was a test of endurance for man and beast, there was relief in
+the desert waste--from the lurking savage--which recompensed for its
+severity. Three sleepless nights were borne without a murmur, and on
+our reaching Horsehead Crossing and watering the cattle they were
+turned back on the mesa and freed for the time being. The presence of
+Indian sign around the ford was the reason for turning loose, but at
+the round-up the next morning the experiment proved a costly one, as
+three hundred and sixty-three beeves were missing. The cattle were
+nervous and feverish through suffering from thirst, and had they been
+bedded closely, stampeding would have resulted, the foreman choosing
+the least of two alternatives in scattering the herd. That night we
+slept the sleep of exhausted men, and the next morning even awaited
+the sun on the cattle before throwing them together, giving the Indian
+thieves full ten hours the start. The stealing of cattle by the
+Comanches was something unusual, and there was just reason for
+believing that the present theft was instigated by renegade Mexicans,
+allies in the war of '36. Three distinct trails left the range around
+the Crossing, all heading south, each accompanied by fully fifty
+horsemen. One contingent crossed the Pecos at an Indian trail about
+twenty-five miles below Horsehead, another still below, while the
+third continued on down the left bank of the river. Yankee Bill and
+"Mocho" Wilson, a one-armed man, followed the latter trail, sighting
+them late in the evening, but keeping well in the open. When the
+Comanches had satisfied themselves that but two men were following
+them, small bands of warriors dropped out under cover of the broken
+country and attempted to gain the rear of our men. Wilson was an old
+plainsman, and once he saw the hopelessness of recovering the cattle,
+he and Yankee Bill began a cautious retreat. During the night and when
+opposite the ford where the first contingent of beeves crossed, they
+were waylaid, while returning, by the wily redskins. The nickering of
+a pony warned them of the presence of the enemy, and circling wide,
+they avoided an ambush, though pursued by the stealthy Comanches.
+Wilson was mounted on a good horse, while Yankee Bill rode a mule, and
+so closely were they pursued, that on reaching the first broken ground
+Bill turned into a coulee, while Mocho bore off on an angle, firing
+his six-shooter to attract the enemy after him. Yankee Bill told
+us afterward how he held the muzzle of his mule for an hour on
+dismounting, to keep the rascal from bawling after the departing
+horse. Wilson reached camp after midnight and reported the
+hopelessness of the situation; but morning came, and with it no Yankee
+Bill in camp. Half a dozen of us started in search of him, under the
+leadership of the one-armed plainsman, and an hour afterward Bill was
+met riding leisurely up the river. When rebuked by his comrade for not
+coming in under cover of darkness, he retorted, "Hell, man, I wasn't
+going to run my mule to death just because there were a few Comanches
+in the country!"
+
+In trailing the missing cattle the day previous, I had accompanied Mr.
+Loving to the second Indian crossing. The country opposite the ford
+was broken and brushy, the trail was five or six hours old, and,
+fearing an ambush, the drover refused to follow them farther. With the
+return of Yankee Bill safe and sound to camp, all hope of recovering
+the beeves was abandoned, and we crossed the Pecos and turned up that
+river. An effort was now made to quiet the herd and bring it back to a
+normal condition, in order to fit it for delivery. With Indian raids,
+frenzy in stampeding, and an unavoidable dry drive, the cattle had
+gaunted like rails. But with an abundance of water and by merely
+grazing the remainder of the distance, it was believed that the beeves
+would recover their old form and be ready for inspection at the end of
+the month of August. Indian sign was still plentiful, but in smaller
+bands, and with an unceasing vigilance we wormed our way up the Pecos
+valley.
+
+When within a day's ride of the post, Mr. Loving took Wilson with him
+and started in to Fort Sumner. The heat of August on the herd had made
+recovery slow, but if a two weeks' postponement could be agreed on,
+it was believed the beeves would qualify. The circumstances were
+unavoidable; the government had been lenient before; so, hopeful of
+accomplishing his mission, the senior member of the firm set out on
+his way. The two men left camp at daybreak, cautioned by Goodnight
+to cross the river by a well-known trail, keeping in the open, even
+though it was farther, as a matter of safety. They were well mounted
+for the trip, and no further concern was given to their welfare until
+the second morning, when Loving's horse came into camp, whinnying for
+his mates. There were blood-stains on the saddle, and the story of a
+man who was cautious for others and careless of himself was easily
+understood. Conjecture was rife. The presence of the horse admitted of
+several interpretations. An Indian ambush was the most probable, and
+a number of men were detailed to ferret out the mystery. We were then
+seventy miles below Sumner, and with orders to return to the herd at
+night six of us immediately started. The searching party was divided
+into squads, one on either side of the Pecos River, but no results
+were obtained from the first day's hunt. The herd had moved up fifteen
+miles during the day, and the next morning the search was resumed,
+the work beginning where it had ceased the evening before. Late that
+afternoon and from the east bank, as Goodnight and I were scanning the
+opposite side of the river, a lone man, almost naked, emerged from a
+cave across the channel and above us. Had it not been for his missing
+arm it is doubtful if we should have recognized him, for he seemed
+demented. We rode opposite and hailed, when he skulked back into his
+refuge; but we were satisfied that it was Wilson. The other searchers
+were signaled to, and finding an entrance into the river, we swam it
+and rode up to the cave. A shout of welcome greeted us, and the next
+instant Wilson staggered out of the cavern, his eyes filled with
+tears.
+
+He was in a horrible physical condition, and bewildered. We were an
+hour getting his story. They had been ambushed by Indians and ran for
+the brakes of the river, but were compelled to abandon their horses,
+one of which was captured, the other escaping. Loving was wounded
+twice, in the wrist and the side, but from the cover gained they had
+stood off the savages until darkness fell. During the night Loving,
+unable to walk, believed that he was going to die, and begged Wilson
+to make his escape, and if possible return to the herd. After making
+his employer as comfortable as possible, Wilson buried his own rifle,
+pistols, and knife, and started on his return to the herd. Being
+one-armed, he had discarded his boots and nearly all his clothing to
+assist him in swimming the river, which he had done any number of
+times, traveling by night and hiding during the day. When found in the
+cave, his feet were badly swollen, compelling him to travel in the
+river-bed to protect them from sandburs and thorns. He was taken up
+behind one of the boys on a horse, and we returned to camp.
+
+Wilson firmly believed that Loving was dead, and described the scene
+of the fight so clearly that any one familiar with the river would
+have no difficulty in locating the exact spot. But the next morning as
+we were nearing the place we met an ambulance in the road, the driver
+of which reported that Loving had been brought into Sumner by a
+freight outfit. On receipt of this information Goodnight hurried on to
+the post, while the rest of us looked over the scene, recovered the
+buried guns of Wilson, and returned to the herd. Subsequently we
+learned that the next morning after Wilson left Loving had crawled to
+the river for a drink, and, looking upstream, saw some one a mile
+or more distant watering a team. By firing his pistol he attracted
+attention to himself and so was rescued, the Indians having decamped
+during the night. To his partner, Mr. Loving corroborated Wilson's
+story, and rejoiced to know that his comrade had also escaped.
+Everything that medical science could do was done by the post surgeons
+for the veteran cowman, but after lingering twenty-one days he died.
+Wilson and the wounded boy both recovered, the cattle were delivered
+in two installments, and early in October we started homeward,
+carrying the embalmed remains of the pioneer drover in a light
+conveyance. The trip was uneventful, the traveling was done
+principally by night, and on the arrival at Loving's frontier home,
+six hundred miles from Fort Sumner, his remains were laid at rest with
+Masonic honors.
+
+Over thirty years afterward a claim was made against the government
+for the cattle lost at Horsehead Crossing. Wilson and I were witnesses
+before the commissioner sent to take evidence in the case. The hearing
+was held at a federal court, and after it was over, Wilson, while
+drinking, accused me of suspecting him of deserting his employer,--a
+suspicion I had, in fact, entertained at the time we discovered him
+at the cave. I had never breathed it to a living man, yet it was the
+truth, slumbering for a generation before finding expression.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+SUMMER OF '68
+
+
+The death of Mr. Loving ended my employment in driving cattle to Fort
+Sumner. The junior member of the firm was anxious to continue the
+trade then established, but the absence of any protection against the
+Indians, either state or federal, was hopeless. Texas was suffering
+from the internal troubles of Reconstruction, the paternal government
+had small concern for the welfare of a State recently in arms against
+the Union, and there was little or no hope for protection of life or
+property under existing conditions. The outfit was accordingly paid
+off, and I returned with George Edwards to his father's ranch. The
+past eighteen months had given me a strenuous schooling, but I had
+emerged on my feet, feeling that once more I was entitled to a place
+among men. The risk that had been incurred by the drovers acted like a
+physical stimulant, the outdoor life had hardened me like iron, and
+I came out of the crucible bright with the hope of youth and buoyant
+with health and strength.
+
+Meanwhile there had sprung up a small trade in cattle with the North.
+Baxter Springs and Abilene, both in Kansas, were beginning to be
+mentioned as possible markets, light drives having gone to those
+points during the present and previous summers. The elder Edwards had
+been investigating the new outlet, and on the return of George and
+myself was rather enthusiastic over the prospects of a market. No
+Indian trouble had been experienced on the northern route, and
+although demand generally was unsatisfactory, the faith of drovers
+in the future was unshaken. A railroad had recently reached Abilene,
+stockyards had been built for the accommodation of shippers during the
+summer of 1861, while a firm of shrewd, far-seeing Yankees made great
+pretensions of having established a market and meeting-point for
+buyers and sellers of Texas cattle. The promoters of the scheme had a
+contract with the railroad, whereby they were to receive a bonus on
+all cattle shipped from that point, and the Texas drovers were offered
+every inducement to make Abilene their destination in the future. The
+unfriendliness of other States against Texas cattle, caused by the
+ravages of fever imparted by southern to domestic animals, had
+resulted in quarantine being enforced against all stock from the
+South. Matters were in an unsettled condition, and less than one per
+cent of the State's holdings of cattle had found an outside market
+during the year 1867, though ranchmen in general were hopeful.
+
+I spent the remainder of the month of October at the Edwards ranch. We
+had returned in time for the fall branding, and George and I both made
+acceptable hands at the work. I had mastered the art of handling a
+rope, and while we usually corralled everything, scarcely a day passed
+but occasion occurred to rope wild cattle out of the brush. Anxiety to
+learn soon made me an expert, and before the month ended I had caught
+and branded for myself over one hundred mavericks. Cattle were so
+worthless that no one went to the trouble to brand completely; the
+crumbs were acceptable to me, and, since no one else cared for them
+and I did, the flotsam and jetsam of the range fell to my brand. Had I
+been ambitious, double that number could have been easily secured, but
+we never went off the home range in gathering calves to brand. All
+the hands on the Edwards ranch, darkies and Mexicans, were constantly
+throwing into the corrals and pointing out unclaimed cattle, while I
+threw and indelibly ran the figures "44" on their sides. I was partial
+to heifers, and when one was sighted there was no brush so thick or
+animal so wild that it was not "fish" to my rope. In many instances a
+cow of unknown brand was still followed by her two-year-old, yearling,
+and present calf. Under the customs of the country, any unbranded
+animal, one year old or over, was a maverick, and the property of any
+one who cared to brand the unclaimed stray. Thousands of cattle thus
+lived to old age, multiplied and increased, died and became food for
+worms, unowned.
+
+The branding over, I soon grew impatient to be doing something. There
+would be no movement in cattle before the following spring, and a
+winter of idleness was not to my liking. Buffalo hunting had lost its
+charm with me, the contentious savages were jealous of any intrusion
+on their old hunting grounds, and, having met them on numerous
+occasions during the past eighteen months, I had no further desire to
+cultivate their acquaintance. I still owned my horse, now acclimated,
+and had money in my purse, and one morning I announced my intention
+of visiting my other comrades in Texas. Protests were made against
+my going, and as an incentive to have me remain, the elder Edwards
+offered to outfit George and me the following spring with a herd of
+cattle and start us to Kansas. I was anxious for employment, but
+assuring my host that he could count on my services, I still
+pleaded my anxiety to see other portions of the State and renew old
+acquaintances. The herd could not possibly start before the middle of
+April, so telling my friends that I would be on hand to help gather
+the cattle, I saddled my horse and took leave of the hospitable ranch.
+
+After a week of hard riding I reached the home of a former comrade on
+the Colorado River below Austin. A hearty welcome awaited me, but
+the apparent poverty of the family made my visit rather a brief one.
+Continuing eastward, my next stop was in Washington County, one of the
+oldest settled communities in the State. The blight of Reconstruction
+seemed to have settled over the people like a pall, the frontier
+having escaped it. But having reached my destination, I was determined
+to make the best of it. At the house of my next comrade I felt a
+little more at home, he having married since his return and being
+naturally of a cheerful disposition. For a year previous to the
+surrender he and I had wrangled beef for the Confederacy and had been
+stanch cronies. We had also been in considerable mischief together;
+and his wife seemed to know me by reputation as well as I knew her
+husband. Before the wire edge wore off my visit I was as free with the
+couple as though they had been my own brother and sister. The fact
+was all too visible that they were struggling with poverty, though
+lightened by cheerfulness, and to remain long a guest would have
+been an imposition; accordingly I began to skirmish for something to
+do--anything, it mattered not what. The only work in sight was with a
+carpet-bag dredging company, improving the lower Brazos River, under a
+contract from the Reconstruction government of the State. My old crony
+pleaded with me to have nothing to do with the job, offering to share
+his last crust with me; but then he had not had all the animosities of
+the war roughed out of him, and I had. I would work for a Federal as
+soon as any one else, provided he paid me the promised wage, and,
+giving rein to my impulse, I made application at the dredging
+headquarters and was put in charge of a squad of negroes.
+
+I was to have sixty dollars a month and board. The company operated
+a commissary store, a regular "pluck-me" concern, and I shortly
+understood the incentive in offering me such good wages. All employees
+were encouraged and expected to draw their pay in supplies, which were
+sold at treble their actual value from the commissary. I had been
+raised among negroes, knew how to humor and handle them, the work was
+easy, and I drifted along with all my faculties alert. Before long I
+saw that the improvement of the river was the least of the company's
+concern, the employment of a large number of men being the chief
+motive, so long as they drew their wages in supplies. True,
+we scattered a few lodgments of driftwood; with the aid of a
+flat-bottomed scow we windlassed up and cut out a number of old snags,
+felled trees into the river to prevent erosion of its banks, and we
+built a large number of wind-dams to straighten or change the channel.
+It seemed to be a blanket contract,--a reward to the faithful,--and
+permitted of any number of extras which might be charged for at any
+figures the contractors saw fit to make. At the end of the first month
+I naturally looked for my wages. Various excuses were made, but I was
+cordially invited to draw anything needed from the commissary.
+
+A second month passed, during which time the only currency current was
+in the form of land certificates. The Commonwealth of Texas, on her
+admission into the Union, retained the control of her lands, over half
+the entire area of the State being unclaimed at the close of the civil
+war. The carpet-bag government, then in the saddle, was prodigal
+to its favorites in bonuses of land to any and all kinds of public
+improvement. Certificates were issued in the form of scrip calling for
+sections of the public domain of six hundred and forty acres each, and
+were current at from three to five cents an acre. The owner of one or
+more could locate on any of the unoccupied lands of the present State
+by merely surveying and recording his selection at the county seat.
+The scrip was bandied about, no one caring for it, and on the
+termination of my second month I was offered four sections for my
+services up to date, provided I would remain longer in the company's
+employ. I knew the value of land in the older States, in fact, already
+had my eye on some splendid valleys on the Clear Fork, and accepted
+the offered certificates. The idea found a firm lodgment in my mind,
+and I traded one of my six-shooters even for a section of scrip, and
+won several more in card games. I had learned to play poker in the
+army,--knew the rudiments of the game at least,--and before the middle
+of March I was the possessor of certificates calling for thirty
+sections of land. As the time was drawing near for my return to Palo
+Pinto County, I severed my connection with the dredging company and
+returned to the home of my old comrade. I had left my horse with him,
+and under the pretense of paying for feeding the animal well for the
+return trip, had slipped my crony a small gold piece several times
+during the winter. He ridiculed me over my land scrip, but I was
+satisfied, and after spending a day with the couple I started on my
+return.
+
+Evidences of spring were to be seen on every hand. My ride northward
+was a race with the season, but I outrode the coming grass, the
+budding trees, the first flowers, and the mating birds, and reached
+the Edwards ranch on the last day of March. Any number of cattle had
+already been tendered in making up the herd, over half the saddle
+horses necessary were in hand or promised, and they were only awaiting
+my return. I had no idea what the requirements of the Kansas market
+were, and no one else seemed to know, but it was finally decided to
+drive a mixed herd of twenty-five hundred by way of experiment. The
+promoters of the Abilene market had flooded Texas with advertising
+matter during the winter, urging that only choice cattle should be
+driven, yet the information was of little value where local customs
+classified all live stock. A beef was a beef, whether he weighed eight
+or twelve hundred pounds, a cow was a cow when over three years old,
+and so on to the end of the chapter. From a purely selfish motive of
+wanting strong cattle for the trip, I suggested that nothing under
+three-year-olds should be used in making up the herd, a preference to
+be given matured beeves. George Edwards also favored the idea, and as
+our experience in trailing cattle carried some little weight, orders
+were given to gather nothing that had not age, flesh, and strength for
+the journey.
+
+I was to have fifty dollars a month and furnish my own mount. Horses
+were cheap, but I wanted good ones, and after skirmishing about I
+secured four to my liking in return for one hundred dollars in gold.
+I still had some money left from my wages in driving cattle to Fort
+Sumner, and I began looking about for oxen in which to invest
+the remainder. Having little, I must be very careful and make my
+investment in something staple; and remembering the fine prices
+current in Colorado the spring before for work cattle, I offered to
+supply the oxen for the commissary. My proposal was accepted, and
+accordingly I began making inquiry for wagon stock. Finally I heard of
+a freight outfit in the adjoining county east, the owner of which had
+died the winter before, the administrator offering his effects
+for sale. I lost no time in seeing the oxen and hunting up their
+custodian, who proved to be a frontier surveyor at the county seat.
+There were two teams of six yoke each, fine cattle, and I had hopes
+of being able to buy six or eight oxen. But the surveyor insisted on
+selling both teams, offering to credit me on any balance if I could
+give him security. I had never mentioned my land scrip to any one,
+and wishing to see if it had any value, I produced and tendered the
+certificates to the surveyor. He looked them over, made a computation,
+and informed me that they were worth in his county about five cents an
+acre, or nearly one thousand dollars. He also offered to accept them
+as security, assuring me that he could use some of them in locating
+lands for settlers. But it was not my idea to sell the land scrip,
+and a trade was easily effected on the twenty-four oxen, yokes, and
+chains, I paying what money I could spare and leaving the certificates
+for security on the balance. As I look back over an eventful life, I
+remember no special time in which I felt quite as rich as the evening
+that I drove into the Edwards ranch with twelve yoke of oxen chained
+together in one team. The darkies and Mexicans gathered about, even
+the family, to admire the big fellows, and I remember a thrill which
+shivered through me as Miss Gertrude passed down the column, kindly
+patting each near ox as though she felt a personal interest in my
+possessions.
+
+We waited for good grass before beginning the gathering. Half a
+dozen round-ups on the home range would be all that was necessary in
+completing the numbers allotted to the Edwards ranch. Three other
+cowmen were going to turn in a thousand head and furnish and mount a
+man each, there being no occasion to road-brand, as every one knew the
+ranch, brands which would go to make up the herd. An outfit of twelve
+men was considered sufficient, as it was an open prairie country and
+through civilized tribes between Texas and Kansas. All the darkies
+and Mexicans from the home ranch who could be spared were to be taken
+along, making it necessary to hire only three outside men. The drive
+was looked upon as an experiment, there being no outlay of money, even
+the meal and bacon which went into the commissary being supplied from
+the Edwards household. The country contributed the horses and cattle,
+and if the project paid out, well and good; if not there was small
+loss, as they were worth nothing at home. The 20th of April was set
+for starting. Three days' work on the home range and we had two
+thousand cattle under herd, consisting of dry or barren cows and
+steers three years old or over, fully half the latter being heavy
+beeves. We culled back and trimmed our allotment down to sixteen
+hundred, and when the outside contingents were thrown in we had a few
+over twenty-eight hundred cattle in the herd. A Mexican was placed in
+charge of the remuda, a darky, with three yoke of oxen, looked after
+the commissary, and with ten mounted men around the herd we started.
+
+Five and six horses were allotted to the man, each one had one or
+two six-shooters, while half a dozen rifles of different makes were
+carried in the wagon. The herd moved northward by easy marches, open
+country being followed until we reached Red River, where we had the
+misfortune to lose George Edwards from sickness. He was the foreman
+from whom all took orders. While crossing into the Chickasaw Nation it
+was necessary to swim the cattle. We cut them into small bunches, and
+in fording and refording a whole afternoon was spent in the water.
+Towards evening our foreman was rendered useless from a chill,
+followed by fever during the night. The next morning he was worse, and
+as it was necessary to move the herd out to open country, Edwards took
+an old negro with him and went back to a ranch on the Texas side.
+Several days afterward the darky overtook us with the word that his
+master would be unable to accompany the cattle, and that I was to take
+the herd through to Abilene. The negro remained with us, and at
+the first opportunity I picked up another man. Within a week we
+encountered a country trail, bearing slightly northwest, over which
+herds had recently passed. This trace led us into another, which
+followed up the south side of the Washita River, and two weeks after
+reaching the Nation we entered what afterward became famous as the
+Chisholm trail. The Chickasaw was one of the civilized tribes; its
+members had intermarried with the whites until their identity as
+Indians was almost lost. They owned fine homes and farms in the
+Washita valley, were hospitable to strangers, and where the aboriginal
+blood was properly diluted the women were strikingly beautiful.
+In this same valley, fifteen years afterward, I saw a herd of one
+thousand and seven head of corn-fed cattle. The grain was delivered at
+feed-lots at ten cents a bushel, and the beeves had then been on full
+feed for nine months. There were no railroads in the country and the
+only outlet for the surplus corn was to feed it to cattle and drive
+them to some shipping-point in Kansas.
+
+Compared with the route to Fort Sumner, the northern one was a
+paradise. No day passed but there was an abundance of water, while the
+grass simply carpeted the country. We merely soldiered along, crossing
+what was then one of the No-man's lands and the Cherokee Outlet, never
+sighting another herd until after entering Kansas. We amused ourselves
+like urchins out for a holiday, the country was full of all kinds of
+game, and our darky cook was kept busy frying venison and roasting
+turkeys. A calf was born on the trail, the mother of which was quite
+gentle, and we broke her for a milk cow, while "Bull," the youngster,
+became a great pet. A cow-skin was slung under the wagon for carrying
+wood and heavy cooking utensils, and the calf was given a berth in the
+hammock until he was able to follow. But when Bull became older he
+hung around the wagon like a dog, preferring the company of the outfit
+to that of his own mother. He soon learned to eat cold biscuit and
+corn-pone, and would hang around at meal-time, ready for the scraps.
+We always had to notice where the calf lay down to sleep, as he was
+a black rascal, and the men were liable to stumble over him while
+changing guards during the night. He never could be prevailed on to
+walk with his mother, but followed the wagon or rode in his hammock,
+and was always happy as a lark when the recipient of the outfit's
+attentions. We sometimes secured as much as two gallons of milk a
+day from the cow, but it was pitiful to watch her futile efforts at
+coaxing her offspring away from the wagon.
+
+We passed to the west of the town of Wichita and reached our
+destination early in June. There I found several letters awaiting me,
+with instructions to dispose of the herd or to report what was the
+prospect of effecting a sale. We camped about five miles from Abilene,
+and before I could post myself on cattle values half a dozen buyers
+had looked the herd over. Men were in the market anxious for beef
+cattle with which to fill army and Indian contracts, feeders from
+Eastern States, shippers and speculators galore, cowmen looking for
+she stuff with which to start new ranches, while scarcely a day passed
+but inquiry was made by settlers for oxen with which to break prairie.
+A dozen herds had arrived ahead of us, the market had fairly opened,
+and, once I got the drift of current prices, I was as busy as a farmer
+getting ready to cut his buckwheat. Every yoke of oxen was sold within
+a week, one ranchman took all the cows, an army contractor took one
+thousand of the largest beeves, feeders from Iowa took the younger
+steers, and within six weeks after arriving I did not have a hoof
+left. In the mean time I kept an account of each sale, brands and
+numbers, in order to render a statement to the owners of the cattle.
+As fast as the money was received I sent it home by drafts, except the
+proceeds from the oxen, which was a private matter. I bought and sold
+two whole remudas of horses on speculation, clearing fifteen of the
+best ones and three hundred dollars on the transactions.
+
+The facilities for handling cattle at Abilene were not completed until
+late in the season of '67, yet twenty-five thousand cattle found a
+market there that summer and fall. The drive of the present year
+would triple that number, and every one seemed pleased with future
+prospects. The town took on an air of frontier prosperity; saloons
+and gambling and dance halls multiplied, and every legitimate line of
+business flourished like a green bay tree. I made the acquaintance of
+every drover and was generally looked upon as an extra good salesman,
+the secret being in our cattle, which were choice. For instance,
+Northern buyers could see three dollars a head difference in
+three-year-old steers, but with the average Texan the age classified
+them all alike. My boyhood knowledge of cattle had taught me the
+difference, but in range dealing it was impossible to apply the
+principle. I made many warm friends among both buyers and drovers,
+bringing them together and effecting sales, and it was really a matter
+of regret that I had to leave before the season was over. I loved the
+atmosphere of dicker and traffic, had made one of the largest sales of
+the season with our beeves, and was leaving, firm in the conviction
+that I had overlooked no feature of the market of future value.
+
+After selling the oxen we broke some of our saddle stock to harness,
+altered the wagon tongue for horses, and started across the country
+for home, taking our full remuda with us. Where I had gone up the
+trail with five horses, I was going back with twenty; some of the oxen
+I had sold at treble their original cost, while none of them failed
+to double my money--on credit. Taking it all in all, I had never
+seen such good times and made money as easily. On the back track we
+followed the trail, but instead of going down the Washita as we had
+come, we followed the Chisholm trail to the Texas boundary, crossing
+at what was afterward known as Red River Station. From there home was
+an easy matter, and after an absence of four months and five days the
+outfit rode into the Edwards ranch with a flourish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+SOWING WILD OATS
+
+
+The results from driving cattle north were a surprise to every one. My
+employers were delighted with their experiment, the general expense of
+handling the herd not exceeding fifty cents a head. The enterprise had
+netted over fifty-two thousand dollars, the saddle horses had returned
+in good condition, while due credit was given me in the general
+management. From my sale accounts I made out a statement, and once my
+expenses were approved it was an easy matter to apportion each owner
+his just dues in the season's drive. This over I was free to go my
+way. The only incident of moment in the final settlement was the
+waggish contention of one of the owners, who expressed amazement that
+I ever remitted any funds or returned, roguishly admitting that no
+one expected it. Then suddenly, pretending to have discovered the
+governing motive, he summoned Miss Gertrude, and embarrassed her with
+a profusion of thanks, averring that she alone had saved him from a
+loss of four hundred beeves.
+
+The next move was to redeem my land scrip. The surveyor was anxious
+to buy a portion of it, but I was too rich to part with even a single
+section. During our conversation, however, it developed that he held
+his commission from the State, and when I mentioned my intention of
+locating land, he made application to do the surveying. The fact that
+I expected to make my locations in another county made no difference
+to a free-lance official, and accordingly we came to an agreement. The
+apple of my eye was a valley on the Clear Fork, above its juncture
+with the main Brazos, and from maps in the surveyor's office I was
+able to point out the locality where I expected to make my locations.
+He proved an obliging official and gave me all the routine details,
+and an appointment was made with him to report a week later at the
+Edwards ranch. A wagon and cook would be necessary, chain carriers
+and flagmen must be taken along, and I began skirmishing about for an
+outfit. The three hired men who had been up the trail with me were
+still in the country, and I engaged them and secured a cook. George
+Edwards loaned me a wagon and two yoke of oxen, even going along
+himself for company. The commissary was outfitted for a month's stay,
+and a day in advance of the expected arrival of the surveyor the
+outfit was started up the Brazos. Each of the men had one or more
+private horses, and taking all of mine along, we had a remuda of
+thirty odd saddle horses. George and I remained behind, and on the
+arrival of the surveyor we rode by way of Palo Pinto, the county seat,
+to which all unorganized territory to the west was attached for legal
+purposes. Our chief motive in passing the town was to see if there
+were any lands located near the juncture of the Clear Fork with the
+mother stream, and thus secure an established corner from which to
+begin our survey. But the records showed no land taken up around the
+confluence of these watercourses, making it necessary to establish a
+corner.
+
+Under the old customs, handed down from the Spanish to the Texans,
+corners were always established from natural landmarks. The union of
+creeks arid rivers, mounds, lagoons, outcropping of rock, in fact
+anything unchangeable and established by nature, were used as a point
+of commencement. In the locating of Spanish land grants a century and
+a half previous, sand-dunes were frequently used, and when these old
+concessions became of value and were surveyed, some of the corners had
+shifted a mile or more by the action of the wind and seasons on the
+sand-hills. Accordingly, on overtaking our outfit we headed for the
+juncture of the Brazos and Clear Fork, reaching our destination the
+second day. The first thing was to establish a corner or commencement
+point. Some heavy timber grew around the confluence, so, selecting an
+old patriarch pin oak between the two streams, we notched the tree
+and ran a line to low water at the juncture of the two rivers. Other
+witness trees were established and notched, lines were run at angles
+to the banks of either stream, and a hole was dug two feet deep
+between the roots of the pin oak, a stake set therein, and the
+excavation filled with charcoal and covered. A legal corner or
+commencement point was thus established; but as the land that I
+coveted lay some distance up the Clear Fork, it was necessary first to
+run due south six miles and establish a corner, and thence run west
+the same distance and locate another one.
+
+The thirty sections of land scrip would entitle me to a block of
+ground five by six miles in extent, and I concluded to locate the bulk
+of it on the south side of the Clear Fork. A permanent camp was now
+established, the actual work of locating the land requiring about ten
+days, when the surveyor and Edwards set out on their return. They were
+to touch at the county seat, record the established corners and
+file my locations, leaving the other boys and me behind. It was my
+intention to build a corral and possibly a cabin on the land, having
+no idea that we would remain more than a few weeks longer. Timber was
+plentiful, and, selecting a site well out on the prairie, we began the
+corral. It was no easy task; palisades were cut twelve feet long and
+out of durable woods, and the gate-posts were fourteen inches in
+diameter at the small end, requiring both yoke of oxen to draw them
+to the chosen site. The latter were cut two feet longer than the
+palisades, the extra length being inserted in the ground, giving them
+a stability to carry the bars with which the gateway was closed. Ten
+days were spent in cutting and drawing timber, some of the larger
+palisades being split in two so as to enable five men to load them on
+the wagon. The digging of the narrow trench, five feet deep, in which
+the palisades were set upright, was a sore trial; but the ground was
+sandy, and by dint of perseverance it was accomplished. Instead of
+a few weeks, over a month was spent on the corral, but when it was
+finished it would hold a thousand stampeding cattle through the
+stormiest night that ever blew.
+
+After finishing the corral we hunted a week. The country was alive
+with game of all kinds, even an occasional buffalo, while wild and
+unbranded cattle were seen daily. None of the men seemed anxious to
+leave the valley, but the commissary had to be replenished, so two of
+us made the trip to Belknap with a pack horse, returning the next day
+with meal, sugar, and coffee. A cabin was begun and completed in ten
+days, a crude but stable affair, with clapboard roof, clay floor,
+and ample fireplace. It was now late in September, and as the usual
+branding season was at hand, cow-hunting outfits might be expected to
+pass down the valley. The advantage of corrals would naturally make my
+place headquarters for cowmen, and we accordingly settled down until
+the branding season was over. But the abundance of mavericks and wild
+cattle was so tempting that we had three hundred under herd when the
+first cow-hunting outfits arrived. At one lake on what is now known
+as South Prairie, in a single moonlight night, we roped and tied down
+forty head, the next morning finding thirty of them unbranded and
+therefore unowned. All tame cattle would naturally water in the
+daytime, and anything coming in at night fell a victim to our ropes. A
+wooden toggle was fastened with rawhide to its neck, so it would trail
+between its forelegs, to prevent running, when the wild maverick was
+freed and allowed to enter the herd. After a week or ten days, if an
+animal showed any disposition to quiet down, it was again thrown,
+branded, and the toggle removed. We corralled the little herd every
+night, adding to it daily, scouting far and wide for unowned or wild
+cattle. But when other outfits came up or down the valley of the Clear
+Fork we joined forces with them, tendering our corrals for branding
+purposes, our rake-off being the mavericks and eligible strays. Many
+a fine quarter of beef was left at our cabin by passing ranchmen, and
+when the gathering ended we had a few over five hundred cattle for our
+time and trouble.
+
+Fine weather favored us and we held the mavericks under herd until
+late in December. The wild ones gradually became gentle, and with
+constant handling these wild animals were located until they would
+come in of their own accord for the privilege of sleeping in a corral.
+But when winter approached the herd was turned free, that the cattle
+might protect themselves from storms, and we gathered our few effects
+together and started for the settlements. It was with reluctance that
+I left that primitive valley. Somehow or other, primal conditions
+possessed a charm for me which, coupled with an innate love of the
+land and the animals that inhabit it, seemed to influence and outline
+my future course of life. The pride of possession was mine; with my
+own hands and abilities had I earned the land, while the overflow from
+a thousand hills stocked my new ranch. I was now the owner of lands
+and cattle; my father in his palmiest days never dreamed of such
+possessions as were mine, while youth and opportunity encouraged me to
+greater exertions.
+
+We reached the Edwards ranch a few days before Christmas. The boys
+were settled with and returned to their homes, and I was once more
+adrift. Forty odd calves had been branded as the increase of my
+mavericking of the year before, and, still basking in the smile of
+fortune, I found a letter awaiting me from Major Seth Mabry of Austin,
+anxious to engage my services as a trail foreman for the coming
+summer. I had met Major Seth the spring before at Abilene, and was
+instrumental in finding him a buyer for his herd, and otherwise we
+became fast friends. There were no outstanding obligations to my
+former employers, so when a protest was finally raised against my
+going, I had the satisfaction of vouching for George Edwards, to the
+manner born, and a better range cowman than I was. The same group of
+ranchmen expected to drive another herd the coming spring, and I made
+it a point to see each one personally, urging that nothing but choice
+cattle should be sent up the trail. My long acquaintance with the
+junior Edwards enabled me to speak emphatically and to the point,
+and I lectured him thoroughly as to the requirements of the Abilene
+market.
+
+I notified Major Mabry that I would be on hand within a month. The
+holiday season soon passed, and leaving my horses at the Edwards
+ranch, I saddled the most worthless one and started south. The trip
+was uneventful, except that I traded horses twice, reaching my
+destination within a week, having seen no country en route that could
+compare with the valley of the Clear Fork. The capital city was a
+straggling village on the banks of the Colorado River, inert through
+political usurpation, yet the home of many fine people. Quite a number
+of cowmen resided there, owning ranches in outlying and adjoining
+counties, among them being my acquaintance of the year before and
+present employer. It was too early by nearly a month to begin active
+operations, and I contented myself about town, making the acquaintance
+of other cowmen and their foremen who expected to drive that year.
+New Orleans had previously been the only outlet for beef cattle
+in southern Texas, and even in the spring of '69 very few had any
+confidence of a market in the north. Major Mabry, however, was going
+to drive two herds to Abilene, one of beeves and the other of younger
+steers, dry cows, and thrifty two-year-old heifers, and I was to
+have charge of the heavy cattle. Both herds would be put up in Llano
+County, it being the intention to start with the grass. Mules were to
+be worked to the wagons, oxen being considered too slow, while both
+outfits were to be mounted seven horses to the man.
+
+During my stay at Austin I frequently made inquiry for land scrip.
+Nearly all the merchants had more or less, the current prices being
+about five cents an acre. There was a clear distinction, however,
+in case one was a buyer or seller, the former being shown every
+attention. I allowed the impression to circulate that I would buy,
+which brought me numerous offers, and before leaving the town I
+secured twenty sections for five hundred dollars. I needed just that
+amount to cover a four-mile bend of the Clear Fork on the west end of
+my new ranch,--a possession which gave me ten miles of that virgin
+valley. My employer congratulated me on my investment, and assured
+me that if the people ever overthrew the Reconstruction usurpers
+the public domain would no longer be bartered away for chips and
+whetstones. I was too busy to take much interest in the political
+situation, and, so long as I was prosperous and employed, gave little
+heed to politics.
+
+Major Mabry owned a ranch and extensive cattle interests northwest in
+Llano County. As we expected to start the herds as early as possible,
+the latter part of February found us at the ranch actively engaged in
+arranging for the summer's work. There were horses to buy, wagons to
+outfit, and hands to secure, and a busy fortnight was spent in getting
+ready for the drive. The spring before I had started out in debt; now,
+on permission being given me, I bought ten horses for my own use and
+invested the balance of my money in four yoke of oxen. Had I remained
+in Palo Pinto County the chances were that I might have enlarged my
+holdings in the coming drive, as in order to have me remain several
+offered to sell me cattle on credit. But so long as I was enlarging my
+experience I was content, while the wages offered me were double what
+I received the summer before.
+
+We went into camp and began rounding up near the middle of March. All
+classes of cattle were first gathered into one herd, after which the
+beeves were cut separate and taken charge of by my outfit. We gathered
+a few over fifteen hundred of the latter, all prairie-raised cattle,
+four years old or over, and in the single ranch brand of my employer.
+Major Seth had also contracted for one thousand other beeves, and it
+became our duty to receive them. These outside contingents would have
+to be road-branded before starting, as they were in a dozen or more
+brands, the work being done in a chute built for that purpose. My
+employer and I fully agreed on the quality of cattle to be received,
+and when possible we both passed on each tender of beeves before
+accepting them. The two herds were being held separate, and a friendly
+rivalry existed between the outfits as to which herd would be ready
+to start first. It only required a few days extra to receive and
+road-brand the outside cattle, when all were ready to start. As Major
+Seth knew the most practical route, in deference to his years and
+experience I insisted that he should take the lead until after Red
+River was crossed. I had been urging the Chisholm trail in preference
+to more eastern ones, and with the compromise that I should take the
+lead after passing Fort Worth, the two herds started on the last day
+of March.
+
+There was no particular trail to follow. The country was all open,
+and the grass was coming rapidly, while the horses and cattle were
+shedding their winter coats with the change of the season. Fine
+weather favored us, no rains at night and few storms, and within two
+weeks we passed Fort Worth, after which I took the lead. I remember
+that at the latter point I wrote a letter to the elder Edwards,
+inclosing my land scrip, and asking him to send a man out to my new
+ranch occasionally to see that the improvements were not destroyed.
+Several herds had already passed the fort, their destination being the
+same as ours, and from thence onward we had the advantage of following
+a trail. As we neared Red River, nearly all the herds bore off to the
+eastward, but we held our course, crossing into the Chickasaw Nation
+at the regular Chisholm ford. A few beggarly Indians, renegades from
+the Kiowas and Comanches on the west, annoyed us for the first week,
+but were easily appeased with a lame or stray beef. The two herds held
+rather close together as a matter of mutual protection, as in some
+of the encampments were fully fifty lodges with possibly as many
+able-bodied warriors. But after crossing the Washita River no further
+trouble was encountered from the natives, and we swept northward at
+the steady pace of an advancing army. Other herds were seen in our
+rear and front, and as we neared the Kansas line several long columns
+of cattle were sighted coming in over the safer eastern routes.
+
+The last lap of the drive was reached. A fortnight later we went into
+camp within twelve miles of Abilene, having been on the trail two
+months and eleven days. The same week we moved north of the railroad,
+finding ample range within seven miles of town. Herds were coming in
+rapidly, and it was important to secure good grazing grounds for our
+cattle. Buyers were arriving from every territory in the Northwest,
+including California, while the usual contingent of Eastern dealers,
+shippers, and market-scalpers was on hand. It could hardly be said
+that prices had yet opened, though several contracted herds had
+already been delivered, while every purchaser was bearing the market
+and prophesying a drive of a quarter million cattle. The drovers,
+on the other hand, were combating every report in circulation, even
+offering to wager that the arrivals of stock for the entire summer
+would not exceed one hundred thousand head. Cowmen reported en route
+with ten thousand beeves came in with one fifth the number, and
+sellers held the whip hand, the market actually opening at better
+figures than the summer before. Once prices were established, I was in
+the thick of the fight, selling my oxen the first week to a freighter,
+constantly on the skirmish for a buyer, and never failing to recognize
+one with whom I had done business the summer before. In case Major
+Mabry had nothing to suit, the herd in charge of George Edwards was
+always shown, and I easily effected two sales, aggregating fifteen
+hundred head, from the latter cattle, with customers of the year
+previous.
+
+But my zeal for bartering in cattle came to a sudden end near the
+close of June. A conservative estimate of the arrivals then in sight
+or known to be en route for Abilene was placed at one hundred and
+fifty thousand cattle. Yet instead of any weakening in prices, they
+seemed to strengthen with the influx of buyers from the corn regions,
+as the prospects of the season assured a bountiful new crop. Where
+States had quarantined against Texas cattle the law was easily
+circumvented by a statement that the cattle were immune from having
+wintered in the north, which satisfied the statutes--as there was no
+doubt but they had wintered somewhere. Steer cattle of acceptable age
+and smoothness of build were in demand by feeders; all classes in fact
+felt a stimulus. My beeves were sold for delivery north of Cheyenne,
+Wyoming, the buyers, who were ranchmen as well as army contractors,
+taking the herd complete, including the remuda and wagon. Under the
+terms, the cattle were to start immediately and be grazed through. I
+was given until the middle of September to reach my destination, and
+at once moved out on a northwest course. On reaching the Republican
+River, we followed it to the Colorado line, and then tacked north
+for Cheyenne. Reporting our progress to the buyers, we were met and
+directed to pass to the eastward of that village, where we halted
+a week, and seven hundred of the fattest beeves were cut out for
+delivery at Fort Russell. By various excuses we were detained until
+frost fell before we reached the ranch, and a second and a third
+contingent of beeves were cut out for other deliveries, making it
+nearly the middle of October before I was finally relieved.
+
+With the exception of myself, a new outfit of men had been secured at
+Abilene. Some of them were retained at the ranch of the contractors,
+the remainder being discharged, all of us returning to Cheyenne
+together, whence we scattered to the four winds. I spent a week in
+Denver, meeting Charlie Goodnight, who had again fought his way up the
+Pecos route and delivered his cattle to the contractors at Fort Logan.
+Continuing homeward, I took the train for Abilene, hesitating whether
+to stop there or visit my brother in Missouri before returning to
+Texas. I had twelve hundred dollars with me, as the proceeds of my
+wages, horses, and oxen, and, feeling rather affluent, I decided to
+stop over a day at the new trail town. I knew the market was virtually
+over, and what evil influence ever suggested my stopping at Abilene
+is unexplainable. But I did stop, and found things just as I
+expected,--everybody sold out and gone home. A few trail foremen were
+still hanging around the town under the pretense of attending to
+unsettled business, and these welcomed me with a fraternal greeting.
+Two of them who had served in the Confederate army came to me and
+frankly admitted that they were broke, and begged me to help them
+out of town by redeeming their horses and saddles. Feed bills had
+accumulated and hotel accounts were unpaid; the appeals of the rascals
+would have moved a stone to pity.
+
+The upshot of the whole matter was that I bought a span of mules and
+wagon and invited seven of the boys to accompany me overland to Texas.
+My friends insisted that we could sell the outfit in the lower country
+for more than cost, but before I got out of town my philanthropic
+venture had absorbed over half my savings. As long as I had money the
+purse seemed a public one, and all the boys borrowed just as freely as
+if they expected to repay it. I am sure they felt grateful, and had I
+been one of the needy no doubt any of my friends would have shared his
+purse with me.
+
+It was a delightful trip across the Indian Territory, and we reached
+Sherman, Texas, just before the holidays. Every one had become tired
+of the wagon, and I was fortunate enough to sell it without loss.
+Those who had saddle horses excused themselves and hurried home for
+the Christmas festivities, leaving a quartette of us behind. But
+before the remainder of us proceeded to our destinations two of the
+boys discovered a splendid opening for a monte game, in which we could
+easily recoup all our expenses for the trip. I was the only dissenter
+to the programme, not even knowing the game; but under the pressure
+which was brought to bear I finally yielded, and became banker for my
+friends. The results are easily told. The second night there was heavy
+play, and before ten o'clock the monte bank closed for want of funds,
+it having been tapped for its last dollar. The next morning I took
+stage for Dallas, where I arrived with less than twenty dollars, and
+spent the most miserable Christmas day of my life. I had written
+George Edwards from Denver that I expected to go to Missouri, and
+asked him to take my horses and go out to the little ranch and brand
+my calves. There was no occasion now to contradict my advice of that
+letter, neither would I go near the Edwards ranch, yet I hungered for
+that land scrip and roundly cursed myself for being a fool. It would
+be two months and a half before spring work opened, and what to do in
+the mean time was the one absorbing question. My needs were too urgent
+to allow me to remain idle long, and, drifting south, working when
+work was to be had, at last I reached the home of my soldier crony
+in Washington County, walking and riding in country wagons the
+last hundred miles of the distance. No experience in my life ever
+humiliated me as that one did, yet I have laughed about it since.
+I may have previously heard of riches taking wings, but in this
+instance, now mellowed by time, no injustice will be done by simply
+recording it as the parting of a fool and his money.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+"THE ANGEL"
+
+
+The winds of adversity were tempered by the welcome extended me by my
+old comrade and his wife. There was no concealment as to my financial
+condition, but when I explained the causes my former crony laughed at
+me until the tears stood in his eyes. Nor did I protest, because I so
+richly deserved it. Fortunately the circumstances of my friends had
+bettered since my previous visit, and I was accordingly relieved from
+any feeling of intrusion. In two short years the wheel had gone round,
+and I was walking heavily on my uppers and continually felt like a
+pauper or poor relation. To make matters more embarrassing, I could
+appeal to no one, and, fortified by pride from birth, I ground my
+teeth over resolutions that will last me till death. Any one of half
+a dozen friends, had they known my true condition, would have gladly
+come to my aid, but circumstances prevented me from making any appeal.
+To my brother in Missouri I had previously written of my affluence; as
+for friends in Palo Pinto County,--well, for the very best of reasons
+my condition would remain a sealed book in that quarter; and to appeal
+to Major Mabry might arouse his suspicions. I had handled a great deal
+of money for him, accounting for every cent, but had he known of my
+inability to take care of my own frugal earnings it might have aroused
+his distrust. I was sure of a position with him again as trail
+foreman, and not for the world would I have had him know that I could
+be such a fool as to squander my savings thoughtlessly.
+
+What little correspondence I conducted that winter was by roundabout
+methods. I occasionally wrote my brother that I was wallowing
+in wealth, always inclosing a letter to Gertrude Edwards with
+instructions to remail, conveying the idea to her family that I was
+spending the winter with relatives in Missouri. As yet there was no
+tacit understanding between Miss Gertrude and me, but I conveyed that
+impression to my brother, and as I knew he had run away with his wife,
+I had confidence he would do my bidding. In writing my employer I
+reported myself as busy dealing in land scrip, and begged him not to
+insist on my appearance until it was absolutely necessary. He replied
+that I might have until the 15th of March in which to report at
+Austin, as my herd had been contracted for north in Williamson County.
+Major Mabry expected to drive three herds that spring, the one already
+mentioned and two from Llano County, where he had recently acquired
+another ranch with an extensive stock of cattle. It therefore behooved
+me to keep my reputation unsullied, a rather difficult thing to do
+when our escapade at Sherman was known to three other trail foremen.
+They might look upon it as a good joke, while to me it was a serious
+matter.
+
+Had there been anything to do in Washington County, it was my
+intention to go to work. The dredging company had departed for newer
+fields, there was no other work in sight, and I was compelled to fold
+my hands and bide my time. My crony and I blotted out the days by
+hunting deer and turkeys, using hounds for the former and shooting the
+animals at game crossings. By using a turkey-call we could entice the
+gobblers within rifle-shot, and in several instances we were able to
+locate their roosts. The wild turkey of Texas was a wary bird, and
+although I have seen flocks of hundreds, it takes a crafty hunter to
+bag one. I have always loved a gun and been fond of hunting, yet the
+time hung heavy on my hands, and I counted the days like a prisoner
+until I could go to work. But my sentence finally expired, and
+preparations were made for my start to Austin. My friends offered
+their best wishes,--about all they had,--and my old comrade went so
+far as to take me one day on horseback to where he had an acquaintance
+living. There we stayed over night, which was more than half way to my
+destination, and the next morning we parted, he to his home with the
+horses, while I traveled on foot or trusted to country wagons. I
+arrived in Austin on the appointed day, with less than five dollars in
+my pocket, and registered at the best hotel in the capital. I needed
+a saddle, having sold mine in Wyoming the fall before, and at once
+reported to my employer. Fortunately my arrival was being awaited to
+start a remuda and wagon to Williamson County, and when I assured
+Major Mabry that all I lacked was a saddle, he gave me an order on a
+local dealer, and we started that same evening.
+
+At last I was saved. With the opening of work my troubles lifted like
+a night fog before the rising sun. Even the first view of the
+remuda revived my spirits, as I had been allotted one hundred fine
+cow-horses. They had been brought up during the winter, had run in a
+good pasture for some time, and with the opening of spring were
+in fine condition. Many trail men were short-sighted in regard to
+mounting their outfits, and although we had our differences, I want to
+say that Major Mabry and his later associates never expected a man
+to render an honest day's work unless he was properly supplied with
+horses. My allowance for the spring of 1870 was again seven horses to
+the man, with two extra for the foreman, which at that early day
+in trailing cattle was considered the maximum where Kansas was the
+destination. Many drovers allowed only five horses to the man, but
+their men were frequently seen walking with the herd, their mounts
+mingling with the cattle, unable to carry their riders longer.
+
+The receiving of the herd in Williamson County was an easy matter.
+Four prominent ranchmen were to supply the beeves to the number of
+three thousand. Nearly every hoof was in the straight ranch brand of
+the sellers, only some two hundred being mixed brands and requiring
+the usual road-branding. In spite of every effort to hold the herd
+down to the contracted number, we received one hundred and fifty
+extra; but then they were cattle that no justifiable excuse could be
+offered in refusing. The last beeves were received on the 22d of the
+month, and after cutting separate all cattle of outside brands, they
+were sent to the chute to receive the road-mark. Major Mabry was
+present, and a controversy arose between the sellers and himself over
+our refusal to road-brand, or at least vent the ranch brands, on the
+great bulk of the herd. Too many brands on an animal was an objection
+to the shippers and feeders of the North, and we were anxious to cater
+to their wishes as far as possible. The sellers protested against the
+cattle leaving their range without some mark to indicate their change
+of ownership. The country was all open; in case of a stampede and loss
+of cattle within a few hundred miles they were certain to drift back
+to their home range, with nothing to distinguish them from their
+brothers of the same age. Flesh marks are not a good title by which
+to identify one's property, where those possessions consist of range
+cattle, and the law recognized the holding brand as the hall-mark of
+ownership. But a compromise was finally agreed upon, whereby we were
+to run the beeves through the chute and cut the brush from their
+tails. In a four or five year old animal this tally-mark would hold
+for a year, and in no wise work any hardship to the animal in warding
+off insect life. In case of any loss on the trail my employer agreed
+to pay one dollar a head for regathering any stragglers that returned
+within a year. The proposition was a fair one, the ranchmen yielded,
+and we ran the whole herd through the chute, cutting the brush within
+a few inches of the end of the tail-bone. By tightly wrapping the
+brush once around the blade of a sharp knife, it was quick work
+to thus vent a chuteful of cattle, both the road-branding and
+tally-marking being done in two days.
+
+The herd started on the morning of the 25th. I had a good outfit of
+men, only four of whom were with me the year before. The spring could
+not be considered an early one, and therefore we traveled slow for
+the first few weeks, meeting with two bad runs, three days apart,
+but without the loss of a hoof. These panics among the cattle were
+unexplainable, as they were always gorged with grass and water at
+bedding time, the weather was favorable, no unseemly noises were
+heard by the men on guard, and both runs occurred within two hours of
+daybreak. There was a half-breed Mexican in the outfit, a very quiet
+man, and when the causes of the stampedes were being discussed around
+the camp-fire, I noticed that he shrugged his shoulders in derision
+of the reasons advanced. The half-breed was my horse wrangler, old in
+years and experience, and the idea struck me to sound him as to his
+version of the existing trouble among the cattle. He was inclined to
+be distant, but I approached him cautiously, complimented him on his
+handling of the remuda, rode with him several hours, and adroitly drew
+out his opinion of what caused our two stampedes. As he had never
+worked with the herd, his first question was, did we receive any blind
+cattle or had any gone blind since we started? He then informed me
+that the old Spanish rancheros would never leave a sightless animal in
+a corral with sound ones during the night for fear of a stampede. He
+cautioned me to look the herd over carefully, and if there was a blind
+animal found to cut it out or the trouble would he repeated in spite
+of all precaution. I rode back and met the herd, accosting every swing
+man on one side with the inquiry if any blind animal had been seen,
+without results until the drag end of the cattle was reached. Two men
+were at the rear, and when approached with the question, both admitted
+noticing, for the past week, a beef which acted as if he might be
+crazy. I had them point out the steer, and before I had watched him
+ten minutes was satisfied that he was stone blind. He was a fine, big
+fellow, in splendid flesh, but it was impossible to keep him in the
+column; he was always straggling out and constantly shying from
+imaginary objects. I had the steer roped for three or four nights and
+tied to a tree, and as the stampeding ceased we cut him out every
+evening when bedding down the herd, and allowed him to sleep alone.
+The poor fellow followed us, never venturing to leave either day or
+night, but finally fell into a deep ravine and broke his neck. His
+affliction had befallen him on the trail, affecting his nervous system
+to such an extent that he would jump from imaginary objects and thus
+stampede his brethren. I remember it occurred to me, then, how little
+I knew about cattle, and that my wrangler and I ought to exchange
+places. Since that day I have always been an attentive listener to the
+humblest of my fellowmen when interpreting the secrets of animal life.
+
+Another incident occurred on this trip which showed the observation
+and insight of my half-breed wrangler. We were passing through some
+cross-timbers one morning in northern Texas, the remuda and wagon far
+in the lead. We were holding the herd as compactly as possible to
+prevent any straying of cattle, when our saddle horses were noticed
+abandoned in thick timber. It was impossible to leave the herd at the
+time, but on reaching the nearest opening, about two miles ahead, I
+turned and galloped back for fear of losing horses. I counted the
+remuda and found them all there, but the wrangler was missing.
+Thoughts of desertion flashed through my mind, the situation was
+unexplainable, and after calling, shooting, and circling around for
+over an hour, I took the remuda in hand and started after the herd,
+mentally preparing a lecture in case my wrangler returned. While
+nooning that day some six or seven miles distant, the half-breed
+jauntily rode into camp, leading a fine horse, saddled and bridled,
+with a man's coat tied to the cantle-strings. He explained to us that
+he had noticed the trail of a horse crossing our course at right
+angles. The freshness of the sign attracted his attention, and
+trailing it a short distance in the dewy morning he had noticed that
+something attached to the animal was trailing. A closer examination
+was made, and he decided that it was a bridle rein and not a rope that
+was attached to the wandering horse. From the freshness of the trail,
+he felt positive that he would overtake the animal shortly, but after
+finding him some difficulty was encountered before the horse would
+allow himself to be caught. He apologized for his neglect of duty,
+considering the incident as nothing unusual, and I had not the heart
+even to scold him. There were letters in the pocket of the coat,
+from which the owner was identified, and on arriving at Abilene
+the pleasure was mine of returning the horse and accoutrements and
+receiving a twenty-dollar gold piece for my wrangler. A stampede of
+trail cattle had occurred some forty miles to the northwest but a few
+nights before our finding the horse, during which the herd ran into
+some timber, and a low-hanging limb unhorsed the foreman, the animal
+escaping until captured by my man.
+
+On approaching Fort Worth, still traveling slowly on account of the
+lateness of the spring, I decided to pay a flying visit to Palo Pinto
+County. It was fully eighty miles from the Fort across to the Edwards
+ranch, and appointing one of my old men as segundo, I saddled my best
+horse and set out an hour before sunset. I had made the same ride four
+years previously on coming to the country, a cool night favored my
+mount, and at daybreak I struck the Brazos River within two miles of
+the ranch. An eventful day followed; I reeled off innocent white-faced
+lies by the yard, in explaining the delightful winter I had spent with
+my brother in Missouri. Fortunately the elder Edwards was not driving
+any cattle that year, and George was absent buying oxen for a Fort
+Griffin freighter. Good reports of my new ranch awaited me, my
+cattle were increasing, and the smile of prosperity again shed its
+benediction over me. No one had located any lands near my little
+ranch, and the coveted addition on the west was still vacant and
+unoccupied. The silent monitor within my breast was my only accuser,
+but as I rode away from the Edwards ranch in the shade of evening,
+even it was silenced, for I held the promise of a splendid girl to
+become my wife. A second sleepless night passed like a pleasant dream,
+and early the next morning, firmly anchored in resolutions that no
+vagabond friends could ever shake, I overtook my herd.
+
+After crossing Red River, the sweep across the Indian country was but
+a repetition of other years, with its varying monotony. Once we were
+waterbound for three days, severe drifts from storms at night were
+experienced, delaying our progress, and we did not reach Abilene until
+June 15. We were aware, however, of an increased drive of cattle
+to the north; evidences were to be seen on every hand; owners were
+hanging around the different fords and junctions of trails, inquiring
+if herds in such and such brands had been seen or spoken. While we
+were crossing the Nations, men were daily met hunting for lost horses
+or inquiring for stampeded cattle, while the regular trails were being
+cut into established thoroughfares from increasing use. Neither of the
+other Mabry herds had reached their destination on our arrival, though
+Major Seth put in an appearance within a week and reported the other
+two about one hundred miles to the rear. Cattle were arriving by the
+thousands, buyers from the north, east, and west were congregating,
+and the prospect of good prices was flattering. I was fortunate in
+securing my old camp-ground north of the town; a dry season had set
+in nearly a month before, maturing the grass, and our cattle took on
+flesh rapidly. Buyers looked them over daily, our prices being firm.
+Wintered cattle were up in the pictures, a rate war was on between all
+railroad lines east of the Mississippi River, cutting to the bone to
+secure the Western live-stock traffic. Three-year-old steers bought
+the fall before at twenty dollars and wintered on the Kansas prairies
+were netting their owners as high as sixty dollars on the Chicago
+market. The man with good cattle for sale could afford to be firm.
+
+At this juncture a regrettable incident occurred, which, however,
+proved a boon to me. Some busybody went to the trouble of telling
+Major Mabry about my return to Abilene the fall before and my
+subsequent escapade in Texas, embellishing the details and even
+intimating that I had squandered funds not my own. I was thirty years
+old and as touchy as gunpowder, and felt the injustice of the charge
+like a knife-blade in my heart. There was nothing to do but ask for
+my release, place the facts in the hands of my employer, and court a
+thorough investigation. I had always entertained the highest regard
+for Major Mabry, and before the season ended I was fully vindicated
+and we were once more fast friends.
+
+In the mean time I was not idle. By the first of July it was known
+that three hundred thousand cattle would be the minimum of the
+summer's drive to Abilene. My extensive acquaintance among buyers made
+my services of value to new drovers. A commission of twenty-five
+cents a head was offered me for effecting sales. The first week after
+severing my connection with Major Seth my earnings from a single
+trade amounted to seven hundred and fifty dollars. Thenceforth I was
+launched on a business of my own. Fortune smiled on me, acquaintances
+nicknamed me "The Angel," and instead of my foolishness reflecting on
+me, it made me a host of friends. Cowmen insisted on my selling their
+cattle, shippers consulted me, and I was constantly in demand with
+buyers, who wished my opinion on young steers before closing trades.
+I was chosen referee in a dozen disputes in classifying cattle, my
+decisions always giving satisfaction. Frequently, on an order, I
+turned buyer. Northern men seemed timid in relying on their own
+judgment of Texas cattle. Often, after a trade was made, the buyer
+paid me the regular commission for cutting and receiving, not willing
+to risk his judgment on range cattle. During the second week in August
+I sold five thousand head and bought fifteen hundred. Every man who
+had purchased cattle the year before had made money and was back in
+the market for more. Prices were easily advanced as the season wore
+on, whole herds were taken by three or four farmers from the corn
+regions, and the year closed with a flourish. In the space of four
+months I was instrumental in selling, buying, cutting, or receiving
+a few over thirty thousand head, on all of which I received a
+commission.
+
+I established a camp of my own during the latter part of August. In
+order to avoid night-herding his cattle the summer before, some one
+had built a corral about ten miles northeast of Abilene. It was a
+temporary affair, the abrupt, bluff banks of a creek making a perfect
+horseshoe, requiring only four hundred feet of fence across the neck
+to inclose a corral of fully eight acres. The inclosure was not in
+use, so I hired three men and took possession of it for the time
+being. I had noticed in previous years that when a drover had sold all
+his herd but a remnant, he usually sacrificed his culls in order to
+reduce the expense of an outfit and return home. I had an idea that
+there was money in buying up these remnants and doing a small jobbing
+business. Frequently I had as many as seven hundred cull cattle on
+hand. Besides, I was constantly buying and selling whole remudas of
+saddle horses. So when a drover had sold all but a few hundred cattle
+he would come to me, and I would afford him the relief he wanted.
+Cripples and sore-footed animals were usually thrown in for good
+measure, or accepted at the price of their hides. Some buyers demanded
+quality and some cared only for numbers. I remember effecting a sale
+of one hundred culls to a settler, southeast on the Smoky River, at
+seven dollars a head. The terms were that I was to cut out the cattle,
+and as many were cripples and cost me little or nothing, they afforded
+a nice profit besides cleaning up my herd. When selling my own, I
+always priced a choice of my cattle at a reasonable figure, or offered
+to cull out the same number at half the price. By this method my herd
+was kept trimmed from both ends and the happy medium preserved.
+
+I love to think of those good old days. Without either foresight or
+effort I made all kinds of money during the summer of 1870. Our best
+patrons that fall were small ranchmen from Kansas and Nebraska, every
+one of whom had coined money on their purchases of the summer before.
+One hundred per cent for wintering a steer and carrying him less than
+a year had brought every cattleman and his cousin back to Abilene to
+duplicate their former ventures. The little ranchman who bought five
+hundred steers in the fall of 1869 was in the market the present
+summer for a thousand head. Demand always seemed to meet supply a
+little over half-way. The market closed firm, with every hoof taken
+and at prices that were entirely satisfactory to drovers. It would
+seem an impossibility were I to admit my profits for that year, yet at
+the close of the season I started overland to Texas with fifty choice
+saddle horses and a snug bank account. Surely those were the golden
+days of the old West.
+
+My last act before leaving Abilene that fall was to meet my enemy and
+force a personal settlement. Major Mabry washed his hands by firmly
+refusing to name my accuser, but from other sources I traced my
+defamer to a liveryman of the town. The fall before, on four horses
+and saddles, I paid a lien, in the form of a feed bill, of one hundred
+and twenty dollars for my stranded friends. The following day the same
+man presented me another bill for nearly an equal amount, claiming
+it had been assigned to him in a settlement with other parties. I
+investigated the matter, found it to be a disputed gambling account,
+and refused payment. An attempt was made, only for a moment, to hold
+the horses, resulting in my incurring the stableman's displeasure. The
+outcome was that on our return the next spring our patronage went
+to another _bran_, and the story, born in malice and falsehood, was
+started between employer and employee. I had made arrangements to
+return to Texas with the last one of Major Mabry's outfits, and the
+wagon and remuda had already started, when I located my traducer in a
+well-known saloon. I invited him to a seat at a table, determined to
+bring matters to an issue. He reluctantly complied, when I branded him
+with every vile epithet that my tongue could command, concluding by
+arraigning him as a coward. I was hungering for him to show some
+resistance, expecting to kill him, and when he refused to notice my
+insults, I called the barkeeper and asked for two glasses of whiskey
+and a pair of six-shooters. Not a word passed between us until the
+bartender brought the drinks and guns on a tray. "Now take your
+choice," said I. He replied, "I believe a little whiskey will do me
+good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE "LAZY L"
+
+
+The homeward trip was a picnic. Counting mine, we had one hundred and
+fifty saddle horses. All surplus men in the employ of Major Mabry had
+been previously sent home until there remained at the close of the
+season only the drover, seven men, and myself. We averaged forty miles
+a day returning, sweeping down the plains like a north wind until Red
+River Station was reached. There our ways parted, and cutting separate
+my horses, we bade each other farewell, the main outfit heading for
+Fort Worth, while I bore to the westward for Palo Pinto. Major Seth
+was anxious to secure my services for another year, but I made
+no definite promises. We parted the best of friends. There were
+scattering ranches on my route, but driving fifty loose horses made
+traveling slow, and it was nearly a week before I reached the Edwards
+ranch.
+
+The branding season was nearly over. After a few days' rest, an outfit
+of men was secured, and we started for my little ranch on the Clear
+Fork. Word was sent to the county seat, appointing a date with the
+surveyor, and on arriving at the new ranch I found that the corrals
+had been in active use by branding parties. We were soon in the thick
+of the fray, easily holding our own, branding every maverick on the
+range as well as catching wild cattle. My weakness for a good horse
+was the secret of much of my success in ranching during the early
+days, for with a remuda of seventy picked horses it was impossible for
+any unowned animal to escape us. Our drag-net scoured the hills and
+valleys, and before the arrival of the surveyor we had run the "44"
+on over five hundred calves, mavericks, and wild cattle. Different
+outfits came down the Brazos and passed up the Clear Fork, always
+using my corrals when working in the latter valley. We usually joined
+in with these cow-hunting parties, extending to them every possible
+courtesy, and in return many a thrifty yearling was added to my brand.
+Except some wild-cattle hunting which we had in view, every hoof was
+branded up by the time the surveyor arrived at the ranch.
+
+The locating of twenty sections of land was an easy matter. We had
+established corners from which to work, and commencing on the west end
+of my original location, we ran off an area of country, four miles
+west by five south. New outside corners were established with
+buried charcoal and stakes, while the inner ones were indicated by
+half-buried rock, nothing divisional being done except to locate the
+land in sections. It was a beautiful tract, embracing a large bend of
+the Clear Fork, heavily timbered in several places, the soil being of
+a rich, sandy loam and covered with grass. I was proud of my landed
+interest, though small compared to modern ranches; and after the
+surveying ended, we spent a few weeks hunting out several rendezvous
+of wild cattle before returning to the Edwards ranch.
+
+I married during the holidays. The new ranch was abandoned during the
+winter months, as the cattle readily cared for themselves, requiring
+no attention. I now had a good working capital, and having established
+myself by marriage into a respectable family of the country, I found
+several avenues open before me. Among the different openings for
+attractive investment was a brand of cattle belonging to an estate
+south in Comanche County. If the cattle were as good as represented
+they were certainly a bargain, as the brand was offered straight
+through at four dollars and a half a head. It was represented that
+nothing had been sold from the brand in a number of years, the estate
+was insolvent, and the trustee was anxious to sell the entire stock
+outright. I was impressed with the opportunity, and early in the
+winter George Edwards and I rode down to look the situation over. By
+riding around the range a few days we were able to get a good idea of
+the stock, and on inquiry among neighbors and men familiar with the
+brand, I was satisfied that the cattle were a bargain. A lawyer at the
+county seat was the trustee, and on opening negotiations with him it
+was readily to be seen that all he knew about the stock was that shown
+by the books and accounts. According to the branding for the past few
+years, it would indicate a brand of five or six thousand cattle. The
+only trouble in trading was to arrange the terms, my offer being half
+cash and the balance in six months, the cattle to be gathered early
+the coming spring. A bewildering list of references was given and we
+returned home. Within a fortnight a letter came from the trustee,
+accepting my offer and asking me to set a date for the gathering. I
+felt positive that the brand ought to run forty per cent steer
+cattle, and unless there was some deception, there would be in the
+neighborhood of two thousand head fit for the trail. I at once bought
+thirty more saddle horses, outfitted a wagon with oxen to draw it,
+besides hiring fifteen cow-hands. Early in March we started for
+Comanche County, having in the mean time made arrangements with the
+elder Edwards to supply one thousand head of trail cattle, intended
+for the Kansas market.
+
+An early spring favored the work. By the 10th of the month we were
+actively engaged in gathering the stock. It was understood that we
+were to have the assistance of the ranch outfit in holding the cattle,
+but as they numbered only half a dozen and were miserably mounted,
+they were of little use except as herders. All the neighboring ranches
+gave us round-ups, and by the time we reached the home range of the
+brand I was beginning to get uneasy on account of the numbers under
+herd. My capital was limited, and if we gathered six thousand head it
+would absorb my money. I needed a little for expenses on the trail,
+and too many cattle would be embarrassing. There was no intention on
+my part to act dishonestly in the premises, even if we did drop out
+any number of yearlings during the last few days of the gathering. It
+was absolutely necessary to hold the numbers down to five thousand
+head, or as near that number as possible, and by keeping the ranch
+outfit on herd and my men out on round-ups, it was managed quietly,
+though we let no steer cattle two years old or over escape. When the
+gathering was finished, to the surprise of every one the herd counted
+out fifty-six hundred and odd cattle. But the numbers were still
+within the limits of my capital, and at the final settlement I asked
+the privilege of cutting out and leaving on the range one hundred head
+of weak, thin stock and cows heavy in calf. I offered to tally-mark
+and send after them during the fall branding, when the trustee begged
+me to make him an offer on any remnant of cattle, making me full owner
+of the brand. I hesitated to involve myself deeper in debt, but when
+he finally offered me the "Lazy L" brand outright for the sum of one
+thousand dollars, and on a credit, I never stuttered in accepting his
+proposal.
+
+I culled back one hundred before starting, there being no occasion now
+to tally-mark, as I was in full possession of the brand. This amount
+of cattle in one herd was unwieldy to handle. The first day's drive we
+scarcely made ten miles, it being nearly impossible to water such an
+unmanageable body of animals, even from a running stream. The second
+noon we cut separate all the steers two years old and upward, finding
+a few under twenty-three hundred in the latter class. This left three
+thousand and odd hundred in the mixed herd, running from yearlings to
+old range bulls. A few extra men were secured, and some progress was
+made for the next few days, the steers keeping well in the lead, the
+two herds using the same wagon, and camping within half a mile of each
+other at night. It was fully ninety miles to the Edwards ranch; and
+when about two thirds the distance was covered, a messenger met us
+and reported the home cattle under herd and ready to start. It still
+lacked two days of the appointed time for our return, but rather than
+disappoint any one, I took seven men and sixty horses with the lead
+herd and started in to the ranch, leaving the mixed cattle to follow
+with the wagon. We took a day's rations on a pack horse, touched at a
+ranch, and on the second evening reached home. My contingent to the
+trail herd would have classified approximately seven hundred twos, six
+hundred threes, and one thousand four years old or over.
+
+The next morning the herd started up the trail under George Edwards
+as foreman. It numbered a few over thirty-three hundred head and had
+fourteen men, all told, and ninety-odd horses, with four good mules to
+a new wagon. I promised to overtake them within a week, and the same
+evening rejoined the mixed herd some ten miles back down the country.
+Calves were dropping at an alarming rate, fully twenty of them were in
+the wagon, their advent delaying the progress of the herd. By dint of
+great exertion we managed to reach the ranch the next evening, where
+we lay over a day and rigged up a second wagon, purposely for calves.
+It was the intention to send the stock cattle to my new ranch on the
+Clear Fork, and releasing all but four men, the idle help about the
+home ranch were substituted. In moving cattle from one range to
+another, it should always be done with the coming of grass, as it
+gives them a full summer to locate and become attached to their new
+range. When possible, the coming calf crop should be born where the
+mothers are to be located, as it strengthens the ties between an
+animal and its range by making sacred the birthplace of its young.
+From instinctive warnings of maternity, cows will frequently return to
+the same retreat annually to give birth to their calves.
+
+It was about fifty miles between the home and the new ranch. As it was
+important to get the cattle located as soon as possible, they were
+accordingly started with but the loss of a single day. Two wagons
+accompanied them, every calf was saved, and by nursing the herd early
+and late we managed to average ten miles between sunrise and sunset.
+The elder Edwards, anxious to see the new ranch, accompanied us, his
+patience with a cow being something remarkable. When we lacked but a
+day's drive of the Clear Fork it was considered advisable for me
+to return. Once the cattle reached the new range, four men would
+loose-herd them for a month, after which they would continue to ride
+the range and turn back all stragglers. The veteran cowman assumed
+control, and I returned to the home ranch, where a horse had been left
+on which to overtake the trail herd. My wife caught several glimpses
+of me that spring; with stocking a new ranch and starting a herd on
+the trail I was as busy as the proverbial cranberry-merchant. Where
+a year before I was moneyless, now my obligations were accepted for
+nearly fourteen thousand dollars.
+
+I overtook the herd within one day's drive of Red River. Everything
+was moving nicely, the cattle were well trail-broken, not a run had
+occurred, and all was serene and lovely. We crossed into the Nations
+at the regular ford, nothing of importance occurring until we reached
+the Washita River. The Indians had been bothering us more or less, but
+we brushed them aside or appeased their begging with a stray beef.
+At the crossing of the Washita quite an encampment had congregated,
+demanding six cattle and threatening to dispute our entrance to the
+ford. Several of the boys with us pretended to understand the sign
+language, and this resulted in an animosity being engendered between
+two of the outfit over interpreting a sign made by a chief. After we
+had given the Indians two strays, quite a band of bucks gathered on
+foot at the crossing, refusing to let us pass until their demand had
+been fulfilled. We had a few carbines, every lad had a six-shooter or
+two, and, summoning every mounted man, we rode up to the ford. The
+braves outnumbered us about three to one, and it was easy to be seen
+that they had bows and arrows concealed under their blankets. I was
+determined to give up no more cattle, and in the powwow that followed
+the chief of the band became very defiant. I accused him and his band
+of being armed, and when he denied it one of the boys jumped a horse
+against the chief, knocking him down. In the męlée, the leader's
+blanket was thrown from him, exposing a strung bow and quiver of
+arrows, and at the same instant every man brought his carbine or
+six-shooter to bear on the astonished braves. Not a shot was fired,
+nor was there any further resistance offered on the part of the
+Indians; but as they turned to leave the humiliated chief pointed to
+the sun and made a circle around his head as if to indicate a threat
+of scalping.
+
+It was in interpreting this latter sign that the dispute arose between
+two of the outfit. One of the boys contended that I was to be scalped
+before the sun set, while the other interpreted the threat that we
+would all he scalped before the sun rose again. Neither version
+troubled me, but the two fellows quarreled over the matter while
+returning to the herd, until the lie was passed and their six-shooters
+began talking. Fortunately they were both mounted on horses that were
+gun-shy, and with the rearing and plunging the shots went wild. Every
+man in the outfit interfered, the two fellows were disarmed, and we
+started on with the cattle. No interference was offered by the Indians
+at the ford, the guards were doubled that night, and the incident was
+forgotten within a week. I simply mention this to give some idea of
+the men of that day, willing to back their opinions, even on trivial
+matters, with their lives. "I'm the quickest man on the trigger that
+ever came over the trail," said a cowpuncher to me one night in a
+saloon in Abilene. "You're a blankety blank liar," said a quiet little
+man, a perfect stranger to both of us, not even casting a glance our
+way. I wrested a six-shooter from the hand of my acquaintance
+and hustled him out of the house, getting roundly cursed for my
+interference, though no doubt I saved human life.
+
+On reaching Stone's Store, on the Kansas line, I left the herd to
+follow, and arrived at Abilene in two days and a half. Only some
+twenty-five herds were ahead of ours, though I must have passed a
+dozen or more in my brief ride, staying over night with them and
+scarcely ever missing a meal on the road. My motive in reaching
+Abilene in advance of our cattle was to get in touch with the market,
+secure my trading-corrals again, and perfect my arrangements to do a
+commission business. But on arriving, instead of having the field to
+myself, I found the old corrals occupied by a trio of jobbers, while
+two new ones had been built within ten miles of town, and half a dozen
+firms were offering their services as salesmen. There was a lack of
+actual buyers, at least among my acquaintances, and the railroads had
+adjusted their rates, while a largely increased drive was predicted.
+The spring had been a wet one, the grass was washy and devoid of
+nutriment, and there was nothing in the outlook of an encouraging
+nature. Yet the majority of the drovers were very optimistic of the
+future, freely predicting better prices than ever before, while many
+declared their intention of wintering in case their hopes were not
+realized. By the time our herd arrived, I had grown timid of the
+market in general and was willing to sell out and go home. I make
+no pretension to having any extra foresight, probably it was my
+outstanding obligations in Texas that fostered my anxiety, but I was
+prepared to sell to the first man who talked business.
+
+Our cattle arrived in good condition. The weather continued wet and
+stormy, the rank grass harbored myriads of flies and mosquitoes, and
+the through cattle failed to take on flesh as in former years. Rival
+towns were competing for the trail business, wintered cattle were
+lower, and a perfect chaos existed as to future prices, drovers
+bolstering and pretended buyers depressing them. Within a week after
+their arrival I sold fifteen hundred of our heaviest beeves to an army
+contractor from Fort Russell in Dakota. He had brought his own outfit
+down to receive the cattle, and as his contract called for a million
+and a half pounds on foot, I assisted him in buying sixteen hundred
+more. The contractor was a shrewd Yankee, and although I admitted
+having served in the Confederate army, he offered to form a
+partnership with me for supplying beef to the army posts along the
+upper Missouri River. He gave me an insight into the profits in that
+particular trade, and even urged the partnership, but while the
+opportunity was a golden one, I was distrustful of a Northern man
+and declined the alliance. Within a year I regretted not forming the
+partnership, as the government was a stable patron, and my adopted
+State had any quantity of beef cattle.
+
+My brother paid me a visit during the latter part of June. We had not
+seen each other in five years, during which time he had developed into
+a prosperous stockman, feeding cattle every winter on his Missouri
+farm. He was anxious to interest me in corn-feeding steers, but I had
+my hands full at home, and within a week he went on west and bought
+two hundred Colorado natives, shipping them home to feed the coming
+winter. Meanwhile a perfect glut of cattle was arriving at Abilene,
+fully six hundred thousand having registered at Stone's Store on
+passing into Kansas, yet prices remained firm, considering the
+condition of the stock. Many drovers halted only a day or two, and
+turned westward looking for ranges on which to winter their herds.
+Barely half the arrivals were even offered, which afforded fair prices
+to those who wished to sell. Before the middle of July the last of
+ours was closed out at satisfactory prices, and the next day the
+outfit started home, leaving me behind. I was anxious to secure an
+extra remuda of horses, and, finding no opposition in that particular
+field, had traded extensively in saddle stock ever since my arrival
+at Abilene. Gentle horses were in good demand among shippers and
+ranchmen, and during my brief stay I must have handled a thousand
+head, buying whole remudas and retailing in quantities to suit, not
+failing to keep the choice ones for my own use. Within two weeks after
+George Edwards started home, I closed up my business, fell in with a
+returning outfit, and started back with one hundred and ten picked
+saddle horses. After crossing Red River, I hired a boy to assist me
+in driving the remuda, and I reached home only ten days behind the
+others.
+
+I was now the proud possessor of over two hundred saddle horses which
+had actually cost me nothing. To use a borrowed term, they were the
+"velvet" of my trading operations. I hardly feel able to convey an
+idea of the important rôle that the horses play in the operations of
+a cowman. Whether on the trail or on the ranch, there is a complete
+helplessness when the men are not properly mounted and able to cope
+with any emergency that may arise. On the contrary, and especially
+in trail work, when men are well mounted, there is no excuse for not
+riding in the lead of any stampede, drifting with the herd on the
+stormiest night, or trailing lost cattle until overtaken. Owing to
+the nature of the occupation, a man may be frequently wet, cold, and
+hungry, and entitled to little sympathy; but once he feels that he is
+no longer mounted, his grievance becomes a real one. The cow-horse
+subsisted on the range, and if ever used to exhaustion was worthless
+for weeks afterward. Hence the value of a good mount in numbers, and
+the importance of frequent changes when the duties were arduous. The
+importance of good horses was first impressed on me during my trips to
+Fort Sumner, and I then resolved that if fortune ever favored me to
+reach the prominence of a cowman, the saddle stock would have my first
+consideration.
+
+On my return it was too early for the fall branding. I made a trip out
+to the new ranch, taking along ample winter supplies, two extra lads,
+and the old remuda of sixty horses. The men had located the new cattle
+fairly well, the calf crop was abundant, and after spending a week I
+returned home. I had previously settled my indebtedness in Comanche
+County by remittances from Abilene, and early in the fall I made up an
+outfit to go down and gather the remnant of "Lazy L" cattle. Taking
+along the entire new remuda, we dropped down in advance of the
+branding season, visited among the neighboring ranches, and offered a
+dollar a head for solitary animals that had drifted any great distance
+from the range of the brand. A camp was established at some corrals on
+the original range, extra men were employed with the opening of the
+branding season, and after twenty days' constant riding we started
+home with a few over nine hundred head, not counting two hundred and
+odd calves. Little wonder the trustee threatened to sue me; but then
+it was his own proposition.
+
+On arriving at the Edwards ranch, we halted a few days in order to
+gather the fruits of my first mavericking. The fall work was nearly
+finished, and having previously made arrangements to put my brand
+under herd, we received two hundred and fifty more, with seventy-five
+thrifty calves, before proceeding on to the new ranch on the Clear
+Fork. On arriving there we branded the calves, put the two brands
+under herd, corralling them at night and familiarizing them with their
+new home, and turning them loose at the end of two weeks. Moving
+cattle in the fall was contrary to the best results, but it was an
+idle time, and they were all young stuff and easily located. During
+the interim of loose-herding this second contingent of stock cattle,
+the branding had been finished on the ranch, and I was able to take an
+account of my year's work. The "Lazy L" was continued, and from that
+brand alone there was an increase of over seventeen hundred calves.
+With all the expenses of the trail deducted, the steer cattle alone
+had paid for the entire brand, besides adding over five thousand
+dollars to my cash capital. Who will gainsay my statement that Texas
+was a good country in the year 1871?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE SCHOOL OF EXPERIENCE
+
+
+Success had made me daring. And yet I must have been wandering
+aimlessly, for had my ambition been well directed, there is no telling
+to what extent I might have amassed a fortune. Opportunity was
+knocking at my gate, a giant young commonwealth was struggling in the
+throes of political revolution, while I wandered through it all like
+a blind man led by a child. Precedent was of little value, as present
+environment controlled my actions. The best people in Texas were
+doubtful of ever ridding themselves of the baneful incubus of
+Reconstruction. Men on whose judgment I relied laughed at me for
+acquiring more land than a mere homestead. Stock cattle were in such
+disrepute that they had no cash value. Many a section of deeded land
+changed owners for a milk cow, while surveyors would no longer locate
+new lands for the customary third, but insisted on a half interest.
+Ranchmen were so indifferent that many never went off their home range
+in branding the calf crop, not considering a ten or twenty per
+cent loss of any importance. Yet through it all--from my Virginia
+rearing--there lurked a wavering belief that some day, in some manner,
+these lands and cattle would have a value. But my faith was neither
+the bold nor the assertive kind, and I drifted along, clinging to any
+passing straw of opinion.
+
+The Indians were still giving trouble along the Texas frontier. A line
+of government posts, extending from Red River on the north to the Rio
+Grande on the south, made a pretense of holding the Comanches and
+their allies in check, while this arm of the service was ably seconded
+by the Texas Rangers. Yet in spite of all precaution, the redskins
+raided the settlements at their pleasure, stealing horses and adding
+rapine and murder to their category of crimes. Hence for a number of
+years after my marriage we lived at the Edwards ranch as a matter of
+precaution against Indian raids. I was absent from home so much that
+this arrangement suited me, and as the new ranch was distant but a
+day's ride, any inconvenience was more than recompensed in security.
+It was my intention to follow the trail and trading, at the same time
+running a ranch where anything unfit for market might be sent to
+mature or increase. As long as I could add to my working capital, I
+was content, while the remnants of my speculations found a refuge on
+the Clear Fork.
+
+During the winter of 1871-72 very little of importance transpired.
+Several social letters passed between Major Mabry and myself, in one
+of which he casually mentioned the fact that land scrip had declined
+until it was offered on the streets of the capital as low as twenty
+dollars a section. He knew I had been dabbling in land certificates,
+and in a friendly spirit wanted to post me on their decline, and had
+incidentally mentioned the fact for my information. Some inkling
+of horse sense told me that I ought to secure more land, and after
+thinking the matter over, I wrote to a merchant in Austin, and had him
+buy me one hundred sections. He was very anxious to purchase a second
+hundred at the same figure, but it would make too serious an inroad
+into my trading capital, and I declined his friendly assistance. My
+wife was the only person whom I took into confidence in buying the
+scrip, and I even had her secrete it in the bottom of a trunk, with
+strict admonitions never to mention it unless it became of value. It
+was not taxable, the public domain was bountiful, and I was young
+enough man those days to bide my time.
+
+The winter proved a severe one in Kansas. Nearly every drover who
+wintered his cattle in the north met with almost complete loss. The
+previous summer had been too wet for cattle to do well, and they
+had gone into winter thin in flesh. Instead of curing like hay, the
+buffalo grass had rotted from excessive rains, losing its nutritive
+qualities, and this resulted in serious loss among all range cattle.
+The result was financial ruin to many drovers, and even augured a
+lighter drive north the coming spring. Early in the winter I bought
+two brands of cattle in Erath County, paying half cash and getting six
+months' time on the remainder. Both brands occupied the same range,
+and when we gathered them in the early spring, they counted out a
+few over six thousand animals. These two contingents were extra good
+cattle, costing me five dollars a head, counting yearlings up, and
+from them I selected two thousand steer cattle for the trail. The
+mixed stuff was again sent to my Clear Fork ranch, and the steers went
+into a neighborhood herd intended for the Kansas market. But when the
+latter was all ready to start, such discouraging reports came down
+from the north that my friends weakened, and I bought their cattle
+outright.
+
+My reputation as a good trader was my capital. I had the necessary
+horses, and, straining my credit, the herd started thirty-one hundred
+strong. The usual incidents of flood and storm, of begging Indians
+and caravans like ourselves, formed the chronicle of the trip. Before
+arriving at the Kansas line we were met by solicitors of rival towns,
+each urging the advantages of their respective markets for our cattle.
+The summer before a small business had sprung up at Newton, Kansas, it
+being then the terminal of the Santa Fé Railway. And although Newton
+lasted as a trail town but a single summer, its reputation for
+bloodshed and riotous disorder stands notoriously alone among its
+rivals. In the mean time the Santa Fé had been extended to Wichita on
+the Arkansas River, and its representatives were now bidding for our
+patronage. Abilene was abandoned, yet a rival to Wichita had sprung up
+at Ellsworth, some sixty-five miles west of the former market, on the
+Kansas Pacific Railway. The railroads were competing for the cattle
+traffic, each one advertising its superior advantages to drovers,
+shippers, and feeders. I was impartial, but as Wichita was fully one
+hundred miles the nearest, my cattle were turned for that point.
+
+Wichita was a frontier village of about two thousand inhabitants. We
+found a convenient camp northwest of town, and went into permanent
+quarters to await the opening of the market. Within a few weeks
+a light drive was assured, and prices opened firm. Fully a
+quarter-million less cattle would reach the markets within the State
+that year, and buyers became active in securing their needed supply.
+Early in July I sold the last of my herd and started my outfit home,
+remaining behind to await the arrival of my brother. The trip was
+successful; the purchased cattle had afforded me a nice profit, while
+the steers from the two brands had more than paid for the mixed stuff
+left at home on the ranch. Meanwhile I renewed old acquaintances among
+drovers and dealers, Major Mabry among the former. In a confidential
+mood I confessed to him that I had bought, on the recent decline, one
+hundred certificates of land scrip, when he surprised me by saying
+that there had been a later decline to sixteen dollars a section. I
+was unnerved for an instant, but Major Mabry agreed with me that to a
+man who wanted the land the price was certainly cheap enough,--two
+and a half cents an acre. I pondered over the matter, and as my nerve
+returned I sent my merchant friend at Austin a draft and authorized
+him to buy me two hundred sections more of land scrip. I was actually
+nettled to think that my judgment was so short-sighted as to buy
+anything that would depreciate in value.
+
+My brother arrived and reported splendid success in feeding Colorado
+cattle. He was anxious to have me join forces with him and corn-feed
+an increased number of beeves the coming winter on his Missouri farm.
+My judgment hardly approved of the venture, but when he urged a
+promised visit of our parents to his home, I consented and agreed
+to furnish the cattle. He also encouraged me to bring as many as my
+capital would admit of, assuring me that I would find a ready sale for
+any surplus among his neighbors. My brother returned to Missouri, and
+I took the train for Ellsworth, where I bought a carload of picked
+cow-horses, shipping them to Kit Carson, Colorado. From there I
+drifted into the Fountain valley at the base of the mountains, where
+I made a trade for seven hundred native steers, three and four years
+old. They were fine cattle, nearly all reds and roans. While I was
+gathering them a number of amusing incidents occurred. The round-ups
+carried us down on to the main Arkansas River, and in passing Pueblo
+we discovered a number of range cattle impounded in the town. I cannot
+give it as a fact, but the supposition among the cowmen was that the
+object of the officials was to raise some revenue by distressing the
+cattle. The result was that an outfit of men rode into the village
+during the night, tore down the pound, and turned the cattle back on
+the prairie. The prime movers in the raid were suspected, and the next
+evening when a number of us rode into town an attempt was made to
+arrest us, resulting in a fight, in which an officer was killed and
+two cowboys wounded. The citizens rallied to the support of the
+officers, and about thirty range men, including myself, were arrested
+and thrown into jail. We sent for a lawyer, and the following morning
+the majority of us were acquitted. Some three or four of the boys were
+held for trial, bonds being furnished by the best men in the town, and
+that night a party of cowboys reëntered the village, carried away the
+two wounded men and spirited them out of the country.
+
+Pueblo at that time was a unique town. Live-stock interests were its
+main support, and I distinctly remember Gann's outfitting store. At
+night one could find anywhere from ten to thirty cowboys sleeping on
+the counters, the proprietor turning the keys over to them at closing
+time, not knowing one in ten, and sleeping at his own residence. The
+same custom prevailed at Gallup the saddler's, never an article being
+missed from either establishment, and both men amassing fortunes out
+of the cattle trade in subsequent years. The range man's patronage had
+its peculiarities; the firm of Wright, Beverly & Co. of Dodge City,
+Kansas, accumulated seven thousand odd vests during the trail days.
+When a cow-puncher bought a new suit he had no use for an unnecessary
+garment like a vest and left it behind. It was restored to the stock,
+where it can yet be found.
+
+Early in August the herd was completed. I accepted seven hundred and
+twenty steers, investing every cent of spare money, reserving only
+sufficient to pay my expenses en route. It was my intention to drive
+the cattle through to Missouri, the distance being a trifle less than
+six hundred miles or a matter of six weeks' travel. Four men were
+secured, a horse was packed with provisions and blankets, and we
+started down the Arkansas River. For the first few days I did very
+little but build air castles. I pictured myself driving herds from
+Texas in the spring, reinvesting the proceeds in better grades of
+cattle and feeding them corn in the older States, selling in time to
+again buy and come up the trail. I even planned to send for my wife
+and baby, and looked forward to a happy reunion with my parents during
+the coming winter, with not a cloud in my roseate sky. But there were
+breakers ahead.
+
+An old military trail ran southeast from Fort Larned to other posts in
+the Indian Territory. Over this government road had come a number of
+herds of Texas cattle, all of them under contract, which, in reaching
+their destination, had avoided the markets of Wichita and Ellsworth.
+I crossed their trail with my Colorado natives,--the through cattle
+having passed a month or more before,--never dreaming of any danger.
+Ten days afterward I noticed a number of my steers were ailing; their
+ears drooped, they refused to eat, and fell to the rear as we grazed
+forward. The next morning there were forty head unable to leave the
+bed-ground, and by noon a number of them had died. I had heard of
+Texas fever, but always treated it as more or less a myth, and now
+it held my little herd of natives in its toils. By this time we had
+reached some settlement on the Cottonwood, and the pioneer settlers in
+Kansas arose in arms and quarantined me. No one knew what the trouble
+was, yet the cattle began dying like sheep; I was perfectly helpless,
+not knowing which way to turn or what to do. Quarantine was
+unnecessary, as within a few days half the cattle were sick, and it
+was all we could do to move away from the stench of the dead ones.
+
+A veterinary was sent for, who pronounced it Texas fever. I had
+previously cut open a number of dead animals, and found the contents
+of their stomachs and manifolds so dry that they would flash and burn
+like powder. The fever had dried up their very internals. In the hope
+of administering a purgative, I bought whole fields of green corn,
+and turned the sick and dying cattle into them. I bought oils by the
+barrel, my men and myself worked night and day, inwardly drenching
+affected animals, yet we were unable to stay the ravages of death.
+Once the cause of the trouble was located,--crossing ground over
+which Texas cattle had passed,--the neighbors became friendly, and
+sympathized with me. I gave them permission to take the fallen hides,
+and in return received many kindnesses where a few days before I had
+been confronted by shotguns. This was my first experience with Texas
+fever, and the lessons that I learned then and afterward make me
+skeptical of all theories regarding the transmission of the germ.
+
+The story of the loss of my Colorado herd is a ghastly one. This fever
+is sometimes called splenic, and in the present case, where animals
+lingered a week or ten days, while yet alive, their skins frequently
+cracked along the spine until one could have laid two fingers in the
+opening. The whole herd was stricken, less than half a dozen animals
+escaping attack, scores dying within three days, the majority
+lingering a week or more. In spite of our every effort to save them,
+as many as one hundred died in a single day. I stayed with them for
+six weeks, or until the fever had run through the herd, spent my last
+available dollar in an effort to save the dumb beasts, and, having my
+hopes frustrated, sold the remnant of twenty-six head for five dollars
+apiece. I question if they were worth the money, as three fourths of
+them were fever-burnt and would barely survive a winter, the only
+animals of value being some half dozen which had escaped the general
+plague. I gave each of my men two horses apiece, and divided my money
+with them, and they started back to Colorado, while I turned homeward
+a wiser but poorer man. Whereas I had left Wichita three months
+before with over sixteen thousand dollars clear cash, I returned with
+eighteen saddle horses and not as many dollars in money.
+
+My air-castles had fallen. Troubles never come singly, and for the
+last two weeks, while working with the dying cattle, I had suffered
+with chills and fever. The summer had been an unusually wet one,
+vegetation had grown up rankly in the valley of the Arkansas, and
+after the first few frosts the very atmosphere reeked with malaria.
+I had been sleeping on the ground along the river for over a month,
+drinking impure water from the creeks, and I fell an easy victim to
+the prevailing miasma. Nearly all the Texas drovers had gone home,
+but, luckily for me, Jim Daugherty had an outfit yet at Wichita and
+invited me to his wagon. It might be a week or ten days before he
+would start homeward, as he was holding a herd of cows, sold to an
+Indian contractor, who was to receive the same within two weeks. In
+the interim of waiting, still suffering from fever and ague, I visited
+around among the few other cow-camps scattered up and down the river.
+At one of these I met a stranger, a quiet little man, who also had
+been under the weather from malaria, but was then recovering. He took
+an interest in my case and gave me some medicine to break the chills,
+and we visited back and forth. I soon learned that he had come down
+with some of his neighbors from Council Grove; that they expected
+to buy cattle, and that he was banker for the party. He was much
+interested in everything pertaining to Texas; and when I had given him
+an idea of the cheapness of lands and live stock in my adopted State,
+he expressed himself as anxious to engage in trailing cattle north. A
+great many Texas cattle had been matured in his home county, and he
+thoroughly understood the advantages of developing southern steers in
+a northern climate. Many of his neighbors had made small fortunes
+in buying young stock at Abilene, holding them a year or two, and
+shipping them to market as fat cattle.
+
+The party bought six hundred two-year-old steers, and my new-found
+friend, the banker, invited me to assist in the receiving. My
+knowledge of range cattle was a decided advantage to the buyers, who
+no doubt were good farmers, yet were sadly handicapped when given pick
+and choice from a Texas herd and confined to ages. I cut, counted, and
+received the steers, my work giving such satisfaction that the party
+offered to pay me for my services. It was but a neighborly act,
+unworthy of recompense, yet I won the lasting regard of the banker
+in protecting the interests of his customers. The upshot of the
+acquaintance was that we met in town that evening and had a few drinks
+together. Neither one ever made any inquiry of the other's past
+or antecedents, both seeming to be satisfied with a soldier's
+acquaintance. At the final parting, I gave him my name and address and
+invited him to visit me, promising that we would buy a herd of cattle
+together and drive them up the trail the following spring. He accepted
+the invitation with a hearty grasp of the hand, and the simple promise
+"I'll come." Those words were the beginning of a partnership which
+lasted eighteen years, and a friendship that death alone will
+terminate.
+
+The Indian contractor returned on time, and the next day I started
+home with Daugherty's outfit. And on the way, as if I were pursued by
+some unrelenting Nemesis, two of my horses, with others, were stolen
+by the Indians one night when we were encamped near Red River. We
+trailed them westward nearly fifty miles, but, on being satisfied they
+were traveling night and day, turned back and continued our journey. I
+reached home with sixteen horses, which for years afterwards, among
+my hands and neighbors, were pointed out as Anthony's thousand-dollar
+cow-ponies. There is no denying the fact that I keenly felt the
+loss of my money, as it crippled me in my business, while my ranch
+expenses, amounting to over one thousand dollars, were unpaid. I was
+rich in unsalable cattle, owned a thirty-two-thousand-acre ranch,
+saddle horses galore, and was in debt. My wife's trunk was half full
+of land scrip, and to have admitted the fact would only have invited
+ridicule. But my tuition was paid, and all I asked was a chance, for I
+knew the ropes in handling range cattle. Yet this was the second time
+that I had lost my money and I began to doubt myself. "You stick to
+cows," said Charlie Goodnight to me that winter, "and they'll bring
+you out on top some day. I thought I saw something in you when you
+first went to work for Loving and me. Reed, if you'll just imbibe a
+little caution with your energy, you'll make a fortune out of cattle
+yet."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE PANIC OF '73
+
+
+I have never forgotten those encouraging words of my first employer.
+Friends tided my finances over, and letters passed between my banker
+friend and myself, resulting in an appointment to meet him at Fort
+Worth early in February. There was no direct railroad at the time, the
+route being by St. Louis and Texarkana, with a long trip by stage to
+the meeting point. No definite agreement existed between us; he was
+simply paying me a visit, with the view of looking into the cattle
+trade then existing between our respective States. There was no
+obligation whatever, yet I had hopes of interesting him sufficiently
+to join issues with me in driving a herd of cattle. I wish I could
+describe the actual feelings of a man who has had money and lost
+it. Never in my life did such opportunities present themselves for
+investment as were tendered to me that winter. No less than half a
+dozen brands of cattle were offered to me at the former terms of half
+cash and the balance to suit my own convenience. But I lacked the
+means to even provision a wagon for a month's work, and I was
+compelled to turn my back on all bargains, many of which were
+duplicates of my former successes. I was humbled to the very dust; I
+bowed my neck to the heel of circumstances, and looked forward to the
+coming of my casual acquaintance.
+
+I have read a few essays on the relation of money to a community. None
+of our family were ever given to theorizing, yet I know how it feels
+to be moneyless, my experience with Texas fever affording me a
+post-graduate course. Born with a restless energy, I have lived in the
+pit of despair for the want of money, and again, with the use of it,
+have bent a legislature to my will and wish. All of which is foreign
+to my tale, and I hasten on. During the first week in February I drove
+in to Fort Worth to await the arrival of my friend, Calvin Hunter,
+banker and stockman of Council Grove, Kansas. Several letters were
+awaiting me in the town, notifying me of his progress, and in due time
+he arrived and was welcomed. The next morning we started, driving a
+good span of mules to a buckboard, expecting to cover the distance to
+the Brazos in two days. There were several ranches at which we could
+touch, en route, but we loitered along, making wide detours in order
+to drive through cattle, not a feature of the country escaping the
+attention of my quiet little companion. The soil, the native grasses,
+the natural waters, the general topography of the country, rich in
+its primal beauty, furnished a panorama to the eye both pleasing and
+exhilarating. But the main interest centred in the cattle, thousands
+of which were always in sight, lingering along the watercourses or
+grazing at random.
+
+We reached the Edwards ranch early the second evening. In the two
+days' travel, possibly twenty thousand cattle came under our immediate
+observation. All the country was an open range, brands intermingling,
+all ages and conditions, running from a sullen bull to seven-year-old
+beeves, or from a yearling heifer to the grandmother of younger
+generations. My anxiety to show the country and its cattle met a
+hearty second in Mr. Hunter, and abandoning the buckboard, we took
+horses and rode up the Brazos River as far as old Fort Belknap. All
+cattle were wintering strong. Turning south, we struck the Clear Fork
+above my range and spent a night at the ranch, where my men had built
+a second cabin, connecting the two by a hallway. After riding through
+my stock for two days, we turned back for the Brazos. My ranch hands
+had branded thirty-one hundred calves the fall before, and while
+riding over the range I was delighted to see so many young steers in
+my different brands. But our jaunt had only whetted the appetite of
+my guest to see more of the country, and without any waste of time we
+started south with the buckboard, going as far as Comanche County.
+Every day's travel brought us in contact with cattle for sale; the
+prices were an incentive, but we turned east and came back up the
+valley of the Brazos. I offered to continue our sightseeing, but
+my guest pleaded for a few days' time until he could hear from his
+banking associates. I needed a partner and needed one badly, and
+was determined to interest Mr. Hunter if it took a whole month. And
+thereby hangs a tale.
+
+The native Texan is not distinguished for energy or ambition. His
+success in cattle is largely due to the fact that nearly all the work
+can be done on horseback. Yet in that particular field he stands at
+the head of his class; for whether in Montana or his own sunny Texas,
+when it comes to handling cattle, from reading brands to cutting a
+trainload of beeves, he is without a peer. During the palmy days of
+the Cherokee Strip, a Texan invited Captain Stone, a Kansas City man,
+to visit his ranch in Tom Green County and put up a herd of steers to
+be driven to Stone's beef ranch in the Cherokee Outlet. The invitation
+was accepted, and on the arrival of the Kansas City man at the Texan's
+ranch, host and guest indulged in a friendly visit of several days'
+duration. It was the northern cowman's first visit to the Lone Star
+State, and he naturally felt impatient to see the cattle which he
+expected to buy. But the host made no movement to show the stock
+until patience ceased to be a virtue, when Captain Stone moved an
+adjournment of the social session and politely asked to be shown a
+sample of the country's cattle. The two cowmen were fast friends, and
+no offense was intended or taken; but the host assured his guest
+there was no hurry, offering to get up horses and show the stock
+the following day. Captain Stone yielded, and the next morning they
+started, but within a few miles met a neighbor, when all three
+dismounted in the shade of a tree. Commonplace chat of the country
+occupied the attention of the two Texans until hunger or some
+other warning caused one of them to look at his watch, when it was
+discovered to be three o'clock in the afternoon. It was then too late
+in the day to make an extensive ride, and the ranchman invited his
+neighbor and guest to return to the ranch for the night. Another day
+was wasted in entertaining the neighbor, the northern cowman, in the
+meantime, impatient and walking on nettles until a second start was
+made to see the cattle. It was a foggy morning, and they started on
+a different route from that previously taken, the visiting ranchman
+going along. Unnoticed, a pack of hounds followed the trio of
+horsemen, and before the fog lifted a cougar trail was struck and the
+dogs opened in a brilliant chorus. The two Texans put spurs to their
+horses in following the pack, the cattle buyer of necessity joining
+in, the chase leading into some hills, from which they returned after
+darkness, having never seen a cow during the day. One trivial incident
+after another interfered with seeing the cattle for ten days, when the
+guest took his host aside and kindly told him that he must be shown
+the cattle or he would go home.
+
+"You're not in a hurry, are you, captain?" innocently asked the Texan.
+"All right, then; no trouble to show the cattle. Yes, they run right
+around home here within twenty-five miles of the ranch. Show you a
+sample of the stock within an hour's ride. You can just bet that old
+Tom Green County has got the steers! Sugar, if I'd a-known that you
+was in a hurry, I could have shown you the cattle the next morning
+after you come. Captain, you ought to know me well enough by this time
+to speak your little piece without any prelude. You Yankees are so
+restless and impatient that I seriously doubt if you get all the
+comfort and enjoyment out of life that's coming to you. Make haste,
+some of you boys, and bring in a remuda; Captain Stone and I are going
+to ride over on the Middle Fork this morning. Make haste, now; we're
+in a hurry."
+
+In due time I suppose I drifted into the languorous ways of the Texan;
+but on the occasion of Mr. Hunter's first visit I was in the need of a
+moneyed partner, and accordingly danced attendance. Once communication
+was opened with his Northern associates, we made several short rides
+into adjoining counties, never being gone over two or three days.
+When we had looked at cattle to his satisfaction, he surprised me
+by offering to put fifty thousand dollars into young steers for the
+Kansas trade. I never fainted in my life, but his proposition stunned
+me for an instant, or until I could get my bearings. The upshot of
+the proposal was that we entered into an agreement whereby I was to
+purchase and handle the cattle, and he was to make himself useful
+in selling and placing the stock in his State. A silent partner was
+furnishing an equal portion of the means, and I was to have a third
+of the net profits. Within a week after this agreement was perfected,
+things were moving. I had the horses and wagons, men were plentiful,
+and two outfits were engaged. Early in March a contract was let in
+Parker County for thirty-one hundred two-year-old steers, and another
+in Young for fourteen hundred threes, the latter to be delivered at my
+ranch. George Edwards was to have the younger cattle, and he and Mr.
+Hunter received the same, after which the latter hurried west, fully
+ninety miles, to settle for those bought for delivery on the Clear
+Fork. In the mean time my ranch outfit had gathered all our steer
+cattle two years old and over, having nearly twenty-five hundred head
+under herd on my arrival to receive the three-year-olds. This amount
+would make an unwieldy herd, and I culled back all short-aged twos and
+thin steers until my individual contingent numbered even two thousand.
+The contracted steers came in on time, fully up to the specifications,
+and my herd was ready to start on the appointed day.
+
+Every dollar of the fifty thousand was invested in cattle, save enough
+to provision the wagons en route. My ranch outfit, with the exception
+of two men and ten horses, was pressed into trail work as a matter of
+economy, for I was determined to make some money for my partners. Both
+herds were to meet and cross at Red River Station. The season was
+favorable, and everything augured for a prosperous summer. At the
+very last moment a cloud arose between Mr. Hunter and me, but happily
+passed without a storm. The night before the second herd started, he
+and I sat up until a late hour, arranging our affairs, as it was not
+his intention to accompany the herds overland. After all business
+matters were settled, lounging around a camp-fire, we grew
+reminiscent, when the fact developed that my quiet little partner had
+served in the Union army, and with the rank of major. I always enjoy a
+joke, even on myself, but I flashed hot and cold on this confession.
+What! Reed Anthony forming a partnership with a Yankee major? It
+seemed as though I had. Fortunately I controlled myself, and under the
+excuse of starting the herd at daybreak, I excused myself and sought
+my blankets. But not to sleep. On the one hand, in the stillness
+of the night and across the years, came the accusing voices of old
+comrades. My very wounds seemed to reopen and curse me. Did my
+sufferings after Pittsburg Landing mean nothing? A vision of my dear
+old mother in Virginia, welcoming me, the only one of her three sons
+who returned from the war, arraigned me sorely. And yet, on the other
+hand, this man was my guest. On my invitation he had eaten my salt.
+For mutual benefit we had entered into a partnership, and I expected
+to profit from the investment of his money. More important, he had not
+deceived me nor concealed anything; neither did he know that I had
+served in the Confederate army. The man was honest. I was anxious to
+do right. Soldiers are generous to a foe. While he lay asleep in my
+camp, I reviewed the situation carefully, and judged him blameless.
+The next morning, and ever afterward, I addressed him by his military
+title. Nearly a year passed before Major Hunter knew that he and his
+Texas partner had served in the civil war under different flags.
+
+My partner returned to the Edwards ranch and was sent in to Fort
+Worth, where he took stage and train for home. The straight
+two-year-old herd needed road-branding, as they were accepted in a
+score or more brands, which delayed them in starting. Major Hunter
+expected to sell to farmers, to whom brands were offensive, and was
+therefore opposed to more branding than was absolutely necessary. In
+order to overcome this objection, I tally-marked all outside cattle
+which went into my herd by sawing from each steer about two inches
+from the right horn. As fast as the cattle were received this work was
+easily done in a chute, while in case of any loss by stampede the
+mark would last for years. The grass was well forward when both herds
+started, but on arriving at Red River no less than half a dozen herds
+were waterbound, one of which was George Edwards's. A delay of three
+days occurred, during which two other herds arrived, when the river
+fell, permitting us to cross. I took the lead thereafter, the second
+herd half a day to the rear, with the almost weekly incident of being
+waterbound by intervening rivers. But as we moved northward the floods
+seemed lighter, and on our arrival at Wichita the weather settled into
+well-ordered summer.
+
+I secured my camp of the year before. Major Hunter came down by train,
+and within a week after our arrival my outfit was settled with and
+sent home. It was customary to allow a man half wages returning, my
+partner approving and paying the men, also taking charge of all the
+expense accounts. Everything was kept as straight as a bank, and with
+one outfit holding both herds separate, expenses were reduced to a
+minimum. Major Hunter was back and forth, between his home town and
+Wichita, and on nearly every occasion brought along buyers, effecting
+sales at extra good prices. Cattle paper was considered gilt-edge
+security among financial men, and we sold to worthy parties a great
+many cattle on credit, the home bank with which my partners were
+associated taking the notes at their face. Matters rocked along, we
+sold when we had an opportunity, and early in August the remnant of
+each herd was thrown together and half the remaining outfit sent home.
+A drive of fully half a million cattle had reached Kansas that
+year, the greater portion of which had centred at Wichita. We were
+persistent in selling, and, having strong local connections, had
+sold out all our cattle long before the financial panic of '73 even
+started. There was a profitable business, however, in buying herds and
+selling again in small quantities to farmers and stockmen. My partners
+were anxious to have me remain to the end of the season, doing the
+buying, maintaining the camp, and holding any stock on hand. In
+rummaging through the old musty account-books, I find that we handled
+nearly seven thousand head besides our own drive, fifteen hundred
+being the most we ever had on hand at any one time.
+
+My active partner proved a shrewd man in business, and in spite of
+the past our friendship broadened and strengthened. Weeks before the
+financial crash reached us he knew of its coming, and our house was
+set in order. When the panic struck the West we did not own a hoof of
+cattle, while the horses on hand were mine and not for sale; and the
+firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. rode the gale like a seaworthy ship. The
+panic reached Wichita with over half the drive of that year unsold.
+The local banks began calling in money advanced to drovers, buyers
+deserted the market, and prices went down with a crash. Shipments of
+the best through cattle failed to realize more than sufficient to pay
+commission charges and freight. Ruin stared in the face every Texan
+drover whose cattle were unsold. Only a few herds were under contract
+for fall delivery to Indian and army contractors. We had run from the
+approaching storm in the nick of time, even settling with and sending
+my outfit home before the financial cyclone reached the prairies
+of Kansas. My last trade before the panic struck was an individual
+account, my innate weakness for an abundance of saddle horses
+asserting itself in buying ninety head and sending them home with my
+men.
+
+I now began to see the advantages of shrewd and far-seeing business
+associates. When the crash came, scarce a dozen drovers had sold out,
+while of those holding cattle at Wichita nearly every one had locally
+borrowed money or owed at home for their herds. When the banks,
+panic-stricken themselves, began calling in short-time loans, their
+frenzy paralyzed the market, many cattle being sacrificed at forced
+sale and with scarce a buyer. In the depreciation of values from the
+prices which prevailed in the early summer, the losses to the Texas
+drovers, caused by the panic, would amount to several million dollars.
+I came out of the general wreck and ruin untouched, though personally
+claiming no credit, as that must be given my partners. The year
+before, when every other drover went home prosperous and happy, I
+returned "broke," while now the situation was reversed.
+
+I spent a week at Council Grove, visiting with my business associates.
+After a settlement of the year's business, I was anxious to return
+home, having agreed to drive cattle the next year on the same terms
+and conditions. My partners gave me a cash settlement, and outside
+of my individual cattle, I cleared over ten thousand dollars on my
+summer's work. Major Hunter, however, had an idea of reëntering the
+market,--with the first symptom of improvement in the financial
+horizon in the East,--and I was detained. The proposition of buying
+a herd of cattle and wintering them on the range had been fully
+discussed between us, and prices were certainly an incentive to make
+the venture. In an ordinary open winter, stock subsisted on the range
+all over western Kansas, especially when a dry fall had matured and
+cured the buffalo-grass like hay. The range was all one could wish,
+and Major Hunter and I accordingly dropped down to Wichita to look the
+situation over. We arrived in the midst of the panic and found matters
+in a deplorable condition. Drovers besought and even begged us to make
+an offer on their herds, while the prevailing prices of a month before
+had declined over half. Major Hunter and I agreed that at present
+figures, even if half the cattle were lost by a severe winter, there
+would still be money in the venture. Through financial connections
+East my partners knew of the first signs of improvement in the
+money-centres of the country. As I recall the circumstances, the panic
+began in the East about the middle of September, and it was the latter
+part of October before confidence was restored, or there was any
+noticeable change for the better in the monetary situation. But when
+this came, it found us busy buying saddle horses and cattle. The great
+bulk of the unsold stock consisted of cows, heifers, and young steers
+unfit for beef. My partners contended that a three-year-old steer
+ought to winter anywhere a buffalo could, provided he had the flesh
+and strength to withstand the rigors of the climate. I had no
+opinions, except what other cowmen had told me, but was willing to
+take the chances where there was a reasonable hope of success.
+
+The first move was to buy an outfit of good horses. This was done by
+selecting from half a dozen remudas, a trail wagon was picked up, and
+a complement of men secured. Once it was known that we were in the
+market for cattle, competition was brisk, the sellers bidding against
+each other and fixing the prices at which we accepted the stock. None
+but three-year-old steers were taken, and in a single day we closed
+trades on five thousand head. I received the cattle, confining my
+selections to five road and ten single-ranch brands, as it was not our
+intention to rebrand so late in the season. There was nothing to do
+but cut, count, and accept, and on the evening of the third day the
+herd was all ready to start for its winter range. The wagon had been
+well provisioned, and we started southwest, expecting to go into
+winter quarters on the first good range encountered. I had taken a
+third interest in the herd, paying one sixth of its purchase price,
+the balance being carried for me by my partners. Major Hunter
+accompanied us, the herd being altogether too large and unwieldy
+to handle well, but we grazed it forward with a front a mile wide.
+Delightful fall weather favored the cattle, and on the tenth day we
+reached the Medicine River, where, by the unwritten law of squatter's
+rights, we preëmpted ten miles of its virgin valley. The country was
+fairly carpeted with well-cured buffalo-grass; on the north and west
+was a range of sand-dunes, while on the south the country was broken
+by deep coulees, affording splendid shelter in case of blizzards or
+wintry storms.
+
+A dugout was built on either end of the range. Major Hunter took the
+wagon and team and went to the nearest settlement, returning with
+a load of corn, having contracted for the delivery of five hundred
+bushels more. Meanwhile I was busy locating the cattle, scattering
+them sparsely over the surrounding country, cutting them into bunches
+of not more than ten to twenty head. Corrals and cosy shelters were
+built for a few horses, comfortable quarters for the men, and we
+settled down for the winter with everything snug and secure. By the
+first of December the force was reduced to four men at each camp, all
+of whom were experienced in holding cattle in the winter. Lines giving
+ample room to our cattle were established, which were to be ridden
+both evening and morning in any and all weather. Two Texans, both
+experts as trailers, were detailed to trail down any cattle which left
+the boundaries of the range. The weather continued fine, and with the
+camps well provisioned, the major and I returned to the railroad and
+took train for Council Grove. I was impatient to go home, and took the
+most direct route then available. Railroads were just beginning to
+enter the West, and one had recently been completed across the eastern
+portion of the Indian Territory, its destination being south of Red
+River. With nothing but the clothes on my back and a saddle, I
+started home, and within twenty-four hours arrived at Denison, Texas.
+Connecting stages carried me to Fort Worth, where I bought a saddle
+horse, and the next evening I was playing with the babies at the home
+ranch. It had been an active summer with me, but success had amply
+rewarded my labors, while every cloud had disappeared and the future
+was rich in promise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A PROSPEROUS YEAR
+
+
+An open winter favored the cattle on the Medicine River. My partners
+in Kansas wrote me encouragingly, and plans were outlined for
+increasing our business for the coming summer. There was no activity
+in live stock during the winter in Texas, and there would be no
+trouble in putting up herds at prevailing prices of the spring before.
+I spent an inactive winter, riding back and forth to my ranch, hunting
+with hounds, and killing an occasional deer. While visiting at Council
+Grove the fall before, Major Hunter explained to our silent partner
+the cheapness of Texas lands. Neither one of my associates cared to
+scatter their interests beyond the boundaries of their own State, yet
+both urged me to acquire every acre of cheap land that my means would
+permit. They both recited the history and growth in value of the lands
+surrounding The Grove, telling me how cheaply they could have bought
+the same ten years before,--at the government price of a dollar and a
+quarter an acre,--and that already there had been an advance of four
+to five hundred per cent. They urged me to buy scrip and locate land,
+assuring me that it was only a question of time until the people
+of Texas would arise in their might and throw off the yoke of
+Reconstruction.
+
+At home general opinion was just the reverse. No one cared for more
+land than a homestead or for immediate use. No locations had been made
+adjoining my ranch on the Clear Fork, and it began to look as if I had
+more land than I needed. Yet I had confidence enough in the advice of
+my partners to reopen negotiations with my merchant friend at Austin
+for the purchase of more land scrip. The panic of the fall before had
+scarcely affected the frontier of Texas, and was felt in only a few
+towns of any prominence in the State. There had been no money in
+circulation since the war, and a financial stringency elsewhere made
+little difference among the local people. True, the Kansas cattle
+market had sent a little money home, but a bad winter with drovers
+holding cattle in the North, followed by a panic, had bankrupted
+nearly every cowman, many of them with heavy liabilities in Texas.
+There were very few banks in the State, and what little money there
+was among the people was generally hoarded to await the dawn of a
+brighter day.
+
+My wife tells a story about her father, which shows similar conditions
+prevailing during the civil war. The only outlet for cotton in Texas
+during the rebellion was by way of Mexico. Matamoros, near the mouth
+of the Rio Grande, waxed opulent in its trade of contrabrand cotton,
+the Texas product crossing the river anywhere for hundreds of miles
+above and being freighted down on the Mexican side to tide-water. The
+town did an immense business during the blockade of coast seaports,
+twenty-dollar gold pieces being more plentiful then than nickels are
+to-day, the cotton finding a ready market at war prices and safe
+shipment under foreign flags. My wife's father was engaged in the
+trade of buying cotton at interior points, freighting it by ox trains
+over the Mexican frontier, and thence down the river to Matamoros.
+Once the staple reached neutral soil, it was palmed off as a local
+product, and the Federal government dared not touch it, even though
+they knew it to be contrabrand of war. The business was transacted in
+gold, and it was Mr. Edwards's custom to bury the coin on his return
+from each trading trip. My wife, then a mere girl and the oldest
+of the children at home, was taken into her father's confidence
+in secreting the money. The country was full of bandits, either
+government would have confiscated the gold had they known its
+whereabouts, and the only way to insure its safety was to bury it.
+After several years trading in cotton, Mr. Edwards accumulated
+considerable money, and on one occasion buried the treasure at night
+between two trees in an adjoining wood. Unexpectedly one day he had
+occasion to use some money in buying a cargo of cotton, the children
+were at a distant neighbor's, and he went into the woods alone to
+unearth the gold. But hogs, running in the timber, had rooted up the
+ground in search of edible roots, and Edwards was unable to locate the
+spot where his treasure lay buried. Fearful that possibly the money
+had been uprooted and stolen, he sent for the girl, who hastily
+returned. As my wife tells the story, great beads of perspiration were
+dripping from her father's brow as the two entered the woods. And
+although the ground was rooted up, the girl pointed out the spot,
+midway between two trees, and the treasure was recovered without a
+coin missing. Mr. Edwards lost confidence in himself, and thereafter,
+until peace was restored, my wife and a younger sister always buried
+the family treasure by night, keeping the secret to themselves, and
+producing the money on demand.
+
+The merchant at Austin reported land scrip plentiful at fifteen
+to sixteen dollars a section. I gave him an order for two hundred
+certificates, and he filled the bill so promptly that I ordered
+another hundred, bringing my unlocated holdings up to six hundred
+sections. My land scrip was a standing joke between my wife and me,
+and I often promised her that when we built a house and moved to
+the Clear Fork, if the scrip was still worthless she might have the
+certificates to paper a room with. They were nicely lithographed, the
+paper was of the very best quality, and they went into my wife's trunk
+to await their destiny. Had it been known outside that I held such an
+amount of scrip, I would have been subjected to ridicule, and no doubt
+would have given it to some surveyor to locate on shares. Still I had
+a vague idea that land at two and a half cents an acre would never
+hurt me. Several times in the past I had needed the money tied up in
+scrip, and then I would regret having bought it. After the loss of
+my entire working capital by Texas fever, I was glad I had foresight
+enough to buy a quantity that summer. And thus I swung like a pendulum
+between personal necessities and public opinion; but when those
+long-headed Yankee partners of mine urged me to buy land, I felt once
+more that I was on the right track and recovered my grasp. I might
+have located fifty miles of the valley of the Clear Fork that winter,
+but it would have entailed some little expense, the land would then
+have been taxable, and I had the use of it without outlay or trouble.
+
+An event of great importance to the people of Texas occurred during
+the winter of 1873-74. The election the fall before ended in dispute,
+both great parties claiming the victory. On the meeting of the
+legislature to canvass the vote, all the negro militia of the
+State were concentrated in and around the capitol building. The
+Reconstruction régime refused to vacate, and were fighting to
+retain control; the best element of the people were asserting in no
+unmistakable terms their rights and bloodshed seemed inevitable. The
+federal government was appealed to, but refused to interfere. The
+legislature was with the people, and when the latter refused to be
+intimidated by a display of force, those in possession yielded the
+reins, and Governor Coke was inaugurated January 15, 1874; and thus
+the prediction of my partners, uttered but a few mouths before, became
+history.
+
+Major Hunter came down again about the last of February. Still
+unshaken in his confidence in the future of Texas, he complimented me
+on securing more land scrip. He had just returned from our camps on
+the Medicine River, and reported the cattle coming through in splendid
+condition. Gray wolves had harassed the herd during the early winter;
+but long-range rifles and poison were furnished, and our men waged a
+relentless war on these pirates along the Medicine. Cattle in Texas
+had wintered strong, which would permit of active operations beginning
+earlier than usual, and after riding the range for a week we were
+ready for business. It was well known in all the surrounding country
+that we would again be in the market for trail cattle, and offerings
+were plentiful. These tenders ran anywhere from stock cattle to heavy
+beeves; but the market which we were building up with farmers at
+Council Grove required young two and three year old steers. It again
+fell to my province to do the buying, and with the number of brands
+for sale in the country I expected, with the consent of my partners,
+to make a new departure. I was beginning to understand the advantages
+of growing cattle. My holdings of mixed stock on the Clear Fork had
+virtually cost me nothing, and while they may have been unsalable, yet
+there was a steady growth and they were a promising source of income.
+From the results of my mavericking and my trading operations I had
+been enabled to send two thousand young steers up the trail the spring
+before, and the proceeds from their sale had lifted me from the slough
+of despond and set me on a financial rock. Therefore my regard for the
+eternal cow was enhancing.
+
+Home prices were again ten dollars for two-year-old steers and
+twelve for threes. Instead of buying outright at these figures, my
+proposition was to buy individually brands of stock cattle, and turn
+over all steers of acceptable ages at prevailing prices to the firm of
+Hunter, Anthony & Co. in making up trail herds. We had already agreed
+to drive ten thousand head that spring, and my active partner readily
+saw the advantages that would accrue where one had the range and
+outfit to take care of the remnants of mixed stock. My partners were
+both straining their credit at home, and since it was immaterial to
+them, I was given permission to go ahead. This method of buying
+might slightly delay the starting of herds, and rather than do so I
+contracted for three thousand straight threes in Erath County. This
+herd would start ten days in advance of any other, which would give
+us cattle on the market at Wichita with the opening of the season. My
+next purchase was two brands whose range was around the juncture of
+the main Brazos and Clear Fork, adjoining my ranch. These cattle
+were to be delivered at our corrals, as, having received the
+three-year-olds from both brands the spring before, I had a good idea
+how the stock ought to classify. A third brand was secured up the
+Clear Fork, adjacent to my range, supposed to number about three
+thousand, from which nothing had been sold in four years. This latter
+contingent cost me five dollars a head, but my boys knew the brand
+well enough to know that they would run forty per cent steer cattle.
+In all three cases I bought all right and title to the brand, giving
+them until the last day of March to gather, and anything not tendered
+for count on receiving, the tail went with the hide.
+
+From these three brands I expected to make up the second herd easily.
+With no market for cattle, it was safe to count on a brand running one
+third steers or better, from which I ought to get twenty-five per cent
+of age for trail purposes. Long before any receiving began I bought
+four more brands outright in adjoining counties, setting the day for
+receiving on the 5th of April, everything to be delivered on my ranch
+on the Clear Fork. There were fully twenty-five thousand cattle in
+these seven brands, and as I had bought them all half cash and the
+balance on six months' time, it behooved me to be on the alert and
+protect my interests. A trusty man was accordingly sent from my ranch
+to assist in the gathering of each of the four outside brands, to be
+present at all round-ups, to see that no steer cattle were held back,
+and that the dropping calves were cared for and saved. This precaution
+was not taken around my ranch, for any animal which failed to be
+counted my own men would look out for by virtue of ownership of the
+brand. My saddle horses were all in fine condition, and were cut into
+remudas of ninety head each, two new wagons were fitted up, and all
+was ready to move.
+
+The Erath County herd was to be delivered to us on the 20th of March.
+George Edwards was to have charge, and he and Major Hunter started in
+ample time to receive the cattle, the latter proving an apt scholar,
+while the former was a thorough cowman. In the mean time I had made up
+a second outfit, putting a man who had made a number of trips with me
+as foreman in charge, and we moved out to the Clear Fork. The first
+herd started on the 22d, Major Hunter accompanying it past the Edwards
+ranch and then joining us on my range. We had kept in close touch with
+the work then in progress along the Brazos and Clear Fork, and it was
+probable that we might be able to receive in advance of the appointed
+day. Fortunately this happened in two cases, both brands overrunning
+all expectations in general numbers and the quantity of steer cattle.
+These contingents were met, counted, and received ten miles from the
+ranch, nothing but the steers two years old and upward being brought
+in to the corrals. The third brand, from west on the Clear Fork, came
+in on the dot, and this also surprised me in its numbers of heavy
+steer cattle. From the three contingents I received over thirteen
+thousand head, nearly four thousand of which were steers of trail age.
+On the first day of April we started the second herd of thirty-five
+hundred twos and threes, the latter being slightly in the majority,
+but we classified them equally. Major Hunter was pleased with the
+quality of the cattle, and I was more than satisfied with results, as
+I had nearly five hundred heavy steers left which would easily qualify
+as beeves. Estimating the latter at what they ought to net me at
+Wichita, the remnants of stock cattle cost me about a dollar and a
+half a head, while I had received more cash than the amount of the
+half payment.
+
+The beef steers were held under herd to await the arrival of the other
+contingents. If they fell short in twos and threes, I had hopes of
+finding an outlet for my beeves with the last herd. The young stuff
+and stock cattle were allowed to drift back on their own ranges, and
+we rested on our oars. We had warning of the approach of outside
+brands, several arriving in advance of appointment, and they were
+received at once. As before, every brand overran expectations, with no
+shortage in steers. My men had been wide awake, any number of mature
+beeves coming in with the mixed stock. As fast as they arrived we
+cut all steers of desirable age into our herd of beeves, sending the
+remnant up the river about ten miles to be put under loose herd for
+the first month. Fifteen-thousand cattle were tendered in the four
+brands, from which we cut out forty-six hundred steers of trail age.
+The numbers were actually embarrassing, not in stock cattle, but in
+steers, as our trail herd numbered now over five thousand. The outside
+outfits were all detained a few days for a settlement, lending their
+assistance, as we tally-marked all the stock cattle before sending
+them up the river to be put under herd. This work was done in a chute
+with branding irons, running a short bar over the holding-brand, the
+object being to distinguish animals received then from what might be
+gathered afterward. There were nearly one hundred men present, and
+with the amount of help available the third herd was ready to start on
+the morning of the 6th. It numbered thirty-five hundred, again nearly
+equal in twos and threes, my ranch foreman having charge. With the
+third herd started, the question arose what to do with the remnant of
+a few over sixteen hundred beeves. To turn them loose meant that with
+the first norther that blew they would go back to their own range.
+Major Hunter suggested that I drive an individual herd. I tried to
+sell him an interest in the cattle, but as their ages were unsuited to
+his market, he pleaded bankruptcy, yet encouraged me to fill up the
+herd and drive them on my own account.
+
+Something had to be done. I bought sixty horses from the different
+outfits then waiting for a settlement, adding thirty of my own to the
+remuda, made up an outfit from the men present, rigged a wagon, and
+called for a general round-up of my range. Two days afterward we had
+fifteen hundred younger steers of my own raising in the herd, and on
+the 10th of the month the fourth one moved out. A day was lost in
+making a general settlement, after which Major Hunter and I rode
+through the mixed cattle under herd, finding them contentedly
+occupying nearly ten miles of the valley of the Clear Fork. Calves
+were dropping at the rate of one hundred a day, two camps of five men
+each held them on an ample range, riding lines well back from the
+valley. The next morning we turned homeward, passing my ranch and
+corrals, which but a few days before were scenes of activity, but now
+deserted even by the dogs. From the Edwards ranch we were driven in to
+Fort Worth, and by the middle of the month reached Wichita.
+
+No herds were due to arrive for a month. My active partner continued
+on to his home at The Grove, and I started for our camps on the
+Medicine River. The grass was coming with a rush, the cattle were
+beginning to shed their winter coats, and our men assured me that the
+known loss amounted to less than twenty head. The boys had spent an
+active winter, only a few storms ever bunching the cattle, with less
+than half a dozen contingents crossing the established lines. Even
+these were followed by our trailers and brought back to their own
+range; and together with wolfing the time had passed pleasantly. An
+incident occurred at the upper camp that winter which clearly shows
+the difference between the cow-hand of that day and the modern
+bronco-buster. In baiting for wolves, many miles above our range, a
+supposed trail of cattle was cut by one of the boys, who immediately
+reported the matter to our Texas trailer at camp. They were not our
+cattle to a certainty, yet it was but a neighborly act to catch them,
+so the two men took up the trail. From appearances there were not over
+fifteen head in the bunch, and before following them many miles, the
+trailer became suspicious that they were buffalo and not cattle. He
+trailed them until they bedded down, when he dismounted and examined
+every bed. No cow ever lay down without leaving hair on its bed, so
+when the Texan had examined the ground where half a dozen had slept,
+his suspicions were confirmed. Declaring them buffalo, the two men
+took up the trail in a gallop, overtaking the band within ten miles
+and securing four fine robes. There is little or no difference in the
+tracks of the two animals. I simply mention this, as my patience has
+been sorely tried with the modern picturesque cowboy, who is merely an
+amateur when compared with the men of earlier days.
+
+I spent three weeks riding the range on the Medicine. The cattle had
+been carefully selected, now four and five years old, and if the
+season was favorable they would be ready for shipment early in the
+fall. The lower camp was abandoned in order to enlarge the range
+nearly one third, and after providing for the wants of the men, I rode
+away to the southeast to intercept the Chisholm trail where it crossed
+the Kansas line south of Wichita. The town of Caldwell afterward
+sprang up on the border, but at this time among drovers it was known
+as Stone's Store, a trading-post conducted by Captain Stone, afterward
+a cowman, and already mentioned in these memoirs. Several herds had
+already passed on my arrival; I watched the trail, meeting every
+outfit for nearly a week, and finally George Edwards came snailing
+along. He reported our other cattle from seven to ten days behind,
+but was not aware that I had an individual herd on the trail. Edwards
+moved on to Wichita, and I awaited the arrival of our second outfit.
+A brisk rivalry existed between the solicitors for Ellsworth and
+Wichita, every man working faithfully for his railroad or town, and at
+night they generally met in social session over a poker game. I never
+played a card for money now, not that my morals were any too good, but
+I was married and had partners, and business generally absorbed me to
+such an extent that I neglected the game.
+
+I met the second herd at Pond Creek, south in the Cherokee Outlet, and
+after spending a night with them rode through to Wichita in a day and
+night. We went into camp that year well up the Arkansas River, as two
+outfits would again hold the four herds. Our second outfit arrived at
+the chosen grazing grounds on time, the men were instantly relieved,
+and after a good carouse in town they started home. The two other
+herds came in without delay, the beeves arriving on the last of the
+month. Barely half as many cattle would arrive from Texas that summer,
+as many former drovers from that section were bankrupt on account of
+the panic of the year before. Yet the market was fairly well supplied
+with offerings of wintered Texans, the two classes being so distinct
+that there was very little competition between them. My active partner
+was on hand early, reporting a healthy inquiry among former customers,
+all of whom were more than pleased with the cattle supplied them the
+year before. By being in a position to extend a credit to reliable
+men, we were enabled to effect sales where other drovers dared not
+venture.
+
+Business opened early with us. I sold fifteen hundred of my heaviest
+beeves to an army contractor from Wyoming. My active partner sold the
+straight three-year-old herd from Erath County to an ex-governor from
+Nebraska, and we delivered it on the Republican River in that State.
+Small bunches of from three to five hundred were sold to farmers, and
+by the first of August we had our holdings reduced to two herds in
+charge of one outfit. When the hipping season began with our customers
+at The Grove, trade became active with us at Wichita. Scarcely a week
+passed but Major Hunter sold a thousand or more to his neighbors,
+while I skirmished around in the general market. When the outfit
+returned from the Republican River, I took it in charge, went down
+on the Medicine, and cut out a thousand beeves, bringing them to the
+railroad and shipping them to St. Louis. I never saw fatter cattle
+in my life. When we got the returns from the first consignment, we
+shipped two trainloads every fortnight until our holding's on the
+Medicine were reduced to a remnant. A competent bookkeeper was
+employed early in the year, and in keeping our accounts at Wichita,
+looking after our shipments, keeping individual interests, by brands,
+separate from the firm's, he was about the busiest man connected with
+the summer's business. Aside from our drive of over thirteen thousand
+head, we bought three whole herds, retailing them in small quantities
+to our customers, all of which was profitable. I bought four whole
+remudas on personal account, culled out one hundred and fifty head
+and sold them at a sacrifice, sending home the remaining two hundred
+saddle horses. I found it much cheaper and more convenient to buy my
+supply of saddle stock at trail terminals than at home. Once railroad
+connections were in operation direct between Kansas and Texas, every
+outfit preferred to go home by rail, but I adhered to former methods
+for many years.
+
+In summing up the year's business, never were three partners more
+surprised. With a remnant of nearly one hundred beeves unfit for
+shipment, the Medicine River venture had cleared us over two hundred
+per cent, while the horses on hand were worth ten dollars a head more
+than what they had cost, owing to their having wintered in the North.
+The ten thousand trail cattle paid splendidly, while my individual
+herd had sold out in a manner, leaving the stock cattle at home clear
+velvet. A programme was outlined for enlarging our business for the
+coming year, and every dollar of our profits was to be reinvested in
+wintering and trailing cattle from Texas. Next to the last shipment,
+the through outfit went home, taking the extra two hundred saddle
+horses with it, the final consignment being brought in to Wichita for
+loading out by our ranch help. The shipping ended in October. My last
+work of the year was the purchase of seven thousand three-year-old
+steers, intended for our Medicine River range. We had intentionally
+held George Edwards and his outfit for this purpose, and cutting the
+numbers into two herds, the Medicine River lads led off for winter
+quarters. We had bought the cattle worth the money, but not at a
+sacrifice like the year before, neither would we expect such profits.
+It takes a good nerve, but experience has taught me that in land and
+cattle the time of the worst depression is the time to buy. Major
+Hunter accompanied the herds to their winter quarters, sending Edwards
+with his outfit, after their arrival on the Medicine, back to Texas,
+while I took the train and reached home during the first week in
+November.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CLEAR FORK AND SHENANDOAH
+
+
+I arrived home in good time for the fall work. The first outfit
+relieved at Wichita had instructions to begin, immediately on reaching
+the ranch, a general cow-hunt for outside brands. It was possible that
+a few head might have escaped from the Clear Fork range and returned
+to their old haunts, but these would bear a tally-mark distinguishing
+them from any not gathered at the spring delivery. My regular ranch
+hands looked after the three purchased brands adjoining our home
+range, but an independent outfit had been working the past four months
+gathering strays and remnants in localities where I had previously
+bought brands. They went as far south as Comanche County and picked
+up nearly one hundred "Lazy L's," scoured the country where I had
+purchased the two brands in the spring of 1872, and afterward confined
+themselves to ranges from which the outside cattle were received that
+spring. They had made one delivery on the Clear Fork of seven hundred
+head before my return, and were then away on a second cow-hunt.
+
+On my reaching the ranch the first contingent of gathered cattle were
+under herd. They were a rag-tag lot, many of them big steers, while
+much of the younger stuff was clear of earmark or brand until after
+their arrival at the home corrals. The ranch help herded them by day
+and penned them at night, but on the arrival of the independent outfit
+with another contingent of fifteen hundred the first were freed and
+the second put under herd. Counting both bunches, the strays numbered
+nearly a thousand head, and cattle bearing no tally-mark fully as
+many more, while the remainder were mavericks and would have paid the
+expenses of the outfit for the past four months. I now had over thirty
+thousand cattle on the Clear Fork, holding them in eleven brands, but
+decided thereafter to run all the increase in the original "44." This
+rule had gone into effect the fall previous, and I now proposed to run
+it on all calves branded. Never before had I felt the necessity of
+increasing my holdings in land, but with the number of cattle on hand
+it behooved me to possess a larger acreage of the Clear Fork valley.
+A surveyor was accordingly sent for, and while the double outfit was
+branding the home calf crop, I located on the west end of my range a
+strip of land ten miles long by five wide. At the east end of my ranch
+another tract was located, five by ten miles, running north and taking
+in all that country around the junction of the Clear Fork with the
+mother Brazos. This gave me one hundred and fifty sections of land,
+lying in the form of an immense Lazy L, and I felt that the expense
+was justified in securing an ample range for my stock cattle.
+
+My calf crop that fall ran a few over seven thousand head. They were
+good northern Texas calves, and it would cost but a trifle to run them
+until they were two-year-olds; and if demand continued in the upper
+country, some day a trail herd of steers could easily be made up from
+their numbers. I was beginning to feel rather proud of my land and
+cattle; the former had cost me but a small outlay, while the latter
+were clear velvet, as I had sold thirty-five hundred from their
+increase during the past two years. Once the surveying and branding
+was over, I returned to the Edwards ranch for the winter. The general
+outlook in Texas was for the better; quite a mileage of railroad
+had been built within the State during the past year, and new and
+prosperous towns had sprung up along their lines. The political
+situation had quieted down, and it was generally admitted that a
+Reconstruction government could never again rear its head on Texas
+soil. The result was that confidence was slowly being restored among
+the local people, and the press of the State was making a fight for
+recognition, all of which augured for a brighter future. Living on the
+frontier and absent the greater portion of the time, I took little
+interest in local politics, yet could not help but feel that the
+restoration of self-government to the best elements of our people
+would in time reflect on the welfare of the State. Since my advent in
+Texas I had been witness to the growth of Fort Worth from a straggling
+village in the spring of 1866 to quite a pretentious town in the fall
+of 1874.
+
+Ever since the partnership was formed I had been aware of and had
+fostered the political ambitions of the firm's silent member. He had
+been prominently identified with the State of Kansas since it was a
+territory, had held positions of trust, and had been a representative
+in Congress, and all three of us secretly hoped to see him advanced to
+the United States Senate. We had fully discussed the matter on various
+occasions, and as the fall elections had gone favorably, the present
+was considered the opportune time to strike. The firm mutually
+agreed to stand the expense of the canvass, which was estimated on a
+reasonable basis, and the campaign opened with a blare of trumpets.
+Assuming the rôle of a silent partner, I had reports furnished me
+regularly, and it soon developed that our estimate on the probable
+expense was too low. We had boldly entered the canvass, our man was
+worthy, and I wrote back instructing my partners to spare no expense
+in winning the fight. There were a number of candidates in the race
+and the legislature was in session, when an urgent letter reached me,
+urging my presence at the capital of Kansas. The race was narrowing to
+a close, a personal consultation was urged, and I hastened north as
+fast as a relay of horses and railroad trains could carry me. On my
+arrival at Topeka the fight had almost narrowed to a financial one,
+and we questioned if the game were worth the candle. Yet we were
+already involved in a considerable outlay, and the consultation
+resulted in our determination to win, which we did, but at an expense
+of a little over four times the original estimate, which, however,
+afterward proved a splendid investment.
+
+I now had hopes that we might enlarge our operations in handling
+government contracts. Major Hunter saw possibilities along the same
+line, and our silent partner was awakened to the importance of
+maintaining friendly relations with the Interior and War departments,
+gathering all the details in contracting beef with the government for
+its Indian agencies and army posts in the West. Up to date this had
+been a lucrative field which only a few Texas drovers had ventured
+into, most of the contractors being Northern and Eastern men, and
+usually buying the cattle with which to fill the contracts near the
+point of delivery. I was impatient to get into this trade, as the
+Indian deliveries generally took cows, and the army heavy beef, two
+grades of cattle that at present our firm had no certain demand for.
+Also the market was gradually moving west from Wichita, and it was
+only a question of a few years until the settlements of eastern Kansas
+would cut us off from our established trade around The Grove. I
+had seen Abilene pass away as a market, Wichita was doomed by the
+encroachments of agriculture, and it behooved us to be alert for a new
+outlet.
+
+I made up my mind to buy more land scrip. Not that there had been
+any perceptible improvement in wild lands, but the general outlook
+justified its purchase. My agent at Austin reported scrip to be had
+in ordinary quantities at former prices, and suggested that I supply
+myself fully, as the new administration was an economical one, and
+once the great flood of certificates issued by the last Reconstruction
+régime were absorbed, an advance in land scrip was anticipated. I
+accordingly bought three hundred sections more, hardly knowing what
+to do with it, yet I knew there was an empire of fine grazing country
+between my present home and the Pecos River. If ever the Comanches
+were brought under subjection there would be ranches and room for all;
+and our babies were principally boys.
+
+Major Hunter came down earlier than usual. He reported a clear, cold
+winter on the Medicine and no serious drift of cattle, and expressed
+the belief that we would come through with a loss not exceeding one
+per cent. This was encouraging, as it meant fat cattle next fall, fit
+for any market in the country. It was yet too early to make any move
+towards putting up herds for the trail, and we took train and went
+down the country as far as Austin. There was always a difference in
+cattle prices, running from one to two dollars a head, between the
+northern and southern parts of the State. Both of us were anxious
+to acquaint ourselves with the different grades, and made stops in
+several intervening counties, looking at cattle on the range and
+pricing them. We spent a week at the capital city and met all the
+trail drovers living there, many of whom expected to put up herds for
+that year southeast on the Colorado River. "Shanghai" Pierce had
+for some time been a prominent figure in the markets of Abilene and
+Wichita, driving herds of his own from the extreme coast country. But
+our market required a better quality than coasters and Mexican cattle,
+and we turned back up the country. Before leaving the capital, Major
+Hunter and I had a long talk with my merchant friend over the land
+scrip market, and the latter urged its purchase at once, if wanted, as
+the issue afloat was being gradually absorbed. Already there had been
+a noticeable advance in the price, and my partner gave me no
+peace until I bought, at eighteen dollars a section, two hundred
+certificates more. Its purchase was making an inroad on my working
+capital, but the major frowned on my every protest, and I yielded out
+of deference to his superior judgment.
+
+Returning, we stopped in Bell County, where we contracted for fifteen
+thousand two and three year old steers. They were good prairie-raised
+cattle, and we secured them at a dollar a head less than the prices
+prevailing in the first few counties south of Red River. Major Hunter
+remained behind, arranging his banking facilities, and I returned home
+after my outfits. Before leaving Bell County, I left word that we
+could use fifty good men for the trail, but they would have to come
+recommended by the ranchmen with whom we were dealing. We expected to
+make up five herds, and the cattle were to be ready for delivery to
+us between the 15th and 30th of March. I hastened home and out to the
+ranch, gathered our saddle stock, outfitted wagons, and engaged all
+my old foremen and twenty trusty men, and we started with a remuda
+of five hundred horses to begin the operations of the coming summer.
+Receiving cattle with me was an old story by this time, and frequently
+matters came to a standstill between the sellers and ourselves. We
+paid no attention to former customs of the country; all cattle had
+to come up full-aged or go into the younger class, while inferior or
+knotty stags were turned back as not wanted. Scarcely a day passed but
+there was more or less dispute; but we proposed paying for them, and
+insisted that all cattle tendered must come up to the specifications
+of the contract. We stood firm, and after the first two herds were
+received, all trouble on that score passed, and in making up the last
+three herds there was actually a surplus of cattle tendered. We used a
+road brand that year on all steers purchased, and the herds moved out
+from two to three days apart, the last two being made up in Coryell,
+the adjoining county north.
+
+George Edwards had charge of the rear herd. There were fourteen days
+between the first and the last starts, a fortnight of hard work, and
+we frequently received from ten to thirty miles distant from the
+branding pens. I rode almost night and day, and Edwards likewise,
+while Major Hunter kept all the accounts and settled with the sellers.
+As fast as one herd was ready, it moved out under a foreman and
+fourteen men, one hundred saddle horses, and a well-stocked
+commissary. We did our banking at Belton, the county seat, and after
+the last herd started we returned to town and received quite an
+ovation from the business men of the village. We had invested a
+little over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cattle in that
+community, and a banquet was even suggested in our honor by some of
+the leading citizens. Most of the contracts were made with merchants,
+many of whom did not own a hoof of cattle, but depended on their
+customers to deliver the steers. The business interests of the town
+were anxious to have us return next year. We declined the proposed
+dinner, as neither Major Hunter nor myself would have made a
+presentable guest. A month or more had passed since I had left the
+ranch on the Clear Fork, the only clothes I had were on my back, and
+they were torn in a dozen places from running cattle in the brush. My
+partner had been living in cow-camps for the past three weeks, and
+preferred to be excused from receiving any social attentions. So we
+thanked our friends and started for the railroad.
+
+Major Hunter went through to The Grove, while I stopped at Fort Worth.
+A buckboard from home was awaiting me, and the next morning I was at
+the Edwards ranch. A relay team was harnessed in, and after counting
+the babies I started for the Clear Fork. By early evening I was in
+consultation with my ranch foreman, as it was my intention to drive an
+individual herd if everything justified the venture. I never saw the
+range on the Clear Fork look better, and the books showed that we
+could easily gather two thousand twos and threes, while the balance of
+the herd could be made up of dry and barren cows. All we lacked was
+about thirty horses, and my ranch hands were anxious to go up the
+trail; but after riding the range one day I decided that it would be
+a pity to disturb the pastoral serenity of the valley. It was fairly
+dotted with my own cattle; month-old calves were playing in groups,
+while my horse frequently shied at new-born ones, lying like fawns
+in the tall grass. A round-up at that time meant the separation of
+mothers from their offspring and injury to cows approaching maternity,
+and I decided that no commercial necessity demanded the sacrifice.
+Then again it seemed a short-sighted policy to send half-matured
+steers to market, when no man could bring the same animals to a full
+development as cheaply as I could. Barring contagious diseases, cattle
+are the healthiest creatures that walk the earth, and even on an open
+range seldom if ever does one voluntarily forsake its birthplace.
+
+I spent two weeks on the ranch and could have stayed the summer
+through, for I love cattle. Our lead herd was due on the Kansas state
+line early in May, so remaining at the Edwards ranch until the last
+possible hour, I took train and reached Wichita, where my active
+partner was awaiting me. He had just returned from the Medicine River,
+and reported everything serene. He had made arrangements to have the
+men attend all the country round-ups within one hundred miles of our
+range. Several herds had already reached Wichita, and the next day I
+started south on horseback to meet our cattle at Caldwell on the line,
+or at Pond Creek in the Cherokee Outlet. It was going to be difficult
+to secure range for herds within fifteen miles of Wichita, and the
+opinion seemed general that this would be the last year that town
+could hope to hold any portion of the Texas cattle trade. On arriving
+at Pond Creek I found that fully half the herds were turning up that
+stream, heading for Great Bend, Ellsworth, Ellis, and Nickerson, all
+markets within the State of Kansas. The year before nearly one third
+the drive had gone to the two first-named points, and now other towns
+were offering inducements and bidding for a share of the present
+cattle exodus.
+
+Our lead herd arrived without an incident en route. The second one
+came in promptly, both passing on and picking their way through the
+border settlements to Wichita. I waited until the third one put in an
+appearance, leaving orders for it and the two rear ones to camp on
+some convenient creek in the Outlet near Caldwell. Arrangements were
+made with Captain Stone for supplying the outfits, and I hurried on
+to overtake the lead herds, then nearing Wichita. An ample range was
+found but twenty miles up the Arkansas River, and the third day all
+the Bell County men in the two outfits were sent home by train.
+The market was much the same as the year before: one herd of three
+thousand two-year-olds was our largest individual sale. Early in
+August the last herd was brought from the state line and the through
+help reduced to two outfits, one holding cattle at Wichita and the
+other bringing in shipments of beeves from the Medicine River range.
+The latter were splendid cattle, fatted to a finish for grass animals,
+and brought top prices in the different markets to which they were
+consigned. Omitting details, I will say it was an active year, as we
+bought and sold fully as many more as our drive amounted to, while I
+added to my stock of saddle horses an even three hundred head.
+
+An amusing incident occurred with one of my men while holding cattle
+that fall at Wichita. The boys were in and out of town frequently,
+and one of them returned to camp one evening and informed me that he
+wanted to quit work, as he intended to return to Wichita and kill a
+man. He was a good hand and I tried to persuade him out of the idea,
+but he insisted that it was absolutely necessary to preserve his
+honor. I threatened to refuse him a horse, but seeing that menace and
+persuasion were useless, I ordered him to pick my holdings of saddle
+stock, gave him his wages due, and told him to be sure and shoot
+first. He bade us all good-by, and a chum of his went with him. About
+an hour before daybreak they returned and awoke me, when the aggrieved
+boy said: "Mr. Anthony, I didn't kill him. No, I didn't kill him. He's
+a good man. You bet he's a game one. Oh, he's a good man all right."
+That morning when I awoke both lads were out on herd, and I had an
+early appointment to meet parties in town. Major Hunter gave me the
+story immediately on my arrival. The boys had located the offender in
+a store, and he anticipated the fact that they were on his trail. As
+our men entered the place, the enemy stepped from behind a pile of
+clothing with two six-shooters leveled in their faces, and ordered a
+clerk to relieve the pair of their pistols, which was promptly done.
+Once the particulars were known at camp, it was looked upon as a good
+joke on the lad, and whenever he was asked what he thought of Mr.
+Blank, his reply invariably was, "He's a good man."
+
+The drive that year to the different markets in Kansas amounted to
+about five hundred thousand cattle. One half this number were handled
+at Wichita, the surrounding country absorbing them to such an extent
+that when it came time to restock our Medicine River range I was
+compelled to go to Great Bend to secure the needed cattle. All saddle
+horses, both purchased and my own remudas, with wagons, were sent to
+our winter camps by the shipping crew, so that the final start for
+Texas would be made from the Medicine River. It was the last of
+October that the last six trains of beeves were brought in to the
+railroad for shipment, the season's work drawing to an end. Meanwhile
+I had closed contracts on ten thousand three-year-old steers at
+"The Bend," so as fast as the three outfits were relieved of their
+consignment of beeves they pulled out up the Arkansas River to receive
+the last cattle of the year. It was nearly one hundred miles from
+Wichita, and on the arrival of the shipping crews the herds were
+received and started south for their winter range. Major Hunter and
+I accompanied the herds to the Medicine, and within a week after
+reaching the range the two through outfits started home with five
+wagons and eight hundred saddle horses.
+
+It was the latter part of November when we left our winter camps and
+returned to The Grove for the annual settlement. Our silent partner
+was present, and we broke the necks of a number of champagne bottles
+in properly celebrating the success of the year's work. The wintered
+cattle had cleared the Dutchman's one per cent, while every hoof in
+the through and purchased herds was a fine source of profit. Congress
+would convene within a week, and our silent partner suggested that all
+three of us go down to Washington and attend the opening exercises. He
+had already looked into the contracting of beef to the government, and
+was particularly anxious to have my opinion on a number of contracts
+to be let the coming winter. It had been ten years since I left my old
+home in the Shenandoah Valley, my parents were still living, and all
+I asked was time enough to write a letter to my wife, and buy some
+decent clothing. The trio started in good time for the opening of
+Congress, but once we sighted the Potomac River the old home hunger
+came on me and I left the train at Harper's Ferry. My mother knew and
+greeted me just as if I had left home that morning on an errand, and
+had now returned. My father was breaking with years, yet had a
+mental alertness that was remarkable and a commercial instinct that
+understood the value of a Texas cow or a section of land scrip. The
+younger members of the family gathered from their homes to meet
+"Texas" Anthony, and for ten continuous days I did nothing but answer
+questions, running from the color of the baby's eyes to why we did not
+drive the fifteen thousand cattle in one herd, or how big a section of
+country would one thousand certificates of land scrip cover. My visit
+was broken by the necessity of conferring with my partners, so,
+promising to spend Christmas with my mother, I was excused until that
+date.
+
+At the War and Interior departments I made many friends. I understood
+cattle so thoroughly that there was no feature of a delivery to the
+government that embarrassed me in the least. A list of contracts to be
+let from each department was courteously furnished us, but not wishing
+to scatter our business too wide, we submitted bids for six Indian
+contracts and four for delivery to army posts on the upper Missouri
+River. Two of the latter were to be northern wintered cattle, and we
+had them on the Medicine River; but we also had a sure market on them,
+and it was a matter of indifference whether we secured them or not.
+The Indian contracts called for cows, and I was anxious to secure as
+many as possible, as it meant a market for the aging she stuff on
+my ranch. Heretofore this class had fulfilled their mission in
+perpetuating their kind, had lived their day, and the weeds grew
+rankly where their remains enriched the soil. The bids would not be
+opened until the middle of January, and we should have notice at once
+if fortunate in securing any of the awards. The holiday season was
+approaching, Major Hunter was expected at home, and the firm separated
+for the time being.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
+
+
+I returned to Texas early in January. Quite a change had come over
+the situation since my leaving home the spring before. Except on the
+frontier, business was booming in the new towns, while a regular
+revolution had taken place within the past month in land values. The
+cheapness of wild lands had attracted outside capital, resulting in
+a syndicate being formed by Northern capitalists to buy up the
+outstanding issue of land scrip. The movement had been handled
+cautiously, and had possibly been in active operation for a year or
+more, as its methods were conducted with the utmost secrecy. Options
+had been taken on all scrip voted to corporations in the State and
+still in their possession, agents of the syndicate were stationed at
+all centres where any amount was afloat, and on a given day throughout
+the State every certificate on the market was purchased. The next
+morning land scrip was worth fifty dollars a section, and on my return
+one hundred dollars a certificate was being freely bid, while every
+surveyor in the State was working night and day locating lands for
+individual holders of scrip.
+
+This condition of affairs was largely augmented by a boom in sheep.
+San Antonio was the leading wool market in the State, many clips
+having sold as high as forty cents a pound for several years past on
+the streets of that city. Free range and the high price of wool was
+inviting every man and his cousin to come to Texas and make his
+fortune. Money was feverish for investment in sheep, flock-masters
+were buying land on which to run their bands, and a sheepman was an
+envied personage. Up to this time there had been little or no occasion
+to own the land on which the immense flocks grazed the year round, yet
+under existing cheap prices of land nearly all the watercourses in the
+immediate country had been taken up. Personally I was dumfounded at
+the sudden and unexpected change of affairs, and what nettled me most
+was that all the land adjoining my ranch had been filed on within the
+past month. The Clear Fork valley all the way up to Fort Griffin had
+been located, while every vacant acre on the mother Brazos, as far
+north as Belknap, was surveyed and recorded. I was mortified to think
+that I had been asleep, but then the change had come like a thief
+in the night. My wife's trunk was half full of scrip, I had had a
+surveyor on the ground only a year before, and now the opportunity had
+passed.
+
+But my disappointment was my wife's delight, as there was no longer
+any necessity for keeping secret our holdings in land scrip. The
+little tin trunk held a snug fortune, and next to the babies, my
+wife took great pride in showing visitors the beautiful lithographed
+certificates. My ambition was land and cattle, but now that the scrip
+had a cash value, my wife took as much pride in those vouchers as if
+the land had been surveyed, recorded, and covered with our own herds.
+I had met so many reverses that I was grateful for any smile of
+fortune, and bore my disappointment with becoming grace. My ranch
+had branded over eight thousand calves that fall, and as long as it
+remained an open range I had room for my holdings of cattle. There was
+no question but that the public domain was bountiful, and if it were
+necessary I could go farther west and locate a new ranch. But it
+secretly grieved me to realize that what I had so fondly hoped for had
+come without warning and found me unprepared. I might as well have
+held title to half a million acres of the Clear Fork Valley as a
+paltry hundred and fifty sections.
+
+Little time was given me to lament over spilt milk. On the return from
+my first trip to the Clear Fork, reports from the War and Interior
+departments were awaiting me. Two contracts to the army and four to
+Indian agencies had been awarded us, all of which could be filled with
+through cattle. The military allotments would require six thousand
+heavy beeves for delivery on the upper Missouri River in Dakota,
+while the nation's wards would require thirteen thousand cows at four
+different agencies in the Indian Territory. My active partner was due
+in Fort Worth within a week, while bonds for the faithful fulfillment
+of our contracts would be executed by our silent partner at
+Washington, D.C. These awards meant an active year to our firm, and
+besides there was our established trade around The Grove, which we had
+no intention of abandoning. The government was a sure market, and as
+long as a healthy demand continued in Kansas for young cattle, the
+firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. would be found actively engaged in
+supplying the same.
+
+Major Hunter arrived under a high pressure of enthusiasm. By
+appointment we met in Fort Worth, and after carefully reviewing the
+situation we took train and continued on south to San Antonio. I had
+seen a herd of beeves, a few years before, from the upper Nueces
+River, and remembered them as good heavy cattle. There were two
+dollars a head difference, even in ages among younger stock, between
+the lower and upper counties in the State, and as it was pounds
+quantity that we wanted for the army, it was our intention to look
+over the cattle along the Nueces River before buying our supply of
+beeves. We met a number of acquaintances in San Antonio, all of whom
+recommended us to go west if in search of heavy cattle, and a few days
+later we reached Uvalde County. This was the section from which the
+beeves had come that impressed me so favorably; I even remembered
+the ranch brands, and without any difficulty we located the owners,
+finding them anxious to meet buyers for their mature surplus cattle.
+We spent a week along the Frio, Leona, and Nueces rivers, and closed
+contracts on sixty-one hundred five to seven year old beeves. The
+cattle were not as good a quality as prairie-raised north Texas stock,
+but the pounds avoirdupois were there, the defects being in their
+mongrel colors, length of legs, and breadth of horns, heritages from
+the original Spanish stock. Otherwise they were tall as a horse,
+clean-limbed as a deer, and active on their feet, and they looked like
+fine walkers. I estimated that two bits a head would drive them to
+Red River, and as we bought them at three dollars a head less than
+prevailing prices for the same-aged beeves north of or parallel to
+Fort Worth, we were well repaid for our time and trouble.
+
+We returned to San Antonio and opened a bank account. The 15th of
+March was agreed on to receive. Two remudas of horses would have to
+be secured, wagons fitted up, and outfits engaged. Heretofore I had
+furnished all horses for trail work, but now, with our enlarging
+business, it would be necessary to buy others, which would be done at
+the expense of the firm. George Edwards was accordingly sent for, and
+met us at Waco. He was furnished a letter of credit on our San Antonio
+bank, and authorized to buy and equip two complete outfits for the
+Uvalde beeves. Edwards was a good judge of horses, there was an
+abundance of saddle stock in the country, and he was instructed to buy
+not less than one hundred and twenty-five head for each remuda, to
+outfit his wagons with four-mule teams, and announce us as willing to
+engage fourteen men to the herd. Once these details were arranged for,
+Major Hunter and myself bought two good horses and struck west for
+Coryell County, where we had put up two herds the spring before. Our
+return met with a flood of offerings, prices of the previous year
+still prevailed, and we let contracts for sixty-five hundred
+three-year-old steers and an equal number of dry and barren cows. We
+paid seven dollars a head for the latter, and in order to avoid any
+dispute at the final tender it was stipulated that the offerings
+must be in good flesh, not under five nor over eight years old, full
+average in weight, and showing no evidence of pregnancy. Under local
+customs, "a cow was a cow," and we had to be specific.
+
+We did our banking at Waco for the Coryell herds. Hastening north, our
+next halt was in Hood County, where we bought thirty-three hundred
+two-year-old steers and three thousand and odd cows. This completed
+eight herds secured--three of young steers for the agricultural
+regions, and five intended for government delivery. We still lacked
+one for the Indian Bureau, and as I offered to make it up from my
+holdings, and on a credit, my active partner consented. I was putting
+in every dollar at my command, my partners were borrowing freely at
+home, and we were pulling together like a six-mule team to make
+a success of the coming summer's work. It was now the middle of
+February, and my active partner went to Fort Worth, where I did my
+banking, to complete his financial arrangements, while I returned to
+the ranch to organize the forces for the coming campaign. All the
+latter were intrusted to me, and while I had my old foremen at my beck
+and call, it was necessary to employ five or six new ones. With our
+deliveries scattered from the Indian Territory to the upper Missouri
+River, as well as our established trade at The Grove, two of us could
+not cover the field, and George Edwards had been decided on as the
+third and trusted man. In a practical way he was a better cowman than
+I was, and with my active Yankee partner for a running mate they made
+a team that would take care of themselves in any cow country.
+
+A good foreman is a very important man in trail work. The drover or
+firm may or may not be practical cowmen, but the executive in the
+field must be the master of any possible situation that may arise,
+combining the qualities of generalship with the caution of an
+explorer. He must be a hail-fellow among his men, for he must command
+by deserving obedience; he must know the inmost thoughts of his herd,
+noting every sign of alarm or distress, and willingly sacrifice any
+personal comfort in the interest of his cattle or outfit. I had a few
+such men, boys who had grown up in my employ, several of whom I would
+rather trust in a dangerous situation with a herd than take active
+charge myself. No concern was given for their morals, but they must
+be capable, trustworthy, and honest, as they frequently handled large
+sums of money. All my old foremen swore by me, not one of them would
+accept a similar situation elsewhere, and in selecting the extra trail
+bosses their opinion was valued and given due consideration.
+
+Not having driven anything from my ranch the year before, a fine herd
+of twos, threes, and four-year-old steers could easily be made up. It
+was possible that a tenth and individual herd might be sent up the
+country, but no movement to that effect was decided on, and my regular
+ranch hands had orders only to throw in on the home range and gather
+outside steer cattle and dry cows. I had wintered all my saddle horses
+on the Clear Fork, and once the foremen were decided on, they repaired
+to the ranch and began outfitting for the start. The Coryell herds
+were to be received one week later than the beef cattle, and the
+outfits would necessarily have to start in ample time to meet us
+on our return from the upper Nueces River country. The two foremen
+allotted to Hood County would start a week later still, so that we
+would really move north with the advance of the season in receiving
+the cattle under contract. Only a few days were required in securing
+the necessary foremen, a remuda was apportioned to each, and credit
+for the commissary supplies arranged for, the employment of the men
+being left entirely to the trail bosses. Taking two of my older
+foremen with me, I started for Fort Worth, where an agreeable surprise
+awaited me. We had been underbidden at the War Department on both our
+proposals for northern wintered beeves. The fortunate bidder on one
+contract was refused the award,--for some duplicity in a former
+transaction, I learned later,--and the Secretary of War had approached
+our silent partner to fill the deficiency. Six weeks had elapsed,
+there was no obligation outstanding, and rather than advertise and
+relet the contract, the head of the War Department had concluded to
+allot the deficiency by private award. Major Hunter had been burning
+the wires between Fort Worth and Washington, in order to hold the
+matter open until I came in for a consultation. The department had
+offered half a cent a pound over and above our previous bid, and we
+bribed an operator to reopen his office that night and send a message
+of acceptance. We had ten thousand cattle wintering on the Medicine
+River, and it would just trim them up nicely to pick out all the
+heavy, rough beeves for filling an army contract.
+
+When we had got a confirmation of our message, we proceeded on south,
+accompanied by the two foremen, and reached Uvalde County within a
+week of the time set for receiving. Edwards had two good remudas in
+pastures, wagons and teams secured, and cooks and wranglers on hand,
+and it only remained to pick the men to complete the outfits. With
+three old trail foremen on the alert for good hands while the
+gathering and receiving was going on, the help would be ready in
+ample time to receive the herds. Gathering the beeves was in active
+operation on our arrival, a branding chute had been built to
+facilitate the work, and all five of us took to the saddle in
+assisting ranchmen in holding under herd, as we permitted nothing to
+be corralled night or day. The first herd was completed on the 14th,
+and the second a day later, both moving out without an hour's delay,
+the only instructions being to touch at Great Bend, Kansas, for final
+orders. The cattle more than came up to expectations, three fourths of
+them being six and seven years old, and as heavy as oxen. There was
+something about the days of the open range that left its impression on
+animals, as these two herds were as uniform in build as deer, and I
+question if the same country to-day has as heavy beeves.
+
+Three days were lost in reaching Coryell County, where our outfits
+were in waiting and twenty others were at work gathering cattle. The
+herds were made up and started without a hitch, and we passed on to
+Hood County, meeting every date promptly and again finding the trail
+outfits awaiting us. Leaving my active partner and George Edwards to
+receive the two herds, I rode through to the Clear Fork in a single
+day. A double outfit had been at work for the past two weeks gathering
+outside cattle and had over a thousand under herd on my arrival.
+Everything had worked out so nicely in receiving the purchased herds
+that I finally concluded to send out my steers, and we began gathering
+on the home range. By making small round-ups, we disturbed the young
+calves as little as possible. I took charge of the extra outfit and my
+ranch foreman of his own, one beginning on the west end of my range,
+the other going north and coming down the Brazos. At the end of a week
+the two crews came together with nearly eight thousand cattle under
+herd. The next day we cut out thirty-five hundred cows and started
+them on the trail, turning free the remnant of she stuff, and began
+shaping up the steers, using only the oldest in making up thirty-two
+hundred head. There were fully two thousand threes, the remainder
+being nearly equally divided between twos and fours. No road branding
+was necessary; the only delay in moving out was in provisioning a
+wagon and securing a foreman. Failing in two or three quarters, I
+at last decided on a young fellow on my ranch, and he was placed in
+charge of the last herd. Great Bend was his destination, I instructed
+him where to turn off the Chisholm trail,--north of the Salt Fork in
+the Cherokee Outlet,--and he started like an army with banners.
+
+I rejoined my active partner at Fort Worth. The Hood County cattle had
+started a week before, so taking George Edwards with us, we took train
+for Kansas. Major Hunter returned to his home, while Edwards and I
+lost no time in reaching the Medicine River. A fortnight was spent in
+riding our northern range, when we took horses and struck out for Pond
+Creek in the Outlet. The lead herds were due at this point early in
+May, and on our arrival a number had already passed. A road house and
+stage stand had previously been established, the proprietor of which
+kept a register of passing herds for the convenience of owners. None
+of ours were due, yet we looked over the "arrivals" with interest, and
+continued on down the trail to Red Fork. The latter was a branch of
+the Arkansas River, and at low water was inclined to be brackish,
+and hence was sometimes called the Salt Fork, with nothing to
+differentiate it from one of the same name sixty miles farther north.
+There was an old Indian trading post at Red Fork, and I lay over there
+while Edwards went on south to meet the cows. His work for the summer
+was to oversee the deliveries at the Indian agencies, Major Hunter
+was to look after the market at The Bend, and I was to attend to the
+contracts at army posts on the upper Missouri. Our first steer herd to
+arrive was from Hood County, and after seeing them safely on the Great
+Bend trail at Pond Creek, I waited for the other steer cattle from
+Coryell to arrive. Both herds came in within a day of each other,
+and I loitered along with them, finally overtaking the lead one when
+within fifty miles of The Bend. In fair weather it was a delightful
+existence to loaf along with the cattle; but once all three herds
+reached their destination, two outfits held them, and I took the Hood
+County lads and dropped back on the Medicine. Our ranch hands had
+everything shaped up nicely, and by working a double outfit and making
+round-ups at noon, when the cattle were on water, we quietly cut
+out three thousand head of our biggest beeves without materially
+disturbing our holdings on that range. These northern wintered cattle
+were intended for delivery at Fort Abraham Lincoln on the Missouri
+River in what is now North Dakota. The through heavy beeves from
+Uvalde County were intended for Fort Randall and intermediate posts,
+some of them for reissue to various Indian agencies. The reservations
+of half a dozen tribes were tributary to the forts along the upper
+Missouri, and the government was very liberal in supplying its wards
+with fresh beef.
+
+The Medicine River beeves were to be grazed up the country to Fort
+Lincoln. We passed old Fort Larned within a week, and I left the
+outfit there and returned to The Bend. The outfit in charge of the
+wintered cattle had orders to touch at and cross the Missouri River at
+Fort Randall, where I would meet them again near the middle of July.
+The market had fairly opened at Great Bend, and I was kept busy
+assisting Major Hunter until the arrival of the Uvalde beef herds.
+Both came through in splendid condition, were admired by every buyer
+in the market, and passed on north under orders to graze ten miles a
+day until reaching their destination. By this time the whereabouts of
+all the Indian herds were known, yet not a word had reached me from
+the foreman of my individual cattle after crossing into the Nations.
+It was now the middle of June, and there were several points en
+route from which he might have mailed a letter, as did all the other
+foremen. Herds, which crossed at Red River Station a week after my
+steers, came into The Bend and reported having spoken no "44" cattle
+en route. I became uneasy and sent a courier as far south as the state
+line, who returned with a comfortless message. Finally a foreman in
+the employ of Jess Evens came to me and reported having taken dinner
+with a "44" outfit on the South Canadian; that the herd swam the river
+that afternoon, after which he never hailed them again. They were my
+own dear cattle, and I was worrying; I was overdue at Fort Randall,
+and in duty bound to look after the interests of the firm. Major
+Hunter came to the rescue, in his usual calm manner, and expressed his
+confidence that all would come out right in the end; that when the
+mystery was unraveled the foreman would be found blameless.
+
+I took a night train for the north, connected with a boat on the
+Missouri River, and by finally taking stage reached Fort Randall. The
+mental worry of those four days would age an ordinary man, but on my
+arrival at the post a message from my active partner informed me that
+my cattle had reached Dodge City two weeks before my leaving. Then the
+scales fell from my eyes, as I could understand that when inquiries
+were made for the Salt Fork, some wayfarer had given that name to
+the Red Fork; and the new Dodge trail turned to the left, from the
+Chisholm, at Little Turkey, the first creek crossed after leaving the
+river. The message was supplemented a few days later by a letter,
+stating that Dodge City would possibly be a better market than the
+Bend, and that my interests would be looked after as well as if I were
+present. A load was lifted from my shoulders, and when the wintered
+cattle passed Randall, the whole post turned out to see the beef herd
+on its way up to Lincoln. The government line of forts along the
+Missouri River had the whitest lot of officers that it was ever my
+good fortune to meet. I was from Texas, my tongue and colloquialisms
+of speech proclaimed me Southern-born, and when I admitted having
+served in the Confederate army, interest and attention was only
+heightened, while every possible kindness was simply showered on me.
+
+The first delivery occurred at Fort Lincoln. It was a very simple
+affair. We cut out half a dozen average beeves, killed, dressed, and
+weighed them, and an honest average on the herd was thus secured. The
+contract called for one and a half million pounds on foot; our tender
+overran twelve per cent; but this surplus was accepted and paid for.
+The second delivery was at Fort Pierre and the last at Randall, both
+of which passed pleasantly, the many acquaintances among army men that
+summer being one of my happiest memories. Leaving Randall, we put in
+to the nearest railroad point returning, where thirty men were sent
+home, after which we swept down the country and arrived at Great Bend
+during the last week in September. My active partner had handled
+his assignment of the summer's work in a masterly manner, having
+wholesaled my herd at Dodge City at as good figures as our other
+cattle brought in retail quantities at The Bend. The former point had
+received three hundred and fifty thousand Texas cattle that summer,
+while every one conceded that Great Bend's business as a trail
+terminal would close with that season. The latter had handled nearly a
+quarter-million cattle that year, but like Abilene, Wichita, and other
+trail towns in eastern Kansas, it was doomed to succumb to the advance
+guard of pioneer settlers.
+
+The best sale of the year fell to my active partner. Before the
+shipping season opened, he sold, range count, our holdings on the
+Medicine River, including saddle stock, improvements, and good will.
+The cattle might possibly have netted us more by marketing them, but
+it was only a question of time until the flow of immigration would
+demand our range, and Major Hunter had sold our squatter's rights
+while they had a value. A new foreman had been installed on our giving
+up possession, and our old one had been skirmishing the surrounding
+country the past month for a new range, making a favorable report on
+the Eagle Chief in the Outlet. By paying a trifling rental to the
+Cherokee Nation, permission could be secured to hold cattle on these
+lands, set aside as a hunting ground. George Edwards had been rotting
+all summer in issuing cows at Indian agencies, but on the first of
+October the residue of his herds would be put in pastures or turned
+free for the winter. Major Hunter had wound up his affairs at The
+Bend, and nothing remained but a general settlement of the summer's
+work. This took place at Council Grove, our silent partner and Edwards
+both being present. The profits of the year staggered us all. I was
+anxious to go home, the different outfits having all gone by rail or
+overland with the remudas, with the exception of the two from Uvalde,
+which were property of the firm. I had bought three hundred extra
+horses at The Bend, sending them home with the others, and now nothing
+remained but to stock the new range in the Cherokee Outlet. Edwards
+and my active partner volunteered for this work, it being understood
+that the Uvalde remudas would be retained for ranch use, and that
+not over ten thousand cattle were to be put on the new range for the
+winter. Our silent partner was rapidly awakening to the importance of
+his usefulness in securing future contracts with the War and Indian
+departments, and vaguely outlining the future, we separated to three
+points of the compass.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH
+
+
+I hardly knew Fort Worth on my return. The town was in the midst of
+a boom. The foundations of many store buildings were laid on Monday
+morning, and by Saturday night they were occupied and doing a
+land-office business. Lots that could have been bought in the spring
+for one hundred dollars were now commanding a thousand, while land
+scrip was quoted as scarce at twenty-five cents an acre. I hurried
+home, spoke to my wife, and engaged two surveyors to report one
+week later at my ranch on the Clear Fork. Big as was the State and
+boundless as was her public domain, I could not afford to allow this
+advancing prosperity to catch me asleep again, and I firmly concluded
+to empty that little tin trunk of its musty land scrip. True enough,
+the present boom was not noticeable on the frontier, yet there was
+a buoyant feeling in the air that betokened a brilliant future.
+Something enthused me, and as my creed was land and cattle, I made up
+my mind to plunge into both to my full capacity.
+
+The last outfit to return from the summer's drive was detained on the
+Clear Fork to assist in the fall branding. Another one of fifteen men
+all told was chosen from the relieved lads in making up a surveying
+party, and taking fifty saddle horses and a well-stocked commissary
+with us, we started due west. I knew the country for some distance
+beyond Fort Griffin, and from late maps in possession of the
+surveyors, we knew that by holding our course, we were due to strike
+a fork of the mother Brazos before reaching the Staked Plain. Holding
+our course contrary to the needle, we crossed the Double Mountain
+Fork, and after a week out from the ranch the brakes which form the
+border between the lowlands and the Llano Estacado were sighted.
+Within view of the foothills which form the approach of the famous
+plain, the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos are not over
+twelve miles apart. We traveled up the divide between these two
+rivers, and when within thirty miles of the low-browed borderland a
+halt was called and we went into camp. From the view before us one
+could almost imagine the feelings of the discoverer of this continent
+when he first sighted land; for I remember the thrill which possessed
+our little party as we looked off into either valley or forward to the
+menacing Staked Plain in our front. There was something primal in the
+scene,--something that brought back the words, "In the beginning God
+created the heavens and the earth." Men who knew neither creed nor
+profession of faith felt themselves drawn very near to some great
+creative power. The surrounding view held us spellbound by its beauty
+and strength. It was like a rush of fern-scents, the breath of pine
+forests, the music of the stars, the first lovelight in a mother's
+eye; and now its pristine beauty was to be marred, as covetous eyes
+and a lust of possession moved an earth-born man to lay hands on all
+things created for his use.
+
+Camp was established on the Double Mountain Fork. Many miles to the
+north, a spur of the Plain extended eastward, in the elbow of which it
+was my intention to locate the new ranch. A corner was established, a
+meridian line was run north beyond the Salt Fork and a random one west
+to the foothills. After a few days one surveyor ran the principal
+lines while the other did the cross-sectioning and correcting back,
+both working from the same camp, the wagon following up the work.
+Antelope were seen by the thousands, frequently buffaloes were
+sighted, and scarcely a day passed but our rifles added to the larder
+of our commissary supplies. Within a month we located four hundred
+sections, covering either side of the Double Mountain Fork, and
+embracing a country ten miles wide by forty long. Coming back to our
+original meridian line across to the Salt Fork, the work of surveying
+that valley was begun, when I was compelled to turn homeward. A list
+of contracts to be let by the War and Interior departments would be
+ready by December 1, and my partners relied on my making all the
+estimates. There was a noticeable advance of fully one dollar a head
+on steer cattle since the spring before, and I was supposed to have
+my finger on the pulse of supply and prices, as all government awards
+were let far in advance of delivery. George Edwards had returned a few
+days before and reported having stocked the new ranch in the Outlet
+with twelve thousand steers. The list of contracts to be let had
+arrived, and the two of us went over them carefully. The government
+was asking for bids on the delivery of over two hundred thousand
+cattle at various posts and agencies in the West, and confining
+ourselves to well-known territory, we submitted bids on fifteen
+awards, calling for forty-five thousand cattle in their fulfillment.
+
+Our estimates were sent to Major Hunter for his approval, who in turn
+forwarded them to our silent partner at Washington, to be submitted
+to the proper departments. As the awards would not be made until the
+middle of January, nothing definite could be done until then, so,
+accompanied by George Edwards, I returned to the surveying party on
+the Salt Fork of the Brazos. We found them busy at their work, the
+only interruption having been an Indian scare, which only lasted a few
+days. The men still carried rifles against surprise, kept a scout on
+the lookout while at work, and maintained a guard over the camp and
+remuda at night. During my absence they had located a strip of country
+ten by thirty miles, covering the valley of the Salt Fork, and we
+still lacked three hundred sections of using up the scrip. The river,
+along which they were surveying, made an abrupt turn to the north, and
+offsetting by sections around the bend, we continued on up the valley
+for twenty miles or until the brakes of the Plain made the land no
+longer desirable. Returning to our commencement point with still one
+hundred certificates left, we extended the survey five miles down both
+rivers, using up the last acre of scrip. The new ranch was irregular
+in form, but it controlled the waters of fully one million acres of
+fine grazing land and was clothed with a carpet of nutritive grasses.
+This was the range of the buffalo, and the instinct of that animal
+could be relied on in choosing a range for its successor, the Texas
+cow.
+
+The surveying over, nothing remained but the recording of the
+locations at the county seat to which for legal purposes this
+unorganized country was attached. All of us accompanied the outfit
+returning, and a gala week we spent, as no less than half a dozen
+buffalo robes were secured before reaching Fort Griffin. Deer and
+turkey were plentiful, and it was with difficulty that I restrained
+the boys from killing wantonly, as they were young fellows whose very
+blood yearned for the chase or any diverting excitement. We reached
+the ranch on the Clear Fork during the second week in January, and
+those of the outfit who had no regular homes were made welcome guests
+until work opened in the spring. My calf crop that fall had exceeded
+all expectations, nearly nine thousand having been branded, while
+the cattle were wintering in splendid condition. There was little or
+nothing to do, a few hunts with the hounds merely killing time until
+we got reports from Washington. In spite of all competition we secured
+eight contracts, five with the army and the remainder with the Indian
+Bureau.
+
+Then the work opened in earnest. My active partner was due the first
+of February, and during the interim George Edwards and I rode a circle
+of five counties in search of brands of cattle for sale. In the course
+of our rounds a large number of whole stocks were offered us, but
+at firmer prices, yet we closed no trades, though many brands were
+bargains. It was my intention to stock the new ranch on the Double
+Mountain Fork the coming summer, and if arrangements could be agreed
+on with Major Hunter, I might be able to repeat my success of the
+summer of '74. Emigration to Texas was crowding the ranches to the
+frontier, many of them unwillingly, and it appealed to me strongly
+that the time was opportune for securing an ample holding of stock
+cattle. The appearance of my active partner was the beginning of
+active operations, and after we had outlined the programme for the
+summer and gone through all the details thoroughly, I asked for the
+privilege of supplying the cows on the Indian contracts. Never did
+partners stand more willingly by each other than did the firm of
+Hunter, Anthony & Co., and I only had to explain the opportunity of
+buying brands at wholesale, sending the young steers up the trail and
+the aging, dry, and barren cows to Indian agencies, to gain the hearty
+approval of the little Yankee major. He was entitled to a great deal
+of credit for my holdings in land, for from his first sight of Texas,
+day after day, line upon line, precept upon precept, he had urged upon
+me the importance of securing title to realty, while its equivalent
+in scrip was being hawked about, begging a buyer. Now we rejoiced
+together in the fulfillment of his prophecy, as I can lay little claim
+to any foresight, but am particularly anxious to give credit where
+credit is due.
+
+With an asylum for any and all remnants of stock cattle, we authorized
+George Edwards to close trades on a number of brands. Taking with us
+the two foremen who had brought beef herds out of Uvalde County the
+spring before, the major and I started south on the lookout for
+beeves. The headwaters of the Nueces and its tributaries were again
+our destination, and the usual welcome to buyers was extended with
+that hospitality that only the days of the open range knew and
+practiced. We closed contracts with former customers without looking
+at their cattle. When a ranchman gave us his word to deliver us as
+good or better beeves than the spring before, there was no occasion to
+question his ability, and the cattle never deceived. There might arise
+petty wrangles over trifles, but the general hungering for a market
+among cowmen had not yet been satiated, and they offered us their best
+that we might come again. We placed our contracts along three rivers
+and over as many counties, limiting the number to ten thousand beeves
+of the same ages and paying one dollar a head above the previous
+spring. One of our foremen was provided with a letter of credit, and
+the two were left behind to make up three new and complete outfits for
+the trail.
+
+This completed the purchase of beef cattle. Two of our contracts
+called for northern wintered beeves, which would be filled out of our
+holdings in the Cherokee Outlet. We again stopped in central Texas,
+but prices were too firm, and we passed on west to San Saba and
+Lampasas counties, where we effected trades on nine thousand five
+hundred three-year-old steers. My own outfits would drop down from the
+Clear Fork to receive these cattle, and after we had perfected our
+banking arrangements the major returned to San Antonio and I started
+homeward. George Edwards had in the mean time bargained for ten
+brands, running anywhere from one to five thousand head, paying
+straight through five to seven dollars, half cash and the balance
+in eight months, everything to be delivered on the Clear Fork. We
+intentionally made these deliveries late--during the last week in
+March and the first one in April--in order that Major Hunter might
+approve of the three herds of cows for Indian delivery. Once I had
+been put in possession of all necessary details, Edwards started south
+to join Major Hunter, as the receiving of the Nueces River beeves was
+set for from the 10th to the 15th of March.
+
+I could see a busy time ahead. There was wood to haul for the
+branding, three complete outfits to start for the central part of the
+State, new wagons to equip for the trail, and others to care for the
+calf crop while en route to the Double Mountain Fork. There were oxen
+to buy in equipping teams to accompany the stock cattle to the new
+ranch, two yoke being allowed to each wagon, as it was strength and
+not speed that was desired. My old foremen rallied at a word and
+relieved me of the lesser details of provisioning the commissaries and
+engaging the help. Trusty men were sent to oversee and look out for
+my interests in gathering the different brands, the ranges of many of
+them being fifty to one hundred miles distant. The different brands
+were coming from six separate counties along the border, and on their
+arrival at my ranch we must be ready to receive, brand, and separate
+the herds into their respective classes, sending two grades to market
+and the remnant to their new home at the foot of the Staked Plain. The
+condition of the mules must be taken into consideration before the
+army can move, and in cattle life the same reliance is placed on the
+fitness for duty of the saddle horses. I had enough picked ones to
+make up a dozen remudas if necessary, and rested easy on that score.
+The date for receiving arrived and found us all ready and waiting.
+
+The first herd was announced to arrive on the 25th of March. I met it
+ten miles from the ranch. My man assured me that the brand as gathered
+was intact and that it would run fifty per cent dry cows and steers
+over two years old. A number of mature beeves even were noticeable and
+younger steers were numerous, while the miscellany of the herd ran to
+every class and condition of the bovine race. Two other brands were
+expected the next day, and that evening the first one to arrive was
+counted and accepted. The next morning the entire herd was run through
+a branding chute and classified, all steers above a yearling and dry
+and aging cows going into one contingent and the mixed cattle into
+another. In order to save horseflesh, this work was easily done in the
+corrals. By hanging a gate at the exit of the branding chute, a man
+sat overhead and by swinging it a variation of two feet, as the cattle
+trailed through the trough in single file, the herd was cut into two
+classes. Those intended for the trail were put under herd, while the
+stock cattle were branded into the "44" and held separate. The second
+and third herds were treated in a similar manner, when we found
+ourselves with over eleven thousand cattle on hand, with two other
+brands due in a few days. But the evening of the fourth day saw a herd
+of thirty-three hundred steers on its way to Kansas, while a second
+one, numbering two hundred more than the first, was lopped off from
+the mixed stuff and started west for the Double Mountain Fork.
+
+The situation was eased. A conveyance had been sent to the railroad to
+meet my partner, and before he and Edwards arrived two other brands
+had been received. A herd of thirty-five hundred dry cows was approved
+and started at once for the Indian Territory, while a second one
+moved out for the west, cleaning up the holdings of mixed stuff.
+The congestion was again relieved, and as the next few brands were
+expected to run light in steers, everything except cows was held under
+herd until all had been received. The final contingent came in from
+Wise County and were shaped up, and the last herd of cows, completing
+ten thousand five hundred, started for the Washita agency. I still had
+nearly sixty-five hundred steers on hand, and cutting back all of a
+small overplus of thin light cows, I had three brands of steers cut
+into one herd and four into another, both moving out for Dodge City.
+This left me with fully eight thousand miscellany on hand, with
+nothing but my ranch outfit to hold them, close-herding by day and
+bedding down and guarding them by night. Settlements were made with
+the different sellers, my outstanding obligations amounting to over
+one hundred thousand dollars, which the three steer herds were
+expected to liquidate. My active partner and George Edwards took train
+for the north. The only change in the programme was that Major Hunter
+was to look after our deliveries at army posts, while I was to meet
+our herds on their arrival in Dodge City. The cows were sold to the
+firm, and including my individual cattle, we had twelve herds on the
+trail, or a total of thirty-nine thousand five hundred head.
+
+On the return of the first outfit from the west, some three weeks
+after leaving, the herd of stock cattle was cut in two and started.
+But a single man was left on the Clear Fork, my ranch foreman taking
+one herd, while I accompanied the other. It requires the patience of
+a saint to handle cows and calves, two wagons to the herd being
+frequently taxed to their capacity in picking up the youngsters. It
+was a constant sight to see some of the boys carrying a new-born calf
+across the saddle seat, followed by the mother, until camp or the
+wagon was reached. I was ashamed of my own lack of patience on that
+trip, while irritable men could while away the long hours, nursing
+along the drag end of a herd of cows and their toddling offspring.
+We averaged only about ten miles a day, the herds were large and
+unwieldy, and after twelve days out both were scattered along the Salt
+Fork and given their freedom. Leaving one outfit to locate the cattle
+on the new range, the other two hastened back to the Clear Fork and
+gathered two herds, numbering thirty-five hundred each, of young
+cows and heifers from the ranch stock. But a single day was lost in
+rounding-up, when they were started west, half a day apart, and I
+again took charge of an outfit, the trip being an easy one and made in
+ten days, as the calves were large enough to follow and there were no
+drag cattle among them. On our arrival at the new ranch, the cows
+and heifers were scattered among the former herds, and both outfits
+started back, one to look after the Clear Fork and the other to bring
+through the last herd in stocking my new possessions. This gave me
+fully twenty-five thousand mixed cattle on my new range, relieving the
+old ranch of a portion of its she stuff and shaping up both stocks to
+better advantage.
+
+It was my intention to make my home on the Clear Fork thereafter, and
+the ranch outfit had orders to build a comfortable house during the
+summer. The frontier was rapidly moving westward, the Indian was no
+longer a dread, as it was only a question of time until the Comanche
+and his ally would imitate their red brethren and accept the dole of
+the superior race. I was due in Dodge City the first of June, the
+ranches would take care of themselves, and touching at the Edwards
+ranch for a day, I reached "Dodge" before any of the herds arrived.
+Here was a typical trail town, a winter resort for buffalo hunters, no
+settlement for fifty miles to the east, and an almost boundless range
+on which to hold through Texas cattle. The business was bound to
+concentrate at this place, as all other markets were abandoned within
+the State, while it was easily accessible to the mountain regions on
+the west. It was the logical meeting point for buyers and drovers; and
+while the town of that day has passed into history as "wicked Dodge,"
+it had many redeeming features. The veneer of civilization may have
+fallen, to a certain extent, from the wayfaring man who tarried in
+this cow town, yet his word was a bond, and he reverenced the pure in
+womanhood, though to insult him invited death.
+
+George Edwards and Major Hunter had become such great chums that I was
+actually jealous of being supplanted in the affections of the Yankee
+major. The two had been inseparable for months, visiting at The Grove,
+spending a fortnight together at the beef ranch in the Outlet, and
+finally putting in an appearance at Dodge. Headquarters for the summer
+were established at the latter point, our bookkeeper arrived, and
+we were ready for business. The market opened earlier than at more
+eastern points. The bulk of the sales were made to ranchmen, who used
+whole herds where the agricultural regions only bought cattle by the
+hundreds. It was more satisfactory than the retail trade; credit was
+out of the question, and there was no haggling over prices. Cattle
+companies were forming and stocking new ranges, and an influx of
+English and Scotch capital was seeking investment in ranches and live
+stock in the West,--a mere forerunner of what was to follow in later
+years.
+
+Our herds began arriving, and as soon as an outfit could be freed it
+was started for the beef ranch under George Edwards, where a herd of
+wintered beeves was already made up to start for the upper Missouri
+River. Major Hunter followed a week later with the second relieved
+outfit, and our cattle were all moving for their destinations. The
+through beef herds from the upper Nueces River had orders to touch
+at old Fort Larned to the eastward, Edwards drifted on to the Indian
+agencies, and I bestirred myself to the task of selling six herds of
+young cattle at Dodge. Once more I was back in my old element, except
+that every feature of the latter market was on an enlarged scale.
+Two herds were sold to one man in Colorado, three others went under
+contract to the Republican River in Nebraska, and the last one was cut
+into blocks and found a market with feeders in Kansas. Long before
+deliveries were concluded to the War or Interior departments,
+headquarters were moved back to The Grove, my work being done. In
+the interim of waiting for the close of the year's business, our
+bookkeeper looked after two shipments of a thousand head each from the
+beef ranch, while I visited my brother in Missouri and surprised him
+by buying a carload of thoroughbred bulls. Arrangements were made for
+shipping them to Fort Worth during the last week in November, and
+promising to call for them, I returned to The Grove to meet my
+partners and adjust all accounts for the year.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+HARVEST HOME
+
+
+The firm's profits for the summer of '77 footed up over two hundred
+thousand dollars. The government herds from the Cherokee Outlet
+paid the best, those sent to market next, while the through cattle
+remunerated us in the order of beeves, young steers, and lastly cows.
+There was a satisfactory profit even in the latter, yet the same
+investment in other classes paid a better per cent profit, and the
+banking instincts of my partners could be relied on to seek the
+best market for our capital. There was nothing haphazard about our
+business; separate accounts were kept on every herd, and at the end
+of the season the percentage profit on each told their own story. For
+instance, in the above year it cost us more to deliver a cow at an
+agency in the Indian Territory than a steer at Dodge City, Kansas. The
+herds sold in Colorado had been driven at an expense of eighty-five
+cents a head, those delivered on the Republican River ninety, and
+every cow driven that year cost us over one dollar a head in general
+expense. The necessity of holding the latter for a period of four
+months near agencies for issuing purposes added to the cost, and was
+charged to that particular department of our business.
+
+George Edwards and my active partner agreed to restock our beef ranch
+in the Outlet, and I returned to Missouri. I make no claim of being
+the first cowman to improve the native cattle of Texas, yet forty
+years' keen observation has confirmed my original idea,--that
+improvement must come through the native and gradually. Climatic
+conditions in Texas are such that the best types of the bovine race
+would deteriorate if compelled to subsist the year round on the open
+range. The strongest point in the original Spanish cattle was their
+inborn ability as foragers, being inured for centuries to drouth, the
+heat of summer, and the northers of winter, subsisting for months on
+prickly pear, a species of the cactus family, or drifting like game
+animals to more favored localities in avoiding the natural afflictions
+that beset an arid country. In producing the ideal range animal it
+was more important to retain those rustling qualities than to gain a
+better color, a few pounds in weight, and a shortening of horns and
+legs, unless their possessor could withstand the rigors of a variable
+climate. Nature befriends the animal race. The buffalo of Montana
+could face the blizzard, while his brother on the plains of Texas
+sought shelter from the northers in caņons and behind sand-dunes,
+guided by an instinct that foretold the coming storm.
+
+I accompanied my car of thoroughbred bulls and unloaded them at the
+first station north of Fort Worth. They numbered twenty-five, all
+two-year-olds past, and were representative of three leading beef
+brands of established reputation. Others had tried the experiment
+before me, the main trouble being in acclimation, which affects
+animals the same as the human family. But by wintering them at their
+destination, I had hopes of inuring the importation so that they would
+withstand the coming summer, the heat of which was a sore trial to a
+northern-bred animal. Accordingly I made arrangements with a farmer
+to feed my car of bulls during the winter, hay and grain both being
+plentiful. They had cost me over five thousand dollars, and rather
+than risk the loss of a single one by chancing them on the range, an
+additional outlay of a few hundred dollars was justified. Limiting the
+corn fed to three barrels to the animal a month, with plenty of rough
+feed, ought to bring them through the winter in good, healthy form.
+The farmer promised to report monthly on their condition, and agreeing
+to send for them by the first of April, I hastened on home.
+
+My wife had taken a hand in the building of the new house on the Clear
+Fork. It was quite a pretentious affair, built of hewed logs, and
+consisted of two large rooms with a hallway between, a gallery on
+three sides, and a kitchen at the rear. Each of the main rooms had an
+ample fireplace, both hearths and chimneys built from rock, the only
+material foreign to the ranch being the lumber in the floors, doors,
+and windows. Nearly all the work was done by the ranch hands, even the
+clapboards were riven from oak that grew along the mother Brazos, and
+my wife showed me over the house as though it had been a castle that
+she had inherited from some feudal forbear. I was easily satisfied;
+the main concern was for the family, as I hardly lived at home enough
+to give any serious thought to the roof that sheltered me. The
+original buildings had been improved and enlarged for the men, and an
+air of prosperity pervaded the Anthony ranch consistent with the times
+and the success of its owner.
+
+The two ranches reported a few over fifteen thousand calves branded
+that fall. A dim wagon road had been established between the ranches,
+by going and returning outfits during the stocking of the new ranch
+the spring before, and the distance could now be covered in two days
+by buckboard. The list of government contracts to be let was awaiting
+my attention, and after my estimates had been prepared, and forwarded
+to my active partner, it was nearly the middle of December before I
+found time to visit the new ranch. The hands at Double Mountain had
+not been idle, snug headquarters were established, and three line
+camps on the outskirts of the range were comfortably equipped to
+shelter men and horses. The cattle had located nicely, two large
+corrals had been built on each river, and the calves were as thrifty
+as weeds. Gray wolves were the worst enemy encountered, running in
+large bands and finding shelter in the cedar brakes in the caņons and
+foothills which border on the Staked Plain. My foreman on the Double
+Mountain ranch was using poison judiciously, all the line camps were
+supplied with the same, and an active winter of poisoning wolves
+was already inaugurated before my arrival. Long-range rifles would
+supplement the work, and a few years of relentless war on these pests
+would rid the ranch of this enemy of live stock.
+
+Together my foreman and I planned for starting an improved herd of
+cattle. A caņon on the west was decided on as a range, as it was well
+watered from living springs, having a valley several miles wide,
+forming a park with ample range for two thousand cattle. The bluffs
+on either side were abrupt, almost an in closure, making it an easy
+matter for two men to loose-herd a small amount of stock, holding them
+adjoining my deeded range, yet separate. The survival of the fittest
+was adopted as the rule in beginning the herd, five hundred choice
+cows were to form the nucleus, to be the pick of the new ranch, thrift
+and formation to decide their selection. Solid colors only were to be
+chosen, every natural point in a cow was to be considered, with
+the view of reproducing the race in improved form. My foreman--an
+intelligent young fellow--was in complete sympathy, and promised
+me that he would comb the range in selecting the herd. The first
+appearance of grass in the spring was agreed on as the time for
+gathering the cows, when he would personally come to the Clear
+Fork and receive the importation of bulls, thus fully taking all
+responsibility in establishing the improved herd. By this method,
+unless our plans miscarried, in the course of a few years we expected
+to be raising quarter-bloods in the main ranch stock, and at the same
+time retaining all those essential qualities that distinguish the
+range-raised from the domestic-bred animal.
+
+On my return to the Clear Fork, which was now my home, a letter from
+my active partner was waiting, informing me that he and Edwards would
+reach Texas about the time the list of awards would arrive. They had
+been unsuccessful in fully stocking our beef ranch, securing only
+three thousand head, as prices were against them, and the letter
+intimated that something must be done to provide against a repetition
+of this unforeseen situation. The ranch in the Outlet had paid us a
+higher per cent on the investment than any of our ventures, and to
+neglect fully stocking it was contrary to the creed of Hunter, Anthony
+& Co. True, we were double-wintering some four thousand head of cattle
+on our Cherokee range, but if a fair allowance of awards was allotted
+the firm, requiring northern wintered cattle in filling, it might
+embarrass us to supply the same when we did not have the beeves in
+hand; it was our business to have the beef.
+
+At the appointed time the buckboard was sent to Fort Worth, and a few
+days later Major Hunter and our main segundo drove up to the Clear
+Fork. Omitting all preludes, atmosphere, and sunsets, we got down to
+business at once. If we could drive cattle to Dodge City and market
+them for eighty-five cents, we ought to be able to deliver them on our
+northern range for six bits, and the horses could be returned or sold
+at a profit. If any of our established trade must be sacrificed, why,
+drop what paid the least; but half stock our beef ranch? Never again!
+This was to be the slogan for the coming summer, and, on receiving the
+report from Washington, we were enabled to outline a programme for the
+year. The gradually advancing prices in cattle were alarming me, as
+it was now perceptible in cows, and in submitting our bids on Indian
+awards I had made the allowance of one dollar a head advance over the
+spring before. In spite of this we were allotted five contracts from
+the Interior Department and seven to the Army, three of the latter
+requiring ten thousand northern wintered beeves,--only oversold three
+thousand head. Major Hunter met my criticisms by taking the ground
+that we virtually had none of the cattle on hand, and if we could buy
+Southern stock to meet our requirements, why not the three thousand
+that we lacked in the North. Our bids had passed through his hands
+last; he knew our northern range was not fully stocked, and had
+forwarded the estimates to our silent partner at Washington, and now
+the firm had been assigned awards in excess of their holdings. But he
+was the kind of a partner I liked, and if he could see his way clear,
+he could depend on my backing him to the extent of my ability and
+credit.
+
+The business of the firm had grown so rapidly that it was deemed
+advisable to divide it into three departments,--the Army, the Indian,
+the beef ranch and general market. Major Hunter was specially
+qualified to handle the first division, the second fell to Edwards,
+and the last was assumed by myself. We were to consult each other when
+convenient, but each was to act separately for the firm, my commission
+requiring fifteen thousand cattle for our ranch in the Outlet, and
+three herds for the market at Dodge City. Our banking points were
+limited to Fort Worth and San Antonio, so agreeing to meet at the
+latter point on the 1st of February for a general consultation, we
+separated with a view to feeling the home market. Our man Edwards
+dropped out in the central part of the State, my active partner wished
+to look into the situation on the lower Nueces River, and I returned
+to the headwaters of that stream. During the past two summers we had
+driven five herds of heavy beeves from Uvalde and adjoining counties,
+and while we liked the cattle of that section, it was considered
+advisable to look elsewhere for our beef supply. Within a week I
+let contracts for five herds of two and three year old steers, then
+dropped back to the Colorado River and bought ten thousand more in
+San Saba and McCulloch counties. This completed the purchases in
+my department, and I hastened back to San Antonio for the expected
+consultation. Neither my active partner nor my trusted man had
+arrived, nor was there a line to indicate where they were or when they
+might be expected, though Major Hunter had called at our hotel a few
+days previously for his mail. The designated day was waning, and I was
+worried by the non-appearance of either, when I received a wire from
+Austin, saying they had just sublet the Indian contracts.
+
+The next morning my active partner and Edwards arrived. The latter had
+met some parties at the capital who were anxious to fill our Indian
+deliveries, and had wired us in the firm's name, and Major Hunter had
+taken the first train for Austin. Both returned wreathed in smiles,
+having sublet our awards at figures that netted us more than we could
+have realized had we bought and delivered the cattle at our own risk.
+It was clear money, requiring not a stroke of work, while it freed a
+valuable man in outfitting, receiving, and starting our other herds,
+as well as relieving a snug sum for reinvestment. Our capital lay idle
+half the year, the spring months were our harvest, and, assigning
+Edwards full charge of the cattle bought on the Colorado River,
+we instructed him to buy for the Dodge market four herds more in
+adjoining counties, bringing down the necessary outfits to handle them
+from my ranch on the Clear Fork. Previous to his return to San Antonio
+my active partner had closed contracts on thirteen thousand heavy
+beeves on the Frio River and lower Nueces, thus completing our
+purchases. A healthy advance was noticeable all around in steer
+cattle, though hardly affecting cows; but having anticipated a growing
+appreciation in submitting our bids, we suffered no disappointment. A
+week was lost in awaiting the arrival of half a dozen old foremen. On
+their arrival we divided them between us and intrusted them with the
+buying of horses and all details in making up outfits.
+
+The trails leading out of southern Texas were purely local ones, the
+only established trace running from San Antonio north, touching at
+Fort Griffin, and crossing into the Nations at Red River Station in
+Montague County. All our previous herds from the Uvalde regions had
+turned eastward to intercept this main thoroughfare, though we had
+been frequently advised to try a western outlet known as the Nueces
+Caņon route. The latter course would bring us out on high tablelands,
+but before risking our herds through it, I decided to ride out the
+country in advance. The caņon proper was about forty miles long,
+through which ran the source of the Nueces River, and if the way were
+barely possible it looked like a feasible route. Taking a pack horse
+and guide with me, I rode through and out on the mesa beyond. General
+McKinzie had used this route during his Indian campaigns, and had even
+built mounds of rock on the hills to guide the wayfarer, from the exit
+of the caņon across to the South Llano River. The trail was a rough
+one, but there was grass sufficient to sustain the herds and ample
+bed-grounds in the valleys, and I decided to try the western outlet
+from Uvalde. An early, seasonable spring favored us with fine grass on
+which to put up and start the herds, all five moving out within a week
+of each other. I promised my foremen to accompany them through the
+caņon, knowing that the passage would be a trial to man and beast, and
+asked the old bosses to loiter along, so that there would be but a few
+hours' difference between the rear and lead herds.
+
+I received sixteen thousand cattle, and the four days required in
+passing through Nueces Caņon and reaching water beyond were the
+supreme physical test of my life. It was a wild section, wholly
+unsettled, between low mountains, the river-bed constantly shifting
+from one flank of the valley to the other, while cliffs from three to
+five hundred feet high alternated from side to side. In traveling the
+first twenty-five miles we crossed the bed of the river twenty-one
+times; and besides the river there were a great number of creeks and
+dry arroyos putting in from the surrounding hills, so that we were
+constantly crossing rough ground. The beds of the streams were covered
+with smooth, water-worn pebbles, white as marble, and then again we
+encountered limestone in lava formation, honeycombed with millions of
+sharp, up-turned cells. Some of the descents were nearly impossible
+for wagons, but we locked both hind wheels and just let them slide
+down and bounce over the boulders at the bottom. Half-way through the
+caņon the water failed us, with the south fork of the Llano forty
+miles distant in our front. We were compelled to allow the cattle to
+pick their way over the rocky trail, the herds not over a mile apart,
+and scarcely maintaining a snail's pace. I rode from rear to front
+and back again a dozen times in clearing the defile, and noted that
+splotches of blood from tender-footed cattle marked the white pebbles
+at every crossing of the river-bed. On the evening of the third day,
+the rear herd passed the exit of the caņon, the others having turned
+aside to camp for the night. Two whole days had now elapsed without
+water for the cattle.
+
+I had not slept a wink the two previous nights. The south fork of the
+Llano lay over twenty miles distant, and although it had ample water
+two weeks before, one of the foremen and I rode through to it that
+night to satisfy ourselves. The supply was found sufficient, and
+before daybreak we were back in camp, arousing the outfits and
+starting the herds. In the spring of 1878 the old military trail, with
+its rocky sentinels, was still dimly defined from Nueces Caņon north
+to the McKinzie water-hole on the South Llano. The herds moved out
+with the dawn. Thousands of the cattle were travel-sore, while a few
+hundred were actually tender-footed. The evening before, as we came
+out into the open country, we had seen quite a local shower of rain in
+our front, which had apparently crossed our course nearly ten miles
+distant, though it had not been noticeable during our night's ride.
+The herds fell in behind one another that morning like columns of
+cavalry, and after a few miles their stiffness passed and they led out
+as if they had knowledge of the water ahead. Within two hours after
+starting we crossed a swell of the mesa, when the lead herd caught a
+breeze from off the damp hills to the left where the shower had fallen
+the evening before. As they struck this rise, the feverish cattle
+raised their heads and pulled out as if that vagrant breeze had
+brought them a message that succor and rest lay just beyond. The point
+men had orders to let them go, and as fast as the rear herds came up
+and struck this imaginary line or air current, a single moan would
+surge back through the herd until it died out at the rear. By noon
+there was a solid column of cattle ten miles long, and two hours later
+the drag and point men had trouble in keeping the different herds from
+mixing. Without a halt, by three o'clock the lead foremen were turning
+their charges right and left, and shortly afterward the lead cattle
+were plunging into the purling waters of the South Llano. The rear
+herds turned off above and below, filling the river for five miles,
+while the hollow-eyed animals gorged themselves until a half dozen
+died that evening and night.
+
+Leaving orders with the foremen to rest their herds well and move out
+half a day apart, I rode night and day returning to Uvalde. Catching
+the first stage out, I reached San Antonio in time to overtake Major
+Hunter, who was awaiting the arrival of the last beef herd from the
+lower country, the three lead ones having already passed that point.
+All trail outfits from the south then touched at San Antonio to
+provision the wagons, and on the approach of our last herd I met it
+and spent half a day with it,--my first, last, and only glimpse of our
+heavy beeves. They were big rangy fellows many of them six and seven
+years old, and from the general uniformity of the herd, I felt proud
+of the cowman that my protégé and active partner had developed into.
+Major Hunter was anxious to reach home as soon as possible, in order
+to buy in our complement of northern wintered cattle; so, settling
+our business affairs in southern Texas, the day after the rear beeves
+passed we took train north. I stopped in the central part of
+the State, joining Edwards riding night and day in covering his
+appointments to receive cattle; and when the last trail herd moved out
+from the Colorado River there were no regrets.
+
+Hastening on home, on my arrival I was assured by my ranch foreman
+that he could gather a trail herd in less than a week. My saddle stock
+now numbered over a thousand head, one hundred of which were on the
+Double Mountain ranch, seven remudas on the trail, leaving available
+over two hundred on the Clear Fork. I had the horses and cattle, and
+on the word being given my ranch foreman began gathering our oldest
+steers, while I outfitted and provisioned a commissary and secured
+half a dozen men. On the morning of the seventh day after my arrival,
+an individual herd, numbering thirty-five hundred, moved out from the
+Clear Fork, every animal in the straight ranch brand. An old trail
+foreman was given charge, Dodge City was the destination, and a finer
+herd of three-year-olds could not have been found in one brand within
+the boundaries of the State. This completed our cattle on the trail,
+and a breathing spell of a few weeks might now be indulged in, yet
+there was little rest for a cowman. Not counting the contracts to the
+Indian Bureau, sublet to others, and the northern wintered beeves,
+we had, for the firm and individually, seventeen herds, numbering
+fifty-four thousand five hundred cattle on the trail. In order to
+carry on our growing business unhampered for want of funds, the firm
+had borrowed on short time nearly a quarter-million dollars that
+spring, pledging the credit of the three partners for its repayment.
+We had been making money ever since the partnership was formed, and
+we had husbanded our profits, yet our business seemed to outgrow our
+means, compelling us to borrow every spring when buying trail herds.
+
+In the mean time and while we were gathering the home cattle, my
+foreman and two men from the Double Mountain ranch arrived on the
+Clear Fork to receive the importation of bulls. The latter had not yet
+arrived, so pressing the boys into work, we got the trail herd away
+before the thoroughbreds put in an appearance. A wagon and three men
+from the home ranch had gone after them before my return, and they
+were simply loafing along, grazing five to ten miles a day, carrying
+corn in the wagon to feed on the grass. Their arrival found the ranch
+at leisure, and after resting a few days they proceeded on to their
+destination at a leisurely gait. The importation had wintered
+finely,--now all three-year-olds,--but hereafter they must subsist on
+the range, as corn was out of the question, and the boys had brought
+nothing but a pack horse from the western ranch. This was an
+experiment with me, but I was ably seconded by my foreman, who had
+personally selected every cow over a month before, and this was to
+make up the beginning of the improved herd. I accompanied them beyond
+my range and urged seven miles a day as the limit of travel. I then
+started for home, and within a week reached Dodge City, Kansas.
+
+Headquarters were again established at Dodge. Fortunately a new market
+was being developed at Ogalalla on the Platte River in Nebraska, and
+fully one third the trail herds passed on to the upper point. Before
+my arrival Major Hunter had bought the deficiency of northern wintered
+beeves, and early in June three herds started from our range in the
+Outlet for the upper Missouri River army posts. We had wintered all
+horses belonging to the firm on the beef ranch, and within a fortnight
+after its desertion, the young steers from the upper Nueces River
+began arriving and were turned loose on the Eagle Chief, preempting
+our old range. One outfit was retained to locate the cattle, the
+remaining ones coming in to Dodge and returning home by train.
+George Edwards lent me valuable assistance in handling our affairs
+economically, but with the arrival of the herds at Dodge he was
+compelled to look after our sub-contracts at Indian agencies. The
+latter were delivered in our name, all money passed through our hands
+in settlement, so it was necessary to have a man on the ground to
+protect our interests. With nothing but the selling of eight herds of
+cattle in an active market like Dodge, I felt that the work of the
+summer was virtually over. One cattle company took ten thousand
+three-year-old steers, two herds were sold for delivery at Ogalalla,
+and the remaining three were placed within a month after their
+arrival. The occupation of the West was on with a feverish haste, and
+money was pouring into ranches and cattle, affording a ready market to
+the drover from Texas.
+
+Nothing now remained for me but to draw the threads of our business
+together and await the season's settlement in the fall. I sold all the
+wagons and sent the remudas to our range in the Outlet, while from the
+first cattle sold the borrowed money was repaid. I visited Ogalalla
+to acquaint myself with its market, looked over our beef ranch in the
+Cherokee Strip during the lull, and even paid the different Indian
+agencies my respects to perfect my knowledge of the requirements of
+our business. Our firm was a strong one, enlarging its business year
+by year; and while we could not foresee the future, the present was a
+Harvest Home to Hunter, Anthony & Co.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+AN ACTIVE SUMMER
+
+
+The summer of 1878 closed with but a single cloud on the horizon. Like
+ourselves, a great many cattlemen had established beef ranches in the
+Cherokee Outlet, then a vacant country, paying a trifling rental to
+that tribe of civilized Indians. But a difference of opinion arose,
+some contending that the Cherokees held no title to the land; that the
+strip of country sixty miles wide by two hundred long set aside by
+treaty as a hunting ground, when no longer used for that purpose by
+the tribe, had reverted to the government. Some refused to pay the
+rent money, the council of the Cherokee Nation appealed to the general
+government, and troops were ordered in to preserve the peace. We felt
+no uneasiness over our holdings of cattle on the Strip, as we were
+paying a nominal rent, amounting to two bits a head a year, and were
+otherwise fortified in possession of our range. If necessary we could
+have secured a permit from the War Department, on the grounds of being
+government contractors and requiring a northern range on which to hold
+our cattle. But rather than do this, Major Hunter hit upon a happy
+solution of the difficulty by suggesting that we employ an Indian
+citizen as foreman, and hold the cattle in his name. The major had
+an old acquaintance, a half-breed Cherokee named LaFlors, who was
+promptly installed as owner of the range, but holding beeves for
+Hunter, Anthony & Co., government beef contractors.
+
+I was unexpectedly called to Texas before the general settlement
+that fall. Early in the summer, at Dodge, I met a gentleman who was
+representing a distillery in Illinois. He was in the market for a
+thousand range bulls to slop-feed, and as no such cattle ever came
+over the trail, I offered to sell them to him delivered at Fort Worth.
+I showed him the sights around Dodge and we became quite friendly,
+but I was unable to sell him his requirements unless I could show the
+stock. It was easily to be seen that he was not a range cattleman, and
+I humored him until he took my address, saying that if he were unable
+to fill his wants in other Western markets he would write me later.
+The acquaintance resulted in several letters passing between us that
+autumn, and finally an appointment was made to meet in Kansas City and
+go down to Texas together. I had written home to have the buckboard
+meet us at Fort Worth on October 1, and a few days later we were
+riding the range on the Brazos and Clear Fork. In the past there never
+had been any market for this class of drones, old age and death being
+the only relief, and from the great number of brands that I had
+purchased during my ranching and trail operations, my range was simply
+cluttered with these old cumberers. Their hides would not have paid
+freighting and transportation to a market, and they had become an
+actual drawback to a ranch, when the opportunity occurred and I sold
+twelve hundred head to the Illinois distillery. The buyer informed
+me that they fattened well; that there was a special demand for this
+quality in the export trade of dressed beef, and that owing to their
+cheapness and consequent profit they were in demand for distillery
+feeding.
+
+Fifteen dollars a head was agreed on as the price, and we earned it a
+second time in delivering that herd at Fort Worth. Many of the animals
+were ten years old, surly when irritated, and ready for a fight when
+their day-dreams were disturbed. There was no treating them humanely,
+for every effort in that direction was resented by the old rascals,
+individually and collectively. The first day we gathered two hundred,
+and the attempt to hold them under herd was a constant fight,
+resulting in every hoof arising on the bed-ground at midnight and
+escaping to their old haunts. I worked as good a ranch outfit of men
+as the State ever bred, I was right there in the saddle with them,
+yet, in spite of every effort, to say nothing of the profanity wasted,
+we lost the herd. The next morning every lad armed himself with a
+prod-pole long as a lance and tipped with a sharp steel brad, and we
+commenced regathering. Thereafter we corralled them at night, which
+always called for a free use of ropes, as a number usually broke away
+on approaching the pens. Often we hog-tied as many as a dozen, letting
+them lie outside all night and freeing them back into the herd in the
+morning. Even the day-herding was a constant fight, as scarcely an
+hour passed but some old resident would scorn the restraint imposed
+upon his liberties and deliberately make a break for freedom. A pair
+of horsemen would double on the deserter, and with a prod-pole to his
+ear and the pressure of a man and horse bearing their weight on
+the same, a circle would be covered and Toro always reëntered the
+day-herd. One such lesson was usually sufficient, and by reaching
+corrals every night and penning them, we managed, after two weeks'
+hard work, to land them in the stockyards at Fort Worth. The buyer
+remained with and accompanied us during the gathering and en route to
+the railroad, evidently enjoying the continuous performance. He
+proved a good mixer, too, and returned annually thereafter. For years
+following I contracted with him, and finally shipped on consignment,
+our business relations always pleasant and increasing in volume until
+his death.
+
+Returning with the outfit, I continued on west to the new ranch, while
+the men began the fall branding at home. On arriving on the Double
+Mountain range, I found the outfit in the saddle, ironing up a big
+calf crop, while the improved herd was the joy and pride of my
+foreman. An altitude of about four thousand feet above sea-level had
+proved congenial to the thoroughbreds, who had acclimated nicely, the
+only loss being one from lightning. Two men were easily holding the
+isolated herd in their caņon home, the sheltering bluffs affording
+them ample protection from wintry weather, and there was nothing
+henceforth to fear in regard to the experiment. I spent a week with
+the outfit; my ranch foreman assured me that the brand could turn
+out a trail herd of three-year-old steers the following spring and a
+second one of twos, if it was my wish to send them to market. But it
+was too soon to anticipate the coming summer; and then it seemed a
+shame to move young steers to a northern climate to be matured, yet it
+was an economic necessity. Ranch headquarters looked like a trapper's
+cave with wolf-skins and buffalo-robes taken the winter before, and it
+was with reluctance that I took my leave of the cosy dugouts on the
+Double Mountain Fork.
+
+On returning home I found a statement for the year and a pressing
+invitation awaiting me to come on to the national capital at once. The
+profits of the summer had exceeded the previous one, but some bills
+for demurrage remained to be adjusted with the War and Interior
+departments, and my active partner and George Edwards had already
+started for Washington. It was urged on me that the firm should make
+themselves known at the different departments, and the invitation
+was supplemented by a special request from our silent partner, the
+Senator, to spend at least a month at the capital. For years I had
+been promising my wife to take her on a visit to Virginia, and now
+when the opportunity offered, womanlike, she pleaded her nakedness in
+the midst of plenty. I never had but one suit at a time in my life,
+and often I had seen my wife dressed in the best the frontier of Texas
+afforded, which was all that ought to be expected. A day's notice was
+given her, the eldest children were sent to their grandparents, and
+taking the two youngest with us, we started for Fort Worth. I was
+anxious that my wife should make a favorable impression on my people,
+and in turn she was fretting about my general appearance. Out of a
+saddle a cowman never looks well, and every effort to improve his
+personal appearance only makes him the more ridiculous. Thus with each
+trying to make the other presentable, we started. We stopped a week at
+my brother's in Missouri, and finally reached the Shenandoah Valley
+during the last week in November. Leaving my wife to speak for herself
+and the remainder of the family, I hurried on to Washington and found
+the others quartered at a prominent hotel. A less pretentious
+one would have suited me, but then a United States senator must
+befittingly entertain his friends. New men had succeeded to the War
+and Interior departments, and I was properly introduced to each as
+the Texas partner of the firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. Within a week,
+several little dinners were given at the hotel, at which from a dozen
+to twenty men sat down, all feverish to hear about the West and the
+cattle business in particular. Already several companies had
+been organized to engage in ranching, and the capital had been
+over-subscribed in every instance; and actually one would have
+supposed from the chat that we were holding a cattle convention in
+the West instead of dining with a few representatives and government
+officials at Washington.
+
+I soon became the object of marked attention. Possibly it was my
+vocabulary, which was consistent with my vocation, together with my
+ungainly appearance, that differentiated me from my partners. George
+Edwards was neat in appearance, had a great fund of Western stories
+and experiences, and the two of us were constantly being importuned
+for incidents of a frontier nature. Both my partners, especially the
+Senator, were constantly introducing me and referring to me as a man
+who, in the course of ten years, had accumulated fifty thousand cattle
+and acquired title to three quarters of a million acres of land. I was
+willing to be a sociable fellow among my friends, but notoriety of
+this character was offensive, and in a private lecture I took my
+partners to task for unnecessary laudation. The matter was smoothed
+over, our estimates for the coming year were submitted, and after
+spending the holidays with my parents in Virginia, I returned to the
+capital to await the allotments for future delivery of cattle to the
+Army and Indian service. Pending the date of the opening of the bids
+a dinner was given by a senator from one of the Southern States, to
+which all members of our firm were invited, when the project was
+launched of organizing a cattle company with one million dollars
+capital. The many advantages that would accrue where government
+influence could be counted on were dwelt upon at length, the rapid
+occupation of the West was cited, the concentration of all Indian
+tribes on reservations, and the necessary requirements of beef in
+feeding the same was openly commented on as the opportunity of the
+hour. I took no hand in the general discussion, except to answer
+questions, but when the management of such a company was tendered me,
+I emphatically declined. My partners professed surprise at my refusal,
+but when the privacy of our rooms was reached I unburdened myself on
+the proposition. We had begun at the foot of the hill, and now having
+established ourselves in a profitable business, I was loath to give it
+up or share it with others. I argued that our trade was as valuable as
+realty or cattle in hand; that no blandishments of salary as manager
+could induce me to forsake legitimate channels for possibilities
+in other fields. "Go slow and learn to peddle," was the motto of
+successful merchants; I had got out on a limb before and met with
+failure, and had no desire to rush in where angels fear for their
+footing. Let others organize companies and we would sell them the
+necessary cattle; the more money seeking investment the better the
+market.
+
+Major Hunter was Western in his sympathies and coincided with my
+views, the Senator was won over from the enterprise, and the project
+failed to materialize. The friendly relations of our firm were
+slightly strained over the outcome, but on the announcement of the
+awards we pulled together again like brothers. In the allotment for
+delivery during the summer and fall of 1879, some eighteen contracts
+fell to us,--six in the Indian Bureau and the remainder to the Army,
+four of the latter requiring northern wintered beeves. A single award
+for Fort Buford in Dakota called for five million pounds on foot and
+could be filled with Southern cattle. Others in the same department
+ran from one and a half to three million pounds, varying, as wanted
+for future or present use, to through or wintered beeves. The latter
+fattened even on the trail and were ready for the shambles on their
+arrival, while Southern stock required a winter and time to acclimate
+to reach the pink of condition. The government maintained several
+distributing points in the new Northwest, one of which was Fort
+Buford, where for many succeeding years ten thousand cattle were
+annually received and assigned to lesser posts. This was the market
+that I knew. I had felt every throb of its pulse ever since I had
+worked as a common hand in driving beef to Fort Sumner in 1866. The
+intervening years had been active ones, and I had learned the lessons
+of the trail, knew to a fraction the cost of delivering a herd, and
+could figure on a contract with any other cowman.
+
+Leaving the arrangement of the bonds to our silent partner, the
+next day after the awards were announced we turned our faces to the
+Southwest. February 1 was agreed on for the meeting at Fort Worth, so
+picking up the wife and babies in Virginia, we embarked for our
+Texas home. My better half was disappointed in my not joining in the
+proposed cattle company, with its officers, its directorate, annual
+meeting, and other high-sounding functions. I could have turned into
+the company my two ranches at fifty cents an acre, could have sold my
+brand outright at a fancy figure, taking stock in lieu for the same,
+but I preferred to keep them private property. I have since known
+other cowmen who put their lands and cattle into companies, and
+after a few years' manipulation all they owned was some handsome
+certificates, possibly having drawn a dividend or two and held an
+honorary office. I did not then have even the experience of others to
+guide my feet, but some silent monitor warned me to stick to my trade,
+cows.
+
+Leaving the family at the Edwards ranch, I returned to Fort Worth
+in ample time for the appointed meeting. My active partner and our
+segundo had become as thick as thieves, the two being inseparable at
+idle times, and on their arrival we got down to business at once. The
+remudas were the first consideration. Besides my personal holdings
+of saddle stock, we had sent the fall before one thousand horses
+belonging to the firm back to the Clear Fork to winter. Thus equipped
+with eighteen remudas for the trail, we were fairly independent in
+that line. Among the five herds driven the year before to our beef
+ranch in the Outlet, the books showed not over ten thousand coming
+four years old that spring, leaving a deficiency of northern wintered
+beeves to be purchased. It was decided to restock the range with
+straight threes, and we again divided the buying into departments,
+each taking the same division as the year before. The purchase of
+eight herds of heavy beeves would thus fall to Major Hunter. Austin
+and San Antonio were decided on as headquarters and banking points,
+and we started out on a preliminary skirmish. George Edwards had an
+idea that the Indian awards could again be relet to advantage, and
+started for the capital, while the major and I journeyed on south.
+Some former sellers whom we accidentally met in San Antonio complained
+that we had forsaken them and assured us that their county, Medina,
+had not less than fifty thousand mature beeves. They offered to meet
+any one's prices, and Major Hunter urged that I see a sample of the
+cattle while en route to the Uvalde country. If they came up to
+requirements, I was further authorized to buy in sufficient to fill
+our contract at Fort Buford, which would require three herds, or ten
+thousand head. It was an advantage to have this delivery start
+from the same section, hold together en route, and arrive at their
+destination as a unit. I was surprised at both the quality and the
+quantity of the beeves along the tributaries of the Frio River, and
+readily let a contract to a few leading cowmen for the full allotment.
+My active partner was notified, and I went on to the headwaters of the
+Nueces River. I knew the cattle of this section so well that there was
+no occasion even to look at them, and in a few days contracted for
+five herds of straight threes. While in the latter section, word
+reached me that Edwards had sublet four of our Indian contacts, or
+those intended for delivery at agencies in the Indian Territory. The
+remaining two were for tribes in Colorado, and notifying our segundo
+to hold the others open until we met, I took stage back to San
+Antonio. My return was awaited by both Major Hunter and Edwards, and
+casting up our purchases on through cattle, we found we lacked only
+two herds of cows and the same of beeves. I offered to make up the
+Indian awards from my ranches, the major had unlimited offerings from
+which to pick, and we turned our attention to securing young steers
+for the open market. Our segundo was fully relieved and ordered back
+to his old stamping-ground on the Colorado River to contract for six
+herds of young cattle. It was my intention to bring remudas down from
+the Clear Fork to handle the cattle from Uvalde and Medina counties,
+but my active partner would have to look out for his own saddle stock
+for the other beef herds. Hurrying home, I started eight hundred
+saddle horses belonging to the firm to the lower country, assigned
+two remudas to leave for the Double Mountain ranch, detailed the same
+number for the Clear Fork, and authorized the remaining six to report
+to Edwards on the Colorado River.
+
+This completed the main details for moving the herds. There was an
+increase in prices over the preceding spring throughout the State,
+amounting on a general average to fully one dollar a head. We had
+anticipated the advance in making our contracts, there was an
+abundance of water everywhere, and everything promised well for an
+auspicious start. Only a single incident occurred to mar the otherwise
+pleasant relations with our ranchmen friends. In contracting for the
+straight threes from Uvalde County, I had stipulated that every animal
+tendered must be full-aged at the date of receiving; we were paying
+an extra price and the cattle must come up to specifications. Major
+Hunter had moved his herds out in time to join me in receiving the
+last one of the younger cattle, and I had pressed him into use as a
+tally clerk while receiving. Every one had been invited to turn in
+stock in making up the herd, but at the last moment we fell short
+of threes, when I offered to fill out with twos at the customary
+difference in price. The sellers were satisfied. We called them by
+ages as they were cut out, when a row threatened over a white steer.
+The foreman who was assisting me cut the animal in question for a
+two-year-old, Major Hunter repeated the age in tallying the steer,
+when the owner of the brand, a small ranchman, galloped up and
+contended that the steer was a three-year-old, though he lacked fully
+two months of that age. The owner swore the steer had been raised a
+milk calf; that he knew his age to a day; but Major Hunter firmly yet
+kindly told the man that he must observe the letter of the contract
+and that the steer must go as a two-year-old or not at all. In reply a
+six-shooter was thrown in the major's face, when a number of us rushed
+in on our horses and the pistol was struck from the man's hand. An
+explanation was demanded, but the only intelligent reply that could be
+elicited from the owner of the white steer was, "No G---- d----
+Yankee can classify my cattle." One of the ranchmen with whom we
+were contracting took the insult off my hands and gave the man his
+choice,--to fight or apologize. The seller cooled down, apologies
+followed, and the unfortunate incident passed and was forgotten with
+the day's work.
+
+A week later the herds on the Colorado River moved out. Major Hunter
+and I looked them over before they got away, after which he continued
+on north to buy in the deficiency of three thousand wintered beeves,
+while I returned home to start my individual cattle. The ranch outfit
+had been at work for ten days previous to my arrival gathering the
+three-year-old steers and all dry and barren cows. On my return they
+had about eight thousand head of mixed stock under herd and two trail
+outfits were in readiness, so cutting them separate and culling them
+down, we started them, the cows for Dodge and the steers for Ogalalla,
+each thirty-five hundred strong. Two outfits had left for the Double
+Mountain range ten days before, and driving night and day, I reached
+the ranch to find both herds shaped up and ready for orders. Both
+foremen were anxious to strike due north, several herds having crossed
+Red River as far west as Doan's Store the year before; but I was
+afraid of Indian troubles and routed them northeast for the old ford
+on the Chisholm trail. They would follow down the Brazos, cross over
+to the Wichita River, and pass about sixty miles to the north of the
+home ranch on the Clear Fork. I joined them for the first few days
+out, destinations were the same as the other private herds, and
+promising to meet them in Dodge, I turned homeward. The starting of
+these last two gave the firm and me personally twenty-three herds,
+numbering seventy-six thousand one hundred cattle on the trail.
+
+An active summer followed. Each one was busy in his department. I met
+Major Hunter once for an hour during the spring months, and we never
+saw each other again until late fall. Our segundo again rendered
+valuable assistance in meeting outfits on their arrival at the beef
+ranch, as it was deemed advisable to hold the through and wintered
+cattle separate for fear of Texas fever. All beef herds were routed
+to touch at headquarters in the Outlet, and thence going north, they
+skirted the borders of settlement in crossing Kansas and Nebraska.
+Where possible, all correspondence was conducted by wire, and with the
+arrival of the herds at Dodge I was kept in the saddle thenceforth.
+The demand for cattle was growing with each succeeding year, prices
+were firmer, and a general advance was maintained in all grades of
+trail stock. On the arrival of the cattle from the Colorado River, I
+had them reclassed, sending three herds of threes on to Ogalalla. The
+upper country wanted older stock, believing that it withstood the
+rigors of winter better, and I trimmed my sail to catch the wind. The
+cows came in early and were started west for their destination, the
+rear herds arrived and were located, while Dodge and Ogalalla
+howled their advantages as rival trail towns. The three herds of
+two-year-olds were sold and started for the Cherokee Strip, and I took
+train for the west and reached the Platte River, to find our cattle
+safely arrived at Ogalalla. Near the middle of July a Wyoming cattle
+company bought all the central Texas steers for delivery a month later
+at Cheyenne, and we grazed them up the South Platte and counted them
+out to the buyers, ten thousand strong. My individual herds classed as
+Pan-Handle cattle, exempt from quarantine, netted one dollar a head
+above the others, and were sold to speculators from the corn regions
+on the western borders of Nebraska. One herd of cows was intended for
+the Southern and the other for the Uncompahgre Utes, and they had been
+picking their way through and across the mountains to those agencies
+during the summer mouths. Late in August both deliveries were made
+wholesale to the agents of the different tribes, and my work was at an
+end. All unsold remudas returned to Dodge, the outfits were sent home,
+and the saddle stock to our beef ranch, there to await the close of
+the summer's drive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+FORESHADOWS
+
+
+I returned to Texas early in September. My foreman on the Double
+Mountain ranch had written me several times during the summer,
+promising me a surprise on the half-blood calves. There was nothing
+of importance in the North except the shipping of a few trainloads
+of beeves from our ranch in the Outlet, and as the bookkeeper could
+attend to that, I decided to go back. I offered other excuses for
+going, but home-hunger and the improved herd were the main reasons. It
+was a fortunate thing that I went home, for it enabled me to get into
+touch with the popular feeling in my adopted State over the outlook
+for live stock in the future. Up to this time there had been no
+general movement in cattle, in sympathy with other branches of
+industry, notably in sheep and wool, supply always far exceeding
+demand. There had been a gradual appreciation in marketable steers,
+first noticeable in 1876, and gaining thereafter about one dollar a
+year per head on all grades, yet so slowly as not to disturb or excite
+the trade. During the fall of 1879, however, there was a feeling
+of unrest in cattle circles in Texas, and predictions of a notable
+advance could be heard on every side. The trail had been established
+as far north as Montana, capital by the millions was seeking
+investment in ranching, and everything augured for a brighter future.
+That very summer the trail had absorbed six hundred and fifty thousand
+cattle, or possibly ten per cent of the home supply, which readily
+found a market at army posts, Indian agencies, and two little cow
+towns in the North. Investment in Texas steers was paying fifty to one
+hundred per cent annually, the whole Northwest was turning into one
+immense pasture, and the feeling was general that the time had come
+for the Lone Star State to expect a fair share in the profits of this
+immense industry.
+
+Cattle associations, organized for mutual protection and the promotion
+of community interests, were active agencies in enlarging the Texas
+market. National conventions were held annually, at which every
+live-stock organization in the West was represented, and buyer and
+seller met on common ground. Two years before the Cattle Raisers'
+Association of Texas was formed, other States and Territories founded
+similar organizations, and when these met in national assembly the
+cattle on a thousand hills were represented. No one was more anxious
+than myself that a proper appreciation should follow the enlargement
+of our home market, yet I had hopes that it would come gradually and
+not excite or disturb settled conditions. In our contracts with the
+government, we were under the necessity of anticipating the market ten
+months in advance, and any sudden or unseen change in prices in the
+interim between submitting our estimates and buying in the cattle to
+fill the same would be ruinous. Therefore it was important to keep a
+finger on the pulse of the home market, to note the drift of straws,
+and to listen for every rumor afloat. Lands in Texas were advancing in
+value, a general wave of prosperity had followed self-government and
+the building of railroads, and cattle alone was the only commodity
+that had not proportionally risen in value.
+
+In spite of my hopes to the contrary, I had a well-grounded belief
+that a revolution in cattle prices was coming. Daily meeting with men
+from the Northwest, at Dodge and Ogalalla, during the summer just
+passed, I had felt every throb of the demand that pulsated those
+markets. There was a general inquiry for young steers, she stuff with
+which to start ranches was eagerly snapped up, and it stood to reason
+that if this reckless Northern demand continued, its influence
+would soon be felt on the plains of Texas. Susceptible to all these
+influences, I had returned home to find both my ranches littered with
+a big calf crop, the brand actually increasing in numbers in spite of
+the drain of trail herds annually cut out. But the idol of my eye was
+those half-blood calves. Out of a possible five hundred, there were
+four hundred and fifty odd by actual count, all big as yearlings and
+reflecting the selection of their parents. I loafed away a week at the
+caņon camp, rode through them daily, and laughed at their innocent
+antics as they horned the bluffs or fought their mimic fights. The
+Double Mountain ranch was my pride, and before leaving, the foreman
+and I outlined some landed additions to fill and square up my
+holdings, in case it should ever be necessary to fence the range.
+
+On my return to the Clear Fork, the ranch outfit had just finished
+gathering from my own and adjoining ranges fifteen hundred bulls for
+distillery feeding. The sale had been effected by correspondence with
+my former customer, and when the herd started the two of us drove on
+ahead into Fort Worth. The Illinois man was an extensive dealer in
+cattle and had followed the business for years in his own State, and
+in the week we spent together awaiting the arrival of his purchase, I
+learned much of value. There was a distinct difference between a range
+cowman and a stockman from the older Western States; but while the
+occupations were different, there was much in common between the two.
+Through my customer I learned that Western range cattle, when well
+fatted, were competing with grass beeves from his own State; that they
+dressed more to their gross weight than natives, and that the quality
+of their flesh was unsurpassed. As to the future, the Illinois buyer
+could see little to hope for in his own country, but was enthusiastic
+over the outlook for us ranchmen in the Southwest. All these things
+were but straws which foretold the course of the wind, yet neither of
+us looked for the cyclone which was hovering near.
+
+I accompanied the last train of the shipment as far as Parsons,
+Kansas, where our ways parted, my customer going to Peoria, Illinois,
+while I continued on to The Grove. Both my partners and our segundo
+were awaiting me, the bookkeeper had all accounts in hand, and the
+profits of the year were enough to turn ordinary men's heads. But I
+sounded a note of warning,--that there were breakers ahead,--though
+none of them took me seriously until I called for the individual herd
+accounts. With all the friendly advantages shown us by the War and
+Interior departments, the six herds from the Colorado River, taking
+their chances in the open market, had cleared more money per head
+than had the heavy beeves requiring thirty-three per cent a larger
+investment. In summing up my warning, I suggested that now, while
+we were winners, would be a good time to drop contracting with the
+government and confine ourselves strictly to the open market. Instead
+of ten months between assuming obligations and their fulfillment, why
+not reduce the chances to three or four, with the hungry, clamoring
+West for our market?
+
+The powwow lasted several days. Finally all agreed to sever our
+dealings with the Interior Department, which required cows for Indian
+agencies, and confine our business to the open market and supplying
+the Army with beef. Our partner the Senator reluctantly yielded to the
+opinions of Major Hunter and myself, urging our loss of prestige
+and its reflection on his standing at the national capital. But we
+countered on him, arguing that as a representative of the West the
+opportunity of the hour was his to insist on larger estimates for the
+coming year, and to secure proportionate appropriations for both the
+War and Interior departments, if they wished to attract responsible
+bidders. If only the ordinary estimates and allowances were made, it
+would result in a deficiency in these departments, and no one cared
+for vouchers, even against the government, when the funds were not
+available to meet the same on presentation. Major Hunter suggested to
+our partner that as beef contractors we be called in consultation with
+the head of each department, and allowed to offer our views for the
+general benefit of the service. The Senator saw his opportunity,
+promising to hasten on to Washington at once, while the rest of us
+agreed to hold ourselves in readiness to respond to any call.
+
+Edwards and I returned to Texas. The former was stationed for the
+winter at San Antonio, under instructions to keep in touch with the
+market, while I loitered between Fort Worth and the home ranch. The
+arrival of the list of awards came promptly as usual, but beyond a
+random glance was neglected pending state developments. An advance of
+two dollars and a half a head was predicted on all grades, and buyers
+and superintendents of cattle companies in the North and West were
+quietly dropping down into Texas for the winter, inquiring for and
+offering to contract cattle for spring delivery at Dodge and Ogalalla.
+I was quietly resting on my oars at the ranch, when a special
+messenger arrived summoning me to Washington. The motive was easily
+understood, and on my reaching Fort Worth the message was supplemented
+by another one from Major Hunter, asking me to touch at Council Grove
+en route. Writing Edwards fully what would be expected of him during
+my absence, I reached The Grove and was joined by my partner, and we
+proceeded on to the national capital. Arriving fully two weeks in
+advance of the closing day for bids, all three of us called and paid
+our respects to the heads of the War and Interior departments. On
+special request of the Secretaries, an appointment was made for the
+following day, when the Senator took Major Hunter and me under
+his wing and coached us in support of his suggestions to either
+department. There was no occasion to warn me, as I had just come from
+the seat of beef supply, and knew the feverish condition of affairs at
+home.
+
+The appointments were kept promptly. At the Interior Department we
+tarried but a few minutes after informing the Secretary that we were
+submitting no bids that year in his division, but allowed ourselves to
+be drawn out as to the why and wherefore. Major Hunter was a man
+of moderate schooling, apt in conversation, and did nearly all the
+talking, though I put in a few general observations. We were cordially
+greeted at the War Office, good cigars were lighted, and we went over
+the situation fully. The reports of the year before were gone over,
+and we were complimented on our different deliveries to the Army. We
+accepted all flatteries as a matter of course, though the past is
+poor security for the future. When the matter of contracting for the
+present year was broached, we confessed our ability to handle any
+awards in our territory to the number of fifty to seventy-five
+thousand beeves, but would like some assurance that the present or
+forthcoming appropriations would be ample to meet all contracts. Our
+doubts were readily removed by the firmness of the Secretary when as
+we arose to leave, Major Hunter suggested, by way of friendly advice,
+that the government ought to look well to the bonds of contractors,
+saying that the beef-producing regions of the West and South had
+experienced an advance in prices recently, which made contracting
+cattle for future delivery extremely hazardous. At parting regret
+was expressed that the sudden change in affairs would prevent our
+submitting estimates only so far as we had the cattle in hand.
+
+Three days before the limit expired, we submitted twenty bids to the
+War Department. Our figures were such that we felt fully protected, as
+we had twenty thousand cattle on our Northern range, while advice
+was reaching us daily from the beef regions of Texas. The opening of
+proposals was no surprise, only seven falling to us, and all admitting
+of Southern beeves. Within an hour after the result was known, a wire
+was sent to Edwards, authorizing him to contract immediately for
+twenty-two thousand heavy steer cattle and advance money liberally on
+every agreement. Duplicates of our estimates had been sent him the
+same day they were submitted at the War Office. Our segundo had triple
+the number of cattle in sight, and was then in a position to act
+intelligently. The next morning Major Hunter and I left the capital
+for San Antonio, taking a southern route through Virginia, sighting
+old battlefields where both had seen service on opposing sides,
+but now standing shoulder to shoulder as trail drovers and army
+contractors. We arrived at our destination promptly. Edwards was
+missing, but inquiry among our bankers developed the fact that he had
+been drawing heavily the past few days, and we knew that all was well.
+A few nights later he came in, having secured our requirements at
+an advance of two to three dollars a head over the prices of the
+preceding spring.
+
+The live-stock interests of the State were centring in the coming
+cattle convention, which would be held at Fort Worth in February. At
+this meeting heavy trading was anticipated for present and future
+delivery, and any sales effected would establish prices for the coming
+spring. From the number of Northern buyers that were in Texas, and
+others expected at the convention, Edwards suggested buying, before
+the meeting, at least half the requirements for our beef ranch and
+trail cattle. Major Hunter and I both fell in with the idea of our
+segundo, and we scattered to our old haunts under agreement to report
+at Fort Worth for the meeting of the clans. I spent two weeks among my
+ranchmen friends on the headwaters of the Frio and Nueces rivers, and
+while they were fully awake to the advance in prices, I closed trades
+on twenty-one thousand two and three year old steers for March
+delivery. It was always a weakness in me to overbuy, and in receiving
+I could never hold a herd down to the agreed numbers, but my
+shortcomings in this instance proved a boon. On arriving at Fort
+Worth, the other two reported having combed their old stamping-grounds
+of half a dozen counties along the Colorado River, and having secured
+only fifteen thousand head. Every one was waiting until after the
+cattle convention, and only those who had the stock in hand could be
+induced to talk business or enter into agreements.
+
+The convention was a notable affair. Men from Montana and intervening
+States and Territories rubbed elbows and clinked their glasses with
+the Texans to "Here's to a better acquaintance." The trail drovers
+were there to a man, the very atmosphere was tainted with cigar
+smoke, the only sounds were cattle talk, and the nights were wild and
+sleepless. "I'll sell ten thousand Pan-Handle three-year-old steers
+for delivery at Ogalalla," spoken in the lobby of a hotel or barroom,
+would instantly attract the attention of half a dozen men in fur
+overcoats and heavy flannel. "What are your cattle worth laid down on
+the Platte?" was the usual rejoinder, followed by a drink, a cigar,
+and a conference, sometimes ending in a deal or terminating in a
+friendly acquaintance. I had met many of these men at Abilene,
+Wichita, and Great Bend, and later at Dodge City and Ogalalla, and now
+they had invaded Texas, and the son of a prophet could not foretell
+the future. Our firm never offered a hoof, but the three days of the
+convention were forewarnings of the next few years to follow. I was
+personally interested in the general tendency of the men from the
+upper country to contract for heifers and young cows, and while the
+prices offered for Northern delivery were a distinct advance over
+those of the summer before, I resisted all temptations to enter into
+agreements. The Northern buyers and trail drovers selfishly joined
+issues in bearing prices in Texas; yet, in spite of their united
+efforts, over two hundred thousand cattle were sold during the
+meeting, and at figures averaging fully three dollars a head over
+those of the previous spring.
+
+The convention adjourned, and those in attendance scattered to their
+homes and business. Between midnight and morning of the last day of
+the meeting, Major Hunter and I closed contracts for two trail herds
+of sixty-five hundred head in Erath and Comanche counties. Within a
+week two others of straight three-year-olds were secured,--one in my
+home county and the other fifty miles northwest in Throckmorton. This
+completed our purchases for the present, giving us a chain of cattle
+to receive from within one county of the Rio Grande on the south to
+the same distance from Red River on the north. The work was divided
+into divisions. One thousand extra saddle horses were needed for the
+beef herds and others, and men were sent south, to secure them. All
+private and company remudas had returned to the Clear Fork to winter,
+and from there would be issued wherever we had cattle to receive. A
+carload of wagons was bought at the Fort, teams were sent in after
+them, and a busy fortnight followed in organizing the forces. Edwards
+was assigned to assist Major Hunter in receiving the beef cattle along
+the lower Frio and Nueces, starting in ample time to receive the
+saddle stock in advance of the beeves. There was three weeks'
+difference in the starting of grass between northern and southern
+Texas, and we made our dates for receiving accordingly, mine for
+Medina and Uvalde counties following on the heels of the beef herds
+from the lower country.
+
+From the 12th of March I was kept in the saddle ten days, receiving
+cattle from the headwaters of the Frio and Nueces rivers. All my old
+foremen rendered valuable assistance, two and three herds being in
+the course of formation at a time, and, as usual, we received eleven
+hundred over and above the contracts. The herds moved out on good
+grass and plenty of water, the last of the heavy beeves had passed
+north on my return to San Antonio, and I caught the first train out to
+join the others in central Texas. My buckboard had been brought down
+with the remudas and was awaiting me at the station, the Colorado
+River on the west was reached that night, and by noon the next day I
+was in the thick of the receiving. When three herds had started, I
+reported in Comanche and Erath counties, where gathering for our herds
+was in progress; and fixing definite dates that would allow Edwards
+and my partner to arrive, I drove on through to the Clear Fork. Under
+previous instructions, a herd of thirty-five hundred two-year-old
+heifers was ready to start, while nearly four thousand steers were
+in hand, with one outfit yet to come in from up the Brazos. We were
+gathering close that year, everything three years old or over must go,
+and the outfits were ranging far and wide. The steer herd was held
+down to thirty-two hundred, both it and the heifers moving out the
+same day, with a remnant of over a thousand three-year-old steers left
+over.
+
+The herd under contract to the firm in the home county came up full
+in number, and was the next to get away. A courier arrived from the
+Double Mountain range and reported a second contingent of heifers
+ready, but that the steers would overrun for a wieldy herd. The next
+morning the overplus from the Clear Fork was started for the new
+ranch, with orders to make up a third steer herd and cross Red River
+at Doan's. This cleaned the boards on my ranches, and the next day I
+was in Throckmorton County, where everything was in readiness to
+pass upon. This last herd was of Clear Fork cattle, put up within
+twenty-five miles of Fort Griffin, every brand as familiar as my own,
+and there was little to do but count and receive. Road-branding was
+necessary, however; and while this work was in progress, a relay
+messenger arrived from the ranch, summoning me to Fort Worth
+posthaste. The message was from Major Hunter, and from the hurried
+scribbling I made out that several herds were tied up when ready to
+start, and that they would be thrown on the market. I hurried home,
+changed teams, and by night and day driving reached Fort Worth and
+awakened my active partner and Edwards out of their beds to get the
+particulars. The responsible man of a firm of drovers, with five herds
+on hand, had suddenly died, and the banks refused to advance the
+necessary funds to complete their payments. The cattle were under
+herd in Wise and Cook counties, both Major Hunter and our segundo had
+looked them over, and both pronounced the herds gilt-edged north Texas
+steers. It would require three hundred thousand dollars to buy and
+clear the herds, and all our accounts were already overdrawn, but it
+was decided to strain our credit. The situation was fully explained in
+a lengthy message to a bank in Kansas City, the wires were kept busy
+all day answering questions; but before the close of business we had
+authority to draw for the amount needed, and the herds, with remudas
+and outfits complete, passed into our hands and were started the
+next day. This gave the firm and me personally thirty-three herds,
+requiring four hundred and ninety-odd men and over thirty-five hundred
+horses, while the cattle numbered one hundred and four thousand head.
+
+Two thirds of the herds were routed by way of Doan's Crossing in
+leaving Texas, while all would touch at Dodge in passing up the
+country. George Edwards accompanied the north Texas herds, and Major
+Hunter hastened on to Kansas City to protect our credit, while I hung
+around Doan's Store until our last cattle crossed Red River. The
+annual exodus from Texas to the North was on with a fury, and on my
+arrival at Dodge all precedents in former prices were swept aside in
+the eager rush to secure cattle. Herds were sold weeks before their
+arrival, others were met as far south as Camp Supply, and it was
+easily to be seen that it was a seller's market. Two thirds of the
+trail herds merely took on new supplies at Dodge and passed on to the
+Platte. Once our heavy beeves had crossed the Arkansas, my partner and
+I swung round to Ogalalla and met our advance herd, the foreman of
+which reported meeting buyers as far south as the Republican River.
+It was actually dangerous to price cattle for fear of being under the
+market; new classifications were being introduced, Pan-Handle and
+north Texas steers commanding as much as three dollars a head over
+their brethren from the coast and far south.
+
+The boom in cattle of the early '80's was on with a vengeance. There
+was no trouble to sell herds that year. One morning, while I was
+looking for a range on the north fork of the Platte, Major Hunter sold
+my seven thousand heifers at twenty-five dollars around, commanding
+two dollars and a half a head over steers of the same age. Edwards had
+been left in charge at Dodge, and my active partner reluctantly tore
+himself away from the market at Ogalalla to attend our deliveries
+of beef at army posts. Within six weeks after arriving at Dodge and
+Ogalalla the last of our herds had changed owners, requiring another
+month to complete the transfers at different destinations. Many of the
+steers went as far north as the Yellowstone River, and Wyoming and
+Nebraska were liberal buyers at the upper market, while Colorado,
+Kansas, and the Indian Territory absorbed all offerings at the lower
+point. Horses were even in demand, and while we made no effort to sell
+our remudas, over half of them changed owners with the herds they had
+accompanied into the North.
+
+The season closed with a flourish. After we had wound up our affairs,
+Edwards and I drifted down to the beef ranch with the unsold saddle
+stock, and the shipping season opened. The Santa Fé Railway had built
+south to Caldwell that spring, affording us a nearer shipping point,
+and we moved out five to ten trainloads a week of single and double
+wintered beeves. The through cattle for restocking the range had
+arrived early and were held separate until the first frost, when
+everything would be turned loose on the Eagle Chief. Trouble was still
+brewing between the Cherokee Nation and the government on the one side
+and those holding cattle in the Strip, and a clash occurred that fall
+between a lieutenant of cavalry and our half-breed foreman LaFlors.
+The troops had been burning hay and destroying improvements belonging
+to cattle outfits, and had paid our range a visit and mixed things
+with our foreman. The latter stood firm on his rights as a Cherokee
+citizen and cited his employers as government beef contractors, but
+the young lieutenant haughtily ignored all statements and ordered the
+hay, stabling, and dug-outs burned. Like a flash of light, LaFlors
+aimed a six-shooter at the officer's breast, and was instantly covered
+by a dozen carbines in the hands of troopers.
+
+"Order them to shoot if you dare," smilingly said the Cherokee to the
+young lieutenant, a cocked pistol leveled at the latter's heart,
+"and she goes double. There isn't a man under you can pull a trigger
+quicker than I can." The hay was not burned, and the stabling and
+dug-outs housed our men and horses for several winters to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM
+
+
+The great boom in cattle which began in 1880 and lasted nearly five
+years was the beginning of a ruinous end. The frenzy swept all over
+the northern and western half of the United States, extended into the
+British possessions in western Canada, and in the receding wave the
+Texan forgot the pit from which he was lifted and bowed down and
+worshiped the living calf. During this brief period the great breeding
+grounds of Texas were tested to their utmost capacity to supply the
+demand, the canebrakes of Arkansas and Louisiana were called upon for
+their knotty specimens of the bovine race, even Mexico responded, and
+still the insatiable maw of the early West called for more cattle. The
+whirlpool of speculation and investment in ranches and range stock
+defied the deserts on the west, sweeping across into New Mexico and
+Arizona, where it met a counter wave pushing inland from California
+to possess the new and inviting pastures. Naturally the Texan was the
+last to catch the enthusiasm, but when he found his herds depleted to
+a remnant of their former numbers, he lost his head and plunged into
+the vortex with the impetuosity of a gambler. Pasture lands that he
+had scorned at ten cents an acre but a decade before were eagerly
+sought at two and three dollars, and the cattle that he had bartered
+away he bought back at double and triple their former prices.
+
+How I ever weathered those years without becoming bankrupt is
+unexplainable. No credit or foresight must be claimed, for the
+opinions of men and babes were on a parity; yet I am inclined to think
+it was my dread of debt, coupled with an innate love of land and
+cattle, that saved me from the almost universal fate of my fellow
+cowmen. Due acknowledgment must be given my partners, for while I held
+them in check in certain directions, the soundness of their advice
+saved my feet from many a stumble. Major Hunter was an unusually
+shrewd man, a financier of the rough and ready Western school; and
+while we made our mistakes, they were such as human foresight could
+not have avoided. Nor do I withhold a word of credit from our silent
+partner, the Senator, who was the keystone to the arch of Hunter,
+Anthony & Co., standing in the shadow in our beginning as trail
+drovers, backing us with his means and credit, and fighting valiantly
+for our mutual interests when the firm met its Waterloo.
+
+The success of our drive for the summer of 1880 changed all plans for
+the future. I had learned that percentage was my ablest argument in
+suggesting a change of policy, and in casting up accounts for the
+year we found that our heavy beeves had paid the least in the general
+investment. The banking instincts of my partners were unerring, and in
+view of the open market that we had enjoyed that summer it was decided
+to withdraw from further contracting with the government. Our profits
+for the year were dazzling, and the actual growth of our beeves in the
+Outlet was in itself a snug fortune, while the five herds bought at
+the eleventh hour cleared over one hundred thousand dollars, mere
+pin-money. I hurried home to find that fortune favored me personally,
+as the Texas and Pacific Railway had built west from Fort Worth during
+the summer as far as Weatherford, while the survey on westward was
+within easy striking distance of both my ranches. My wife was dazed
+and delighted over the success of the summer's drive, and when I
+offered her the money with which to build a fine house at Fort Worth,
+she balked, but consented to employ a tutor at the ranch for the
+children.
+
+I had a little leisure time on my hands that fall. Activity in wild
+lands was just beginning to be felt throughout the State, and the
+heavy holders of scrip were offering to locate large tracts to
+suit the convenience of purchasers. Several railroads held immense
+quantities of scrip voted to them as bonuses, all the charitable
+institutions of the State were endowed with liberal grants, and the
+great bulk of certificates issued during the Reconstruction régime
+for minor purposes had fallen into the hands of shrewd speculators.
+Among the latter was a Chicago firm, who had opened an office at Fort
+Worth and employed a corps of their own surveyors to locate lands
+for customers. They held millions of acres of scrip, and I opened
+negotiations with them to survey a number of additions to my Double
+Mountain range. Valuable water-fronts were becoming rather scarce,
+and the legislature had recently enacted a law setting apart every
+alternate section of land for the public schools, out of which grew
+the State's splendid system of education. After the exchange of a few
+letters, I went to Fort Worth and closed a contract with the Chicago
+firm to survey for my account three hundred thousand acres adjoining
+my ranch on the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos. In my
+own previous locations, the water-front and valley lands were all that
+I had coveted, the tracts not even adjoining, the one on the Salt Fork
+lying like a boot, while the lower one zigzagged like a stairway in
+following the watercourse. The prices agreed on were twenty cents an
+acre for arid land, forty for medium, and sixty for choice tracts,
+every other section to be set aside for school purposes in compliance
+with the law. My foreman would designate the land wanted, and the firm
+agreed to put an outfit of surveyors into the field at once.
+
+My two ranches were proving a valuable source of profit. After
+starting five herds of seventeen thousand cattle on the trail
+that spring, and shipping on consignment fifteen hundred bulls to
+distilleries that fall, we branded nineteen thousand five hundred
+calves on the two ranges. In spite of the heavy drain, the brand
+was actually growing in numbers, and as long as it remained an open
+country I had ample room for my cattle even on the Clear Fork. Each
+stock was in splendid shape, as the culling of the aging and barren of
+both sexes to Indian agencies and distilleries had preserved the brand
+vigorous and productive. The first few years of its establishment I
+am satisfied that the Double Mountain ranch increased at the rate of
+ninety calves to the hundred cows, and once the Clear Fork range was
+rid of its drones, a similar ratio was easily maintained on that
+range. There was no such thing as counting one's holdings; the
+increase only was known, and these conclusions, with due allowance for
+their selection, were arrived at from the calf crop of the improved
+herd. Its numbers were known to an animal, all chosen for their vigor
+and thrift, the increase for the first two years averaging ninety-four
+per cent.
+
+There is little rest for the wicked and none for a cowman. I was
+planning an enjoyable winter, hunting with my hounds, when the former
+proposition of organizing an immense cattle company was revived at
+Washington. Our silent partner was sought on every hand by capitalists
+eager for investment in Western enterprises, and as cattle were
+absorbing general attention at the time, the tendency of speculation
+was all one way. The same old crowd that we had turned down two
+winters before was behind the movement, and as certain predictions
+that were made at that time by Major Hunter and myself had since come
+true, they were all the more anxious to secure our firm as associates.
+Our experience and resultant profits from wintering cattle in southern
+Kansas and the Cherokee Strip were well known to the Senator, and, to
+judge from his letters and frequent conversations, he was envied by
+his intimate acquaintances in Congress. In the revival of the original
+proposition it was agreed that our firm might direct the management
+of the enterprise, all three of us to serve on the directorate and to
+have positions on the executive committee. This sounded reasonable,
+and as there was a movement on foot to lease the entire Cherokee
+Outlet from that Nation, if an adequate range could be secured, such a
+cattle company as suggested ought to be profitable.
+
+Major Hunter and I were a unit in business matters, and after an
+exchange of views by letter, it was agreed to run down to the capital
+and hold a conference with the promoters of the proposed company. My
+parents were aging fast, and now that I was moderately wealthy it was
+a pleasure to drop in on them for a week and hearten their declining
+years. Accordingly with the expectation of combining filial duty and
+business, I took Edwards with me and picked up the major at his home,
+and the trio of us journeyed eastward. I was ten days late in reaching
+Washington. It was the Christmas season in the valley; every darky
+that our family ever owned renewed his acquaintance with Mars' Reed,
+and was remembered in a way befitting the season. The recess for the
+holidays was over on my reaching the capital, yet in the mean time a
+crude outline of the proposed company was under consideration. On
+the advice of our silent partner, who well knew that his business
+associates were slightly out of their element at social functions and
+might take alarm, all banquets were cut out, and we met in little
+parties at cafés and swell barrooms. In the course of a few days all
+the preliminaries were agreed on, and a general conference was called.
+
+Neither my active partner nor myself was an orator, but we had coached
+the silent member of the firm to act in our behalf. The Senator was a
+flowery talker, and in prefacing his remarks he delved into antiquity,
+mentioning the Aryan myth wherein the drifting clouds were supposed
+to be the cows of the gods, driven to and from their feeding grounds.
+Coming down to a later period, he referred to cattle being figured on
+Egyptian monuments raised two thousand years before the Christian era,
+and to the important part they were made to play in Greek and Roman
+mythology. Referring to ancient biblical times, he dwelt upon the
+pastoral existence of the old patriarchs, as they peacefully led their
+herds from sheltered nook to pastures green. Passing down and through
+the cycles of change from ancient to modern times, he touched upon the
+relation of cattle to the food supply of the world, and finally the
+object of the meeting was reached. In few and concise words, an
+outline of the proposed company was set forth, its objects and
+limitations. A pound of beef, it was asserted, was as staple as a loaf
+of bread, the production of the one was as simple as the making of the
+other, and both were looked upon equally as the staff of life. Other
+remarks of a general nature followed. The capital was limited to one
+million dollars, though double the capitalization could have been
+readily placed at the first meeting. Satisfactory committees were
+appointed on organization and other preliminary steps, and books
+were opened for subscriptions. Deference was shown our firm, and
+I subscribed the same amount as my partners, except that half my
+subscription was made in the name of George Edwards, as I wanted him
+on the executive committee if the company ever got beyond its present
+embryo state. The trio of us taking only one hundred and fifty
+thousand dollars, there was a general scramble for the remainder.
+
+The preliminary steps having been taken, nothing further could be done
+until a range was secured. My active partner, George Edwards, and
+myself were appointed on this committee, and promising to report at
+the earliest convenience, we made preparations for returning West.
+A change of administration was approaching, and before leaving the
+capital, Edwards, my partners, and myself called on Secretaries Schurz
+of the Interior Department and Ramsey of the War Department. We had
+done an extensive business with both departments in the past, and were
+anxious to learn the attitude of the government in regard to leasing
+lands from the civilized Indian nations. A lease for the Cherokee
+Outlet was pending, but for lack of precedent the retiring
+Secretary of the Interior, for fear of reversal by the succeeding
+administration, lent only a qualified approval of the same. There were
+six million acres of land in the Outlet, a splendid range for maturing
+beef, and if an adequate-sized ranch could be secured the new company
+could begin operations at once. The Cherokee Nation was anxious to
+secure a just rental, an association had offered $200,000 a year for
+the Strip, and all that was lacking was a single word of indorsement
+from the paternal government.
+
+Hoping that the incoming administration would take favorable action
+permitting civilized Indian tribes to lease their surplus lands, we
+returned to our homes. The Cherokee Strip Cattle Association had
+been temporarily organized some time previous,--not being chartered,
+however, until March, 1883,--and was the proposed lessee of the Outlet
+in which our beef ranch lay. The organization was a local one, created
+for the purpose of removing all friction between the Cherokees and the
+individual holders of cattle in the Strip. The officers and directors
+of the association were all practical cattlemen, owners of herds
+and ranges in the Outlet, paying the same rental as others into the
+general treasury of the organization. Major Hunter was well acquainted
+with the officers, and volunteered to take the matter up at once, by
+making application in person for a large range in the Cherokee Strip.
+There was no intention on the part of our firm to forsake the trail,
+this cattle company being merely a side issue, and active preparations
+were begun for the coming summer.
+
+The annual cattle convention would meet again in Fort Worth in
+February. With the West for our market and Texas the main source of
+supply, there was no occasion for any delay in placing our contracts
+for trail stock. The closing figures obtainable at Dodge and Ogalalla
+the previous summer had established a new scale of prices for Texas,
+and a buyer must either pay the advance or let the cattle alone.
+Edwards and I were in the field fully three weeks before the
+convention met, covering our old buying grounds and venturing into new
+ones, advancing money liberally on all contracts, and returning to
+the meeting with thirty herds secured. Major Hunter met us at the
+convention, and while nothing definite was accomplished in securing
+a range, a hopeful word had reached us in regard to the new
+administration. Starting the new company that spring was out of the
+question, and all energies were thrown into the forthcoming drive.
+Representatives from the Northwest again swept down on the convention,
+all Texas was there, and for three days and nights the cattle
+interests carried the keys of the city. Our firm offered nothing,
+but, on the other hand, bought three herds of Pan-Handle steers for
+acceptance early in April. Three weeks of active work were required
+to receive the cattle, the herds starting again with the grass. My
+individual contingent included ten thousand three-year-old steers,
+two full herds of two-year-old heifers, and seven thousand cows. The
+latter were driven in two herds; extra wagons with oxen attached
+accompanied each in order to save the calves, as a youngster was an
+assistance in selling an old cow. Everything was routed by Doan's
+Crossing, both Edwards and myself accompanying the herds, while Major
+Hunter returned as usual by rail. The new route, known as the Western
+trail, was more direct than the Chisholm though beset by Comanche and
+Kiowa Indians once powerful tribes, but now little more than beggars.
+The trip was nearly featureless, except that during a terrible storm
+on Big Elk, a number of Indians took shelter under and around one of
+our wagons and a squaw was killed by lightning. For some unaccountable
+reason the old dame defied the elements and had climbed up on a water
+barrel which was ironed to the side of the commissary wagon, when
+the bolt struck her and she tumbled off dead among her people. The
+incident created quite a commotion among the Indians, who set up a
+keening, and the husband of the squaw refused to be comforted until I
+gave him a stray cow, when he smiled and asked for a bill of sale so
+that he could sell the hide at the agency. I shook my head, and the
+cook told him in Spanish that no one but the owner could give a hill
+of sale, when he looked reproachfully at me and said, "Mebby so you
+steal him."
+
+I caught a stage at Camp Supply and reached Dodge a week in advance
+of the herds. Major Hunter was awaiting me with the report that our
+application for an extra lease in the Cherokee Strip had been refused.
+Those already holding cattle in the Outlet were to retain their old
+grazing grounds, and as we had no more range than we needed for the
+firm's holding of stock, we must look elsewhere to secure one for the
+new company. A movement was being furthered in Washington, however, to
+secure a lease from the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, blanket Indians,
+whose reservation lay just south of the Strip, near the centre of the
+Territory and between the Chisholm and Western trails. George Edwards
+knew the country, having issued cows at those agencies for several
+summers, and reported the country well adapted for ranging cattle. We
+had a number of congressmen and several distinguished senators in our
+company, and if there was such a thing as pulling the wires with the
+new administration, there was little doubt but it would be done.
+Kirkwood of Iowa had succeeded Schurz in the Interior Department,
+and our information was that he would at least approve of any lease
+secured. We were urged at the earliest opportunity to visit the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe agency, and open negotiations with the ruling
+chiefs of those tribes. This was impossible just at present, for with
+forty herds, numbering one hundred and twenty-six thousand cattle, on
+the trail and for our beef ranch, a busy summer lay before us. Edwards
+was dispatched to meet and turn off the herds intended for our range
+in the Outlet, Major Hunter proceeded on to Ogalalla, while I remained
+at Dodge until the last cattle arrived or passed that point.
+
+The summer of 1881 proved a splendid market for the drover. Demand far
+exceeded supply and prices soared upward, while she stuff commanded a
+premium of three to five dollars a head over steers of the same age.
+Pan-Handle and north Texas cattle topped the market, their quality
+easily classifying them above Mexican, coast, and southern breeding.
+Herds were sold and cleared out for their destination almost as fast
+as they arrived; the Old West wanted the cattle and had the range and
+to spare, all of which was a tempered wind to the Texas drover. I
+spent several months in Dodge, shaping up our herds as they arrived,
+and sending the majority of them on to Ogalalla. The cows were the
+last to arrive on the Arkansas, and they sold like pies to hungry
+boys, while all the remainder of my individual stock went on to the
+Platte and were handled by our segundo and my active partner. Near the
+middle of the summer I closed up our affairs at Dodge, and, taking the
+assistant bookkeeper with me, moved up to Ogalalla. Shortly after my
+arrival there, it was necessary to send a member of the firm to Miles
+City, on the Yellowstone River in Montana, and the mission fell to
+me. Major Hunter had sold twenty thousand threes for delivery at that
+point, and the cattle were already en route to their destination on my
+arrival. I took train and stage and met the herds on the Yellowstone.
+
+On my return to Ogalalla the season was drawing to a feverish close.
+All our cattle were sold, the only delay being in deliveries and
+settlements. Several of our herds were received on the Platte, but,
+as it happened, nearly all our sales were effected with new cattle
+companies, and they had too much confidence in the ability of the
+Texas outfits to deliver to assume the risk themselves. Everything
+was fish to our net, and if a buyer had insisted on our delivering in
+Canada, I think Major Hunter would have met the request had the price
+been satisfactory. We had the outfits and horses, and our men were
+plainsmen and were at home as long as they could see the north star.
+Edwards attended a delivery on the Crazy Woman in Wyoming, Major
+Hunter made a trip for a similar purpose to the Niobrara in Nebraska,
+and various trail foremen represented the firm at minor deliveries.
+All trail business was closed before the middle of September, the
+bookkeepers made up their final statements, and we shook hands all
+round and broke the necks of a few bottles.
+
+But the climax of the year's profits came from the beef ranch in the
+Outlet. The Eastern markets were clamoring for well-fatted Western
+stock, and we sent out train after train of double wintered beeves
+that paid one hundred per cent profit on every year we had held them.
+The single wintered cattle paid nearly as well, and in making ample
+room for the through steers we shipped out eighteen thousand head from
+our holdings on the Eagle Chief. The splendid profits from maturing
+beeves on Northern ranges naturally made us anxious to start the new
+company. We were doing fairly well as a firm and personally, and with
+our mastery of the business it was but natural that we should enlarge
+rather than restrict our operations. There had been no decrease of the
+foreign capital, principally Scotch and English, for investment in
+ranges and cattle in the West during the summer just past, and it was
+contrary to the policy of Hunter, Anthony & Co. to take a backward
+step. The frenzy for organizing cattle companies was on with a fury,
+and half-breed Indians and squaw-men, with rights on reservations,
+were in demand as partners in business or as managers of cattle
+syndicates.
+
+An amusing situation developed during the summer of 1881 at Dodge. The
+Texas drovers formed a social club and rented and furnished quarters,
+which immediately became the rendezvous of the wayfaring mavericks.
+Cigars and refreshments were added, social games introduced, and in
+burlesque of the general craze of organizing stock companies to engage
+in cattle ranching, our club adopted the name of The Juan-Jinglero
+Cattle Company, Limited. The capital stock was placed at five million,
+full-paid and non-assessable, with John T. Lytle as treasurer, E.G.
+Head as secretary, Jess Pressnall as attorney, Captain E.G. Millet as
+fiscal agent for placing the stock, and a dozen leading drovers as
+vice-presidents, while the presidency fell to me. We used the best
+of printed stationery, and all the papers of Kansas City and Omaha
+innocently took it up and gave the new cattle company the widest
+publicity. The promoters of the club intended it as a joke, but the
+prominence of its officers fooled the outside public, and applications
+began to pour in to secure stock in the new company. No explanation
+was offered, but all applications were courteously refused, on the
+ground that the capital was already over-subscribed. All members were
+freely using the club stationery, thus daily advertising us far and
+wide, while no end of jokes were indulged in at the expense of the
+burlesque company. For instance, Major Seth Mabry left word at the
+club to forward his mail to Kansas City, care of Armour's Bank, as he
+expected to be away from Dodge for a week. No sooner had he gone than
+every member of the club wrote him a letter, in care of that popular
+bank, addressing him as first vice-president and director of The
+Juan-Jinglero Cattle Company. While attending to business Major Mabry
+was hourly honored by bankers and intimate friends desiring to secure
+stock in the company, to all of whom he turned a deaf ear, but kept
+the secret. "I told the boys," said Major Seth on his return, "that
+our company was a close corporation, and unless we increased the
+capital stock, there was no hope of them getting in on the ground
+floor."
+
+In Dodge practical joking was carried to the extreme, both by citizens
+and cowmen. One night a tipsy foreman, who had just arrived over the
+trail, insisted on going the rounds with a party of us, and in order
+to shake him we entered a variety theatre, where my maudlin friend
+soon fell asleep in his seat. The rest of us left the theatre, and
+after seeing the sights I wandered back to the vaudeville, finding the
+performance over and my friend still sound asleep. I awoke him, never
+letting him know that I had been absent for hours, and after rubbing
+his eyes open, he said: "Reed, is it all over? No dance or concert?
+They give a good show here, don't they?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOE CATTLE COMPANY
+
+
+The assassination of President Garfield temporarily checked our plans
+in forming the new cattle company. Kirkwood of the Interior Department
+was disposed to be friendly to all Western enterprises, but our
+advices from Washington anticipated a reorganization of the cabinet
+under Arthur. Senator Teller was slated to succeed Kirkwood, and as
+there was no question about the former being fully in sympathy with
+everything pertaining to the West, every one interested in the pending
+project lent his influence in supporting the Colorado man for the
+Interior portfolio. Several senators and any number of representatives
+were subscribers to our company, and by early fall the outlook was
+so encouraging that we concluded at least to open negotiations for
+a lease on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation. A friendly
+acquaintance was accordingly to be cultivated with the Indian agent of
+these tribes. George Edwards knew him personally, and, well in advance
+of Major Hunter and myself, dropped down to the agency and made known
+his errand. There were already a number of cattle being held on
+the reservation by squaw-men, sutlers, contractors, and other army
+followers stationed at Fort Reno. The latter ignored all rights of the
+tribes, and even collected a rental from outside cattle for grazing on
+the reservation, and were naturally antagonistic to any interference
+with their personal plans. There had been more or less friction
+between the Indian agent and these usurpers of the grazing privileges,
+and a proposition to lease a million acres at an annual rental of
+fifty thousand dollars at once met with the sanction of the agent.
+Major Hunter and I were notified of the outlook, and at the close of
+the beef-shipping season we took stage for the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
+Agency. Our segundo had thoroughly ridden over the country, the range
+was a desirable one, and we soon came to terms with the agent. He was
+looked upon as a necessary adjunct to the success of our company,
+a small block of stock was set aside for his account, while his
+usefulness in various ways would entitle his name to grace the salary
+list. For the present the opposition of the army followers was to
+be ignored, as no one gave them credit for being able to thwart our
+plans.
+
+The Indian agent called the head men of the two tribes together. The
+powwow was held at the summer encampment of the Cheyennes, and the
+principal chiefs of the Arapahoes were present. A beef was barbecued
+at our expense, and a great deal of good tobacco was smoked. Aside
+from the agent, we employed a number of interpreters; the council
+lasted two days, and on its conclusion we held a five years' lease,
+with the privilege of renewal, on a million acres of as fine grazing
+land as the West could boast. The agreement was signed by every chief
+present, and it gave us the privilege to fence our range, build
+shelter and stabling for our men and horses, and otherwise equip
+ourselves for ranching. The rental was payable semiannually in
+advance, to begin with the occupation of the country the following
+spring, and both parties to the lease were satisfied with the terms
+and conditions. In the territory allotted to us grazed two small
+stocks of cattle, one of which had comfortable winter shelters on
+Quartermaster Creek. Our next move was to buy both these brands and
+thus gain the good will of the only occupants of the range. Possession
+was given at once, and leaving Edwards and a few men to hold the
+range, the major and I returned to Kansas and reported our success to
+Washington.
+
+The organization was perfected, and The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company began operations with all the rights and privileges of an
+individual. One fourth of the capital stock was at once paid into the
+hands of the treasurer, the lease and cattle on hand were transferred
+to the new company, and the executive committee began operations for
+the future. Barbed wire by the carload was purchased sufficient to
+build one hundred miles of four-strand fence, and arrangements were
+made to have the same freighted one hundred and fifty miles inland
+by wagon from the railway terminal to the new ranch on Quartermaster
+Creek. Contracts were let to different men for cutting the posts and
+building the fence, and one of the old trail bosses came on from Texas
+and was installed as foreman of the new range. The first meeting of
+stockholders--for permanent organization--was awaiting the convenience
+of the Western contingent; and once Edwards was relieved, he and
+Major Hunter took my proxy and went on to the national capital. Every
+interest had been advanced to the farthest possible degree: surveyors
+would run the lines, the posts would be cut and hauled during the
+winter, and by the first of June the fences would be up and the range
+ready to receive the cattle.
+
+I returned to Texas to find everything in a prosperous condition. The
+Texas and Pacific railway had built their line westward during
+the past summer, crossing the Colorado River sixty miles south of
+headquarters on the Double Mountain ranch and paralleling my Clear
+Fork range about half that distance below. Previous to my return, the
+foreman on my Western ranch shipped out four trains of sixteen hundred
+bulls on consignment to our regular customer in Illinois, it being
+the largest single shipment made from Colorado City since the railway
+reached that point. Thrifty little towns were springing up along the
+railroad, land was in demand as a result of the boom in cattle, and an
+air of prosperity pervaded both city and hamlet and was reflected in a
+general activity throughout the State. The improved herd was the pride
+of the Double Mountain ranch, now increased by over seven hundred
+half-blood heifers, while the young males were annually claimed
+for the improvement of the main ranch stock. For fear of in-and-in
+breeding, three years was the limit of use of any bulls among the
+improved cattle, the first importation going to the main stock, and a
+second consignment supplanting them at the head of the herd.
+
+In the permanent organization of The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company, the position of general manager fell to me. It was my wish
+that this place should have gone to Edwards, as he was well qualified
+to fill it, while I was busy looking after the firm and individual
+interests. Major Hunter likewise favored our segundo, but the Eastern
+stockholders were insistent that the management of the new company
+should rest in the hands of a successful cowman. The salary contingent
+with the position was no inducement to me, but, with the pressure
+brought to bear and in the interests of harmony, I was finally
+prevailed on to accept the management. The proposition was a simple
+one,--the maturing and marketing of beeves; we had made a success of
+the firm's beef ranch in the Cherokee Outlet, and as far as human
+foresight went, all things augured for a profitable future.
+
+There was no intention on the part of the old firm to retire from the
+enviable position that we occupied as trail drovers. Thus enlarging
+the scope of our operations as cowmen simply meant that greater
+responsibility would rest on the shoulders of the active partners and
+our trusted men. Accepting the management of the new company meant, to
+a certain extent, a severance of my personal connection with the firm,
+yet my every interest was maintained in the trail and beef ranch. One
+of my first acts as manager of the new company was to serve a notice
+through our secretary-treasurer calling for the capital stock to be
+paid in on or before February 1, 1882. It was my intention to lay the
+foundation of the new company on a solid basis, and with ample capital
+at my command I gave the practical experiences of my life to the
+venture. During the winter I bought five hundred head of choice saddle
+horses, all bred in north Texas and the Pan-Handle, every one of which
+I passed on personally before accepting.
+
+Thus outfitted, I awaited the annual cattle convention. Major Hunter
+and our segundo were present, and while we worked in harmony, I was as
+wide awake for a bargain in the interests of the new company as they
+were in that of the old firm. I let contracts for five herds of
+fifteen thousand Pan-Handle three-year-old steers for delivery on the
+new range in the Indian Territory, and bought nine thousand twos to be
+driven on company account. There was the usual whoop and hurrah at the
+convention, and when it closed I lacked only six thousand head of my
+complement for the new ranch. I was confining myself strictly to north
+Texas and Pan-Handle cattle, for through Montana cowmen I learned that
+there was an advantage, at maturity, in the northern-bred animal.
+Major Hunter and our segundo bought and contracted in a dozen counties
+from the Rio Grande to Red River during the convention, and at
+the close we scattered to the four winds in the interests of our
+respective work. In order to give my time and attention to the new
+organization, I assigned my individual cattle to the care of the firm,
+of which I was sending out ten thousand three-year-old steers and two
+herds of aging and dry cows. They would take their chances in the open
+market, though I would have dearly loved to take over the young steers
+for the new company rather than have bought their equivalent in
+numbers. I had a dislike to parting with an animal of my own breeding,
+and to have brought these to a ripe maturity under my own eye would
+have been a pleasure and a satisfaction. But such an action might have
+caused distrust of my management, and an honest name is a valuable
+asset in a cowman's capital.
+
+My ranch foremen made up the herds and started my individual cattle on
+the trail. I had previously bought the two remaining herds in Archer
+and Clay counties, and in the five that were contracted for and would
+be driven at company risk and account, every animal passed and was
+received under my personal inspection. Three of the latter were routed
+by way of the Chisholm trail, and two by the Western, while the cattle
+under contract for delivery at the company ranch went by any route
+that their will and pleasure saw fit. I saw very little of my old
+associates during the spring months, for no sooner had I started the
+herds than I hastened to overtake the lead one so as to arrive with
+the cattle at their new range. I had kept in touch with the building
+of fences, and on our arrival, near the middle of May, the western and
+southern strings were completed. It was not my intention to inclose
+the entire range, only so far as to catch any possible drift of cattle
+to the south or west. A twenty-mile spur of fence on the east, with
+half that line and all the north one open, would be sufficient until
+further encroachments were made on our range. We would have to ride
+the fences daily, anyhow, and where there was no danger of drifting,
+an open line was as good as a fence.
+
+As fast as the cattle arrived they were placed under loose herd for
+the first two weeks. Early in June the last of the contracted herds
+arrived and were scattered over the range, the outfits returning to
+Texas. I reduced my help gradually, as the cattle quieted down and
+became located, until by the middle of summer we were running the
+ranch with thirty men, which were later reduced to twenty for the
+winter. Line camps were established on the north and east, comfortable
+quarters were built for fence-riders and their horses, and aside
+from headquarters camp, half a dozen outposts were maintained. Hay
+contracts were let for sufficient forage to winter forty horses, the
+cattle located nicely within a month, and time rolled by without a
+cloud on the horizon of the new cattle company. I paid a flying visit
+to Dodge and Ogalalla, but, finding the season drawing to a close and
+the firm's cattle all sold, I contentedly returned to my accepted
+task. I had been buried for several months in the heart of the Indian
+Territory, and to get out where one could read the daily papers was
+a treat. During my banishment, Senator Teller had been confirmed as
+Secretary of the Interior, an appointment that augured well for the
+future of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company. Advices from
+Washington were encouraging, and while the new secretary lacked
+authority to sanction our lease, his tacit approval was assured.
+
+The firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. made a barrel of money in trailing
+cattle and from their beef ranch during the summer of 1882. I actually
+felt grieved over my portion of the season's work for while I had
+established a promising ranch, I had little to show, the improvement
+account being heavy, owing to our isolation. It was doubtful if
+we could have sold the ranch and cattle at a profit, yet I was
+complimented on my management, and given to understand that the
+stockholders were anxious to double the capitalization should I
+consent. Range was becoming valuable, and at a meeting of the
+directors that fall a resolution was passed, authorizing me to secure
+a lease adjoining our present one. Accordingly, when paying the second
+installment of rent money, I took the Indian agent of the two tribes
+with me. The leading chiefs were pleased with my punctuality in
+meeting the rental, and a proposition to double their income of
+"grass" money met with hearty grunts of approval. I made the council
+a little speech,--my maiden endeavor,--and when it was interpreted
+to the squatting circle I had won the confidence of these simple
+aborigines. A duplicate of our former lease in acreage and terms was
+drawn up and signed; and during the existence of our company the best
+teepee in the winter or summer encampments, of either the Cheyennes or
+Arapahoes, was none too good for Reed Anthony when he came with the
+rent money or on other business.
+
+Our capital stock was increased to two million dollars, in the latter
+half of which, one hundred thousand was asked for and allotted to me.
+I stayed on the range until the first of December, freighting in a
+thousand bushels of corn for the horses and otherwise seeing that the
+camps were fully provisioned before returning to my home in Texas.
+The winter proved dry and cold, the cattle coming through in fine
+condition, not one per cent of loss being sustained, which is a good
+record for through stock. Spring came and found me on the trail, with
+five herds on company account and eight herds under contract,--a total
+of forty thousand cattle intended for the enlarged range. All these
+had been bought north of the quarantine line in Texas, and were turned
+loose with the wintered ones, fever having been unknown among our
+holdings of the year before. In the mean time the eastern spur of
+fence had been taken down and the southern line extended forty miles
+eastward and north the same distance. The northern line of our range
+was left open, the fences being merely intended to catch any possible
+drift from summer storms or wintry blizzards. Yet in spite of this
+precaution, two round-up outfits were kept in the field through the
+early summer, one crossing into the Chickasaw Nation and the other
+going as far south as Red River, gathering any possible strays from
+the new range.
+
+I was giving my best services to the new company. Save for the fact
+that I had capable foremen on my individual ranches in Texas,
+my absence was felt in directing the interests of the firm and
+personally. Major Hunter had promoted an old foreman to a trusted man,
+and the firm kept up the volume of business on the trail and ranch,
+though I was summoned once to Dodge and twice to Ogalalla during the
+summer of 1883. Issues had arisen making my presence necessary, but
+after the last trail herd was sold I returned to my post. The boom was
+still on in cattle at the trail markets, and Texas was straining every
+energy to supply the demand, yet the cry swept down from the North for
+more cattle. I was branding twenty thousand calves a year on my two
+ranches, holding the increase down to that number by sending she stuff
+up the country on sale, and from half a dozen sources of income I
+was coining money beyond human need or necessity. I was then in the
+physical prime of my life and was master of a profitable business,
+while vistas of a brilliant future opened before me on every hand.
+
+When the round-up outfits came in for the summer, the beef shipping
+began. In the first two contingents of cattle purchased in securing
+the good will of the original range, we now had five thousand double
+wintered beeves. It was my intention to ship out the best of the
+single wintered ones, and five separate outfits were ordered into
+the saddle for that purpose. With the exception of line and fence
+riders,--for two hundred and forty miles were ridden daily, rain or
+shine, summer or winter,--every man on the ranch took up his abode
+with the wagons. Caldwell and Hunnewell, on the Kansas state line
+were the nearest shipping points, requiring fifteen days' travel with
+beeves, and if there was no delay in cars, an outfit could easily
+gather the cattle and make a round trip in less than a month. Three
+or four trainloads, numbering from one thousand and fifty to fourteen
+hundred head, were cut out at a time and handled by a single outfit.
+I covered the country between the ranch and shipping points, riding
+night and day ahead in ordering cars, and dropping back to the ranch
+to superintend the cutting out of the next consignment of cattle. Each
+outfit made three trips, shipping out fifteen thousand beeves that
+fall, leaving sixty thousand cattle to winter on the range.
+
+Several times that fall, when shipping beeves from Caldwell, we met up
+with the firm's outfits from the Eagle Chief in the Cherokee Outlet.
+Naturally the different shipping crews looked over each other's
+cattle, and an intense rivalry sprang up between the different foremen
+and men. The cattle of the new company outshone those of the old firm,
+and were outselling them in the markets, while the former's remudas
+were in a class by themselves, all of which was salt to open wounds
+and magnified the jealousy between our own outfits. The rivalry
+amused me, and until petty personalities were freely indulged in, I
+encouraged and widened the breach between the rival crews. The outfits
+under my direction had accumulated a large supply of saddle and
+sleeping blankets procured from the Indians, gaudy in color,
+manufactured in sizes for papoose, squaw, and buck. These goods were
+of the finest quality, but during the annual festivals of the tribe
+Lo's hunger for gambling induced him to part, for a mere song, with
+the blanket that the paternal government intended should shelter him
+during the storms of winter. Every man in my outfits owned from six
+to ten blankets, and the Eagle Chief lads rechristened the others,
+including myself, with the most odious of Indian names. In return,
+we refused to visit or eat at their wagons, claiming that they lived
+slovenly and were lousy. The latter had an educated Scotchman with
+them, McDougle by name, the ranch bookkeeper, who always went into
+town in advance to order cars. McDougle had a weakness for the cup,
+and on one occasion he fell into the hands of my men, who humored
+his failing, marching him through the streets, saloons, and hotels
+shouting at the top of his voice, "Hunter, Anthony & Company are going
+to ship!" The expression became a byword among the citizens of the
+town, and every reappearance of McDougle was accepted as a herald that
+our outfits from the Eagle Chief were coming in with cattle.
+
+A special meeting of the stockholders was called at Washington that
+fall, which all the Western members attended. Reports were submitted
+by the secretary-treasurer and myself, the executive committee
+made several suggestions, the proposition, to pay a dividend was
+overwhelmingly voted down, and a further increase of the capital stock
+was urged by the Eastern contingent. I sounded a note of warning,
+called attention to the single cloud on the horizon, which was the
+enmity that we had engendered in a clique of army followers in
+and around Fort Reno. These men had in the past, were even then,
+collecting toll from every other holder of cattle on the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation. That this coterie of usurpers hated the new
+company and me personally was a well-known fact, while its influence
+was proving much stronger than at first anticipated, and I cheerfully
+admitted the same to the stockholders assembled. The Eastern mind,
+living under established conditions, could hardly realize the chaotic
+state of affairs in the West, with its vicious morals, and any attempt
+to levy tribute in the form of blackmail was repudiated by the
+stockholders in assembly. Major Hunter understood my position and
+delicately suggested coming to terms with the company's avowed enemies
+as the only feasible solution of the impending trouble. To further
+enlarge our holdings of cattle and leased range, he urged, would be
+throwing down the gauntlet in defiance of the clique of army attaches.
+Evidently no one took us seriously, and instead, ringing resolutions
+passed, enlarging the capital stock by another million, with
+instructions to increase our leases accordingly.
+
+The Western contingent returned home with some misgivings as to the
+future. Nothing was to be feared from the tribes from whom we were
+leasing, nor the Comanche and his allies on the southwest, though
+there were renegades in both; but the danger lay in the flotsam of the
+superior race which infested the frontier. I felt no concern for my
+personal welfare, riding in and out from Fort Reno at my will and
+pleasure, though I well knew that my presence on the reservation was a
+thorn in the flesh of my enemies. There was little to fear, however,
+as the latter class of men never met an adversary in the open, but by
+secret methods sought to accomplish their objects. The breach between
+the Indian agent and these parasites of the army was constantly
+widening, and an effort had been made to have the former removed, but
+our friends at the national capital took a hand, and the movement was
+thwarted. Fuel was being constantly added to the fire, and on our
+taking a third lease on a million acres, the smoke gave way to flames.
+Our usual pacific measures were pursued, buying out any cattle in
+conflict, but fencing our entire range. The last addition to our
+pasture embraced a strip of country twenty miles wide, lying north of
+and parallel to the two former leases, and gave us a range on which no
+animal need ever feel the restriction of a fence. Ten to fifteen acres
+were sufficient to graze a steer the year round, but owing to the fact
+that we depended entirely on running water, much of the range would
+be valueless during the dry summer months. I readily understood the
+advantages of a half-stocked range, and expected in the future to
+allow twenty-five acres in the summer and thirty in the winter to the
+pasture's holdings. Everything being snug for the winter, orders
+were left to ride certain fences twice a day,--lines where we feared
+fence-cutting,--and I took my departure for home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+HOLDING THE FORT
+
+
+As in many other lines of business, there were ebb and flood tides in
+cattle. The opening of the trail through to the extreme Northwest gave
+the range live stock industry its greatest impetus. There have always
+been seasons of depression and advances, the cycles covering periods
+of ten to a dozen years, the duration of the ebb and stationary tides
+being double that of the flood. Outside influences have had their
+bearing, and the wresting of an empire from its savage possessors
+in the West, and its immediate occupancy by the dominant race in
+ranching, stimulated cattle prices far beyond what was justified by
+the laws of supply and demand. The boom in live stock in the Southwest
+which began in the early '80's stands alone in the market variations
+of the last half-century. And as if to rebuke the folly of man and
+remind him that he is but grass, Nature frowned with two successive
+severe winters, humbling the kings and princes of the range.
+
+Up to and including the winter of 1883-84 the loss among range cattle
+was trifling. The country was new and open, and when the stock could
+drift freely in advance of storms, their instincts carried them to the
+sheltering coulees, cut banks, and broken country until the blizzard
+had passed. Since our firm began maturing beeves ten years before, the
+losses attributable to winter were never noticed, nor did they in the
+least affect our profits. On my ranches in Texas the primitive law
+of survival of the fittest prevailed, the winter-kill falling sorest
+among the weak and aging cows. My personal loss was always heavier
+than that of the firm, owing to my holdings being mixed stock, and due
+to the fact that an animal in the South never took on tallow enough
+to assist materially in resisting a winter. The cattle of the North
+always had the flesh to withstand the rigors of the wintry season,
+dry, cold, zero weather being preferable to rain, sleet, and the
+northers that swept across the plains of Texas. The range of the new
+company was intermediate between the extremes of north and south, and
+as we handled all steer cattle, no one entertained any fear from the
+climate.
+
+I passed a comparatively idle winter at my home on the Clear Fork.
+Weekly reports reached me from the new ranch, several of which caused
+uneasiness, as our fences were several times cut on the southwest, and
+a prairie fire, the work of an incendiary, broke out at midnight on
+our range. Happily the wind fell, and by daybreak the smoke arose
+in columns, summoning every man on the ranch, and the fire was soon
+brought under control. As a precaution to such a possibility we had
+burned fire-guards entirely around the range by plowing furrows one
+hundred feet apart and burning out the middle. Taking advantage of
+creeks and watercourses, natural boundaries that a prairie fire could
+hardly jump, we had cut and quartered the pasture with fire-guards in
+such a manner that, unless there was a concerted action on the part of
+any hirelings of our enemies, it would have been impossible to have
+burned more than a small portion of the range at any one time.
+But these malicious attempts at our injury made the outfit doubly
+vigilant, and cutting fences and burning range would have proven
+unhealthful occupations had the perpetrators, red or white, fallen
+into the hands of the foreman and his men. I naturally looked on the
+bright side of the future, and in the hope that, once the entire range
+was fenced, we could keep trespassers out, I made preparations for the
+spring drive.
+
+With the first appearance of grass, all the surplus horses were
+ordered down to Texas from the company ranch. There was a noticeable
+lull at the cattle convention that spring, and an absence of buyers
+from the Northwest was apparent, resulting in little or no trouble
+in contracting for delivery on the ranch, and in buying on company
+account at the prevailing prices of the spring before. Cattle were
+high enough as it was; in fact the market was top-heavy and wobbling
+on its feet, though the brightest of us cowmen naturally supposed that
+current values would always remain up in the pictures. As manager of
+the new company, I bought and contracted for fifty thousand steers,
+ten herds of which were to be driven on company account. All the
+cattle came from the Pan-Handle and north Texas, above the quarantine
+line, the latter precaution being necessary in order to avoid any
+possibility of fever, in mixing through and northern wintered stock.
+With the opening of spring two of my old foremen were promoted to
+assist in the receiving, as my contracts called for everything to be
+passed upon on the home range before starting the herds. Some little
+friction had occurred the summer before with the deliveries at the
+company ranch in an effort to turn in short-aged cattle. All contracts
+this year and the year before called for threes, and frequently
+several hundred long twos were found in a single herd, and I refused
+to accept them unless at the customary difference in price. More or
+less contention arose, and, for the present spring, I proposed to curb
+all friction at home, allotting to my assistants the receiving of
+the herds for company risk, and personally passing on seven under
+contract.
+
+The original firm was still in the field, operating exclusively in
+central Texas and Pan-Handle cattle. Both my ranches sent out their
+usual contribution of steers and cows, consigned to the care of the
+firm, which was now giving more attention to quality than quantity.
+The absence of the men from the Northwest at the cattle convention
+that spring was taken as an omen that the upper country would soon be
+satiated, a hint that retrenchment was in order, and a better class of
+stock was to receive the firm's attention in its future operations. My
+personal contingent of steers would have passed muster in any country,
+and as to my consignment of cows, they were pure velvet, and could
+defy competition in the upper range markets. Everything moved out with
+the grass as usual, and when the last of the company herds had crossed
+Red River, I rode through to the new ranch. The north and east line
+of fence was nearing completion, the western string was joined to
+the original boundary, and, with the range fully inclosed, my ranch
+foreman, the men, and myself looked forward to a prosperous future.
+
+The herds arrived and were located, the usual round-up outfits were
+sent out wherever there was the possibility of a stray, and we settled
+down in pastoral security. The ranch outfit had held their own during
+the winter just passed, had trailed down stolen cattle, and knew to a
+certainty who the thieves were and where they came from. Except what
+had been slaughtered, all the stock was recovered, and due notice
+given to offenders that Judge Lynch would preside should any one
+suspected of fence-cutting, starting incendiary fires, or stealing
+cattle be caught within the boundaries of our leases. Fortunately the
+other cowmen were tiring of paying tribute to the usurpers, and our
+determined stand heartened holders of cattle on the reservation, many
+of whom were now seeking leases direct from the tribes. I made it my
+business personally to see every other owner of live stock occupying
+the country, and urge upon them the securing of leases and making an
+organized fight for our safety. Lessees in the Cherokee Strip had
+fenced as a matter of convenience and protection, and I urged the same
+course on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation, offering the free use
+of our line fences to any one who wished to adjoin our pastures. In
+the course of a month, nearly every acre of the surrounding country
+was taken, only one or two squaw-men holding out, and these claiming
+their ranges under Indian rights. The movement was made so aggressive
+that the usurpers were driven into obscurity, never showing their hand
+again until after the presidential election that fall.
+
+During the summer a deputation of Cheyennes and Arapahoes visited me
+at ranch headquarters. On the last lease taken, and now inclosed
+in our pasture, there were a number of wild plum groves, covering
+thousands of acres, and the Indians wanted permission to gather the
+ripening fruit. Taking advantage of the opportunity, in granting the
+request I made it a point to fortify the friendly relations, not only
+with ourselves, but with all other cattlemen on the reservation.
+Ten days' permission was given to gather the wild plums, camps were
+allotted to the Indians, and when the fruit was all gathered, I
+barbecued five stray beeves in parting with my guests. The Indian
+agent and every cowman on the reservation were invited, and at the
+conclusion of the festival the Quaker agent made the assembled chiefs
+a fatherly talk. Torpid from feasting, the bucks grunted approval of
+the new order of things, and an Arapahoe chief, responding in behalf
+of his tribe, said that the rent from the grass now fed his people
+better than under the old buffalo days. Pledging anew the fraternal
+bond, and appointing the gathering of the plums as an annual festival
+thereafter, the tribes took up their march in returning to their
+encampment.
+
+I was called to Dodge but once during the summer of 1884. My steers
+had gone to Ogalalla and were sold, the cows remaining at the lower
+market, all of which had changed owners with the exception of one
+thousand head. The demand had fallen off, and a dull close of the
+season was predicted, but I shaded prices and closed up my personal
+holdings before returning. Several of the firm's steer herds were
+unsold at Dodge, but on the approach of the shipping season I returned
+to my task, and we began to move out our beeves with seven outfits
+in the saddle. Four round trips were made to the crew, shipping out
+twenty thousand double and half that number of single wintered cattle.
+The grass had been fine that summer, and the beeves came up in prime
+condition, always topping the market as range cattle at the markets to
+which they were consigned. That branch of the work over, every energy
+was centred in making the ranch snug for the winter. Extra fire-guards
+were plowed, and the middles burned out, cutting the range into a
+dozen parcels, and thus, as far as possible, the winter forage was
+secured for our holdings of eighty thousand cattle. Hay and grain
+contracts had been previously let, the latter to be freighted in from
+southern Kansas, when the news reached us that the recent election had
+resulted in a political change of administration. What effect this
+would have on our holding cattle on Indian lands was pure conjecture,
+though our enemies came out of hiding, gloating over the change,
+and swearing vengeance on the cowmen on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
+reservation.
+
+The turn of the tide in cattle prices was noticeable at all the range
+markets that fall. A number of herds were unsold at Dodge, among them
+being one of ours, but we turned it southeast early in September and
+wintered it on our range in the Outlet. The largest drive in the
+history of the trail had taken place that summer, and the failure of
+the West and Northwest to absorb the entire offerings of the drovers
+made the old firm apprehensive of the future. There was a noticeable
+shrinkage in our profits from trail operations, but with the
+supposition that it was merely an off year, the matter was passed for
+the present. It was the opinion of the directors of the new company
+that no dividends should he declared until our range was stocked to
+its full capacity, or until there was a comfortable surplus. This
+suited me, and, returning home, I expected to spend the winter with my
+family, now increased to four girls and six boys.
+
+But a cowman can promise himself little rest or pleasure. After a
+delightful week spent on my western ranch, I returned to the Clear
+Fork, and during the latter part of November a terrible norther swept
+down and caught me in a hunting-camp twenty-five miles from home. My
+two oldest boys were along, a negro cook, and a few hands, and in
+spite of our cosy camp, we all nearly froze to death. Nothing but a
+roaring fire saved us during the first night of its duration, and the
+next morning we saddled our horses and struck out for home, riding
+in the face of a sleet that froze our clothing like armor. Norther
+followed norther, and I was getting uneasy about the company ranch,
+when I received a letter from Major Hunter, stating that he was
+starting for our range in the Outlet and predicting a heavy loss of
+cattle. Headquarters in the Indian Territory were fully two hundred
+and fifty miles due north, and within an hour after receiving the
+letter, I started overland on horseback, using two of my best saddlers
+for the trip. To have gone by rail and stage would have taken four
+days, and if fair weather favored me I could nearly divide that time
+by half. Changing horses frequently, one day out I had left Red River
+in my rear, but before me lay an uninhabited country, unless I veered
+from my course and went through the Chickasaw Nation. For the sake of
+securing grain for the horses, this tack was made, following the old
+Chisholm trail for nearly one hundred miles. The country was in the
+grip of winter, sleet and snow covering the ground, with succor for
+man and horse far apart. Mumford Johnson's ranch on the Washita River
+was reached late the second night, and by daybreak the next morning I
+was on the trail, making Quartermaster Creek by one o'clock that day.
+Fortunately no storms were encountered en route, but King Winter ruled
+the range with an iron hand, fully six inches of snow covering the
+pasture, over which was a crusted sleet capable of carrying the weight
+of a beef. The foreman and his men were working night and day to
+succor the cattle. Between storms, two crews of the boys drifted
+everything back from the south line of fence, while others cut ice and
+opened the water to the perishing animals. Scarcity of food was the
+most serious matter; being unable to reach the grass under its coat of
+sleet and snow, the cattle had eaten the willows down to the ground.
+When a boy in Virginia I had often helped cut down basswood and maple
+trees in the spring for the cattle to browse upon, and, sending to the
+agency for new axes, I armed every man on the ranch with one, and we
+began felling the cottonwood and other edible timber along the creeks
+and rivers in the pasture. The cattle followed the axemen like sheep,
+eating the tender branches of the softer woods to the size of a man's
+wrist, the crash of a falling tree bringing them by the dozens to
+browse and stay their hunger. I swung an axe with the men, and never
+did slaves under the eye of a task-master work as faithfully or as
+long as we did in cutting ice and falling timber in succoring our
+holding of cattle. Several times the sun shone warm for a few days,
+melting the snow off the southern slopes, when we took to our saddles,
+breaking the crust with long poles, the cattle following to where the
+range was bared that they might get a bit of grass. Had it not been
+for a few such sunny days, our loss would have been double what it
+was; but as it was, with the general range in the clutches of sleet
+and snow for over fifty days, about twenty per cent, of our holdings
+were winter-killed, principally of through cattle.
+
+Our saddle stock, outside of what was stabled and grain-fed, braved
+the winter, pawing away the snow and sleet in foraging for their
+subsistence. A few weeks of fine balmy weather in January and February
+followed the distressing season of wintry storms, the cattle taking
+to the short buffalo-grass and rapidly recuperating. But just when
+we felt that the worst was over, simultaneously half a dozen prairie
+fires broke out in different portions of the pasture, calling every
+man to a fight that lasted three days. Our enemies, not content with
+havoc wrought by the elements, were again in the saddle, striking in
+the dark and escaping before dawn, inflicting injuries on dumb animals
+in harassing their owners. That it was the work of hireling renegades,
+more likely white than red, there was little question; but the
+necessity of preserving the range withheld us from trailing them down
+and meting out a justice they so richly deserved. Dividing the ranch
+help into half a dozen crews, we rode to the burning grass and began
+counter-firing and otherwise resorting to every known method in
+checking the consuming flames. One of the best-known devices, in short
+grass and flank-fires, was the killing of a light beef, beheading and
+splitting it open, leaving the hide to hold the parts together. By
+turning the animal flesh side down and taking ropes from a front and
+hind foot to the pommels of two saddles, the men, by riding apart,
+could straddle the flames, virtually rubbing the fire out with the
+dragging carcass. Other men followed with wet blankets and beat out
+any remaining flames, the work being carried on at a gallop, with a
+change of horses every mile or so, and the fire was thus constantly
+hemmed in to a point. The variations of the wind sometimes entirely
+checked all effort, between midnight and morning being the hours in
+which most progress was accomplished. No sooner was one section of the
+fire brought under control than we divided the forces and hastened
+to lend assistance to the next nearest section, the cooks with
+commissaries following up the firefighters. While a single blade of
+grass was burning, no one thought of sleeping, and after one third of
+the range was consumed, the last of the incendiary fires was stamped
+out, when we lay down around the wagons and slept the sleep of
+exhaustion.
+
+There was still enough range saved to bring the cattle safely
+through until spring. Leaving the entire ranch outfit to ride the
+fences--several lines of which were found cut by the renegades in
+entering and leaving the pasture--and guard the gates, I took train
+and stage for the Grove. Major Hunter had returned from the firm's
+ranch in the Strip, where heavy losses were encountered, though
+it then rested in perfect security from any influence except the
+elements. With me, the burning of the company range might be renewed
+at any moment, in which event we should have to cut our own fences and
+let the cattle drift south through an Indian country, with nothing to
+check them except Red River. A climax was approaching in the company's
+existence, and the delay of a day or week might mean inestimable loss.
+In cunning and craftiness our enemies were expert; they knew their
+control of the situation fully, and nothing but cowardice would
+prevent their striking the final, victorious blow. My old partner and
+I were a unit as to the only course to pursue,--one which meant a
+dishonorable compromise with our enemies, as the only hope of saving
+the cattle. A wire was accordingly sent East, calling a special
+meeting of the stockholders. We followed ourselves within an hour.
+On arriving at the national capital, we found that all outside
+shareholders had arrived in advance of ourselves, and we went into
+session with closed doors and the committee on entertainment and
+banquets inactive. In as plain words as the English language would
+permit, as general manager of the company, I stated the cause for
+calling the meeting, and bluntly suggested the only avenue of escape.
+Call it tribute, blackmail, or what you will, we were at the mercy
+of as heartless a set of scoundrels as ever missed a rope, whose
+mercenaries, like the willing hirelings that they were, would
+cheerfully do the bidding of their superiors. Major Hunter, in his
+remarks before the meeting, modified my rather radical statement,
+with the more plausible argument that this tribute money was merely
+insurance, and what was five or ten thousand dollars a year, where
+an original investment of three millions and our surplus were in
+jeopardy? Would any line--life, fire, or marine--carry our risk as
+cheaply? These men had been receiving toll from our predecessors, and
+were then in a position to levy tribute or wreck the company.
+
+Notwithstanding our request for immediate action, an adjournment was
+taken. A wire could have been sent to a friend in Fort Reno that
+night, and all would have gone well for the future security of the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company. But I lacked authority to send
+it, and the next morning at the meeting, the New England blood that
+had descended from the Puritan Fathers was again in the saddle,
+shouting the old slogans of no compromise while they had God and right
+on their side. Major Hunter and I both keenly felt the rebuke,
+but personal friends prevented an open rupture, while the more
+conservative ones saw brighter prospects in the political change of
+administration which was soon to assume the reins of government.
+A number of congressmen and senators among our stockholders were
+prominent in the ascendant party, and once the new régime took charge,
+a general shake-up of affairs in and around Fort Reno was promised.
+I remembered the old maxim of a new broom; yet in spite of the
+blandishments that were showered down in silencing my active partner
+and me, I could almost smell the burning range, see the horizon
+lighted up at night by the licking flames, hear the gloating of our
+enemies, in the hour of their victory, and the click of the nippers of
+my own men, in cutting the wire that the cattle might escape and live.
+
+I left Washington somewhat heartened. Major Hunter, ever inclined
+to look on the bright side of things, believed that the crisis had
+passed, even bolstering up my hopes in the next administration. It was
+the immediate necessity that was worrying me, for it meant a summer's
+work to gather our cattle on Red River and in the intermediate
+country, and bring them back to the home range. The mysterious absence
+of any report from my foreman on my arrival at the Grove did not
+mislead me to believe that no news was good news, and I accordingly
+hurried on to the front. There was a marked respect shown me by the
+civilians located at Fort Reno, something unusual; but I hurried on
+to the agency, where all was quiet, and thence to ranch headquarters.
+There I learned that a second attempt to burn the range had been
+frustrated; that one of our boys had shot dead a white man in the act
+of cutting the east string of fence; that the same night three fires
+had broken out in the pasture, and that a squad of our men, in riding
+to the light, had run afoul of two renegade Cheyennes armed with
+wire-nippers, whose remains then lay in the pasture unburied. Both
+horses were captured and identified as not belonging to the Indians,
+while their owners were well known. Fortunately the wind veered
+shortly after the fires started, driving the flames back against the
+plowed guards, and the attempt to burn the range came to naught.
+A salutary lesson had been administered to the hirelings of the
+usurpers, and with a new moon approaching its full, it was believed
+that night marauding had ended for that winter. None of our boys
+recognized the white man, there being no doubt but he was imported
+for the purpose, and he was buried where he fell; but I notified the
+Indian agent, who sent for the remains of the two renegades and took
+possession of the horses. The season for the beginning of active
+operations on trail and for ranch account was fast approaching, and,
+leaving the boys to hold the fort during my absence, I took my private
+horses and turned homeward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACY
+
+
+With a loss of fully fifteen thousand cattle staring me in the face, I
+began planning to recuperate the fortunes of the company. The cattle
+convention, which was then over, was conspicuous by the absence of all
+Northern buyers. George Edwards had attended the meeting, was cautious
+enough to make no contracts for the firm, and fully warned me of
+the situation. I was in a quandary; with an idle treasury of over a
+million, my stewardship would be subject to criticism unless I became
+active in the interests of my company. On the other hand, a dangerous
+cloud hung over the range, and until that was removed I felt like a
+man who was sent for and did not want to go. The falling market in
+Texas was an encouragement, but my experience of the previous winter
+had had a dampening effect, and I was simply drifting between adverse
+winds. But once it was known that I had returned home, my old
+customers approached me by letter and personally, anxious to sell and
+contract for immediate delivery. Trail drovers were standing aloof,
+afraid of the upper markets, and I could have easily bought double my
+requirements without leaving the ranch. The grass was peeping here and
+there, favorable reports came down from the reservation, and still I
+sat idle.
+
+The appearance of Major Hunter acted like a stimulus. Reports about
+the new administration were encouraging--not from our silent partner,
+who was not in sympathy with the dominant party, but from other
+prominent stockholders who were. The original trio--the little major,
+our segundo, and myself--lay around under the shade of the trees
+several days and argued the possibilities that confronted us on trail
+and ranch. Edwards reproached me for my fears, referring to the time,
+nineteen years before, when as common hands we fought our way across
+the Staked Plain and delivered the cattle safely at Fort Sumner. He
+even taunted me with the fact that our employers then never hesitated,
+even if half the Comanche tribe were abroad, roving over their old
+hunting grounds, and that now I was afraid of a handful of army
+followers, contractors, and owners of bar concessions. Edwards knew
+that I would stand his censure and abuse as long as the truth was
+told, and with the major acting as peacemaker between us I was finally
+whipped into line. With a fortune already in hand, rounding out my
+forty-fifth year, I looted the treasury by contracting and buying
+sixty thousand cattle for my company.
+
+The surplus horses were ordered down from above, and the spring
+campaign began in earnest. The old firm was to confine its operations
+to fine steers, handling my personal contribution as before, while I
+rallied my assistants, and we began receiving the contracted cattle at
+once. Observation had taught me that in wintering beeves in the North
+it was important to give the animals every possible moment of time to
+locate before the approach of winter. The instinct of a dumb beast is
+unexplainable yet unerring. The owner of a horse may choose a range
+that seems perfect in every appointment, but the animal will spurn the
+human selection and take up his abode on some flinty hills, and there
+thrive like a garden plant. Cattle, especially steers, locate slowly,
+and a good summer's rest usually fortifies them with an inward coat of
+tallow and an outward one of furry robe, against the wintry storms.
+I was anxious to get the through cattle to the new range as soon as
+practicable, and allowed the sellers to set their dates as early as
+possible, many of them agreeing to deliver on the reservation as soon
+as the middle of May. Ten wagons and a thousand horses came down
+during the last days of March, and early in April started back with
+thirty thousand cattle at company risk.
+
+All animals were passed upon on the Texas range, and on their arrival
+at the pasture there was little to do but scatter them over the ranch
+to locate. I reached the reservation with the lead herd, and was glad
+to learn from neighboring cowmen that a suggestion of mine, made the
+fall before, had taken root. My proposition was to organize all the
+cattlemen on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation into an association
+for mutual protection. By coöperation we could present a united front
+to our enemies, the usurpers, and defy them in their nefarious schemes
+of exacting tribute. Other ranges besides ours had suffered by fire
+and fence-cutters during the winter just passed, and I returned to
+find my fellow cowmen a unit for organization. A meeting was called at
+the agency, every owner of cattle on the reservation responded, and an
+association was perfected for our mutual interest and protection. The
+reservation was easily capable of carrying half a million cattle, the
+tribes were pleased with the new order of things, and we settled down
+with a feeling of security not enjoyed in many a day.
+
+But our tranquil existence received a shock within a month, when a
+cowboy from a neighboring ranch, and without provocation, was shot
+down by Indian police in a trader's store at the agency. The young
+fellow was a popular Texan, and as nearly all the men employed on the
+reservation came from the South, it was with difficulty that our boys
+were restrained from retaliating. Those from Texas had little or no
+love for an Indian anyhow, and nothing but the plea of policy in
+preserving peaceful relations with the tribes held them in check. The
+occasional killing of cattle by Indians was overlooked, until they
+became so bold as to leave the hides and heads in the pasture, when
+an appeal was made to the agent. But the aborigine, like his white
+brother, has sinful ways, and the influence of one evil man can
+readily combat the good advice of half a dozen right-minded ones, and
+the Quaker agent found his task not an easy one. Cattle were being
+killed in remote and unfrequented places, and still we bore with it,
+the better class of Indians, however, lending their assistance to
+check the abuse. On one occasion two boys and myself detected a band
+of five young bucks skinning a beef in our pasture, and nothing but my
+presence prevented a clash between my men and the thieves. But it
+was near the wild-plum season, and as we were making preparations
+to celebrate that event, the killing of a few Indians might cause
+distrust, and we dropped out of sight and left them to the enjoyment
+of their booty. It was pure policy on my part, as we could shame
+or humble the Indian, and if the abuse was not abated, we could
+remunerate ourselves by with-holding from the rent money the value of
+cattle killed.
+
+Our organization for mutual protection was accepted by our enemies as
+a final defiance. A pirate fights as valiantly as if his cause were
+just, and, through intermediaries, the gauntlet was thrown back in
+our faces and notice served that the conflict had reached a critical
+stage. I never discussed the issue direct with members of the clique,
+as they looked upon me as the leader in resisting their levy of
+tribute, but indirectly their grievances were made known. We were
+accused of having taken the bread out of their very mouths, which was
+true in a sense, but we had restored it tenfold where it was entitled
+to go,--among the Indians. With the exception of an occasional bottle
+of whiskey, none of the tribute money went to the tribes, but was
+divided among the usurpers. They waxed fat in their calling and were
+insolent and determined, while our replies to all overtures looking to
+peace were firm and to the point. Even at that late hour I personally
+knew that the clique had strength in reserve, and had I enjoyed the
+support of my company, would willingly have stood for a compromise.
+But it was out of the question to suggest it, and, trusting to the new
+administration, we politely told them to crack their whips.
+
+The _fiesta_ which followed the plum gathering was made a notable
+occasion. All the cowmen on the reservation had each contributed a
+beef to the barbecue, the agent saw to it that all the principal
+chiefs of both tribes were present, and after two days of feasting,
+the agent made a Quaker talk, insisting that the bond between the
+tribes and the cowmen must be observed to the letter. He reviewed at
+length the complaints that had reached him of the killing of cattle,
+traceable to the young and thoughtless, and pointed out the patience
+of the cattlemen in not retaliating, but in spreading a banquet
+instead to those who had wronged them. In concluding, he warned them
+that the patience of the white man had a limit, and, while they hoped
+to live in peace, unless the stealing of beef was stopped immediately,
+double the value of the cattle killed would be withheld from the next
+payment of grass money. It was in the power of the chiefs present to
+demand this observance of faith among their young men, if the bond
+to which their signatures were attached was to be respected in the
+future. The leading chiefs of both tribes spoke in defense, pleading
+their inability to hold their young men in check as long as certain
+evil influences were at work among their people. The love of gambling
+and strong drink was yearly growing among their men, making them
+forget their spoken word, until they were known as thieves and liars.
+The remedy lay in removing these evil spirits and trusting the tribes
+to punish their own offenders, as the red man knew no laws except his
+own.
+
+The festival was well worth while and augured hopefully for the
+future. Clouds were hovering on the horizon, however, and, while at
+Ogalalla, I received a wire that a complaint had been filed against
+us at the national capital, and that the President had instructed the
+Lieutenant-General of the Army to make an investigation. Just what the
+inquiry was to be was a matter of conjecture; possibly to determine
+who was supplying the Indians with whiskey, or probably our friends at
+Washington were behind the movement, and the promised shake-up of army
+followers in and around Fort Reno was materializing. I attended to
+some unsettled business before returning, and, on my arrival at the
+reservation, a general alarm was spreading among the cattle interests,
+caused by the cock-sure attitude of the usurpers and a few casual
+remarks that had been dropped. I was appealed to by my fellow cowmen,
+and, in turn, wired our friends at Washington, asking that our
+interests be looked after and guarded. Pending a report, General P.H.
+Sheridan arrived with a great blare of trumpets at Fort Reno for
+the purpose of holding the authorized investigation. The general's
+brother, Michael, was the recognized leader of the clique of army
+followers, and was interested in the bar concessions under the sutler.
+Matters, therefore, took on a serious aspect. All the cowmen on the
+reservation came in, expecting to be called before the inquiry, as it
+was then clear that a fight must be made to protect our interests. No
+opportunity, however, was given the Indians or cattlemen to present
+their side of the question, and when a committee of us cowmen called
+on General Sheridan we were cordially received and politely informed
+that the investigation was private. I believe that forty years have so
+tempered the animosities of the Civil War that an honest opinion is
+entitled to expression. And with due consideration to the record of a
+gallant soldier, I submit the question, Were not the owners of half a
+million cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation entitled to a
+hearing before a report was made that resulted in an order for their
+removal?
+
+I have seen more trouble at a country dance, more bloodshed in a
+family feud, than ever existed or was spilled on the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation. The Indians were pleased, the lessees were
+satisfied, yet by artfully concealing the true cause of any and all
+strife, a report, every word of which was as sweet as the notes of
+a flute, was made to the President, recommending the removal of the
+cattle. It was found that there had been a gradual encroachment on the
+liberties of the tribes; that the rental received from the surplus
+pasture lands had a bad tendency on the morals of the Indians,
+encouraging them in idleness; and that the present system retarded
+all progress in agriculture and the industrial arts. The report was
+superficial, religiously concealing the truth, but dealing with broad
+generalities. Had the report emanated from some philanthropical
+society, it would have passed unnoticed or been commented on as an
+advance in the interest of a worthy philanthropy but taken as a whole,
+it was a splendid specimen of the use to which words can be put in
+concealing the truth and cloaking dishonesty.
+
+An order of removal by the President followed the report. Had we been
+subjects of a despotic government and bowed our necks like serfs, the
+matter would have ended in immediate compliance with the order. But we
+prided ourselves on our liberties as Americans, and an appeal was to
+be made to the first citizen of the land, the President of the United
+States. A committee of Western men were appointed, which would be
+augmented by others at the national capital, and it was proposed to
+lay the bare facts in the chief executive's hands and at least ask
+for a modification of the order. The latter was ignorant in its
+conception, brutal and inhuman in its intent, ending in the threat
+to use the military arm of the government, unless the terms and
+conditions were complied with within a given space of time. The
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company, alone, not to mention the other
+members of our association equally affected, had one hundred and
+twenty-five thousand head of beeves and through steers on its range,
+and unless some relief was granted, a wayfaring man though a fool
+could see ruin and death and desolation staring us in the face.
+Fortunately Major Hunter had the firm's trail affairs so well in hand
+that Edwards could close up the business, thus relieving my active
+partner to serve on the committee, he and four others offering to act
+in behalf of our association in calling on the President. I was
+among the latter, the only one in the delegation from Texas, and we
+accordingly made ready and started for Washington.
+
+Meanwhile I had left orders to start the shipping with a vengeance.
+The busy season was at hand on the beef ranges, and men were scarce;
+but I authorized the foreman to comb the country, send to Dodge if
+necessary, and equip ten shipping outfits and keep a constant string
+of cattle moving to the markets. We had about sixty-five thousand
+single and double wintered beeves, the greater portion of which were
+in prime condition; but it was the through cattle that were worrying
+me, as they were unfit to ship and it was too late in the season to
+relocate them on a new range. But that blessed hope that springs
+eternal in the human breast kept us hopeful that the President had
+been deceived into issuing his order, and that he would right all
+wrongs. The more sanguine ones of the Western delegation had matters
+figured down to a fraction; they believed that once the chief
+executive understood the true cause of the friction existing on the
+reservation, apologies would follow, we should all be asked to remain
+for lunch, and in the most democratic manner imaginable everything
+would be righted. I had no opinions, but kept anticipating the worst;
+for if the order stood unmodified, go we must and in the face of
+winter and possibly accompanied by negro troops. To return to Texas
+meant to scatter the cattle to the four winds; to move north was to
+court death unless an open winter favored us.
+
+On our arrival at Washington, all senators and congressmen
+shareholders in our company met us by appointment. It was an inactive
+season at the capital, and hopes were entertained that the President
+would grant us an audience at once; but a delay of nearly a week
+occurred. In the mean time several conferences were held, at which a
+general review of the situation was gone over, and it was decided to
+modify our demands, asking for nothing personally, only a modification
+of the order in the interest of humanity to dumb animals. Before our
+arrival, a congressman and two senators, political supporters of
+the chief executive, had casually called to pay their respects, and
+incidentally inquired into the pending trouble between the cattlemen
+and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. Reports were anything but
+encouraging; the well-known obstinacy of the President was admitted;
+it was also known that he possessed a rugged courage in pursuance of
+an object or purpose. Those who were not in political sympathy with
+the party in power characterized the President as an opinionated
+executive, and could see little or no hope in a personal appeal.
+
+However, the matter was not to be dropped. The arrival of a deputation
+of cattlemen from the West was reported by the press, their purposes
+fully, set forth, and in the interim of waiting for an appointment,
+all of us made hay with due diligence. Major Hunter and I had a
+passing acquaintance at both the War and Interior departments, and
+taking along senators and representatives in political sympathy with
+the heads of those offices, we called and paid our respects. A number
+of old acquaintances were met, hold-overs from the former régime, and
+a cordial reception was accorded us. Now that the boom in cattle was
+over, we expressed a desire to resume our former business relations
+as contractors with the government. At both departments, the existent
+trouble on the Indian reservations was well known, and a friendly
+inquiry resulted, which gave us an opportunity to explain our position
+fully. There was a hopeful awakening to the fact that there had been a
+conspiracy to remove us, and the most friendly advances of assistance
+were proffered in setting the matter right. Public opinion is a strong
+factor, and with the press of the capital airing our grievances daily,
+sympathy and encouragement were simply showered down upon us.
+
+Finally an audience with the President was granted. The Western
+delegation was increased by senators and representatives until the
+committee numbered an even dozen. Many of the latter were personal
+friends and ardent supporters of the chief executive. The rangemen
+were introduced, and we proceeded at once to the matter at issue. A
+congressman from New York stated the situation clearly, not mincing
+his words in condemning the means and procedure by which this order
+was secured, and finally asking for its revocation, or a modification
+that would permit the evacuation of the country without injury to the
+owners and their herds. Major Hunter, in replying to a question of the
+President, stated our position: that we were in no sense intruders,
+that we paid our rental in advance, with the knowledge and sanction of
+the two preceding Secretaries of the Interior, and only for lack of
+precedent was their indorsement of our leases withheld. It soon became
+evident that countermanding the order was out of the question, as
+to vacillate or waver in a purpose, right or wrong, was not a
+characteristic of the chief executive. Our next move was for a
+modification of the order, as its terms required us to evacuate that
+fall, and every cowman present accented the fact that to move cattle
+in the mouth of winter was an act that no man of experience would
+countenance. Every step, the why and wherefore, must be explained to
+the President, and at the request of the committee, I went into detail
+in making plain what the observations of my life had taught me of the
+instincts and habits of cattle,--why in the summer they took to
+the hills, mesas, and uplands, where the breezes were cooling and
+protected them from insect life; their ability to foretell a storm in
+winter and seek shelter in coulees and broken country. I explained
+that none of the cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation
+were native to that range, but were born anywhere from three to five
+hundred miles to the south, fully one half of them having arrived
+that spring; that to acquaint an animal with its new range, in cattle
+parlance to "locate" them, was very important; that every practical
+cowman moved his herds to a new range with the grass in the spring, in
+order that ample time should be allowed to acclimate and familiarize
+them with such shelters as nature provided to withstand the storms of
+winter. In concluding, I stated that if the existent order could be so
+modified as to permit all through cattle and those unfit for market
+to remain on their present range for the winter, we would cheerfully
+evacuate the country with the grass in the spring. If such relief
+could be consistently granted, it would no doubt save the lives of
+hundreds and thousands of cattle.
+
+The President evidently was embarrassed by the justice of our prayer.
+He consulted with members of the committee, protesting that he should
+be spared from taking what would be considered a backward step, and
+after a stormy conference with intimate friends, lasting fully an
+hour, he returned and in these words refused to revoke or modify his
+order: "If I had known," said he, "what I know now, I never would have
+made the order; but having made it, I will stand by it."
+
+Laying aside all commercial considerations, we had made our entreaty
+in behalf of dumb animals, and the President's answer angered a
+majority of the committee. I had been rebuked too often in the past
+by my associates easily to lose my temper, and I naturally looked at
+those whose conscience balked at paying tribute, while my sympathies
+were absorbed for the future welfare of a quarter-million cattle
+affected by the order. We broke into groups in taking our leave,
+and the only protest that escaped any one was when the York State
+representative refused the hand of the executive, saying, "Mr.
+President, I have my opinion of a man who admits he is wrong and
+refuses to right it." Two decades have passed since those words,
+rebuking wrong in high places, were uttered, and the speaker has since
+passed over to the silent majority. I should feel that these memoirs
+were incomplete did I not mention the sacrifice and loss of prestige
+that the utterance of these words cost, for they were the severance of
+a political friendship that was never renewed.
+
+The autocratic order removing the cattle from the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation was born in iniquity and bore a harvest unequaled
+in the annals of inhumanity. With the last harbor of refuge closed
+against us, I hastened back and did all that was human to avert the
+impending doom, every man and horse available being pressed into
+service. Our one hope lay in a mild winter, and if that failed us the
+affairs of the company would be closed by the merciless elements. Once
+it was known that the original order had not been modified, and
+in anticipation of a flood of Western cattle, the markets broke,
+entailing a serious commercial loss. Every hoof of single and double
+wintered beeves that had a value in the markets was shipped regardless
+of price, while I besought friends in the Cherokee Strip for a refuge
+for those unfit and our holding of through cattle. Fortunately the
+depreciation in live stock and the heavy loss sustained the previous
+winter had interfered with stocking the Outlet to its fall capacity,
+and by money, prayers, and entreaty I prevailed on range owners and
+secured pasturage for seventy-five thousand head. Long before the
+shipping season ended I pressed every outfit belonging to the firm on
+the Eagle Chief into service, and began moving out the through cattle
+to their new range. Squaw winter and snow-squalls struck us on the
+trail, but with a time-limit hanging over our heads, and rather than
+see our cattle handled by nigger soldiers, we bore our burdens, if not
+meekly, at least in a manner consistent with our occupation. I have
+always deplored useless profanity, yet it was music to my ears to
+hear the men arraign our enemies, high and low, for our present
+predicament. When the last beeves were shipped, a final round-up was
+made, and we started out with over fifty thousand cattle in charge of
+twelve outfits. Storms struck us en route, but we weathered them, and
+finally turned the herds loose in the face of a blizzard.
+
+The removed cattle, strangers in a strange land, drifted to the fences
+and were cut to the quick by the biting blasts. Early in January the
+worst blizzard in the history of the plains swept down from the north,
+and the poor wandering cattle were driven to the divides and frozen
+to death against the line fences. Of all the appalling sights that an
+ordinary lifetime on the range affords, there is nothing to compare
+with the suffering and death that were daily witnessed during the
+month of January in the winter of 1885-86. I remained on the range,
+and left men at winter camps on every pasture in which we had stock,
+yet we were powerless to relieve the drifting cattle. The morning
+after the great storm, with others, I rode to a south string of fence
+on a divide, and found thousands of our cattle huddled against it,
+many frozen to death, partially through and hanging on the wire. We
+cut the fences in order to allow them to drift on to shelter, but the
+legs of many of them were so badly frozen that, when they moved, the
+skin cracked open and their hoofs dropped off. Hundreds of young
+steers were wandering aimlessly around on hoofless stumps, while their
+tails cracked and broke like icicles. In angles and nooks of the
+fence, hundreds had perished against the wire, their bodies forming
+a scaling ladder, permitting late arrivals to walk over the dead and
+dying as they passed on with the fury of the storm. I had been a
+soldier and seen sad sights, but nothing to compare to this; the
+moaning of the cattle freezing to death would have melted a heart of
+adamant. All we could do was to cut the fences and let them drift, for
+to halt was to die; and when the storm abated one could have walked
+for miles on the bodies of dead animals. No pen could describe the
+harrowing details of that winter; and for years afterward, or until
+their remains had a commercial value, a wayfarer could have traced
+the south-line fences by the bleaching bones that lay in windrows,
+glistening in the sun like snowdrifts, to remind us of the closing
+chapter in the history of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+IN CONCLUSION
+
+
+The subsequent history of the ill-fated Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company is easily told. Over ninety per cent of the cattle moved under
+the President's order were missing at the round-up the following
+spring. What few survived were pitiful objects, minus ears and tails,
+while their horns, both root and base, were frozen until they drooped
+down in unnatural positions. Compared to the previous one, the winter
+of 1885-86, with the exception of the great January blizzard, was the
+less severe of the two. On the firm's range in the Cherokee Strip our
+losses were much lighter than during the previous winter, owing to the
+fact that food was plentiful, there being little if any sleet or
+snow during the latter year. Had we been permitted to winter in the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe country, considering our sheltered range and
+the cattle fully located, ten per cent would have been a conservative
+estimate of loss by the elements. As manager of the company I lost
+five valuable years and over a quarter-million dollars. Time has
+mollified my grievances until now only the thorn of inhumanity to dumb
+beasts remains. Contrasted with results, how much more humane it would
+have been to have ordered out negro troops from Fort Reno and shot
+the cattle down, or to have cut the fences ourselves, and, while our
+holdings were drifting back to Texas, trusted to the mercy of the
+Comanches.
+
+I now understand perfectly why the business world dreads a political
+change in administration. Whatever may have been the policy of one
+political party, the reverse becomes the slogan of the other on
+its promotion to power. For instance, a few years ago, the general
+government offered a bounty on the home product of sugar, stimulating
+the industry in Louisiana and also in my adopted State. A change of
+administration followed, the bounty was removed, and had not the
+insurance companies promptly canceled their risks on sugar mills, the
+losses by fire would have been appalling. Politics had never affected
+my occupation seriously; in fact I profited richly through the
+extravagance and mismanagement of the Reconstruction régime in Texas,
+and again met the defeat of my life at the hands of the general
+government.
+
+With the demand for trail cattle on the decline, coupled with two
+severe winters, the old firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. was ripe for
+dissolution. We had enjoyed the cream of the trade while it lasted,
+but conditions were changing, making it necessary to limit and
+restrict our business. This was contrary to our policy, though the
+spring of 1886 found us on the trail with sixteen herds for the firm
+and four from my own ranches, one half of which were under contract.
+A dry summer followed, and thousands of weak cattle were lost on the
+trail, while ruin and bankruptcy were the portion of a majority of the
+drovers. We weathered the drouth on the trail, selling our unplaced
+cattle early, and before the beef-shipping season began, our range in
+the Outlet, including good will, holding of beeves, saddle horses, and
+general improvements, was sold to a Kansas City company, and the old
+firm passed out of existence. Meanwhile I had closed up the affairs of
+the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Company, returning a small pro rata of the
+original investment to shareholders, charging my loss to tuition in
+rounding out my education as a cowman.
+
+The productive capacity of my ranches for years past safely tided me
+over all financial difficulties. With all outside connections severed,
+I was then enabled to give my personal attention to ranching in Texas.
+I was fortunate in having capable ranch foremen, for during my almost
+continued absence there was a steady growth, together with thorough
+management of my mixed cattle. The improved herd, now numbering over
+two thousand, was the pride of my operations in live stock, while my
+quarter and three-eighths blood steers were in a class by themselves.
+We were breeding over a thousand half and three-quarters blood bulls
+annually, and constantly importing the best strains to the head of
+the improved herd. Results were in evidence, and as long as the trail
+lasted, my cattle were ready sellers in the upper range markets. For
+the following few years I drove my own growing of steers, usually
+contracting them in advance. The days of the trail were numbered; 1889
+saw the last herd leave Texas, many of the Northern States having
+quarantined against us, and we were afterward compelled to ship by
+rail in filling contracts on the upper ranges.
+
+When Kansas quarantined against Texas cattle, Dodge was abandoned as
+a range market. The trail moved West, first to Lakin and finally to
+Trail City, on the Colorado line. In attempting to pass the former
+point with four Pan-Handle herds in the spring of 1888, I ran afoul of
+a quarantine convention. The cattle were under contract in Wyoming,
+and it was my intention not even to halt the herds, but merely to take
+on supplies in passing. But a deputation met us south of the river,
+notifying me that the quarantine convention was in session, and
+requesting me not to attempt to cross the Arkansas. I explained that
+my cattle were from above the dead line in Texas, had heretofore gone
+unmolested wherever they wished, and that it was out of my way to turn
+west and go up through Colorado. The committee was reasonable, looked
+over the lead herd, and saw that I was driving graded cattle, and
+finally invited me in to state my case before the convention. I
+accompanied the men sent to warn me away, and after considerable
+parley I was permitted to address the assembly. In a few brief words
+I stated my destination, where I was from, and the quality of cattle
+making up my herds, and invited any doubters to accompany me across
+the river and look the stock over. Fortunately a number of the
+cattlemen in the convention knew me, and I was excused while the
+assembly went into executive session to consider my case. Prohibition
+was in effect at Lakin, and I was compelled to resort to diplomacy in
+order to cross the Arkansas River with my cattle. It was warm, sultry
+weather in the valley, and my first idea was to secure a barrel of
+bottled beer and send it over to the convention, but the town was dry.
+I ransacked all the drug stores, and the nearest approach to
+anything that would cheer and stimulate was Hostetter's Bitters. The
+prohibition laws were being rigidly enforced, but I signed a "death
+warrant" and ordered a case, which the druggist refused me until I
+explained that I had four outfits of men with me and that we had
+contracted malaria while sleeping on the ground. My excuse won, and
+taking the case of bitters on my shoulder, I bore it away to the
+nearest livery stable, where I wrote a note, with my compliments, and
+sent both by a darkey around to the rear door of the convention hall.
+
+On adjournment for dinner, my case looked hopeless. There was a
+strong sentiment against admitting any cattle from Texas, all former
+privileges were to be set aside, and the right to quarantine against
+any section or state was claimed as a prerogative of a free people.
+The convention was patiently listening to all the oratorical talent
+present, and my friends held out a slender hope that once the
+different speakers had relieved their minds they might feel easier
+towards me, and possibly an exception would be made in my case. During
+the afternoon session I received frequent reports from the convention,
+and on the suggestion of a friend I began to skirmish around for a
+second case of bitters. There were only three drug stores in the
+town, and as I was ignorant of the law, I naturally went back to the
+druggist from whom I secured the first case. To my surprise he refused
+to supply my wants, and haughtily informed me that one application a
+day was all the law permitted him to sell to any one person. Rebuffed,
+I turned to another drug store, and was greeted by the proprietor, who
+formerly ran a saloon in Dodge. He recognized me, calling me by name;
+and after we had pledged our acquaintance anew behind the prescription
+case, I was confidentially informed that I could have his whole house
+and welcome, even if the State of Kansas did object and he had to go
+to jail. We both regretted that the good old days in the State were
+gone, but I sent around another case of bitters and a box of cigars,
+and sat down patiently to await results. With no action taken by
+the middle of the afternoon, I sent around a third installment of
+refreshments, and an hour later called in person at the door of the
+convention. The doorkeeper refused to admit me, but I caught his eye,
+which was glassy, and received a leery wink, while a bottle of bitters
+nestled cosily in the open bosom of his shirt. Hopeful that the signs
+were favorable, I apologized and withdrew, but was shortly afterwards
+sent for and informed that an exception had been made in my favor, and
+that I might cross the river at my will and pleasure. In the interim
+of waiting, in case I was successful, I had studied up a little speech
+of thanks, and as I arose to express my appreciation, a chorus of
+interruptions greeted me: "G' on, Reed! G' on, you d----d old
+cow-thief! Git out of town or we'll hang you!"
+
+With the trail a thing of the past, I settled down to the peaceful
+pursuits of a ranchman. The fencing of ranges soon became necessary,
+the Clear Fork tract being first inclosed, and a few years later
+owners of pastures adjoining the Double Mountain ranch wished to
+fence, and I fell in with the prevailing custom. On the latter range
+I hold title to a little over one million acres, while there are two
+hundred sections of school land included in my western pasture, on
+which I pay a nominal rental for its use. All my cattle are now
+graded, and while no effort is made to mature them, the advent of
+cotton-seed oil mills and other sources of demand have always afforded
+me an outlet for my increase. I have branded as many as twenty-five
+thousand calves in a year, and to this source of income alone I
+attribute the foundation of my present fortune. As a source of wealth
+the progeny of the cow in my State has proven a perennial harvest,
+with little or no effort on the part of the husbandman. Reversing
+the military rule of moving against the lines of least resistance,
+experience has taught me to follow those where Nature lends its
+greatest aid. Mine being strictly a grazing country, by preserving the
+native grasses and breeding only the best quality of cattle, I have
+always achieved success. I have brought up my boys to observe these
+economics of nature, and no plow shall ever mar the surface where
+my cows have grazed, generation after generation, to the profit and
+satisfaction of their owner. Where once I was a buyer in carload lots
+of the best strains of blood in the country, now I am a seller by
+hundreds and thousands of head, acclimated and native to the soil. One
+man to his trade and another to his merchandise, and the mistakes
+of my life justly rebuke me for dallying in paths remote from my
+legitimate calling.
+
+There is a close relationship between a cowman and his herds. My
+insight into cattle character exceeds my observation of the human
+family. Therefore I wish to confess my great love for the cattle of
+the fields. When hungry or cold, sick or distressed, they express
+themselves intelligently to my understanding, and when dangers of
+night and storm and stampede threaten their peace and serenity, they
+instinctively turn to the refuge of a human voice. When a herd was
+bedded at night, and wolves howled in the distance, the boys on guard
+easily calmed the sleeping cattle by simply raising their voices in
+song. The desire of self-preservation is innate in the animal race,
+but as long as the human kept watch and ward, the sleeping cattle had
+no fear of the common enemy. An incident which I cannot explain, but
+was witness to, occurred during the war. While holding cattle for the
+Confederate army we received a consignment of beeves from Texas. One
+of the men who accompanied the herd through called my attention to a
+steer and vouchsafed the statement that the animal loved music,--that
+he could be lured out of the herd with singing. To prove his
+assertion, the man sang what he termed the steer's favorite, and to
+the surprise of every soldier present, a fine, big mottled beef walked
+out from among a thousand others and stood entranced over the simple
+song. In my younger days my voice was considered musical; I could sing
+the folk-songs of my country better than the average, and when
+the herdsmen left us, I was pleased to see that my vocal efforts
+fascinated the late arrival from Texas. Within a week I could call him
+out with a song, when I fell so deeply in love with the broad-horn
+Texan that his life was spared through my disloyalty. In the daily
+issue to the army we kept him back as long as possible; but when our
+supply was exhausted, and he would have gone to the shambles the
+following day, I secretly cut him out at night and drove him miles to
+our rear, that his life might be spared. Within a year he returned
+with another consignment of beef; comrades who were in the secret
+would not believe me; but when a quartette of us army herders sang
+"Rock of Ages," the steer walked out and greeted us with mute
+appreciation. We enjoyed his company for over a month, I could call
+him with a song as far as my voice reached, and when death again
+threatened him, we cut him to the rear and he was never spoken again.
+Loyal as I was to the South, I would have deserted rather than have
+seen that steer go to the shambles.
+
+In bringing these reminiscences to a close, I wish to bear testimony
+in behalf of the men who lent their best existence that success
+should crown my efforts. Aside from my family, the two pleasantest
+recollections of my life are my old army comrades and the boys who
+worked with me on the range and trail. When men have roughed it
+together, shared their hardships in field and by camp-fire like true
+comrades, there is an indescribable bond between them that puts to
+shame any pretense of fraternal brotherhood. Among the hundreds, yes,
+the thousands, of men who worked for our old firm on the trail, all
+feel a pride in referring to former associations. I never leave home
+without meeting men, scattered everywhere, many of them prosperous,
+who come to me and say, "Of course you don't remember me, but I made
+a trip over the trail with your cattle,--from San Saba County in '77.
+Jake de Poyster was foreman. By the way, is your old partner, the
+little Yankee major, still living?" The acquaintance, thus renewed by
+chance, was always a good excuse for neglecting any business, and many
+a happy hour have I spent, living over again with one of my old boys
+the experiences of the past.
+
+I want to say a parting word in behalf of the men of my occupation.
+Sterling honesty was their chief virtue. A drover with an established
+reputation could enter any trail town a month in advance of the
+arrival of his cattle, and any merchant or banker would extend him
+credit on his spoken word. When the trail passed and the romance of
+the West was over, these same men were in demand as directors of
+banks or custodians of trust funds. They were simple as truth itself,
+possessing a rugged sense of justice that seemed to guide and direct
+their lives. On one occasion a few years ago, I unexpectedly dropped
+down from my Double Mountain ranch to an old cow town on the railroad.
+It was our regular business point, and I kept a small bank account
+there for current ranch expenses. As it happened, I needed some money,
+but on reaching the village found the banks closed, as it was Labor
+Day. Casually meeting an old cowman who was a director in the bank
+with which I did business, I pretended to take him to task over my
+disappointment, and wound up my arraignment by asking, "What kind of a
+jim-crow bank are you running, anyhow?"
+
+"Well, now, Reed," said he in apology, "I really don't know why the
+bank should close to-day, but there must be some reason for it. I
+don't pay much attention to those things, but there's our cashier and
+bookkeeper,--you know Hank and Bill,--the boys in charge of the bank.
+Well, they get together every once in a while and close her up for
+a day. I don't know why they do it, but those old boys have read
+history, and you can just gamble your last cow that there's good
+reasons for closing."
+
+The fraternal bond between rangemen recalls the sad end of one of my
+old trail bosses. The foreman in question was a faithful man, working
+for the firm during its existence and afterwards in my employ. I would
+have trusted my fortune to his keeping, my family thought the world
+of him, and many was the time that he risked his life to protect my
+interests. When my wife overlooks the shortcomings of a man, it is
+safe to say there is something redeemable in him, even though the
+offense is drinking. At idle times and with convivial company, this
+man would drink to excess, and when he was in his cups a spirit of
+harmless mischief was rampant in him, alternating with uncontrollable
+flashes of anger. Though he was usually as innocent as a kitten, it
+was a deadly insult to refuse drinking with him, and one day he shot a
+circle of holes around a stranger's feet for declining an invitation.
+A complaint was lodged against him, and the sheriff, not knowing the
+man, thoughtlessly sent a Mexican deputy to make the arrest. Even
+then, had ordinary courtesy been extended, the unfortunate occurrence
+might have been avoided. But an undue officiousness on the part of the
+officer angered the old trail boss, who flashed into a rage, defying
+the deputy, and an exchange of shots ensued. The Mexican was killed at
+the first fire, and my man mounted his horse unmolested, and returned
+to the ranch. I was absent at the time, but my wife advised him to go
+in and surrender to the proper authorities, and he obeyed her like a
+child.
+
+We all looked upon him as one of the family, and I employed the best
+of counsel. The circumstances were against him, however, and in
+spite of an able defense he received a sentence of ten years. No one
+questioned the justice of the verdict, the law must be upheld, and the
+poor fellow was taken to the penitentiary to serve out the sentence.
+My wife and I concealed the facts from the younger children, who were
+constantly inquiring after his return, especially my younger girls,
+with whom he was a great favorite. The incident was worse than a
+funeral; it would not die out, as never a day passed but inquiry was
+made after the missing man; the children dreamed about him, and awoke
+from their sleep to ask if he had come and if he had brought them
+anything. The matter finally affected my wife's nerves, the older boys
+knew the truth, and the younger children were becoming suspicious of
+the veracity of their parents. The truth was gradually leaking out,
+and after he had served a year in prison, I began a movement with the
+view of securing his pardon. My influence in state politics was
+always more or less courted, and appealing to my friends, I drew up
+a petition, which was signed by every prominent politician in that
+section, asking that executive clemency be extended in behalf of my
+old foreman. The governor was a good friend of mine, anxious to
+render me a service, and through his influence we managed to have the
+sentence so reduced that after serving two years the prisoner was
+freed and returned to the ranch. He was the same lovable character,
+tolerated by my wife and fondled by the children, and he refused to
+leave home for over a year. Ever cautious to remove temptation from
+him, both my wife and I hoped that the lesson would last him through
+life, but in an unguarded hour he took to drink, and shot to death his
+dearest friend.
+
+For the second offense he received a life sentence. My regret over
+securing his pardon, and the subsequent loss of human life, affected
+me as no other event has ever done in my career. This man would have
+died for me or one of mine, and what I thought to be a generous act to
+a man in prison proved a curse that haunted me for many years. But all
+is well now between us. I make it a point to visit him at least once a
+year; we have talked the matter over and have come to the conclusion
+that the law is just and that he must remain in confinement the
+remainder of his days. That is now the compact, and, strange to say,
+both of us derive a sense of security and peace from our covenant such
+as we had never enjoyed during the year of his liberty. The wardens
+inform me that he is a model prisoner, perfectly content in his
+restraint; and I have promised him that on his death, whether it
+occurs before or after mine, his remains will be brought back to the
+home ranch and be given a quiet grave in some secluded spot.
+
+For any success that I may have achieved, due acknowledgment must be
+given my helpmate. I was blessed with a wife such as falls to the lot
+of few men. Once children were born to our union and a hearthstone
+established, the family became the magnet of my life. It mattered not
+where my occupation carried me, or how long my absence from home, the
+lodestar of a wife and family was a sustaining help. Our first cabin,
+long since reduced to ashes, lives in my memory as a palace. I was
+absent at the time of its burning, but my wife's father always enjoyed
+telling the story on his daughter. The elder Edwards was branding
+calves some five miles distant from the home ranch, but on sighting
+the signal smoke of the burning house, he and his outfit turned the
+cattle loose, mounted their horses, and rode to the rescue at a
+break-neck pace. When they reached the scene our home was enveloped in
+flames, and there was no prospect of saving any of its contents. The
+house stood some distance from the other ranch buildings, and as there
+was no danger of the fire spreading, there was nothing that could be
+done and the flames held undisputed sway. The cause of the fire was
+unknown, my wife being at her father's house at the time; but on
+discovering the flames, she picked up the baby and ran to the burning
+cabin, entered it and rescued the little tin trunk that held her
+girlhood trinkets and a thousand certificates of questionable land
+scrip. When the men dashed up, my wife was sitting on the tin trunk,
+surrounded by the children, all crying piteously, fully unconscious
+of the fact that she had saved the foundation of my present landed
+holdings. The cabin had cost two weeks' labor to build, its
+contents were worthless, but I had no record of the numbers of the
+certificates, and to my wife's presence of mind or intuition in
+an emergency all credit is given for saving the land scrip. Many
+daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. The
+compiling of these memoirs has been a pleasant task. In this
+summing-up of my active life, much has been omitted; and then again,
+there seems to have been a hopeless repetition with the recurring
+years, for seedtime and harvest come to us all as the seasons roll
+round. Four of my boys have wandered far afield, forging out for
+themselves, not content to remain under the restraint of older
+brothers who have assumed the active management of my ranches. One bad
+general is still better than two good ones, and there must be a head
+to a ranch if it is to be made a success. I still keep an eye over
+things, but the rough, hard work now falls on younger shoulders, and I
+find myself delegated to amuse and be amused by the third generation
+of the Anthonys. In spite of my years, I still enjoy a good saddle
+horse, scarcely a day passing but I ride from ten to twenty miles.
+There is a range maxim that "the eyes of the boss make a fat horse,"
+and at deliveries of cattle, rounds-ups, and branding, my mere
+presence makes things move with alacrity. I can still give the boys
+pointers in handling large bodies of cattle, and the ranch outfits
+seem to know that we old-time cowmen have little use for the modern
+picturesque cowboy, unless he is an all-round man and can deliver the
+goods in any emergency.
+
+With but a few years of my allotted span yet to run, I find myself
+in the full enjoyment of all my faculties, ready for a romp with my
+grandchildren or to crack a joke with a friend. My younger girls are
+proving splendid comrades, always ready for a horseback ride or a trip
+to the city. It has always been a characteristic of the Anthony family
+that they could ride a horse before they could walk, and I find the
+third generation following in the footsteps of their elders. My
+grandsons were all expert with a rope before they could read, and it
+is one of the evidences of a merciful providence that their lives have
+been spared, as it is nearly impossible to keep them out of mischief
+and danger. To forbid one to ride a certain dangerous horse only
+serves to heighten his anxiety to master the outlaw, and to banish
+him from the branding pens means a prompt return with or without
+an excuse. On one occasion, on the Double Mountain ranch, with the
+corrals full of heavy cattle, I started down to the pens, but met two
+of my grandsons coming up the hill, and noticed at a glance that there
+had been trouble. I stopped the boys and inquired the cause of their
+tears, when the youngest, a barefooted, chubby little fellow, said to
+me between his sobs, "Grandpa, you'd--you'd--you'd better keep away
+from those corrals. Pa's as mad as a hornet, and--and--and he quirted
+us--yes, he did. If you fool around down there, he'll--he'll--he'll
+just about wear you out."
+
+Should this transcript of my life ever reach the dignity of
+publication, the casual reader, in giving me any credit for success,
+should bear in mind the opportunities of my time. My lot was cast with
+the palmy days of the golden West, with its indefinable charm, now
+past and gone and never to return. In voicing this regret, I desire
+to add that my mistakes are now looked back to as the chastening
+rod, leading me to an appreciation of higher ideals, and the final
+testimony that life is well worth the living.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REED ANTHONY, COWMAN***
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+The Project Gutenberg eBook, Reed Anthony, Cowman, by Andy Adams
+
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+
+
+
+Title: Reed Anthony, Cowman
+
+Author: Andy Adams
+
+Release Date: July 11, 2004  [eBook #12884]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
+
+
+***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REED ANTHONY, COWMAN***
+
+
+E-text prepared by the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading
+Team
+
+
+
+Editorial note: Randy Adams, the author of this book, wrote from
+                first-hand experience. As a young man he spent 8 years
+                traildriving cattle from Texas to markets in the 1880's
+                and 1890's. Project Gutenberg's library contains
+                several of his other books.
+
+
+
+
+REED ANTHONY, COWMAN
+
+An Autobiography
+
+BY
+
+ANDY ADAMS
+
+1907
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: THE COWMAN]
+
+
+
+
+TO
+
+CAPTAIN JOHN T. LYTLE
+
+SECRETARY OF
+
+THE TEXAS CATTLE RAISERS' ASSOCIATION
+
+FORT WORTH, TEXAS
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+    I. IN RETROSPECT
+   II. MY APPRENTICESHIP
+  III. A SECOND TRIP TO PORT SUMNER
+   IV. A FATAL TRIP
+    V. SUMMER OF '68
+   VI. SOWING WILD OATS
+  VII. "THE ANGEL"
+ VIII. THE "LAZY L"
+   IX. THE SCHOOL OF EXPERIENCE
+    X. THE PANIC OF '73
+   XI. A PROSPEROUS YEAR
+  XII. CLEAR FORK AND SHENANDOAH
+ XIII. THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
+  XIV. ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH
+   XV. HARVEST HOME
+  XVI. AN ACTIVE SUMMER
+ XVII. FORESHADOWS
+XVIII. THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM
+  XIX. THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOE CATTLE COMPANY
+   XX. HOLDING THE FORT
+  XXI. THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACY
+ XXII. IN CONCLUSION
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+IN RETROSPECT
+
+
+I can truthfully say that my entire life has been spent with cattle.
+Even during my four years' service in the Confederate army, the
+greater portion was spent with the commissary department, in charge of
+its beef supplies. I was wounded early in the second year of the war
+and disabled as a soldier, but rather than remain at home I accepted
+a menial position under a quartermaster. Those were strenuous times.
+During Lee's invasion of Pennsylvania we followed in the wake of the
+army with over a thousand cattle, and after Gettysburg we led the
+retreat with double that number. Near the close of the war we
+frequently had no cattle to hold, and I became little more than a
+camp-follower.
+
+I was born in the Shenandoah Valley, northern Virginia, May 3, 1840.
+My father was a thrifty planter and stockman, owned a few slaves, and
+as early as I can remember fed cattle every winter for the eastern
+markets. Grandfather Anthony, who died before I was born, was a
+Scotchman who had emigrated to the Old Dominion at an early day,
+and acquired several large tracts of land on an affluent of the
+Shenandoah. On my paternal side I never knew any of my ancestors, but
+have good cause to believe they were adventurers. My mother's maiden
+name was Reed; she was of a gentle family, who were able to trace
+their forbears beyond the colonial days, even to the gentry of
+England. Generations of good birth were reflected in my mother;
+and across a rough and eventful life I can distinctly remember the
+refinement of her manners, her courtesy to guests, her kindness to
+child and slave.
+
+My boyhood days were happy ones. I attended a subscription school
+several miles from home, riding back and forth on a pony. The studies
+were elementary, and though I never distinguished myself in my
+classes, I was always ready to race my pony, and never refused to play
+truant when the swimming was good. Evidently my father never intended
+any of his boys for a professional career, though it was an earnest
+hope of my mother that all of us should receive a college education.
+My elder brother and I early developed business instincts, buying
+calves and accompanying our father on his trading expeditions. Once
+during a vacation, when we were about twelve and ten years old, both
+of us crossed the mountains with him into what is now West Virginia,
+where he bought about two hundred young steers and drove them back to
+our home in the valley. I must have been blessed with an unfailing
+memory; over fifty years have passed since that, my first trip from
+home, yet I remember it vividly--can recall conversations between my
+father and the sellers as they haggled over the cattle. I remember the
+money, gold and silver, with which to pay for the steers, was carried
+by my father in ordinary saddle-bags thrown across his saddle. As
+occasion demanded, frequently the funds were carried by a negro man of
+ours, and at night, when among acquaintances, the heavy saddle-bags
+were thrown into a corner, every one aware of their contents.
+
+But the great event of my boyhood was a trip to Baltimore. There was
+no railroad at the time, and as that was our market for fat cattle,
+it was necessary to drive the entire way. My father had made the trip
+yearly since I could remember, the distance being nearly two hundred
+miles, and generally carrying as many as one hundred and fifty big
+beeves. They traveled slowly, pasturing or feeding grain on the way,
+in order that the cattle should arrive at the market in salable
+condition. One horse was allowed with the herd, and on another my
+father rode, far in advance, to engage pasture or feed and shelter for
+his men. When on the road a boy always led a gentle ox in the lead of
+the beeves; negro men walked on either flank, and the horseman brought
+up the rear. I used to envy the boy leading the ox, even though he was
+a darky. The negro boys on our plantation always pleaded with "Mars"
+John, my father, for the privilege; and when one of them had made the
+trip to Baltimore as a toll boy he easily outranked us younger whites.
+I must have made application for the position when I was about seven
+years old, for it seemed an age before my request was granted. My
+brother, only two years older than I, had made the trip twice, and
+when I was twelve the great opportunity came. My father had nearly two
+hundred cattle to go to market that year, and the start was made one
+morning early in June. I can distinctly see my mother standing on the
+veranda of our home as I led the herd by with a big red ox, trembling
+with fear that at the final moment her permission might be withdrawn
+and that I should have to remain behind. But she never interfered with
+my father, who took great pains to teach his boys everything practical
+in the cattle business.
+
+It took us twenty days to reach Baltimore. We always started early in
+the morning, allowing the beeves to graze and rest along the road, and
+securing good pastures for them at night. Several times it rained,
+making the road soft, but I stripped off my shoes and took it
+barefooted through the mud. The lead ox was a fine, big fellow, each
+horn tipped with a brass knob, and he and I set the pace, which was
+scarcely that of a snail. The days were long, I grew desperately
+hungry between meals, and the novelty of leading that ox soon lost its
+romance. But I was determined not to show that I was tired or hungry,
+and frequently, when my father was with us and offered to take me up
+behind him on his horse, I spurned his offer and trudged on till
+the end of the day. The mere driving of the beeves would have been
+monotonous, but the constant change of scene kept us in good spirits,
+and our darkies always crooned old songs when the road passed through
+woodlands. After the beeves were marketed we spent a day in the city,
+and my father took my brother and me to the theatre. Although the
+world was unfolding rather rapidly for a country boy of twelve, it
+was with difficulty that I was made to understand that what we had
+witnessed on the stage was but mimicry.
+
+The third day after reaching the city we started on our return. The
+proceeds from the sale of the cattle were sent home by boat. With only
+two horses, each of which carried double, and walking turn about, we
+reached home in seven days, settling all bills on the way. That year
+was a type of others until I was eighteen, at which age I could guess
+within twenty pounds of the weight of any beef on foot, and when I
+bought calves and yearling steers I knew just what kind of cattle they
+would make at maturity. In the mean time, one summer my father had
+gone west as far as the State of Missouri, traveling by boat to
+Jefferson City, and thence inland on horseback. Several of our
+neighbors had accompanied him, all of them buying land, my father
+securing four sections. I had younger brothers growing up, and the
+year my oldest brother attained his majority my father outfitted him
+with teams, wagons, and two trusty negro men, and we started for the
+nearest point on the Ohio River, our destination being the new lands
+in the West. We embarked on the first boat, drifting down the Ohio,
+and up the other rivers, reaching the Ultima Thule of our hopes within
+a month. The land was new; I liked it; we lived on venison and wild
+turkeys, and when once we had built a log house and opened a few
+fields, we were at peace with the earth.
+
+But this happy existence was of short duration. Rumors of war reached
+us in our western elysium, and I turned my face homeward, as did many
+another son of Virginia. My brother was sensible enough to remain
+behind on the new farm; but with nothing to restrain me I soon found
+myself in St. Louis. There I met kindred spirits, eager for the coming
+fray, and before attaining my majority I was bearing arms and wearing
+the gray of the Confederacy. My regiment saw very little service
+during the first year of the war, as it was stationed in the western
+division, but early in 1862 it was engaged in numerous actions.
+
+I shall never forget my first glimpse of the Texas cavalry. We had
+moved out from Corinth, under cover of darkness, to attack Grant at
+Pittsburg Landing. When day broke, orders were given to open out and
+allow the cavalry to pass ahead and reconnoitre our front. I had
+always felt proud of Virginian horsemanship, but those Texans were in
+a class by themselves. Centaur-like they sat their horses, and for our
+amusement, while passing at full gallop, swung from their saddles and
+picked up hats and handkerchiefs. There was something about the Texans
+that fascinated me, and that Sunday morning I resolved, if spared, to
+make Texas my future home. I have good cause to remember the battle of
+Shiloh, for during the second day I was twice wounded, yet saved from
+falling into the enemy's hands.
+
+My recovery was due to youth and a splendid constitution. Within six
+weeks I was invalided home, and inside a few months I was assigned to
+the commissary department with the army in Virginia. It was while in
+the latter service that I made the acquaintance of many Texans, from
+whom I learned a great deal about the resources of their State,--its
+immense herds of cattle, the cheapness of its lands, and its perpetual
+summer. During the last year of the war, on account of their ability
+to handle cattle, a number of Texans were detailed to care for the
+army's beef supply. From these men I received much information and a
+pressing invitation to accompany them home, and after the parole at
+Appomattox I took their address, promising to join them in the near
+future. On my return to the old homestead I found the place desolate,
+with burnt barns and fields laid waste. The Shenandoah Valley had
+experienced war in its dread reality, for on every hand were the
+charred remains of once splendid homes. I had little hope that the
+country would ever recover, but my father, stout-hearted as ever, had
+already begun anew, and after helping him that summer and fall I again
+drifted west to my brother's farm.
+
+The war had developed a restless, vagabond spirit in me. I had little
+heart to work, was unsettled as to my future, and, to add to my other
+troubles, after reaching Missouri one of my wounds reopened. In the
+mean time my brother had married, and had a fine farm opened up. He
+offered me every encouragement and assistance to settle down to
+the life of a farmer; but I was impatient, worthless, undergoing a
+formative period of early manhood, even spurning the advice of father,
+mother, and dearest friends. If to-day, across the lapse of years, the
+question were asked what led me from the bondage of my discontent, it
+would remain unanswered. Possibly it was the advantage of good birth;
+surely the prayers of a mother had always followed me, and my feet
+were finally led into the paths of industry. Since that day of
+uncertainty, grandsons have sat upon my knee, clamoring for a story
+about Indians, the war, or cattle trails. If I were to assign a motive
+for thus leaving a tangible record of my life, it would be that my
+posterity--not the present generation, absorbed in its greed of gain,
+but a more distant and a saner one--should be enabled to glean a faint
+idea of one of their forbears. A worthy and secondary motive is to
+give an idea of the old West and to preserve from oblivion a rapidly
+vanishing type of pioneers.
+
+My personal appearance can be of little interest to coming
+generations, but rather what I felt, saw, and accomplished. It was
+always a matter of regret to me that I was such a poor shot with a
+pistol. The only two exceptions worthy of mention were mere accidents.
+In my boyhood's home, in Virginia, my father killed yearly a large
+number of hogs for the household needs as well as for supplying our
+slave families with bacon. The hogs usually ran in the woods, feeding
+and thriving on the mast, but before killing time we always baited
+them into the fields and finished their fattening with peas and corn.
+It was customary to wait until the beginning of winter, or about the
+second cold spell, to butcher, and at the time in question there were
+about fifty large hogs to kill. It was a gala event with us boys, the
+oldest of whom were allowed to shoot one or more with a rifle. The
+hogs had been tolled into a small field for the killing, and towards
+the close of the day a number of them, having been wounded and
+requiring a second or third shot, became cross. These subsequent shots
+were usually delivered from a six-shooter, and in order to have it at
+hand in case of a miss I was intrusted with carrying the pistol. There
+was one heavy-tusked five-year-old stag among the hogs that year who
+refused to present his head for a target, and took refuge in a brier
+thicket. He was left until the last, when we all sallied out to make
+the final kill. There were two rifles, and had the chance come to my
+father, I think he would have killed him easily; but the opportunity
+came to a neighbor, who overshot, merely causing a slight wound. The
+next instant the stag charged at me from the cover of the thickety
+fence corner. Not having sense enough to take to the nearest
+protection, I turned and ran like a scared wolf across the field, the
+hog following me like a hound. My father risked a running shot, which
+missed its target. The darkies were yelling, "Run, chile! Run, Mars'
+Reed! Shoot! Shoot!" when it occurred to me that I had a pistol; and
+pointing it backward as I ran, I blazed away, killing the big fellow
+in his tracks.
+
+The other occasion was years afterward, when I was a trail foreman at
+Abilene, Kansas. My herd had arrived at that market in bad condition,
+gaunted from almost constant stampedes at night, and I had gone into
+camp some distance from town to quiet and recuperate them. That day I
+was sending home about half my men, had taken them to the depot with
+our wagon, and intended hauling back a load of supplies to my camp.
+After seeing the boys off I hastened about my other business, and near
+the middle of the afternoon started out of town. The distance to camp
+was nearly twenty miles, and with a heavy load, principally salt, I
+knew it would be after nightfall when I reached there. About five
+miles out of town there was a long, gradual slope to climb, and I had
+to give the through team their time in pulling to its summit. Near the
+divide was a small box house, the only one on the road if I remember
+rightly, and as I was nearing it, four or five dogs ran out and scared
+my team. I managed to hold them in the road, but they refused to quiet
+down, kicking, rearing, and plunging in spite of their load; and once
+as they jerked me forward, I noticed there was a dog or two under the
+wagon, nipping at their heels. There was a six-shooter lying on the
+seat beside me, and reaching forward I fired it downward over the end
+gate of the wagon. By the merest accident I hit a dog, who raised a
+cry, and the last I saw of him he was spinning like a top and howling
+like a wolf. I quieted the team as soon as possible, and as I looked
+back, there was a man and woman pursuing me, the latter in the lead. I
+had gumption enough to know that they were the owners of the dog, and
+whipped up the horses in the hope of getting away from them. But the
+grade and the load were against me, and the next thing I knew, a big,
+bony woman, with fire in her eye, was reaching for me. The wagon wheel
+warded her off, and I leaned out of her reach to the far side, yet she
+kept abreast of me, constantly calling for her husband to hurry up.
+I was pouring the whip into the horses, fearful lest she would climb
+into the wagon, when the hub of the front wheel struck her on the
+knee, knocking her down. I was then nearing the summit of the divide,
+and on reaching it, I looked back and saw the big woman giving her
+husband the pommeling that was intended for me. She was altogether too
+near me yet, and I shook the lines over the horses, firing a few shots
+to frighten them, and we tore down the farther slope like a fire
+engine.
+
+There are two events in my life that this chronicle will not fully
+record. One of them is my courtship and marriage, and the other my
+connection with a government contract with the Indian department.
+Otherwise my life shall be as an open book, not only for my own
+posterity, but that he who runs may read. It has been a matter of
+observation with me that a plain man like myself scarcely ever refers
+to his love affairs. At my time of life, now nearing my alloted span,
+I have little sympathy with the great mass of fiction which exploits
+the world-old passion. In no sense of the word am I a well-read man,
+yet I am conscious of the fact that during my younger days the love
+story interested me; but when compared with the real thing, the
+transcript is usually a poor one. My wife and I have now walked up
+and down the paths of life for over thirty-five years, and, if memory
+serves me right, neither one of us has ever mentioned the idea of
+getting a divorce. In youth we shared our crust together; children
+soon blessed and brightened our humble home, and to-day, surrounded by
+every comfort that riches can bestow, no achievement in life has given
+me such great pleasure, I know no music so sweet, as the prattle of my
+own grandchildren. Therefore that feature of my life is sacred, and
+will not be disclosed in these pages.
+
+I would omit entirely mention of the Indian contract, were it not that
+old friends may read this, my biography, and wonder at the omission. I
+have no apologies to offer for my connection with the transaction, as
+its true nature was concealed from me in the beginning, and a scandal
+would have resulted had I betrayed friends. Then again, before general
+amnesty was proclaimed I was debarred from bidding on the many
+rich government contracts for cattle because I had served in the
+Confederate army. Smarting under this injustice at the time the Indian
+contract was awarded, I question if I was thoroughly _reconstructed._
+Before our disabilities were removed, we ex-Confederates could do all
+the work, run all the risk, turn in all the cattle in filling the
+outstanding contracts, but the middleman got the profits. The contract
+in question was a blanket one, requiring about fifty thousand cows for
+delivery at some twenty Indian agencies. The use of my name was all
+that was required of me, as I was the only cowman in the entire ring.
+My duty was to bid on the contract; the bonds would be furnished by my
+partners, of which I must have had a dozen. The proposals called for
+sealed bids, in the usual form, to be in the hands of the Department
+of the Interior before noon on a certain day, marked so and so, and to
+be opened at high noon a week later. The contract was a large one, the
+competition was ample. Several other Texas drovers besides myself had
+submitted bids; but they stood no show--_I had been furnished the
+figures of every competitor._ The ramifications of the ring of which
+I was the mere figure-head can be readily imagined. I sublet the
+contract to the next lowest bidder, who delivered the cattle, and we
+got a rake-off of a clean hundred thousand dollars. Even then there
+was little in the transaction for me, as it required too many people
+to handle it, and none of them stood behind the door at the final
+"divvy." In a single year I have since cleared twenty times what my
+interest amounted to in that contract and have done honorably by
+my fellowmen. That was my first, last, and only connection with a
+transaction that would need deodorizing if one described the details.
+
+But I have seen life, have been witness to its poetry and pathos, have
+drunk from the cup of sorrow and rejoiced as a strong man to run a
+race. I have danced all night where wealth and beauty mingled, and
+again under the stars on a battlefield I have helped carry a stretcher
+when the wails of the wounded on every hand were like the despairing
+cries of lost souls. I have seen an old demented man walking the
+streets of a city, picking up every scrap of paper and scanning it
+carefully to see if a certain ship had arrived at port--a ship which
+had been lost at sea over forty years before, and aboard of which were
+his wife and children. I was once under the necessity of making
+a payment of twenty-five thousand dollars in silver at an Indian
+village. There were no means of transportation, and I was forced to
+carry the specie in on eight pack mules. The distance was nearly two
+hundred miles, and as we neared the encampment we were under the
+necessity of crossing a shallow river. It was summer-time, and as we
+halted the tired mules to loosen the lash ropes, in order to allow
+them to drink, a number of Indian children of both sexes, who
+were bathing in the river, gathered naked on either embankment in
+bewilderment at such strange intruders. In the innocence of these
+children of the wild there was no doubt inspiration for a poet; but
+our mission was a commercial one, and we relashed the mules and
+hurried into the village with the rent money.
+
+I have never kept a diary. One might wonder that the human mind
+could contain such a mass of incident and experiences as has been my
+portion, yet I can remember the day and date of occurrences of fifty
+years ago. The scoldings of my father, the kind words of an indulgent
+mother, when not over five years of age, are vivid in my memory as I
+write to-day. It may seem presumptuous, but I can give the year and
+date of starting, arrival, and delivery of over one hundred herds of
+cattle which I drove over the trail as a common hand, foreman,
+or owner. Yet the warnings of years--the unsteady step, easily
+embarrassed, love of home and dread of leaving it--bid me hasten these
+memoirs. Even my old wounds act as a barometer in foretelling the
+coming of storms, as well as the change of season, from both of which
+I am comfortably sheltered. But as I look into the inquiring eyes of a
+circle of grandchildren, all anxious to know my life story, it seems
+to sweeten the task, and I am encouraged to go on with the work.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+MY APPRENTICESHIP
+
+
+During the winter of 1865-66 I corresponded with several of my old
+comrades in Texas. Beyond a welcome which could not be questioned,
+little encouragement was, with one exception, offered me among my old
+friends. It was a period of uncertainty throughout the South, yet
+a cheerful word reached me from an old soldier crony living some
+distance west of Fort Worth on the Brazos River. I had great
+confidence in my former comrade, and he held out a hope, assuring me
+that if I would come, in case nothing else offered, we could take his
+ox teams the next winter and bring in a cargo of buffalo robes. The
+plains to the westward of Fort Griffin, he wrote, were swarming with
+buffalo, and wages could be made in killing them for their hides. This
+caught my fancy and I was impatient to start at once; but the healing
+of my reopened wound was slow, and it was March before I started. My
+brother gave me a good horse and saddle, twenty-five dollars in gold,
+and I started through a country unknown to me personally. Southern
+Missouri had been in sympathy with the Confederacy, and whatever I
+needed while traveling through that section was mine for the asking.
+I avoided the Indian Territory until I reached Fort Smith, where I
+rested several days with an old comrade, who gave me instructions and
+routed me across the reservation of the Choctaw Indians, and I reached
+Paris, Texas, without mishap.
+
+I remember the feeling that I experienced while being ferried across
+Red River. That watercourse was the northern boundary of Texas, and
+while crossing it I realized that I was leaving home and friends and
+entering a country the very name of which to the outside world was a
+synonym for crime and outlawry. Yet some of as good men as ever it was
+my pleasure to know came from that State, and undaunted I held a true
+course for my destination. I was disappointed on seeing Fort Worth, a
+straggling village on the Trinity River, and, merely halting to feed
+my mount, passed on. I had a splendid horse and averaged thirty to
+forty miles a day when traveling, and early in April reached the home
+of my friend in Paolo Pinto County. The primitive valley of the Brazos
+was enchanting, and the hospitality of the Edwards ranch was typical
+of my own Virginia. George Edwards, my crony, was a year my junior, a
+native of the State, his parents having moved west from Mississippi
+the year after Texas won her independence from Mexico. The elder
+Edwards had moved to his present home some fifteen years previous,
+carrying with him a stock of horses and cattle, which had increased
+until in 1866 he was regarded as one of the substantial ranchmen in
+the Brazos valley. The ranch house was a stanch one, built at a
+time when defense was to be considered as well as comfort, and was
+surrounded by fine cornfields. The only drawback I could see there was
+that there was no market for anything, nor was there any money in the
+country. The consumption of such a ranch made no impression on the
+increase of its herds, which grew to maturity with no demand for the
+surplus.
+
+I soon became impatient to do something. George Edwards had likewise
+lost four years in the army, and was as restless as myself. He knew
+the country, but the only employment in sight for us was as teamsters
+with outfits, freighting government supplies to Fort Griffin. I should
+have jumped at the chance of driving oxen, for I was anxious to stay
+in the country, and suggested to George that we ride up to Griffin.
+But the family interposed, assuring us that there was no occasion for
+engaging in such menial work, and we folded our arms obediently, or
+rode the range under the pretense of looking after the cattle. I might
+as well admit right here that my anxiety to get away from the Edwards
+ranch was fostered by the presence of several sisters of my former
+comrade. Miss Gertrude was only four years my junior, a very dangerous
+age, and in spite of all resolutions to the contrary, I felt myself
+constantly slipping. Nothing but my poverty and the hopelessness of it
+kept me from falling desperately in love.
+
+But a temporary relief came during the latter part of May. Reports
+came down the river that a firm of drovers were putting up a herd of
+cattle for delivery at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Their headquarters
+were at Belknap, a long day's ride above, on the Brazos; and
+immediately, on receipt of the news, George and I saddled, and
+started up the river. The elder Edwards was very anxious to sell his
+beef-cattle and a surplus of cow-horses, and we were commissioned to
+offer them to the drovers at prevailing prices. On arriving at Belknap
+we met the pioneer drover of Texas, Oliver Loving, of the firm of
+Loving & Goodnight, but were disappointed to learn that the offerings
+in making up the herd were treble the drover's requirements; neither
+was there any chance to sell horses. But an application for work met
+with more favor. Mr. Loving warned us of the nature of the country,
+the dangers to be encountered, all of which we waived, and were
+accordingly employed at forty dollars a month in gold. The herd was to
+start early in June. George Edwards returned home to report, but I was
+immediately put to work, as the junior member of the firm was then out
+receiving cattle. They had established a camp, and at the time of our
+employment were gathering beef steers in Loving's brand and holding
+the herd as it arrived, so that I was initiated into my duties at
+once.
+
+I was allowed to retain my horse, provided he did his share of the
+work. A mule and three range horses were also allotted to me, and I
+was cautioned about their care. There were a number of saddle mules in
+the remuda, and Mr. Loving explained that the route was through a
+dry country, and that experience had taught him that a mule could
+withstand thirst longer than a horse. I was a new man in the country,
+and absorbed every word and idea as a sponge does water. With the
+exception of roping, I made a hand from the start. The outfit treated
+me courteously, there was no concealment of my past occupation, and I
+soon had the friendship of every man in the camp. It was some little
+time before I met the junior partner, Charlie Goodnight, a strapping
+young fellow of about thirty, who had served all through the war in
+the frontier battalion of Texas Rangers. The Comanche Indians had been
+a constant menace on the western frontier of the State, and during the
+rebellion had allied themselves with the Federal side, and harassed
+the settlements along the border. It required a regiment of mounted
+men to patrol the frontier from Red River to the coast, as the
+Comanches claimed the whole western half of the State as their hunting
+grounds.
+
+Early in June the herd began to assume its required numbers. George
+Edwards returned, and we naturally became bunkies, sharing our
+blankets and having the same guard on night-herd. The drovers
+encouraged all the men employed to bring along their firearms, and
+when we were ready to start the camp looked like an arsenal. I had a
+six-shooter, and my bunkie brought me a needle-gun from the ranch, so
+that I felt armed for any emergency. Each of the men had a rifle
+of some make or other, while a few of them had as many as four
+pistols,--two in their belts and two in saddle holsters. It looked to
+me as if this was to be a military expedition, and I began to wonder
+if I had not had enough war the past few years, but kept quiet. The
+start was made June 10, 1866, from the Brazos River, in what is now
+Young County, the herd numbering twenty-two hundred big beeves. A
+chuck-wagon, heavily loaded with supplies and drawn by six yoke of
+fine oxen, a remuda of eighty-five saddle horses and mules, together
+with seventeen men, constituted the outfit. Fort Sumner lay to the
+northwest, and I was mildly surprised when the herd bore off to the
+southwest. This was explained by young Goodnight, who was in charge
+of the herd, saying that the only route then open or known was on our
+present course to the Pecos River, and thence up that stream to our
+destination.
+
+Indian sign was noticed a few days after starting. Goodnight and
+Loving both read it as easily as if it had been print,--the abandoned
+camps, the course of arrival and departure, the number of horses,
+indicating who and what they were, war or hunting parties--everything
+apparently simple and plain as an alphabet to these plainsmen. Around
+the camp-fire at night the chronicle of the Comanche tribe for the
+last thirty years was reviewed, and their overbearing and defiant
+attitude towards the people of Texas was discussed, not for my
+benefit, as it was common history. Then for the first time I learned
+that the Comanches had once mounted ten thousand warriors, had
+frequently raided the country to the coast, carrying off horses
+and white children, even dictating their own terms of peace to the
+republic of Texas. At the last council, called for the purpose of
+negotiating for the return of captive white children in possession of
+the Comanches, the assembly had witnessed a dramatic termination. The
+same indignity had been offered before, and borne by the whites, too
+weak to resist the numbers of the Comanche tribe. In this latter
+instance, one of the war chiefs, in spurning the remuneration offered
+for the return of a certain white girl, haughtily walked into the
+centre of the council, where an insult could be seen by all. His act,
+a disgusting one, was anticipated, as it was not the first time it had
+been witnessed, when one of the Texans present drew a six-shooter and
+killed the chief in the act. The hatchet of the Comanche was instantly
+dug up, and had not been buried at the time we were crossing a country
+claimed by him as his hunting ground.
+
+Yet these drovers seemed to have no fear of an inferior race. We held
+our course without a halt, scarcely a day passing without seeing more
+or less fresh sign of Indians. After crossing the South Fork of the
+Brazos, we were attacked one morning just at dawn, the favorite hour
+of the Indian for a surprise. Four men were on herd with the cattle
+and one near by with the remuda, our night horses all securely tied to
+the wagon wheels. A feint attack was made on the commissary, but
+under the leadership of Goodnight a majority of us scrambled into our
+saddles and rode to the rescue of the remuda, the chief objective
+of the surprise. Two of the boys from the herd had joined the horse
+wrangler, and on our arrival all three were wickedly throwing lead at
+the circling Indians. The remuda was running at the time, and as we
+cut through between it and the savages we gave them the benefit of our
+rifles and six-shooter in passing. The shots turned the saddle stock
+back towards our camp and the mounted braves continued on their
+course, not willing to try issues with us, although they outnumbered
+us three to one. A few arrows had imbedded themselves in the ground
+around camp at the first assault, but once our rifles were able to
+distinguish an object clearly, the Indians kept well out of reach. The
+cattle made a few surges, but once the remuda was safe, there was
+an abundance of help in holding them, and they quieted down before
+sunrise. The Comanches had no use for cattle, except to kill and
+torture them, as they preferred the flesh of the buffalo, and once
+our saddle stock and the contents of the wagon were denied them, they
+faded into the dips of the plain.
+
+The journey was resumed without the delay of an hour. Our first brush
+with the noble red man served a good purpose, as we were doubly
+vigilant thereafter whenever there was cause to expect an attack.
+There was an abundance of water, as we followed up the South Fork and
+its tributaries, passing through Buffalo Gap, which was afterward a
+well-known landmark on the Texas and Montana cattle trail. Passing
+over the divide between the waters of the Brazos and Concho, we struck
+the old Butterfield stage route, running by way of Fort Concho to
+El Paso, Texas, on the Rio Grande. This stage road was the original
+Staked Plain, surveyed and located by General John Pope in 1846. The
+route was originally marked by stakes, until it became a thoroughfare,
+from which the whole of northwest Texas afterward took its name. There
+was a ninety-six mile dry drive between the headwaters of the Concho
+and Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos, and before attempting it we
+rested a few days. Here Indians made a second attack on us, and
+although as futile as the first, one of the horse wranglers received
+an arrow in the shoulder. In attempting to remove it the shaft
+separated from the steel arrowhead, leaving the latter imbedded in the
+lad's shoulder. We were then one hundred and twelve miles distant from
+Fort Concho, the nearest point where medical relief might be expected.
+The drovers were alarmed for the man's welfare; it was impossible to
+hold the herd longer, so the young fellow volunteered to make the ride
+alone. He was given the best horse in the remuda, and with the falling
+of darkness started for Fort Concho. I had the pleasure of meeting him
+afterward, as happy as he was hale and hearty.
+
+The start across the arid stretch was made at noon. Every hoof had
+been thoroughly watered in advance, and with the heat of summer on us
+it promised to be an ordeal to man and beast. But Loving had driven it
+before, and knew fully what was before him as we trailed out under a
+noonday sun. An evening halt was made for refreshing the inner man,
+and as soon as darkness settled over us the herd was again started.
+We were conscious of the presence of Indians, and deceived them
+by leaving our camp-fire burning, but holding our effects closely
+together throughout the night, the remuda even mixing with the cattle.
+When day broke we were fully thirty miles from our noon camp of the
+day before, yet with the exception of an hour's rest there was never a
+halt. A second day and night were spent in forging ahead, though it
+is doubtful if we averaged much over a mile an hour during that time.
+About fifteen miles out from the Pecos we were due to enter a canon
+known as Castle Mountain Gap, some three or four miles long, the exit
+of which was in sight of the river. We were anxious to reach the
+entrance of this canon before darkness on the third day, as we could
+then cut the cattle into bunches, the cliffs on either side forming a
+lane. Our horses were as good as worthless during the third day, but
+the saddle mules seemed to stand grief nobly, and by dint of ceaseless
+effort we reached the canon and turned the cattle loose into it. This
+was the turning-point in the dry drive. That night two men took half
+the remuda and went through to Horsehead Crossing, returning with them
+early the next morning, and we once more had fresh mounts. The herd
+had been nursed through the canon during the night, and although it
+was still twelve miles to the river, I have always believed that those
+beeves knew that water was at hand. They walked along briskly; instead
+of the constant moaning, their heads were erect, bawling loud and
+deep. The oxen drawing the wagon held their chains taut, and the
+commissary moved forward as if drawn by a fresh team. There was no
+attempt to hold the herd compactly, and within an hour after starting
+on our last lap the herd was strung out three miles. The rear was
+finally abandoned, and when half the distance was covered, the drag
+cattle to the number of fully five hundred turned out of the trail
+and struck direct for the river. They had scented the water over five
+miles, and as far as control was concerned the herd was as good as
+abandoned, except that the water would hold them.
+
+Horsehead Crossing was named by General Pope. There is a difference of
+opinion as to the origin of the name, some contending that it was due
+to the meanderings of the river, forming a horse's head, and others
+that the surveying party was surprised by Indians and lost their
+stock. None of us had slept for three nights, and the feeling of
+relief on reaching the Pecos, shared alike by man and beast, is
+indescribable. Unless one has endured such a trial, only a faint idea
+of its hardships can be fully imagined--the long hours of patient
+travel at a snail's pace, enveloped by clouds of dust by day, and at
+night watching every shadow for a lurking savage. I have since slept
+many a time in the saddle, but in crossing that arid belt the one
+consuming desire to reach the water ahead benumbed every sense save
+watchfulness.
+
+All the cattle reached the river before the middle of the afternoon,
+covering a front of five or six miles. The banks of the Pecos were
+abrupt, there being fully one hundred and twenty-five feet of deep
+water in the channel at the stage crossing. Entrance to the ford
+consisted of a wagon-way, cut through the banks, and the cattle
+crowded into the river above and below, there being but one exit
+on either side. Some miles above, the beeves had found several
+passageways down to the water, but in drifting up and down stream
+they missed these entrances on returning. A rally was made late that
+afternoon to rout the cattle out of the river-bed, one half the outfit
+going above, the remainder working around Horsehead, where the bulk of
+the herd had watered. I had gone upstream with Goodnight, but before
+we reached the upper end of the cattle fresh Indian sign was noticed.
+There was enough broken country along the river to shelter the
+redskins, but we kept in the open and cautiously examined every brake
+within gunshot of an entrance to the river. We succeeded in getting
+all the animals out of the water before dark, with the exception of
+one bunch, where the exit would require the use of a mattock before
+the cattle could climb it, and a few head that had bogged in the
+quicksand below Horsehead Crossing. There was little danger of a rise
+in the river, the loose contingent had a dry sand-bar on which to
+rest, and as the Indians had no use for them there was little danger
+of their being molested before morning.
+
+We fell back about a mile from the river and camped for the night.
+Although we were all dead for sleep, extra caution was taken to
+prevent a surprise, either Goodnight or Loving remaining on guard over
+the outfit, seeing that the men kept awake on herd and that the guards
+changed promptly. Charlie Goodnight owned a horse that he contended
+could scent an Indian five hundred yards, and I have never questioned
+the statement. He had used him in the Ranger service. The horse by
+various means would show his uneasiness in the immediate presence of
+Indians, and once the following summer we moved camp at midnight on
+account of the warnings of that same horse. We had only a remuda with
+us at the time, but another outfit encamped with us refused to go, and
+they lost half their horses from an Indian surprise the next morning
+and never recovered them. I remember the ridicule which was expressed
+at our moving camp on the warnings of a horse. "Injun-bit,"
+"Man-afraid-of-his-horses," were some of the terms applied to us,--yet
+the practical plainsman knew enough to take warning from his dumb
+beast. Fear, no doubt, gives horses an unusual sense of smell, and I
+have known them to detect the presence of a bear, on a favorable wind,
+at an incredible distance.
+
+The night passed quietly, and early the next morning we rode to
+recover the remainder of the cattle. An effort was also made to rescue
+the bogged ones. On approaching the river, we found the beeves still
+resting quietly on the sand-bar. But we had approached them at an
+angle, for directly over head and across the river was a brake
+overgrown with thick brush, a splendid cover in which Indians might be
+lurking in the hope of ambushing any one who attempted to drive out
+the beeves. Two men were left with a single mattock to cut out and
+improve the exit, while the rest of us reconnoitered the thickety
+motte across the river. Goodnight was leery of the thicket, and
+suggested firing a few shots into it. We all had long-range guns, the
+distance from bank to bank was over two hundred yards, and a fusillade
+of shots was accordingly poured into the motte. To my surprise we were
+rewarded by seeing fully twenty Indians skulk out of the upper end of
+the cover. Every man raised his sights and gave them a parting volley,
+but a mesquite thicket, in which their horses were secreted, soon
+sheltered them and they fell back into the hills on the western side
+of the river. With the coast thus cleared, half a dozen of us rode
+down into the river-bed and drove out the last contingent of about
+three hundred cattle. Goodnight informed us that those Indians had
+no doubt been watching us for days, and cautioned us never to give a
+Comanche an advantage, advice which I never forgot.
+
+On our return every one of the bogged cattle had been freed except two
+heavy beeves. These animals were mired above the ford, in rather deep
+water, and it was simply impossible to release them. The drovers were
+anxious to cross the river that afternoon, and a final effort was made
+to rescue the two steers. The oxen were accordingly yoked, and, with
+all the chain available, were driven into the river and fastened on
+to the nearest one. Three mounted drivers had charge of the team, and
+when the word was given six yoke of cattle bowed their necks and threw
+their weight against the yokes; but the quicksand held the steer in
+spite of all their efforts. The chain was freed from it, and the oxen
+were brought around and made fast again, at an angle and where the
+footing was better for the team. Again the word was given, and as
+the six yoke swung round, whips and ropes were plied amid a general
+shouting, and the team brought out the steer, but with a broken neck.
+There were no regrets, and our attention was at once given to the
+other steer. The team circled around, every available chain was
+brought into use, in order to afford the oxen good footing on a
+straight-away pull with the position in which the beef lay bogged.
+The word was given for an easy pull, the oxen barely stretched their
+chains, and were stopped. Goodnight cautioned the drivers that unless
+the pull was straight ahead another neck would be broken. A second
+trial was made; the oxen swung and weaved, the chains fairly cried,
+the beef's head went under water, but the team was again checked in
+time to keep the steer from drowning. After a breathing spell for oxen
+and victim, the call was made for a rush. A driver was placed over
+every yoke and the word given, and the oxen fell to their knees in the
+struggle, whips cracked over their backs, ropes were plied by every
+man in charge, and, amid a din of profanity applied to the struggling
+cattle, the team fell forward in a general collapse. At first it was
+thought the chain had parted, but as the latter came out of the water
+it held in its iron grasp the horns and a portion of the skull of the
+dying beef. Several of us rode out to the victim, whose brain lay
+bare, still throbbing and twitching with life. Rather than allow his
+remains to pollute the river, we made a last pull at an angle, and the
+dead beef was removed.
+
+We bade Horsehead Crossing farewell that afternoon and camped for the
+night above Dagger Bend. Our route now lay to the northwest, or up
+the Pecos River. We were then out twenty-one days from Belknap,
+and although only half way to our destination, the worst of it was
+considered over. There was some travel up and down the Pecos valley,
+the route was even then known as the Chisum trail, and afterward
+extended as far north as Fort Logan in Colorado and other government
+posts in Wyoming. This cattle trace should never be confounded with
+the Chisholm trail, first opened by a half-breed named Jesse Chisholm,
+which ran from Red River Station on the northern boundary of Texas to
+various points in Kansas. In cutting across the bends of the Rio Pecos
+we secured water each day for the herd, although we were frequently
+under the necessity of sloping down the banks with mattocks to let the
+cattle into the river. By this method it often took us three or four
+hours to water the herd. Until we neared Fort Sumner precaution never
+relaxed against an Indian surprise. Their sign was seen almost daily,
+but as there were weaker outfits than ours passing through we escaped
+any further molestation.
+
+The methods of handling such a herd were a constant surprise to me, as
+well as the schooling of these plainsmen drovers. Goodnight had come
+to the plains when a boy of ten, and was a thorough master of their
+secrets. On one occasion, about midway between Horsehead Crossing and
+our destination, difficulty was encountered in finding an entrance to
+the river on account of its abrupt banks. It was late in the day,
+and in order to insure a quiet night with the cattle water became an
+urgent necessity. Our young foreman rode ahead and found a dry, sandy
+creek, its bed fully fifty yards wide, but no water, though the sand
+was damp. The herd was held back until sunset, when the cattle were
+turned into the creek bed and held as compactly as possible. The heavy
+beeves naturally walked back and forth, up and down, the sand just
+moist enough to aggravate them after a day's travel under a July sun.
+But the tramping soon agitated the sands, and within half an hour
+after the herd had entered the dry creek the water arose in pools,
+and the cattle drank to their hearts' content. As dew falls at night,
+moisture likewise rises in the earth, and with the twilight hour, the
+agitation of the sands, and the weight of the cattle, a spring was
+produced in the desert waste.
+
+Fort Sumner was a six-company post and the agency of the Apaches and
+Navajos. These two tribes numbered over nine thousand people, and our
+herd was intended to supply the needs of the military post and these
+Indians. The contract was held by Patterson & Roberts, eligible by
+virtue of having cast their fortunes with the victor in "the late
+unpleasantness," and otherwise fine men. We reached the post on the
+20th of July. There was a delay of several days before the cattle were
+accepted, but all passed the inspection with the exception of about
+one hundred head. These were cattle which had not recuperated from the
+dry drive. Some few were footsore or thin in flesh, but taken as a
+whole the delivery had every earmark of an honest one. Fortunately
+this remnant was sold a few days later to some Colorado men, and
+we were foot-loose and free. Even the oxen had gone in on the main
+delivery, and harnesses were accordingly bought, a light tongue
+fitted to the wagon, and we were ready to start homeward. Mules were
+substituted for the oxen, and we averaged forty miles a day returning,
+almost itching for an Indian attack, as we had supplied ourselves with
+ammunition from the post sutler. The trip had been a financial success
+(the government was paying ten cents a pound for beef on foot),
+friendly relations had been established with the holders of the award,
+and we hastened home to gather and drive another herd.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+A SECOND TRIP TO FORT SUMNER
+
+
+On the return trip we traveled mainly by night. The proceeds from the
+sale of the herd were in the wagon, and had this fact been known it
+would have been a tempting prize for either bandits or Indians. After
+leaving Horsehead Crossing we had the advantage of the dark of the
+moon, as it was a well-known fact that the Comanches usually choose
+moonlight nights for their marauding expeditions. Another thing in our
+favor, both going and returning, was the lightness of travel westward,
+it having almost ceased during the civil war, though in '66 it showed
+a slight prospect of resumption. Small bands of Indians were still
+abroad on horse-stealing forays, but the rich prizes of wagon trains
+bound for El Paso or Santa Fe no longer tempted the noble red man
+in force. This was favorable wind to our sail, but these plainsmen
+drovers predicted that, once traffic westward was resumed, the
+Comanche and his ally would be about the first ones to know it. The
+redskins were constantly passing back and forth, to and from their
+reservation in the Indian Territory, and news travels fast even among
+savages.
+
+We reached the Brazos River early in August. As the second start was
+not to be made until the latter part of the following month, a general
+settlement was made with the men and all reengaged for the next trip.
+I received eighty dollars in gold as my portion, it being the first
+money I ever earned as a citizen. The past two months were a splendid
+experience for one going through a formative period, and I had
+returned feeling that I was once more a man among men. All the
+uncertainty as to my future had fallen from me, and I began to look
+forward to the day when I also might be the owner of lands and cattle.
+There was no good reason why I should not, as the range was as free
+as it was boundless. There were any quantity of wild cattle in the
+country awaiting an owner, and a good mount of horses, a rope, and a
+branding iron were all the capital required to start a brand. I knew
+the success which my father had made in Virginia before the war
+and had seen it repeated on a smaller scale by my elder brother in
+Missouri, but here was a country which discounted both of those
+in rearing cattle without expense. Under the best reasoning at my
+command, I had reached the promised land, and henceforth determined to
+cast my fortunes with Texas.
+
+Rather than remain idle around the Loving headquarters for a month,
+I returned with George Edwards to his home. Altogether too cordial a
+welcome was extended us, but I repaid the hospitality of the ranch by
+relating our experiences of trail and Indian surprise. Miss Gertrude
+was as charming as ever, but the trip to Sumner and back had cooled
+my ardor and I behaved myself as an acceptable guest should. The
+time passed rapidly, and on the last day of the month we returned to
+Belknap. Active preparations were in progress for the driving of the
+second herd, oxen had been secured, and a number of extra fine horses
+were already added to the saddle stock. The remuda had enjoyed a good
+month's rest and were in strong working flesh, and within a few days
+all the boys reported for duty. The senior member of the firm was the
+owner of a large number of range cattle, and it was the intention to
+round up and gather as many of his beeves as possible for the coming
+drive. We should have ample time to do this; by waiting until the
+latter part of the month for starting, it was believed that few
+Indians would be encountered, as the time was nearing for their annual
+buffalo hunt for robes and a supply of winter meat. This was a gala
+occasion with the tribes which depended on the bison for food and
+clothing; and as the natural hunting grounds of the Comanches and
+Kiowas lay south of Red River, the drovers considered that that would
+be an opportune time to start. The Indians would no doubt confine
+their operations to the first few tiers of counties in Texas, as the
+robes and dried meat would tax the carrying capacity of their horses
+returning, making it an object to kill their supplies as near their
+winter encampment as possible.
+
+Some twenty days were accordingly spent in gathering beeves along the
+main Brazos and Clear Fork. Our herd consisted of about a thousand in
+the straight ranch brand, and after receiving and road-branding five
+hundred outside cattle we were ready to start. Sixteen men constituted
+our numbers, the horses were culled down until but five were left to
+the man, and with the previous armament the start was made. Never
+before or since have I enjoyed such an outing as this was until we
+struck the dry drive on approaching the Pecos River. The absence of
+the Indians was correctly anticipated, and either their presence
+elsewhere, preying on the immense buffalo herds, or the drift of
+the seasons, had driven countless numbers of that animal across our
+pathway. There were days and days that we were never out of sight of
+the feeding myriads of these shaggy brutes, and at night they became
+a menace to our sleeping herd. During the day, when the cattle were
+strung out in trail formation, we had difficulty in keeping the two
+species separated, but we shelled the buffalo right and left and moved
+forward. Frequently, when they occupied the country ahead of us,
+several men rode forward and scattered them on either hand until a
+right of way was effected for the cattle to pass. While they remained
+with us we killed our daily meat from their numbers, and several of
+the boys secured fine robes. They were very gentle, but when occasion
+required could give a horse a good race, bouncing along, lacking grace
+in flight.
+
+Our cook was a negro. One day as we were nearing Buffalo Gap, a
+number of big bulls, attracted by the covered wagon, approached the
+commissary, the canvas sheet of which shone like a white flag. The
+wagon was some distance in the rear, and as the buffalo began to
+approach it they would scare and circle around, but constantly coming
+nearer the object of their curiosity. The darky finally became alarmed
+for fear they would gore his oxen, and unearthed an old Creedmoor
+rifle which he carried in the wagon. The gun could be heard for miles,
+and when the cook opened on the playful denizens of the plain, a
+number of us hurried back, supposing it was an Indian attack. When
+within a quarter-mile of the wagon and the situation became clear, we
+took it more leisurely, but the fusillade never ceased until we rode
+up and it dawned on the darky's mind that rescue was at hand. He had
+halted his team, and from a secure position in the front end of the
+wagon had shot down a dozen buffalo bulls. Pure curiosity and the
+blood of their comrades had kept them within easy range of the
+murderous Creedmoor; and the frenzied negro, supposing that his team
+might be attacked any moment, had mown down a circle of the innocent
+animals. We charged and drove away the remainder, after which we
+formed a guard of honor in escorting the commissary until its timid
+driver overtook the herd.
+
+The last of the buffalo passed out of sight before we reached the
+headwaters of the Concho. In crossing the dry drive approaching the
+Pecos we were unusually fortunate. As before, we rested in advance of
+starting, and on the evening of the second day out several showers
+fell, cooling the atmosphere until the night was fairly chilly. The
+rainfall continued all the following day in a gentle mist, and with
+little or no suffering to man or beast early in the afternoon we
+entered the canon known as Castle Mountain Gap, and the dry drive was
+virtually over. Horsehead Crossing was reached early the next morning,
+the size of the herd making it possible to hold it compactly, and
+thus preventing any scattering along that stream. There had been
+no freshets in the river since June, and the sandy sediment had
+solidified, making a safe crossing for both herd and wagon. After the
+usual rest of a few days, the herd trailed up the Pecos with scarcely
+an incident worthy of mention. Early in November we halted some
+distance below Fort Sumner, where we were met by Mr. Loving,--who had
+gone on to the post in our advance,--with the report that other cattle
+had just been accepted, and that there was no prospect of an immediate
+delivery. In fact, the outlook was anything but encouraging, unless we
+wintered ours and had them ready for the first delivery in the spring.
+
+The herd was accordingly turned back to Bosque Grande on the river,
+and we went into permanent quarters. There was a splendid winter range
+all along the Pecos, and we loose-herded the beeves or rode lines in
+holding them in the different bends of the river, some of which
+were natural inclosures. There was scarcely any danger of Indian
+molestation during the winter months, and with the exception of a
+few severe "northers" which swept down the valley, the cattle did
+comparatively well. Tents were secured at the post; corn was purchased
+for our saddle mules; and except during storms little or no privation
+was experienced during the winter in that southern climate. Wood was
+plentiful in the grove in which we were encamped, and a huge fireplace
+was built out of clay and sticks in the end of each tent, assuring us
+comfort against the elements.
+
+The monotony of existence was frequently broken by the passing of
+trading caravans, both up and down the river. There was a fair trade
+with the interior of Mexico, as well as in various settlements along
+the Rio Grande and towns in northern New Mexico. When other means of
+diversion failed we had recourse to Sumner, where a sutler's bar and
+gambling games flourished. But the most romantic traveler to arrive or
+pass during the winter was Captain Burleson, late of the Confederacy.
+As a sportsman the captain was a gem of the first water, carrying with
+him, besides a herd of nearly a thousand cattle, three race-horses,
+several baskets of fighting chickens, and a pack of hounds. He had
+a large Mexican outfit in charge of his cattle, which were in bad
+condition on their arrival in March, he having drifted about all
+winter, gambling, racing his horses, and fighting his chickens. The
+herd represented his winnings. As we had nothing to match, all we
+could offer was our hospitality. Captain Burleson went into camp below
+us on the river and remained our neighbor until we rounded up and
+broke camp in the spring. He had been as far west as El Paso during
+the winter, and was then drifting north in the hope of finding a
+market for his herd. We indulged in many hunts, and I found him the
+true gentleman and sportsman in every sense of the word. As I recall
+him now, he was a lovable vagabond, and for years afterward stories
+were told around Fort Sumner of his wonderful nerve as a poker player.
+
+Early in April an opportunity occurred for a delivery of cattle to the
+post. Ours were the only beeves in sight, those of Captain Burleson
+not qualifying, and a round-up was made and the herd tendered for
+inspection. Only eight hundred were received, which was quite a
+disappointment to the drovers, as at least ninety per cent of the
+tender filled every qualification. The motive in receiving the few
+soon became apparent, when a stranger appeared and offered to buy the
+remaining seven hundred at a ridiculously low figure. But the drovers
+had grown suspicious of the contractors and receiving agent, and,
+declining the offer, went back and bought the herd of Captain
+Burleson. Then, throwing the two contingents together, and boldly
+announcing their determination of driving to Colorado, they started
+the herd out past Fort Sumner with every field-glass in the post
+leveled on us. The military requirements of Sumner, for its own and
+Indian use, were well known to the drovers, and a scarcity of beef was
+certain to occur at that post before other cattle could be bargained
+for and arrive. My employers had evidently figured out the situation
+to a nicety, for during the forenoon of the second day out from the
+fort we were overtaken by the contractors. Of course they threw on the
+government inspector all the blame for the few cattle received, and
+offered to buy five or six hundred more out of the herd. But the shoe
+was on the other foot now, the drovers acting as independently as the
+proverbial hog on ice. The herd never halted, the contractors followed
+up, and when we went into camp that evening a trade was closed on one
+thousand steers at two dollars a head advance over those which were
+received but a few days before. The oxen were even reserved, and after
+delivering the beeves at Sumner we continued on northward with the
+remnant, nearly all of which were the Burleson cattle.
+
+The latter part of April we arrived at the Colorado line. There we
+were halted by the authorities of that territory, under some act of
+quarantine against Texas cattle. We went into camp on the nearest
+water, expecting to prove that our little herd had wintered at Fort
+Sumner, and were therefore immune from quarantine, when buyers arrived
+from Trinidad, Colorado. The steers were a mixed lot, running from a
+yearling to big, rough four and five year olds, and when Goodnight
+returned from Sumner with a certificate, attested to by every officer
+of that post, showing that the cattle had wintered north of latitude
+34, a trade was closed at once, even the oxen going in at the
+phenomenal figures of one hundred and fifty dollars a yoke. We
+delivered the herd near Trinidad, going into that town to outfit
+before returning. The necessary alterations were made to the wagon,
+mules were harnessed in, and we started home in gala spirits. In a
+little over thirty days my employers had more than doubled their money
+on the Burleson cattle and were naturally jubilant.
+
+The proceeds of the Trinidad sale were carried in the wagon returning,
+though we had not as yet collected for the second delivery at Sumner.
+The songs of the birds mixed with our own as we traveled homeward, and
+the freshness of early summer on the primitive land, as it rolled away
+in dips and swells, made the trip a delightful outing. Fort Sumner
+was reached within a week, where we halted a day and then started on,
+having in the wagon a trifle over fifty thousand dollars in gold and
+silver. At Sumner two men made application to accompany us back to
+Texas, and as they were well armed and mounted, and numbers were an
+advantage, they were made welcome. Our winter camp at Bosque Grande
+was passed with but a single glance as we dropped down the Pecos
+valley at the rate of forty miles a day. Little or no travel was
+encountered en route, nor was there any sign of Indians until the
+afternoon of our reaching Horsehead Crossing. While passing Dagger
+Bend, four miles above the ford, Goodnight and a number of us boys
+were riding several hundred yards in advance of the wagon, telling
+stories of old sweethearts. The road made a sudden bend around some
+sand-hills, and the advance guard had passed out of sight of the rear,
+when a fresh Indian trail was cut; and as we reined in our mounts to
+examine the sign, we were fired on. The rifle-shots, followed by a
+flight of arrows, passed over us, and we took to shelter like flushed
+quail. I was riding a good saddle horse and bolted off on the opposite
+side of the road from the shooting; but in the scattering which ensued
+a number of mules took down the road. One of the two men picked up at
+the post was a German, whose mule stampeded after his mates, and who
+received a galling fire from the concealed Indians, the rest of us
+turning to the nearest shelter. With the exception of this one man,
+all of us circled back through the mesquite brush and reached the
+wagon, which had halted. Meanwhile the shooting had attracted the men
+behind, who charged through the sand-dunes, flanking the Indians, who
+immediately decamped. Security of the remuda and wagon was a first
+consideration, and danger of an ambush prevented our men from
+following up the redskins. Order was soon restored, when we proceeded,
+and shortly met the young German coming back up the road, who merely
+remarked on meeting us, "Dem Injuns shot at me."
+
+The Indians had evidently not been expecting us. From where they
+turned out and where the attack was made we back-trailed them in
+the road for nearly a mile. They had simply heard us coming, and,
+supposing that the advance guard was all there was in the party, had
+made the attack and were in turn themselves surprised at our numbers.
+But the warning was henceforth heeded, and on reaching the crossing
+more Indian sign was detected. Several large parties had evidently
+crossed the river that morning, and were no doubt at that moment
+watching us from the surrounding hills. The canon of Castle Mountain
+Gap was well adapted for an Indian ambush; and as it was only twelve
+miles from the ford to its mouth, we halted within a short distance
+of the entrance, as if encamping for the night. All the horses under
+saddle were picketed fully a quarter mile from the wagon,--easy marks
+for poor Lo,--and the remuda was allowed to wander at will, an air of
+perfect carelessness prevailing in the camp. From the sign which
+we had seen that day, there was little doubt but there were in the
+neighborhood of five hundred Indians in the immediate vicinity of
+Horsehead Crossing, and we did everything we could to create the
+impression that we were tender-feet. But with the falling of darkness
+every horse was brought in and we harnessed up and started, leaving
+the fire burning to identify our supposed camp. The drovers gave our
+darky cook instructions, in case of an attack while passing through
+the Gap, never to halt his team, but push ahead for the plain. About
+one third of us took the immediate lead of the wagon, the remuda
+following closely, and the remainder of the men bringing up the rear.
+The moon was on the wane and would not rise until nearly midnight,
+and for the first few miles, or until we entered the canon, there was
+scarce a sound to disturb the stillness of the night. The sandy road
+even muffled the noise of the wagon and the tramping of horses; but
+once we entered that rocky canon, the rattling of our commissary
+seemed to summon every Comanche and his ally to come and rob us. There
+was never a halt, the reverberations of our caravan seeming to reecho
+through the Gap, resounding forward and back, until our progress
+must have been audible at Horsehead Crossing. But the expected never
+happens, and within an hour we reached the summit of the plain, where
+the country was open and clear and an attack could have been easily
+repelled. Four fresh mules had been harnessed in for the night, and
+striking a free gait, we put twenty miles of that arid stretch behind
+us before the moon rose. A short halt was made after midnight, for a
+change of teams and saddle horses, and then we continued our hurried
+travel until near dawn.
+
+Some indistinct objects in our front caused us to halt. It looked like
+a caravan, and we hailed it without reply. Several of us dismounted
+and crept forward, but the only sign of life was a dull, buzzing sound
+which seemed to issue from an outfit of parked wagons. The report was
+laid before the two drovers, who advised that we await the dawn,
+which was then breaking, as it was possible that the caravan had been
+captured and robbed by Indians. A number of us circled around to the
+farther side, and as we again approached the wagons in the uncertain
+light we hailed again and received in reply a shot, which cut off the
+upper lobe of one of the boys' ears. We hugged the ground for some
+little time, until the presence of our outfit was discovered by the
+lone guardian of the caravan, who welcomed us. He apologized, saying
+that on awakening he supposed we were Indians, not having heard our
+previous challenge, and fired on us under the impulse of the moment.
+He was a well-known trader by the name of "Honey" Allen, and was then
+on his way to El Paso, having pulled out on the dry stretch about
+twenty-five miles and sent his oxen back to water. His present cargo
+consisted of pecans, honey, and a large number of colonies of live
+bees, the latter having done the buzzing on our first reconnoitre. At
+his destination, so he informed us, the pecans were worth fifty cents
+a quart, the honey a dollar a pound, and the bees one hundred dollars
+a hive. After repairing the damaged ear, we hurried on, finding
+Allen's oxen lying around the water on our arrival. I met him several
+years afterward in Denver, Colorado, dressed to kill, barbered, and
+highly perfumed. He had just sold eighteen hundred two-year-old steers
+and had twenty-five thousand dollars in the bank. "Son, let me tell
+you something," said he, as we were taking a drink together; "that
+Pecos country was a dangerous region to pick up an honest living in.
+I'm going back to God's country,--back where there ain't no Injuns."
+
+Yet Allen died in Texas. There was a charm in the frontier that held
+men captive. I always promised myself to return to Virginia to spend
+the declining years of my life, but the fulfillment never came. I can
+now realize how idle was the expectation, having seen others make the
+attempt and fail. I recall the experience of an old cowman, laboring
+under a similar delusion, who, after nearly half a century in the
+Southwest, concluded to return to the scenes of his boyhood. He had
+made a substantial fortune in cattle, and had fought his way through
+the vicissitudes of the frontier until success crowned his efforts. A
+large family had in the mean time grown up around him, and under
+the pretense of giving his children the advantages of an older and
+established community he sold his holdings and moved back to his
+native borough. Within six months he returned to the straggling
+village which he had left on the plains, bringing the family with him.
+Shortly afterwards I met him, and anxiously inquired the cause of his
+return. "Well, Reed," said he, "I can't make you understand near as
+well as though you had tried it yourself. You see I was a stranger in
+my native town. The people were all right, I reckon, but I found out
+that it was me who had changed. I tried to be sociable with them, but
+honest, Reed, I just couldn't stand it in a country where no one ever
+asked you to take a drink."
+
+A week was spent in crossing the country between the Concho and Brazos
+rivers. Not a day passed but Indian trails were cut, all heading
+southward, and on a branch of the Clear Fork we nearly ran afoul of an
+encampment of forty teepees and lean-tos, with several hundred horses
+in sight. But we never varied our course a fraction, passing within a
+quarter mile of their camp, apparently indifferent as to whether they
+showed fight or allowed us to pass in peace. Our bluff had the desired
+effect; but we made it an object to reach Fort Griffin near midnight
+before camping. The Comanche and his ally were great respecters, not
+only of their own physical welfare, but of the Henri and Spencer rifle
+with which the white man killed the buffalo at the distance of twice
+the flight of an arrow. When every advantage was in his favor--ambush
+and surprise--Lo was a warrior bold; otherwise he used discretion.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+A FATAL TRIP
+
+
+Before leaving Fort Sumner an agreement had been entered into between
+my employers and the contractors for a third herd. The delivery was
+set for the first week in September, and twenty-five hundred beeves
+were agreed upon, with a liberal leeway above and below that number
+in case of accident en route. Accordingly, on our return to Loving's
+ranch active preparations were begun for the next drive. Extra horses
+were purchased, several new guns of the most modern make were
+secured, and the gathering of cattle in Loving's brand began at once,
+continuing for six weeks. We combed the hills and valleys along the
+main Brazos, and then started west up the Clear Fork, carrying the
+beeves with us while gathering. The range was in prime condition, the
+cattle were fat and indolent, and with the exception of Indian rumors
+there was not a cloud in the sky.
+
+Our last camp was made a few miles above Fort Griffin. Military
+protection was not expected, yet our proximity to that post was
+considered a security from Indian interference, as at times not over
+half the outfit were with the herd. We had nearly completed our
+numbers when, one morning early in July, the redskins struck our camp
+with the violence of a cyclone. The attack occurred, as usual, about
+half an hour before dawn, and, to add to the difficulty of the
+situation, the cattle stampeded with the first shot fired. I was on
+last guard at the time, and conscious that it was an Indian attack I
+unslung a new Sharp's rifle and tore away in the lead of the herd.
+With the rumbling of over two thousand running cattle in my ears,
+hearing was out of the question, while my sense of sight was rendered
+useless by the darkness of the morning hour. Yet I had some very
+distinct visions; not from the herd of frenzied beeves, thundering at
+my heels, but every shade and shadow in the darkness looked like a
+pursuing Comanche. Once I leveled my rifle at a shadow, but hesitated,
+when a flash from a six-shooter revealed the object to be one of our
+own men. I knew there were four of us with the herd when it stampeded,
+but if the rest were as badly bewildered as I was, it was dangerous
+even to approach them. But I had a king's horse under me and trusted
+my life to him, and he led the run until breaking dawn revealed our
+identity to each other.
+
+The presence of two other men with the running herd was then
+discovered. We were fully five miles from camp, and giving our
+attention to the running cattle we soon turned the lead. The main body
+of the herd was strung back for a mile, but we fell on the leaders
+right and left, and soon had them headed back for camp. In the mean
+time, and with the breaking of day, our trail had been taken up by
+both drovers and half a dozen men, who overtook us shortly after
+sun-up. A count was made and we had every hoof. A determined fight had
+occurred over the remuda and commissary, and three of the Indians'
+ponies had been killed, while some thirty arrows had found lodgment
+in our wagon. There were no casualties in the cow outfit, and if any
+occurred among the redskins, the wounded or killed were carried away
+by their comrades before daybreak. All agreed that there were fully
+one hundred warriors in the attacking party, and as we slowly drifted
+the cattle back to camp doubt was expressed by the drovers whether it
+was advisable to drive the herd to its destination in midsummer with
+the Comanches out on their old hunting grounds.
+
+A report of the attack was sent into Griffin that morning, and a
+company of cavalry took up the Indian trail, followed it until
+evening, and returned to the post during the night. Approaching a
+government station was generally looked upon as an audacious act
+of the redskins, but the contempt of the Comanche and his ally for
+citizen and soldier alike was well known on the Texas frontier and
+excited little comment. Several years later, in broad daylight, they
+raided the town of Weatherford, untied every horse from the hitching
+racks, and defiantly rode away with their spoil. But the prevailing
+spirits in our camp were not the kind to yield to an inferior race,
+and, true to their obligation to the contractors, they pushed forward
+preparations to start the herd. Within a week our numbers were
+completed, two extra men were secured, and on the morning of July 14,
+1867, we trailed out up the Clear Fork with a few over twenty-six
+hundred big beeves. It was the same old route to the southwest, there
+was a decided lack of enthusiasm over the start, yet never a word of
+discouragement escaped the lips of men or employers. I have never been
+a superstitious man, have never had a premonition of impending danger,
+always rather felt an enthusiasm in my undertakings, yet that morning
+when the flag over Fort Griffin faded from our view, I believe there
+was not a man in the outfit but realized that our journey would be
+disputed by Indians.
+
+Nor had we long to wait. Near the juncture of Elm Creek with the main
+Clear Fork we were again attacked at the usual hour in the morning.
+The camp was the best available, and yet not a good one for defense,
+as the ground was broken by shallow draws and dry washes. There were
+about one hundred yards of clear space on three sides of the camp,
+while on the exposed side, and thirty yards distant, was a slight
+depression of several feet. Fortunately we had a moment's warning, by
+several horses snorting and pawing the ground, which caused Goodnight
+to quietly awake the men sleeping near him, who in turn were arousing
+the others, when a flight of arrows buried themselves in the ground
+around us and the war-whoop of the Comanche sounded. Ever cautious,
+we had studied the situation on encamping, and had tied our horses,
+cavalry fashion, to a heavy rope stretched from the protected side of
+the wagon to a high stake driven for the purpose. With the attack the
+majority of the men flung themselves into their saddles and started to
+the rescue of the remuda, while three others and myself, detailed in
+anticipation, ran for the ravine and dropped into it about forty yards
+above the wagon. We could easily hear the exultations of the redskins
+just below us in the shallow gorge, and an enfilade fire was poured
+into them at short range. Two guns were cutting the grass from
+underneath the wagon, and, knowing the Indians had crept up the
+depression on foot, we began a rapid fire from our carbines and
+six-shooters, which created the impression of a dozen rifles on their
+flank, and they took to their heels in a headlong rout.
+
+Once the firing ceased, we hailed our men under the wagon and returned
+to it. Three men were with the commissary, one of whom was a mere boy,
+who was wounded in the head from an arrow during the first moment of
+the attack, and was then raving piteously from his sufferings. The
+darky cook, who was one of the defenders of the wagon, was consoling
+the boy, so with a parting word of encouragement we swung into our
+saddles and rode in the direction of dim firing up the creek. The
+cattle were out of hearing, but the random shooting directed our
+course, and halting several times, we were finally piloted to the
+scene of activity. Our hail was met by a shout of welcome, and the
+next moment we dashed in among our own and reported the repulse of the
+Indians from the wagon. The remuda was dashing about, hither and yon,
+a mob of howling savages were circling about, barely within gunshot,
+while our men rode cautiously, checking and turning the frenzied
+saddle horses, and never missing a chance of judiciously throwing
+a little lead. There was no sign of daybreak, and, fearful for the
+safety of our commissary, we threw a cordon around the remuda and
+started for camp. Although there must have been over one hundred
+Indians in the general attack, we were still masters of the situation,
+though they followed us until the wagon was reached and the horses
+secured in a rope corral. A number of us again sought the protection
+of the ravine, and scattering above and below, we got in some telling
+shots at short range, when the redskins gave up the struggle and
+decamped. As they bore off westward on the main Clear Fork their
+hilarious shoutings could be distinctly heard for miles on the
+stillness of the morning air.
+
+An inventory of the camp was taken at dawn. The wounded lad received
+the first attention. The arrowhead had buried itself below and behind
+the ear, but nippers were applied and the steel point was extracted.
+The cook washed the wound thoroughly and applied a poultice of meal,
+which afforded almost instant relief. While horses were being saddled
+to follow the cattle, I cast my eye over the camp and counted over two
+hundred arrows within a radius of fifty yards. Two had found lodgment
+in the bear-skin on which I slept. Dozens were imbedded in the
+running-gear and box of the wagon, while the stationary flashes from
+the muzzle of the cook's Creedmoor had concentrated an unusual number
+of arrows in and around his citadel. The darky had exercised caution
+and corded the six ox-yokes against the front wheel of the wagon in
+such a manner as to form a barrier, using the spaces between the
+spokes as port-holes. As he never varied his position under the wagon,
+the Indians had aimed at his flash, and during the rather brief fight
+twenty arrows had buried themselves in that barricade of ox-yokes.
+
+The trail of the beeves was taken at dawn. This made the fifth
+stampede of the herd since we started, a very unfortunate thing, for
+stampeding easily becomes a mania with range cattle. The steers had
+left the bed-ground in an easterly direction, but finding that they
+were not pursued, the men had gradually turned them to the right, and
+at daybreak the herd was near Elm Creek, where it was checked. We rode
+the circle in a free gallop, the prairie being cut into dust and the
+trail as easy to follow as a highway. As the herd happened to land on
+our course, after the usual count the commissary was sent for, and it
+and the remuda were brought up. With the exception of wearing hobbles,
+the oxen were always given their freedom at night. This morning one of
+them was found in a dying condition from an arrow in his stomach. A
+humane shot had relieved the poor beast, and his mate trailed up to
+the herd, tied behind the wagon with a rope. There were several odd
+oxen among the cattle and the vacancy was easily filled. If I am
+lacking in compassion for my red brother, the lack has been heightened
+by his fiendish atrocities to dumb animals. I have been witness to
+the ruin of several wagon trains captured by Indians, have seen their
+ashes and irons, and even charred human remains, and was scarce moved
+to pity because of the completeness of the hellish work. Death is
+merciful and humane when compared to the hamstringing of oxen, gouging
+out their eyes, severing their ears, cutting deep slashes from
+shoulder to hip, and leaving the innocent victim to a lingering death.
+And when dumb animals are thus mutilated in every conceivable form
+of torment, as if for the amusement of the imps of the evil one, my
+compassion for poor Lo ceases.
+
+It was impossible to send the wounded boy back to the settlements, so
+a comfortable bunk was made for him in the wagon. Late in the evening
+we resumed our journey, expecting to drive all night, as it was good
+starlight. Fair progress was made, but towards morning a rainstorm
+struck us, and the cattle again stampeded. In all my outdoor
+experience I never saw such pitchy darkness as accompanied that storm;
+although galloping across a prairie in a blustering rainfall, it
+required no strain of the imagination to see hills and mountains and
+forests on every hand. Fourteen men were with the herd, yet it was
+impossible to work in unison, and when day broke we had less than half
+the cattle. The lead had been maintained, but in drifting at random
+with the storm several contingents of beeves had cut off from the main
+body, supposedly from the rear. When the sun rose, men were dispatched
+in pairs and trios, the trail of the missing steers was picked up, and
+by ten o'clock every hoof was in hand or accounted for. I came in with
+the last contingent and found the camp in an uproar over the supposed
+desertion of one of the hands. Yankee Bill, a sixteen-year-old boy,
+and another man were left in charge of the herd when the rest of us
+struck out to hunt the missing cattle. An hour after sunrise the boy
+was seen to ride deliberately away from his charge, without cause or
+excuse, and had not returned. Desertion was the general supposition.
+Had he not been mounted on one of the firm's horses the offense might
+have been overlooked. But the delivery of the herd depended on the
+saddle stock, and two men were sent on his trail. The rain had
+freshened the ground, and after trailing the horse for fifteen miles
+the boy was overtaken while following cattle tracks towards the herd.
+He had simply fallen asleep in the saddle, and the horse had wandered
+away. Yankee Bill had made the trip to Sumner with us the fall before,
+and stood well with his employers, so the incident was forgiven and
+forgotten.
+
+From Elm Creek to the beginning of the dry drive was one continual
+struggle with stampeding cattle or warding off Indians. In spite of
+careful handling, the herd became spoiled, and would run from the
+howl of a wolf or the snort of a horse. The dark hour before dawn was
+usually the crucial period, and until the arid belt was reached all
+hands were aroused at two o'clock in the morning. The start was timed
+so as to reach the dry drive during the full of the moon, and although
+it was a test of endurance for man and beast, there was relief in
+the desert waste--from the lurking savage--which recompensed for its
+severity. Three sleepless nights were borne without a murmur, and on
+our reaching Horsehead Crossing and watering the cattle they were
+turned back on the mesa and freed for the time being. The presence of
+Indian sign around the ford was the reason for turning loose, but at
+the round-up the next morning the experiment proved a costly one, as
+three hundred and sixty-three beeves were missing. The cattle were
+nervous and feverish through suffering from thirst, and had they been
+bedded closely, stampeding would have resulted, the foreman choosing
+the least of two alternatives in scattering the herd. That night we
+slept the sleep of exhausted men, and the next morning even awaited
+the sun on the cattle before throwing them together, giving the Indian
+thieves full ten hours the start. The stealing of cattle by the
+Comanches was something unusual, and there was just reason for
+believing that the present theft was instigated by renegade Mexicans,
+allies in the war of '36. Three distinct trails left the range around
+the Crossing, all heading south, each accompanied by fully fifty
+horsemen. One contingent crossed the Pecos at an Indian trail about
+twenty-five miles below Horsehead, another still below, while the
+third continued on down the left bank of the river. Yankee Bill and
+"Mocho" Wilson, a one-armed man, followed the latter trail, sighting
+them late in the evening, but keeping well in the open. When the
+Comanches had satisfied themselves that but two men were following
+them, small bands of warriors dropped out under cover of the broken
+country and attempted to gain the rear of our men. Wilson was an old
+plainsman, and once he saw the hopelessness of recovering the cattle,
+he and Yankee Bill began a cautious retreat. During the night and when
+opposite the ford where the first contingent of beeves crossed, they
+were waylaid, while returning, by the wily redskins. The nickering of
+a pony warned them of the presence of the enemy, and circling wide,
+they avoided an ambush, though pursued by the stealthy Comanches.
+Wilson was mounted on a good horse, while Yankee Bill rode a mule, and
+so closely were they pursued, that on reaching the first broken ground
+Bill turned into a coulee, while Mocho bore off on an angle, firing
+his six-shooter to attract the enemy after him. Yankee Bill told
+us afterward how he held the muzzle of his mule for an hour on
+dismounting, to keep the rascal from bawling after the departing
+horse. Wilson reached camp after midnight and reported the
+hopelessness of the situation; but morning came, and with it no Yankee
+Bill in camp. Half a dozen of us started in search of him, under the
+leadership of the one-armed plainsman, and an hour afterward Bill was
+met riding leisurely up the river. When rebuked by his comrade for not
+coming in under cover of darkness, he retorted, "Hell, man, I wasn't
+going to run my mule to death just because there were a few Comanches
+in the country!"
+
+In trailing the missing cattle the day previous, I had accompanied Mr.
+Loving to the second Indian crossing. The country opposite the ford
+was broken and brushy, the trail was five or six hours old, and,
+fearing an ambush, the drover refused to follow them farther. With the
+return of Yankee Bill safe and sound to camp, all hope of recovering
+the beeves was abandoned, and we crossed the Pecos and turned up that
+river. An effort was now made to quiet the herd and bring it back to a
+normal condition, in order to fit it for delivery. With Indian raids,
+frenzy in stampeding, and an unavoidable dry drive, the cattle had
+gaunted like rails. But with an abundance of water and by merely
+grazing the remainder of the distance, it was believed that the beeves
+would recover their old form and be ready for inspection at the end of
+the month of August. Indian sign was still plentiful, but in smaller
+bands, and with an unceasing vigilance we wormed our way up the Pecos
+valley.
+
+When within a day's ride of the post, Mr. Loving took Wilson with him
+and started in to Fort Sumner. The heat of August on the herd had made
+recovery slow, but if a two weeks' postponement could be agreed on,
+it was believed the beeves would qualify. The circumstances were
+unavoidable; the government had been lenient before; so, hopeful of
+accomplishing his mission, the senior member of the firm set out on
+his way. The two men left camp at daybreak, cautioned by Goodnight
+to cross the river by a well-known trail, keeping in the open, even
+though it was farther, as a matter of safety. They were well mounted
+for the trip, and no further concern was given to their welfare until
+the second morning, when Loving's horse came into camp, whinnying for
+his mates. There were blood-stains on the saddle, and the story of a
+man who was cautious for others and careless of himself was easily
+understood. Conjecture was rife. The presence of the horse admitted of
+several interpretations. An Indian ambush was the most probable, and
+a number of men were detailed to ferret out the mystery. We were then
+seventy miles below Sumner, and with orders to return to the herd at
+night six of us immediately started. The searching party was divided
+into squads, one on either side of the Pecos River, but no results
+were obtained from the first day's hunt. The herd had moved up fifteen
+miles during the day, and the next morning the search was resumed,
+the work beginning where it had ceased the evening before. Late that
+afternoon and from the east bank, as Goodnight and I were scanning the
+opposite side of the river, a lone man, almost naked, emerged from a
+cave across the channel and above us. Had it not been for his missing
+arm it is doubtful if we should have recognized him, for he seemed
+demented. We rode opposite and hailed, when he skulked back into his
+refuge; but we were satisfied that it was Wilson. The other searchers
+were signaled to, and finding an entrance into the river, we swam it
+and rode up to the cave. A shout of welcome greeted us, and the next
+instant Wilson staggered out of the cavern, his eyes filled with
+tears.
+
+He was in a horrible physical condition, and bewildered. We were an
+hour getting his story. They had been ambushed by Indians and ran for
+the brakes of the river, but were compelled to abandon their horses,
+one of which was captured, the other escaping. Loving was wounded
+twice, in the wrist and the side, but from the cover gained they had
+stood off the savages until darkness fell. During the night Loving,
+unable to walk, believed that he was going to die, and begged Wilson
+to make his escape, and if possible return to the herd. After making
+his employer as comfortable as possible, Wilson buried his own rifle,
+pistols, and knife, and started on his return to the herd. Being
+one-armed, he had discarded his boots and nearly all his clothing to
+assist him in swimming the river, which he had done any number of
+times, traveling by night and hiding during the day. When found in the
+cave, his feet were badly swollen, compelling him to travel in the
+river-bed to protect them from sandburs and thorns. He was taken up
+behind one of the boys on a horse, and we returned to camp.
+
+Wilson firmly believed that Loving was dead, and described the scene
+of the fight so clearly that any one familiar with the river would
+have no difficulty in locating the exact spot. But the next morning as
+we were nearing the place we met an ambulance in the road, the driver
+of which reported that Loving had been brought into Sumner by a
+freight outfit. On receipt of this information Goodnight hurried on to
+the post, while the rest of us looked over the scene, recovered the
+buried guns of Wilson, and returned to the herd. Subsequently we
+learned that the next morning after Wilson left Loving had crawled to
+the river for a drink, and, looking upstream, saw some one a mile
+or more distant watering a team. By firing his pistol he attracted
+attention to himself and so was rescued, the Indians having decamped
+during the night. To his partner, Mr. Loving corroborated Wilson's
+story, and rejoiced to know that his comrade had also escaped.
+Everything that medical science could do was done by the post surgeons
+for the veteran cowman, but after lingering twenty-one days he died.
+Wilson and the wounded boy both recovered, the cattle were delivered
+in two installments, and early in October we started homeward,
+carrying the embalmed remains of the pioneer drover in a light
+conveyance. The trip was uneventful, the traveling was done
+principally by night, and on the arrival at Loving's frontier home,
+six hundred miles from Fort Sumner, his remains were laid at rest with
+Masonic honors.
+
+Over thirty years afterward a claim was made against the government
+for the cattle lost at Horsehead Crossing. Wilson and I were witnesses
+before the commissioner sent to take evidence in the case. The hearing
+was held at a federal court, and after it was over, Wilson, while
+drinking, accused me of suspecting him of deserting his employer,--a
+suspicion I had, in fact, entertained at the time we discovered him
+at the cave. I had never breathed it to a living man, yet it was the
+truth, slumbering for a generation before finding expression.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+SUMMER OF '68
+
+
+The death of Mr. Loving ended my employment in driving cattle to Fort
+Sumner. The junior member of the firm was anxious to continue the
+trade then established, but the absence of any protection against the
+Indians, either state or federal, was hopeless. Texas was suffering
+from the internal troubles of Reconstruction, the paternal government
+had small concern for the welfare of a State recently in arms against
+the Union, and there was little or no hope for protection of life or
+property under existing conditions. The outfit was accordingly paid
+off, and I returned with George Edwards to his father's ranch. The
+past eighteen months had given me a strenuous schooling, but I had
+emerged on my feet, feeling that once more I was entitled to a place
+among men. The risk that had been incurred by the drovers acted like a
+physical stimulant, the outdoor life had hardened me like iron, and
+I came out of the crucible bright with the hope of youth and buoyant
+with health and strength.
+
+Meanwhile there had sprung up a small trade in cattle with the North.
+Baxter Springs and Abilene, both in Kansas, were beginning to be
+mentioned as possible markets, light drives having gone to those
+points during the present and previous summers. The elder Edwards had
+been investigating the new outlet, and on the return of George and
+myself was rather enthusiastic over the prospects of a market. No
+Indian trouble had been experienced on the northern route, and
+although demand generally was unsatisfactory, the faith of drovers
+in the future was unshaken. A railroad had recently reached Abilene,
+stockyards had been built for the accommodation of shippers during the
+summer of 1861, while a firm of shrewd, far-seeing Yankees made great
+pretensions of having established a market and meeting-point for
+buyers and sellers of Texas cattle. The promoters of the scheme had a
+contract with the railroad, whereby they were to receive a bonus on
+all cattle shipped from that point, and the Texas drovers were offered
+every inducement to make Abilene their destination in the future. The
+unfriendliness of other States against Texas cattle, caused by the
+ravages of fever imparted by southern to domestic animals, had
+resulted in quarantine being enforced against all stock from the
+South. Matters were in an unsettled condition, and less than one per
+cent of the State's holdings of cattle had found an outside market
+during the year 1867, though ranchmen in general were hopeful.
+
+I spent the remainder of the month of October at the Edwards ranch. We
+had returned in time for the fall branding, and George and I both made
+acceptable hands at the work. I had mastered the art of handling a
+rope, and while we usually corralled everything, scarcely a day passed
+but occasion occurred to rope wild cattle out of the brush. Anxiety to
+learn soon made me an expert, and before the month ended I had caught
+and branded for myself over one hundred mavericks. Cattle were so
+worthless that no one went to the trouble to brand completely; the
+crumbs were acceptable to me, and, since no one else cared for them
+and I did, the flotsam and jetsam of the range fell to my brand. Had I
+been ambitious, double that number could have been easily secured, but
+we never went off the home range in gathering calves to brand. All
+the hands on the Edwards ranch, darkies and Mexicans, were constantly
+throwing into the corrals and pointing out unclaimed cattle, while I
+threw and indelibly ran the figures "44" on their sides. I was partial
+to heifers, and when one was sighted there was no brush so thick or
+animal so wild that it was not "fish" to my rope. In many instances a
+cow of unknown brand was still followed by her two-year-old, yearling,
+and present calf. Under the customs of the country, any unbranded
+animal, one year old or over, was a maverick, and the property of any
+one who cared to brand the unclaimed stray. Thousands of cattle thus
+lived to old age, multiplied and increased, died and became food for
+worms, unowned.
+
+The branding over, I soon grew impatient to be doing something. There
+would be no movement in cattle before the following spring, and a
+winter of idleness was not to my liking. Buffalo hunting had lost its
+charm with me, the contentious savages were jealous of any intrusion
+on their old hunting grounds, and, having met them on numerous
+occasions during the past eighteen months, I had no further desire to
+cultivate their acquaintance. I still owned my horse, now acclimated,
+and had money in my purse, and one morning I announced my intention
+of visiting my other comrades in Texas. Protests were made against
+my going, and as an incentive to have me remain, the elder Edwards
+offered to outfit George and me the following spring with a herd of
+cattle and start us to Kansas. I was anxious for employment, but
+assuring my host that he could count on my services, I still
+pleaded my anxiety to see other portions of the State and renew old
+acquaintances. The herd could not possibly start before the middle of
+April, so telling my friends that I would be on hand to help gather
+the cattle, I saddled my horse and took leave of the hospitable ranch.
+
+After a week of hard riding I reached the home of a former comrade on
+the Colorado River below Austin. A hearty welcome awaited me, but
+the apparent poverty of the family made my visit rather a brief one.
+Continuing eastward, my next stop was in Washington County, one of the
+oldest settled communities in the State. The blight of Reconstruction
+seemed to have settled over the people like a pall, the frontier
+having escaped it. But having reached my destination, I was determined
+to make the best of it. At the house of my next comrade I felt a
+little more at home, he having married since his return and being
+naturally of a cheerful disposition. For a year previous to the
+surrender he and I had wrangled beef for the Confederacy and had been
+stanch cronies. We had also been in considerable mischief together;
+and his wife seemed to know me by reputation as well as I knew her
+husband. Before the wire edge wore off my visit I was as free with the
+couple as though they had been my own brother and sister. The fact
+was all too visible that they were struggling with poverty, though
+lightened by cheerfulness, and to remain long a guest would have
+been an imposition; accordingly I began to skirmish for something to
+do--anything, it mattered not what. The only work in sight was with a
+carpet-bag dredging company, improving the lower Brazos River, under a
+contract from the Reconstruction government of the State. My old crony
+pleaded with me to have nothing to do with the job, offering to share
+his last crust with me; but then he had not had all the animosities of
+the war roughed out of him, and I had. I would work for a Federal as
+soon as any one else, provided he paid me the promised wage, and,
+giving rein to my impulse, I made application at the dredging
+headquarters and was put in charge of a squad of negroes.
+
+I was to have sixty dollars a month and board. The company operated
+a commissary store, a regular "pluck-me" concern, and I shortly
+understood the incentive in offering me such good wages. All employees
+were encouraged and expected to draw their pay in supplies, which were
+sold at treble their actual value from the commissary. I had been
+raised among negroes, knew how to humor and handle them, the work was
+easy, and I drifted along with all my faculties alert. Before long I
+saw that the improvement of the river was the least of the company's
+concern, the employment of a large number of men being the chief
+motive, so long as they drew their wages in supplies. True,
+we scattered a few lodgments of driftwood; with the aid of a
+flat-bottomed scow we windlassed up and cut out a number of old snags,
+felled trees into the river to prevent erosion of its banks, and we
+built a large number of wind-dams to straighten or change the channel.
+It seemed to be a blanket contract,--a reward to the faithful,--and
+permitted of any number of extras which might be charged for at any
+figures the contractors saw fit to make. At the end of the first month
+I naturally looked for my wages. Various excuses were made, but I was
+cordially invited to draw anything needed from the commissary.
+
+A second month passed, during which time the only currency current was
+in the form of land certificates. The Commonwealth of Texas, on her
+admission into the Union, retained the control of her lands, over half
+the entire area of the State being unclaimed at the close of the civil
+war. The carpet-bag government, then in the saddle, was prodigal
+to its favorites in bonuses of land to any and all kinds of public
+improvement. Certificates were issued in the form of scrip calling for
+sections of the public domain of six hundred and forty acres each, and
+were current at from three to five cents an acre. The owner of one or
+more could locate on any of the unoccupied lands of the present State
+by merely surveying and recording his selection at the county seat.
+The scrip was bandied about, no one caring for it, and on the
+termination of my second month I was offered four sections for my
+services up to date, provided I would remain longer in the company's
+employ. I knew the value of land in the older States, in fact, already
+had my eye on some splendid valleys on the Clear Fork, and accepted
+the offered certificates. The idea found a firm lodgment in my mind,
+and I traded one of my six-shooters even for a section of scrip, and
+won several more in card games. I had learned to play poker in the
+army,--knew the rudiments of the game at least,--and before the middle
+of March I was the possessor of certificates calling for thirty
+sections of land. As the time was drawing near for my return to Palo
+Pinto County, I severed my connection with the dredging company and
+returned to the home of my old comrade. I had left my horse with him,
+and under the pretense of paying for feeding the animal well for the
+return trip, had slipped my crony a small gold piece several times
+during the winter. He ridiculed me over my land scrip, but I was
+satisfied, and after spending a day with the couple I started on my
+return.
+
+Evidences of spring were to be seen on every hand. My ride northward
+was a race with the season, but I outrode the coming grass, the
+budding trees, the first flowers, and the mating birds, and reached
+the Edwards ranch on the last day of March. Any number of cattle had
+already been tendered in making up the herd, over half the saddle
+horses necessary were in hand or promised, and they were only awaiting
+my return. I had no idea what the requirements of the Kansas market
+were, and no one else seemed to know, but it was finally decided to
+drive a mixed herd of twenty-five hundred by way of experiment. The
+promoters of the Abilene market had flooded Texas with advertising
+matter during the winter, urging that only choice cattle should be
+driven, yet the information was of little value where local customs
+classified all live stock. A beef was a beef, whether he weighed eight
+or twelve hundred pounds, a cow was a cow when over three years old,
+and so on to the end of the chapter. From a purely selfish motive of
+wanting strong cattle for the trip, I suggested that nothing under
+three-year-olds should be used in making up the herd, a preference to
+be given matured beeves. George Edwards also favored the idea, and as
+our experience in trailing cattle carried some little weight, orders
+were given to gather nothing that had not age, flesh, and strength for
+the journey.
+
+I was to have fifty dollars a month and furnish my own mount. Horses
+were cheap, but I wanted good ones, and after skirmishing about I
+secured four to my liking in return for one hundred dollars in gold.
+I still had some money left from my wages in driving cattle to Fort
+Sumner, and I began looking about for oxen in which to invest
+the remainder. Having little, I must be very careful and make my
+investment in something staple; and remembering the fine prices
+current in Colorado the spring before for work cattle, I offered to
+supply the oxen for the commissary. My proposal was accepted, and
+accordingly I began making inquiry for wagon stock. Finally I heard of
+a freight outfit in the adjoining county east, the owner of which had
+died the winter before, the administrator offering his effects
+for sale. I lost no time in seeing the oxen and hunting up their
+custodian, who proved to be a frontier surveyor at the county seat.
+There were two teams of six yoke each, fine cattle, and I had hopes
+of being able to buy six or eight oxen. But the surveyor insisted on
+selling both teams, offering to credit me on any balance if I could
+give him security. I had never mentioned my land scrip to any one,
+and wishing to see if it had any value, I produced and tendered the
+certificates to the surveyor. He looked them over, made a computation,
+and informed me that they were worth in his county about five cents an
+acre, or nearly one thousand dollars. He also offered to accept them
+as security, assuring me that he could use some of them in locating
+lands for settlers. But it was not my idea to sell the land scrip,
+and a trade was easily effected on the twenty-four oxen, yokes, and
+chains, I paying what money I could spare and leaving the certificates
+for security on the balance. As I look back over an eventful life, I
+remember no special time in which I felt quite as rich as the evening
+that I drove into the Edwards ranch with twelve yoke of oxen chained
+together in one team. The darkies and Mexicans gathered about, even
+the family, to admire the big fellows, and I remember a thrill which
+shivered through me as Miss Gertrude passed down the column, kindly
+patting each near ox as though she felt a personal interest in my
+possessions.
+
+We waited for good grass before beginning the gathering. Half a
+dozen round-ups on the home range would be all that was necessary in
+completing the numbers allotted to the Edwards ranch. Three other
+cowmen were going to turn in a thousand head and furnish and mount a
+man each, there being no occasion to road-brand, as every one knew the
+ranch, brands which would go to make up the herd. An outfit of twelve
+men was considered sufficient, as it was an open prairie country and
+through civilized tribes between Texas and Kansas. All the darkies
+and Mexicans from the home ranch who could be spared were to be taken
+along, making it necessary to hire only three outside men. The drive
+was looked upon as an experiment, there being no outlay of money, even
+the meal and bacon which went into the commissary being supplied from
+the Edwards household. The country contributed the horses and cattle,
+and if the project paid out, well and good; if not there was small
+loss, as they were worth nothing at home. The 20th of April was set
+for starting. Three days' work on the home range and we had two
+thousand cattle under herd, consisting of dry or barren cows and
+steers three years old or over, fully half the latter being heavy
+beeves. We culled back and trimmed our allotment down to sixteen
+hundred, and when the outside contingents were thrown in we had a few
+over twenty-eight hundred cattle in the herd. A Mexican was placed in
+charge of the remuda, a darky, with three yoke of oxen, looked after
+the commissary, and with ten mounted men around the herd we started.
+
+Five and six horses were allotted to the man, each one had one or
+two six-shooters, while half a dozen rifles of different makes were
+carried in the wagon. The herd moved northward by easy marches, open
+country being followed until we reached Red River, where we had the
+misfortune to lose George Edwards from sickness. He was the foreman
+from whom all took orders. While crossing into the Chickasaw Nation it
+was necessary to swim the cattle. We cut them into small bunches, and
+in fording and refording a whole afternoon was spent in the water.
+Towards evening our foreman was rendered useless from a chill,
+followed by fever during the night. The next morning he was worse, and
+as it was necessary to move the herd out to open country, Edwards took
+an old negro with him and went back to a ranch on the Texas side.
+Several days afterward the darky overtook us with the word that his
+master would be unable to accompany the cattle, and that I was to take
+the herd through to Abilene. The negro remained with us, and at
+the first opportunity I picked up another man. Within a week we
+encountered a country trail, bearing slightly northwest, over which
+herds had recently passed. This trace led us into another, which
+followed up the south side of the Washita River, and two weeks after
+reaching the Nation we entered what afterward became famous as the
+Chisholm trail. The Chickasaw was one of the civilized tribes; its
+members had intermarried with the whites until their identity as
+Indians was almost lost. They owned fine homes and farms in the
+Washita valley, were hospitable to strangers, and where the aboriginal
+blood was properly diluted the women were strikingly beautiful.
+In this same valley, fifteen years afterward, I saw a herd of one
+thousand and seven head of corn-fed cattle. The grain was delivered at
+feed-lots at ten cents a bushel, and the beeves had then been on full
+feed for nine months. There were no railroads in the country and the
+only outlet for the surplus corn was to feed it to cattle and drive
+them to some shipping-point in Kansas.
+
+Compared with the route to Fort Sumner, the northern one was a
+paradise. No day passed but there was an abundance of water, while the
+grass simply carpeted the country. We merely soldiered along, crossing
+what was then one of the No-man's lands and the Cherokee Outlet, never
+sighting another herd until after entering Kansas. We amused ourselves
+like urchins out for a holiday, the country was full of all kinds of
+game, and our darky cook was kept busy frying venison and roasting
+turkeys. A calf was born on the trail, the mother of which was quite
+gentle, and we broke her for a milk cow, while "Bull," the youngster,
+became a great pet. A cow-skin was slung under the wagon for carrying
+wood and heavy cooking utensils, and the calf was given a berth in the
+hammock until he was able to follow. But when Bull became older he
+hung around the wagon like a dog, preferring the company of the outfit
+to that of his own mother. He soon learned to eat cold biscuit and
+corn-pone, and would hang around at meal-time, ready for the scraps.
+We always had to notice where the calf lay down to sleep, as he was
+a black rascal, and the men were liable to stumble over him while
+changing guards during the night. He never could be prevailed on to
+walk with his mother, but followed the wagon or rode in his hammock,
+and was always happy as a lark when the recipient of the outfit's
+attentions. We sometimes secured as much as two gallons of milk a
+day from the cow, but it was pitiful to watch her futile efforts at
+coaxing her offspring away from the wagon.
+
+We passed to the west of the town of Wichita and reached our
+destination early in June. There I found several letters awaiting me,
+with instructions to dispose of the herd or to report what was the
+prospect of effecting a sale. We camped about five miles from Abilene,
+and before I could post myself on cattle values half a dozen buyers
+had looked the herd over. Men were in the market anxious for beef
+cattle with which to fill army and Indian contracts, feeders from
+Eastern States, shippers and speculators galore, cowmen looking for
+she stuff with which to start new ranches, while scarcely a day passed
+but inquiry was made by settlers for oxen with which to break prairie.
+A dozen herds had arrived ahead of us, the market had fairly opened,
+and, once I got the drift of current prices, I was as busy as a farmer
+getting ready to cut his buckwheat. Every yoke of oxen was sold within
+a week, one ranchman took all the cows, an army contractor took one
+thousand of the largest beeves, feeders from Iowa took the younger
+steers, and within six weeks after arriving I did not have a hoof
+left. In the mean time I kept an account of each sale, brands and
+numbers, in order to render a statement to the owners of the cattle.
+As fast as the money was received I sent it home by drafts, except the
+proceeds from the oxen, which was a private matter. I bought and sold
+two whole remudas of horses on speculation, clearing fifteen of the
+best ones and three hundred dollars on the transactions.
+
+The facilities for handling cattle at Abilene were not completed until
+late in the season of '67, yet twenty-five thousand cattle found a
+market there that summer and fall. The drive of the present year
+would triple that number, and every one seemed pleased with future
+prospects. The town took on an air of frontier prosperity; saloons
+and gambling and dance halls multiplied, and every legitimate line of
+business flourished like a green bay tree. I made the acquaintance of
+every drover and was generally looked upon as an extra good salesman,
+the secret being in our cattle, which were choice. For instance,
+Northern buyers could see three dollars a head difference in
+three-year-old steers, but with the average Texan the age classified
+them all alike. My boyhood knowledge of cattle had taught me the
+difference, but in range dealing it was impossible to apply the
+principle. I made many warm friends among both buyers and drovers,
+bringing them together and effecting sales, and it was really a matter
+of regret that I had to leave before the season was over. I loved the
+atmosphere of dicker and traffic, had made one of the largest sales of
+the season with our beeves, and was leaving, firm in the conviction
+that I had overlooked no feature of the market of future value.
+
+After selling the oxen we broke some of our saddle stock to harness,
+altered the wagon tongue for horses, and started across the country
+for home, taking our full remuda with us. Where I had gone up the
+trail with five horses, I was going back with twenty; some of the oxen
+I had sold at treble their original cost, while none of them failed
+to double my money--on credit. Taking it all in all, I had never
+seen such good times and made money as easily. On the back track we
+followed the trail, but instead of going down the Washita as we had
+come, we followed the Chisholm trail to the Texas boundary, crossing
+at what was afterward known as Red River Station. From there home was
+an easy matter, and after an absence of four months and five days the
+outfit rode into the Edwards ranch with a flourish.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+SOWING WILD OATS
+
+
+The results from driving cattle north were a surprise to every one. My
+employers were delighted with their experiment, the general expense of
+handling the herd not exceeding fifty cents a head. The enterprise had
+netted over fifty-two thousand dollars, the saddle horses had returned
+in good condition, while due credit was given me in the general
+management. From my sale accounts I made out a statement, and once my
+expenses were approved it was an easy matter to apportion each owner
+his just dues in the season's drive. This over I was free to go my
+way. The only incident of moment in the final settlement was the
+waggish contention of one of the owners, who expressed amazement that
+I ever remitted any funds or returned, roguishly admitting that no
+one expected it. Then suddenly, pretending to have discovered the
+governing motive, he summoned Miss Gertrude, and embarrassed her with
+a profusion of thanks, averring that she alone had saved him from a
+loss of four hundred beeves.
+
+The next move was to redeem my land scrip. The surveyor was anxious
+to buy a portion of it, but I was too rich to part with even a single
+section. During our conversation, however, it developed that he held
+his commission from the State, and when I mentioned my intention of
+locating land, he made application to do the surveying. The fact that
+I expected to make my locations in another county made no difference
+to a free-lance official, and accordingly we came to an agreement. The
+apple of my eye was a valley on the Clear Fork, above its juncture
+with the main Brazos, and from maps in the surveyor's office I was
+able to point out the locality where I expected to make my locations.
+He proved an obliging official and gave me all the routine details,
+and an appointment was made with him to report a week later at the
+Edwards ranch. A wagon and cook would be necessary, chain carriers
+and flagmen must be taken along, and I began skirmishing about for an
+outfit. The three hired men who had been up the trail with me were
+still in the country, and I engaged them and secured a cook. George
+Edwards loaned me a wagon and two yoke of oxen, even going along
+himself for company. The commissary was outfitted for a month's stay,
+and a day in advance of the expected arrival of the surveyor the
+outfit was started up the Brazos. Each of the men had one or more
+private horses, and taking all of mine along, we had a remuda of
+thirty odd saddle horses. George and I remained behind, and on the
+arrival of the surveyor we rode by way of Palo Pinto, the county seat,
+to which all unorganized territory to the west was attached for legal
+purposes. Our chief motive in passing the town was to see if there
+were any lands located near the juncture of the Clear Fork with the
+mother stream, and thus secure an established corner from which to
+begin our survey. But the records showed no land taken up around the
+confluence of these watercourses, making it necessary to establish a
+corner.
+
+Under the old customs, handed down from the Spanish to the Texans,
+corners were always established from natural landmarks. The union of
+creeks arid rivers, mounds, lagoons, outcropping of rock, in fact
+anything unchangeable and established by nature, were used as a point
+of commencement. In the locating of Spanish land grants a century and
+a half previous, sand-dunes were frequently used, and when these old
+concessions became of value and were surveyed, some of the corners had
+shifted a mile or more by the action of the wind and seasons on the
+sand-hills. Accordingly, on overtaking our outfit we headed for the
+juncture of the Brazos and Clear Fork, reaching our destination the
+second day. The first thing was to establish a corner or commencement
+point. Some heavy timber grew around the confluence, so, selecting an
+old patriarch pin oak between the two streams, we notched the tree
+and ran a line to low water at the juncture of the two rivers. Other
+witness trees were established and notched, lines were run at angles
+to the banks of either stream, and a hole was dug two feet deep
+between the roots of the pin oak, a stake set therein, and the
+excavation filled with charcoal and covered. A legal corner or
+commencement point was thus established; but as the land that I
+coveted lay some distance up the Clear Fork, it was necessary first to
+run due south six miles and establish a corner, and thence run west
+the same distance and locate another one.
+
+The thirty sections of land scrip would entitle me to a block of
+ground five by six miles in extent, and I concluded to locate the bulk
+of it on the south side of the Clear Fork. A permanent camp was now
+established, the actual work of locating the land requiring about ten
+days, when the surveyor and Edwards set out on their return. They were
+to touch at the county seat, record the established corners and
+file my locations, leaving the other boys and me behind. It was my
+intention to build a corral and possibly a cabin on the land, having
+no idea that we would remain more than a few weeks longer. Timber was
+plentiful, and, selecting a site well out on the prairie, we began the
+corral. It was no easy task; palisades were cut twelve feet long and
+out of durable woods, and the gate-posts were fourteen inches in
+diameter at the small end, requiring both yoke of oxen to draw them
+to the chosen site. The latter were cut two feet longer than the
+palisades, the extra length being inserted in the ground, giving them
+a stability to carry the bars with which the gateway was closed. Ten
+days were spent in cutting and drawing timber, some of the larger
+palisades being split in two so as to enable five men to load them on
+the wagon. The digging of the narrow trench, five feet deep, in which
+the palisades were set upright, was a sore trial; but the ground was
+sandy, and by dint of perseverance it was accomplished. Instead of
+a few weeks, over a month was spent on the corral, but when it was
+finished it would hold a thousand stampeding cattle through the
+stormiest night that ever blew.
+
+After finishing the corral we hunted a week. The country was alive
+with game of all kinds, even an occasional buffalo, while wild and
+unbranded cattle were seen daily. None of the men seemed anxious to
+leave the valley, but the commissary had to be replenished, so two of
+us made the trip to Belknap with a pack horse, returning the next day
+with meal, sugar, and coffee. A cabin was begun and completed in ten
+days, a crude but stable affair, with clapboard roof, clay floor,
+and ample fireplace. It was now late in September, and as the usual
+branding season was at hand, cow-hunting outfits might be expected to
+pass down the valley. The advantage of corrals would naturally make my
+place headquarters for cowmen, and we accordingly settled down until
+the branding season was over. But the abundance of mavericks and wild
+cattle was so tempting that we had three hundred under herd when the
+first cow-hunting outfits arrived. At one lake on what is now known
+as South Prairie, in a single moonlight night, we roped and tied down
+forty head, the next morning finding thirty of them unbranded and
+therefore unowned. All tame cattle would naturally water in the
+daytime, and anything coming in at night fell a victim to our ropes. A
+wooden toggle was fastened with rawhide to its neck, so it would trail
+between its forelegs, to prevent running, when the wild maverick was
+freed and allowed to enter the herd. After a week or ten days, if an
+animal showed any disposition to quiet down, it was again thrown,
+branded, and the toggle removed. We corralled the little herd every
+night, adding to it daily, scouting far and wide for unowned or wild
+cattle. But when other outfits came up or down the valley of the Clear
+Fork we joined forces with them, tendering our corrals for branding
+purposes, our rake-off being the mavericks and eligible strays. Many
+a fine quarter of beef was left at our cabin by passing ranchmen, and
+when the gathering ended we had a few over five hundred cattle for our
+time and trouble.
+
+Fine weather favored us and we held the mavericks under herd until
+late in December. The wild ones gradually became gentle, and with
+constant handling these wild animals were located until they would
+come in of their own accord for the privilege of sleeping in a corral.
+But when winter approached the herd was turned free, that the cattle
+might protect themselves from storms, and we gathered our few effects
+together and started for the settlements. It was with reluctance that
+I left that primitive valley. Somehow or other, primal conditions
+possessed a charm for me which, coupled with an innate love of the
+land and the animals that inhabit it, seemed to influence and outline
+my future course of life. The pride of possession was mine; with my
+own hands and abilities had I earned the land, while the overflow from
+a thousand hills stocked my new ranch. I was now the owner of lands
+and cattle; my father in his palmiest days never dreamed of such
+possessions as were mine, while youth and opportunity encouraged me to
+greater exertions.
+
+We reached the Edwards ranch a few days before Christmas. The boys
+were settled with and returned to their homes, and I was once more
+adrift. Forty odd calves had been branded as the increase of my
+mavericking of the year before, and, still basking in the smile of
+fortune, I found a letter awaiting me from Major Seth Mabry of Austin,
+anxious to engage my services as a trail foreman for the coming
+summer. I had met Major Seth the spring before at Abilene, and was
+instrumental in finding him a buyer for his herd, and otherwise we
+became fast friends. There were no outstanding obligations to my
+former employers, so when a protest was finally raised against my
+going, I had the satisfaction of vouching for George Edwards, to the
+manner born, and a better range cowman than I was. The same group of
+ranchmen expected to drive another herd the coming spring, and I made
+it a point to see each one personally, urging that nothing but choice
+cattle should be sent up the trail. My long acquaintance with the
+junior Edwards enabled me to speak emphatically and to the point,
+and I lectured him thoroughly as to the requirements of the Abilene
+market.
+
+I notified Major Mabry that I would be on hand within a month. The
+holiday season soon passed, and leaving my horses at the Edwards
+ranch, I saddled the most worthless one and started south. The trip
+was uneventful, except that I traded horses twice, reaching my
+destination within a week, having seen no country en route that could
+compare with the valley of the Clear Fork. The capital city was a
+straggling village on the banks of the Colorado River, inert through
+political usurpation, yet the home of many fine people. Quite a number
+of cowmen resided there, owning ranches in outlying and adjoining
+counties, among them being my acquaintance of the year before and
+present employer. It was too early by nearly a month to begin active
+operations, and I contented myself about town, making the acquaintance
+of other cowmen and their foremen who expected to drive that year.
+New Orleans had previously been the only outlet for beef cattle
+in southern Texas, and even in the spring of '69 very few had any
+confidence of a market in the north. Major Mabry, however, was going
+to drive two herds to Abilene, one of beeves and the other of younger
+steers, dry cows, and thrifty two-year-old heifers, and I was to
+have charge of the heavy cattle. Both herds would be put up in Llano
+County, it being the intention to start with the grass. Mules were to
+be worked to the wagons, oxen being considered too slow, while both
+outfits were to be mounted seven horses to the man.
+
+During my stay at Austin I frequently made inquiry for land scrip.
+Nearly all the merchants had more or less, the current prices being
+about five cents an acre. There was a clear distinction, however,
+in case one was a buyer or seller, the former being shown every
+attention. I allowed the impression to circulate that I would buy,
+which brought me numerous offers, and before leaving the town I
+secured twenty sections for five hundred dollars. I needed just that
+amount to cover a four-mile bend of the Clear Fork on the west end of
+my new ranch,--a possession which gave me ten miles of that virgin
+valley. My employer congratulated me on my investment, and assured
+me that if the people ever overthrew the Reconstruction usurpers
+the public domain would no longer be bartered away for chips and
+whetstones. I was too busy to take much interest in the political
+situation, and, so long as I was prosperous and employed, gave little
+heed to politics.
+
+Major Mabry owned a ranch and extensive cattle interests northwest in
+Llano County. As we expected to start the herds as early as possible,
+the latter part of February found us at the ranch actively engaged in
+arranging for the summer's work. There were horses to buy, wagons to
+outfit, and hands to secure, and a busy fortnight was spent in getting
+ready for the drive. The spring before I had started out in debt; now,
+on permission being given me, I bought ten horses for my own use and
+invested the balance of my money in four yoke of oxen. Had I remained
+in Palo Pinto County the chances were that I might have enlarged my
+holdings in the coming drive, as in order to have me remain several
+offered to sell me cattle on credit. But so long as I was enlarging my
+experience I was content, while the wages offered me were double what
+I received the summer before.
+
+We went into camp and began rounding up near the middle of March. All
+classes of cattle were first gathered into one herd, after which the
+beeves were cut separate and taken charge of by my outfit. We gathered
+a few over fifteen hundred of the latter, all prairie-raised cattle,
+four years old or over, and in the single ranch brand of my employer.
+Major Seth had also contracted for one thousand other beeves, and it
+became our duty to receive them. These outside contingents would have
+to be road-branded before starting, as they were in a dozen or more
+brands, the work being done in a chute built for that purpose. My
+employer and I fully agreed on the quality of cattle to be received,
+and when possible we both passed on each tender of beeves before
+accepting them. The two herds were being held separate, and a friendly
+rivalry existed between the outfits as to which herd would be ready
+to start first. It only required a few days extra to receive and
+road-brand the outside cattle, when all were ready to start. As Major
+Seth knew the most practical route, in deference to his years and
+experience I insisted that he should take the lead until after Red
+River was crossed. I had been urging the Chisholm trail in preference
+to more eastern ones, and with the compromise that I should take the
+lead after passing Fort Worth, the two herds started on the last day
+of March.
+
+There was no particular trail to follow. The country was all open,
+and the grass was coming rapidly, while the horses and cattle were
+shedding their winter coats with the change of the season. Fine
+weather favored us, no rains at night and few storms, and within two
+weeks we passed Fort Worth, after which I took the lead. I remember
+that at the latter point I wrote a letter to the elder Edwards,
+inclosing my land scrip, and asking him to send a man out to my new
+ranch occasionally to see that the improvements were not destroyed.
+Several herds had already passed the fort, their destination being the
+same as ours, and from thence onward we had the advantage of following
+a trail. As we neared Red River, nearly all the herds bore off to the
+eastward, but we held our course, crossing into the Chickasaw Nation
+at the regular Chisholm ford. A few beggarly Indians, renegades from
+the Kiowas and Comanches on the west, annoyed us for the first week,
+but were easily appeased with a lame or stray beef. The two herds held
+rather close together as a matter of mutual protection, as in some
+of the encampments were fully fifty lodges with possibly as many
+able-bodied warriors. But after crossing the Washita River no further
+trouble was encountered from the natives, and we swept northward at
+the steady pace of an advancing army. Other herds were seen in our
+rear and front, and as we neared the Kansas line several long columns
+of cattle were sighted coming in over the safer eastern routes.
+
+The last lap of the drive was reached. A fortnight later we went into
+camp within twelve miles of Abilene, having been on the trail two
+months and eleven days. The same week we moved north of the railroad,
+finding ample range within seven miles of town. Herds were coming in
+rapidly, and it was important to secure good grazing grounds for our
+cattle. Buyers were arriving from every territory in the Northwest,
+including California, while the usual contingent of Eastern dealers,
+shippers, and market-scalpers was on hand. It could hardly be said
+that prices had yet opened, though several contracted herds had
+already been delivered, while every purchaser was bearing the market
+and prophesying a drive of a quarter million cattle. The drovers,
+on the other hand, were combating every report in circulation, even
+offering to wager that the arrivals of stock for the entire summer
+would not exceed one hundred thousand head. Cowmen reported en route
+with ten thousand beeves came in with one fifth the number, and
+sellers held the whip hand, the market actually opening at better
+figures than the summer before. Once prices were established, I was in
+the thick of the fight, selling my oxen the first week to a freighter,
+constantly on the skirmish for a buyer, and never failing to recognize
+one with whom I had done business the summer before. In case Major
+Mabry had nothing to suit, the herd in charge of George Edwards was
+always shown, and I easily effected two sales, aggregating fifteen
+hundred head, from the latter cattle, with customers of the year
+previous.
+
+But my zeal for bartering in cattle came to a sudden end near the
+close of June. A conservative estimate of the arrivals then in sight
+or known to be en route for Abilene was placed at one hundred and
+fifty thousand cattle. Yet instead of any weakening in prices, they
+seemed to strengthen with the influx of buyers from the corn regions,
+as the prospects of the season assured a bountiful new crop. Where
+States had quarantined against Texas cattle the law was easily
+circumvented by a statement that the cattle were immune from having
+wintered in the north, which satisfied the statutes--as there was no
+doubt but they had wintered somewhere. Steer cattle of acceptable age
+and smoothness of build were in demand by feeders; all classes in fact
+felt a stimulus. My beeves were sold for delivery north of Cheyenne,
+Wyoming, the buyers, who were ranchmen as well as army contractors,
+taking the herd complete, including the remuda and wagon. Under the
+terms, the cattle were to start immediately and be grazed through. I
+was given until the middle of September to reach my destination, and
+at once moved out on a northwest course. On reaching the Republican
+River, we followed it to the Colorado line, and then tacked north
+for Cheyenne. Reporting our progress to the buyers, we were met and
+directed to pass to the eastward of that village, where we halted
+a week, and seven hundred of the fattest beeves were cut out for
+delivery at Fort Russell. By various excuses we were detained until
+frost fell before we reached the ranch, and a second and a third
+contingent of beeves were cut out for other deliveries, making it
+nearly the middle of October before I was finally relieved.
+
+With the exception of myself, a new outfit of men had been secured at
+Abilene. Some of them were retained at the ranch of the contractors,
+the remainder being discharged, all of us returning to Cheyenne
+together, whence we scattered to the four winds. I spent a week in
+Denver, meeting Charlie Goodnight, who had again fought his way up the
+Pecos route and delivered his cattle to the contractors at Fort Logan.
+Continuing homeward, I took the train for Abilene, hesitating whether
+to stop there or visit my brother in Missouri before returning to
+Texas. I had twelve hundred dollars with me, as the proceeds of my
+wages, horses, and oxen, and, feeling rather affluent, I decided to
+stop over a day at the new trail town. I knew the market was virtually
+over, and what evil influence ever suggested my stopping at Abilene
+is unexplainable. But I did stop, and found things just as I
+expected,--everybody sold out and gone home. A few trail foremen were
+still hanging around the town under the pretense of attending to
+unsettled business, and these welcomed me with a fraternal greeting.
+Two of them who had served in the Confederate army came to me and
+frankly admitted that they were broke, and begged me to help them
+out of town by redeeming their horses and saddles. Feed bills had
+accumulated and hotel accounts were unpaid; the appeals of the rascals
+would have moved a stone to pity.
+
+The upshot of the whole matter was that I bought a span of mules and
+wagon and invited seven of the boys to accompany me overland to Texas.
+My friends insisted that we could sell the outfit in the lower country
+for more than cost, but before I got out of town my philanthropic
+venture had absorbed over half my savings. As long as I had money the
+purse seemed a public one, and all the boys borrowed just as freely as
+if they expected to repay it. I am sure they felt grateful, and had I
+been one of the needy no doubt any of my friends would have shared his
+purse with me.
+
+It was a delightful trip across the Indian Territory, and we reached
+Sherman, Texas, just before the holidays. Every one had become tired
+of the wagon, and I was fortunate enough to sell it without loss.
+Those who had saddle horses excused themselves and hurried home for
+the Christmas festivities, leaving a quartette of us behind. But
+before the remainder of us proceeded to our destinations two of the
+boys discovered a splendid opening for a monte game, in which we could
+easily recoup all our expenses for the trip. I was the only dissenter
+to the programme, not even knowing the game; but under the pressure
+which was brought to bear I finally yielded, and became banker for my
+friends. The results are easily told. The second night there was heavy
+play, and before ten o'clock the monte bank closed for want of funds,
+it having been tapped for its last dollar. The next morning I took
+stage for Dallas, where I arrived with less than twenty dollars, and
+spent the most miserable Christmas day of my life. I had written
+George Edwards from Denver that I expected to go to Missouri, and
+asked him to take my horses and go out to the little ranch and brand
+my calves. There was no occasion now to contradict my advice of that
+letter, neither would I go near the Edwards ranch, yet I hungered for
+that land scrip and roundly cursed myself for being a fool. It would
+be two months and a half before spring work opened, and what to do in
+the mean time was the one absorbing question. My needs were too urgent
+to allow me to remain idle long, and, drifting south, working when
+work was to be had, at last I reached the home of my soldier crony
+in Washington County, walking and riding in country wagons the
+last hundred miles of the distance. No experience in my life ever
+humiliated me as that one did, yet I have laughed about it since.
+I may have previously heard of riches taking wings, but in this
+instance, now mellowed by time, no injustice will be done by simply
+recording it as the parting of a fool and his money.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+"THE ANGEL"
+
+
+The winds of adversity were tempered by the welcome extended me by my
+old comrade and his wife. There was no concealment as to my financial
+condition, but when I explained the causes my former crony laughed at
+me until the tears stood in his eyes. Nor did I protest, because I so
+richly deserved it. Fortunately the circumstances of my friends had
+bettered since my previous visit, and I was accordingly relieved from
+any feeling of intrusion. In two short years the wheel had gone round,
+and I was walking heavily on my uppers and continually felt like a
+pauper or poor relation. To make matters more embarrassing, I could
+appeal to no one, and, fortified by pride from birth, I ground my
+teeth over resolutions that will last me till death. Any one of half
+a dozen friends, had they known my true condition, would have gladly
+come to my aid, but circumstances prevented me from making any appeal.
+To my brother in Missouri I had previously written of my affluence; as
+for friends in Palo Pinto County,--well, for the very best of reasons
+my condition would remain a sealed book in that quarter; and to appeal
+to Major Mabry might arouse his suspicions. I had handled a great deal
+of money for him, accounting for every cent, but had he known of my
+inability to take care of my own frugal earnings it might have aroused
+his distrust. I was sure of a position with him again as trail
+foreman, and not for the world would I have had him know that I could
+be such a fool as to squander my savings thoughtlessly.
+
+What little correspondence I conducted that winter was by roundabout
+methods. I occasionally wrote my brother that I was wallowing
+in wealth, always inclosing a letter to Gertrude Edwards with
+instructions to remail, conveying the idea to her family that I was
+spending the winter with relatives in Missouri. As yet there was no
+tacit understanding between Miss Gertrude and me, but I conveyed that
+impression to my brother, and as I knew he had run away with his wife,
+I had confidence he would do my bidding. In writing my employer I
+reported myself as busy dealing in land scrip, and begged him not to
+insist on my appearance until it was absolutely necessary. He replied
+that I might have until the 15th of March in which to report at
+Austin, as my herd had been contracted for north in Williamson County.
+Major Mabry expected to drive three herds that spring, the one already
+mentioned and two from Llano County, where he had recently acquired
+another ranch with an extensive stock of cattle. It therefore behooved
+me to keep my reputation unsullied, a rather difficult thing to do
+when our escapade at Sherman was known to three other trail foremen.
+They might look upon it as a good joke, while to me it was a serious
+matter.
+
+Had there been anything to do in Washington County, it was my
+intention to go to work. The dredging company had departed for newer
+fields, there was no other work in sight, and I was compelled to fold
+my hands and bide my time. My crony and I blotted out the days by
+hunting deer and turkeys, using hounds for the former and shooting the
+animals at game crossings. By using a turkey-call we could entice the
+gobblers within rifle-shot, and in several instances we were able to
+locate their roosts. The wild turkey of Texas was a wary bird, and
+although I have seen flocks of hundreds, it takes a crafty hunter to
+bag one. I have always loved a gun and been fond of hunting, yet the
+time hung heavy on my hands, and I counted the days like a prisoner
+until I could go to work. But my sentence finally expired, and
+preparations were made for my start to Austin. My friends offered
+their best wishes,--about all they had,--and my old comrade went so
+far as to take me one day on horseback to where he had an acquaintance
+living. There we stayed over night, which was more than half way to my
+destination, and the next morning we parted, he to his home with the
+horses, while I traveled on foot or trusted to country wagons. I
+arrived in Austin on the appointed day, with less than five dollars in
+my pocket, and registered at the best hotel in the capital. I needed
+a saddle, having sold mine in Wyoming the fall before, and at once
+reported to my employer. Fortunately my arrival was being awaited to
+start a remuda and wagon to Williamson County, and when I assured
+Major Mabry that all I lacked was a saddle, he gave me an order on a
+local dealer, and we started that same evening.
+
+At last I was saved. With the opening of work my troubles lifted like
+a night fog before the rising sun. Even the first view of the
+remuda revived my spirits, as I had been allotted one hundred fine
+cow-horses. They had been brought up during the winter, had run in a
+good pasture for some time, and with the opening of spring were
+in fine condition. Many trail men were short-sighted in regard to
+mounting their outfits, and although we had our differences, I want to
+say that Major Mabry and his later associates never expected a man
+to render an honest day's work unless he was properly supplied with
+horses. My allowance for the spring of 1870 was again seven horses to
+the man, with two extra for the foreman, which at that early day
+in trailing cattle was considered the maximum where Kansas was the
+destination. Many drovers allowed only five horses to the man, but
+their men were frequently seen walking with the herd, their mounts
+mingling with the cattle, unable to carry their riders longer.
+
+The receiving of the herd in Williamson County was an easy matter.
+Four prominent ranchmen were to supply the beeves to the number of
+three thousand. Nearly every hoof was in the straight ranch brand of
+the sellers, only some two hundred being mixed brands and requiring
+the usual road-branding. In spite of every effort to hold the herd
+down to the contracted number, we received one hundred and fifty
+extra; but then they were cattle that no justifiable excuse could be
+offered in refusing. The last beeves were received on the 22d of the
+month, and after cutting separate all cattle of outside brands, they
+were sent to the chute to receive the road-mark. Major Mabry was
+present, and a controversy arose between the sellers and himself over
+our refusal to road-brand, or at least vent the ranch brands, on the
+great bulk of the herd. Too many brands on an animal was an objection
+to the shippers and feeders of the North, and we were anxious to cater
+to their wishes as far as possible. The sellers protested against the
+cattle leaving their range without some mark to indicate their change
+of ownership. The country was all open; in case of a stampede and loss
+of cattle within a few hundred miles they were certain to drift back
+to their home range, with nothing to distinguish them from their
+brothers of the same age. Flesh marks are not a good title by which
+to identify one's property, where those possessions consist of range
+cattle, and the law recognized the holding brand as the hall-mark of
+ownership. But a compromise was finally agreed upon, whereby we were
+to run the beeves through the chute and cut the brush from their
+tails. In a four or five year old animal this tally-mark would hold
+for a year, and in no wise work any hardship to the animal in warding
+off insect life. In case of any loss on the trail my employer agreed
+to pay one dollar a head for regathering any stragglers that returned
+within a year. The proposition was a fair one, the ranchmen yielded,
+and we ran the whole herd through the chute, cutting the brush within
+a few inches of the end of the tail-bone. By tightly wrapping the
+brush once around the blade of a sharp knife, it was quick work
+to thus vent a chuteful of cattle, both the road-branding and
+tally-marking being done in two days.
+
+The herd started on the morning of the 25th. I had a good outfit of
+men, only four of whom were with me the year before. The spring could
+not be considered an early one, and therefore we traveled slow for
+the first few weeks, meeting with two bad runs, three days apart,
+but without the loss of a hoof. These panics among the cattle were
+unexplainable, as they were always gorged with grass and water at
+bedding time, the weather was favorable, no unseemly noises were
+heard by the men on guard, and both runs occurred within two hours of
+daybreak. There was a half-breed Mexican in the outfit, a very quiet
+man, and when the causes of the stampedes were being discussed around
+the camp-fire, I noticed that he shrugged his shoulders in derision
+of the reasons advanced. The half-breed was my horse wrangler, old in
+years and experience, and the idea struck me to sound him as to his
+version of the existing trouble among the cattle. He was inclined to
+be distant, but I approached him cautiously, complimented him on his
+handling of the remuda, rode with him several hours, and adroitly drew
+out his opinion of what caused our two stampedes. As he had never
+worked with the herd, his first question was, did we receive any blind
+cattle or had any gone blind since we started? He then informed me
+that the old Spanish rancheros would never leave a sightless animal in
+a corral with sound ones during the night for fear of a stampede. He
+cautioned me to look the herd over carefully, and if there was a blind
+animal found to cut it out or the trouble would he repeated in spite
+of all precaution. I rode back and met the herd, accosting every swing
+man on one side with the inquiry if any blind animal had been seen,
+without results until the drag end of the cattle was reached. Two men
+were at the rear, and when approached with the question, both admitted
+noticing, for the past week, a beef which acted as if he might be
+crazy. I had them point out the steer, and before I had watched him
+ten minutes was satisfied that he was stone blind. He was a fine, big
+fellow, in splendid flesh, but it was impossible to keep him in the
+column; he was always straggling out and constantly shying from
+imaginary objects. I had the steer roped for three or four nights and
+tied to a tree, and as the stampeding ceased we cut him out every
+evening when bedding down the herd, and allowed him to sleep alone.
+The poor fellow followed us, never venturing to leave either day or
+night, but finally fell into a deep ravine and broke his neck. His
+affliction had befallen him on the trail, affecting his nervous system
+to such an extent that he would jump from imaginary objects and thus
+stampede his brethren. I remember it occurred to me, then, how little
+I knew about cattle, and that my wrangler and I ought to exchange
+places. Since that day I have always been an attentive listener to the
+humblest of my fellowmen when interpreting the secrets of animal life.
+
+Another incident occurred on this trip which showed the observation
+and insight of my half-breed wrangler. We were passing through some
+cross-timbers one morning in northern Texas, the remuda and wagon far
+in the lead. We were holding the herd as compactly as possible to
+prevent any straying of cattle, when our saddle horses were noticed
+abandoned in thick timber. It was impossible to leave the herd at the
+time, but on reaching the nearest opening, about two miles ahead, I
+turned and galloped back for fear of losing horses. I counted the
+remuda and found them all there, but the wrangler was missing.
+Thoughts of desertion flashed through my mind, the situation was
+unexplainable, and after calling, shooting, and circling around for
+over an hour, I took the remuda in hand and started after the herd,
+mentally preparing a lecture in case my wrangler returned. While
+nooning that day some six or seven miles distant, the half-breed
+jauntily rode into camp, leading a fine horse, saddled and bridled,
+with a man's coat tied to the cantle-strings. He explained to us that
+he had noticed the trail of a horse crossing our course at right
+angles. The freshness of the sign attracted his attention, and
+trailing it a short distance in the dewy morning he had noticed that
+something attached to the animal was trailing. A closer examination
+was made, and he decided that it was a bridle rein and not a rope that
+was attached to the wandering horse. From the freshness of the trail,
+he felt positive that he would overtake the animal shortly, but after
+finding him some difficulty was encountered before the horse would
+allow himself to be caught. He apologized for his neglect of duty,
+considering the incident as nothing unusual, and I had not the heart
+even to scold him. There were letters in the pocket of the coat,
+from which the owner was identified, and on arriving at Abilene
+the pleasure was mine of returning the horse and accoutrements and
+receiving a twenty-dollar gold piece for my wrangler. A stampede of
+trail cattle had occurred some forty miles to the northwest but a few
+nights before our finding the horse, during which the herd ran into
+some timber, and a low-hanging limb unhorsed the foreman, the animal
+escaping until captured by my man.
+
+On approaching Fort Worth, still traveling slowly on account of the
+lateness of the spring, I decided to pay a flying visit to Palo Pinto
+County. It was fully eighty miles from the Fort across to the Edwards
+ranch, and appointing one of my old men as segundo, I saddled my best
+horse and set out an hour before sunset. I had made the same ride four
+years previously on coming to the country, a cool night favored my
+mount, and at daybreak I struck the Brazos River within two miles of
+the ranch. An eventful day followed; I reeled off innocent white-faced
+lies by the yard, in explaining the delightful winter I had spent with
+my brother in Missouri. Fortunately the elder Edwards was not driving
+any cattle that year, and George was absent buying oxen for a Fort
+Griffin freighter. Good reports of my new ranch awaited me, my
+cattle were increasing, and the smile of prosperity again shed its
+benediction over me. No one had located any lands near my little
+ranch, and the coveted addition on the west was still vacant and
+unoccupied. The silent monitor within my breast was my only accuser,
+but as I rode away from the Edwards ranch in the shade of evening,
+even it was silenced, for I held the promise of a splendid girl to
+become my wife. A second sleepless night passed like a pleasant dream,
+and early the next morning, firmly anchored in resolutions that no
+vagabond friends could ever shake, I overtook my herd.
+
+After crossing Red River, the sweep across the Indian country was but
+a repetition of other years, with its varying monotony. Once we were
+waterbound for three days, severe drifts from storms at night were
+experienced, delaying our progress, and we did not reach Abilene until
+June 15. We were aware, however, of an increased drive of cattle
+to the north; evidences were to be seen on every hand; owners were
+hanging around the different fords and junctions of trails, inquiring
+if herds in such and such brands had been seen or spoken. While we
+were crossing the Nations, men were daily met hunting for lost horses
+or inquiring for stampeded cattle, while the regular trails were being
+cut into established thoroughfares from increasing use. Neither of the
+other Mabry herds had reached their destination on our arrival, though
+Major Seth put in an appearance within a week and reported the other
+two about one hundred miles to the rear. Cattle were arriving by the
+thousands, buyers from the north, east, and west were congregating,
+and the prospect of good prices was flattering. I was fortunate in
+securing my old camp-ground north of the town; a dry season had set
+in nearly a month before, maturing the grass, and our cattle took on
+flesh rapidly. Buyers looked them over daily, our prices being firm.
+Wintered cattle were up in the pictures, a rate war was on between all
+railroad lines east of the Mississippi River, cutting to the bone to
+secure the Western live-stock traffic. Three-year-old steers bought
+the fall before at twenty dollars and wintered on the Kansas prairies
+were netting their owners as high as sixty dollars on the Chicago
+market. The man with good cattle for sale could afford to be firm.
+
+At this juncture a regrettable incident occurred, which, however,
+proved a boon to me. Some busybody went to the trouble of telling
+Major Mabry about my return to Abilene the fall before and my
+subsequent escapade in Texas, embellishing the details and even
+intimating that I had squandered funds not my own. I was thirty years
+old and as touchy as gunpowder, and felt the injustice of the charge
+like a knife-blade in my heart. There was nothing to do but ask for
+my release, place the facts in the hands of my employer, and court a
+thorough investigation. I had always entertained the highest regard
+for Major Mabry, and before the season ended I was fully vindicated
+and we were once more fast friends.
+
+In the mean time I was not idle. By the first of July it was known
+that three hundred thousand cattle would be the minimum of the
+summer's drive to Abilene. My extensive acquaintance among buyers made
+my services of value to new drovers. A commission of twenty-five
+cents a head was offered me for effecting sales. The first week after
+severing my connection with Major Seth my earnings from a single
+trade amounted to seven hundred and fifty dollars. Thenceforth I was
+launched on a business of my own. Fortune smiled on me, acquaintances
+nicknamed me "The Angel," and instead of my foolishness reflecting on
+me, it made me a host of friends. Cowmen insisted on my selling their
+cattle, shippers consulted me, and I was constantly in demand with
+buyers, who wished my opinion on young steers before closing trades.
+I was chosen referee in a dozen disputes in classifying cattle, my
+decisions always giving satisfaction. Frequently, on an order, I
+turned buyer. Northern men seemed timid in relying on their own
+judgment of Texas cattle. Often, after a trade was made, the buyer
+paid me the regular commission for cutting and receiving, not willing
+to risk his judgment on range cattle. During the second week in August
+I sold five thousand head and bought fifteen hundred. Every man who
+had purchased cattle the year before had made money and was back in
+the market for more. Prices were easily advanced as the season wore
+on, whole herds were taken by three or four farmers from the corn
+regions, and the year closed with a flourish. In the space of four
+months I was instrumental in selling, buying, cutting, or receiving
+a few over thirty thousand head, on all of which I received a
+commission.
+
+I established a camp of my own during the latter part of August. In
+order to avoid night-herding his cattle the summer before, some one
+had built a corral about ten miles northeast of Abilene. It was a
+temporary affair, the abrupt, bluff banks of a creek making a perfect
+horseshoe, requiring only four hundred feet of fence across the neck
+to inclose a corral of fully eight acres. The inclosure was not in
+use, so I hired three men and took possession of it for the time
+being. I had noticed in previous years that when a drover had sold all
+his herd but a remnant, he usually sacrificed his culls in order to
+reduce the expense of an outfit and return home. I had an idea that
+there was money in buying up these remnants and doing a small jobbing
+business. Frequently I had as many as seven hundred cull cattle on
+hand. Besides, I was constantly buying and selling whole remudas of
+saddle horses. So when a drover had sold all but a few hundred cattle
+he would come to me, and I would afford him the relief he wanted.
+Cripples and sore-footed animals were usually thrown in for good
+measure, or accepted at the price of their hides. Some buyers demanded
+quality and some cared only for numbers. I remember effecting a sale
+of one hundred culls to a settler, southeast on the Smoky River, at
+seven dollars a head. The terms were that I was to cut out the cattle,
+and as many were cripples and cost me little or nothing, they afforded
+a nice profit besides cleaning up my herd. When selling my own, I
+always priced a choice of my cattle at a reasonable figure, or offered
+to cull out the same number at half the price. By this method my herd
+was kept trimmed from both ends and the happy medium preserved.
+
+I love to think of those good old days. Without either foresight or
+effort I made all kinds of money during the summer of 1870. Our best
+patrons that fall were small ranchmen from Kansas and Nebraska, every
+one of whom had coined money on their purchases of the summer before.
+One hundred per cent for wintering a steer and carrying him less than
+a year had brought every cattleman and his cousin back to Abilene to
+duplicate their former ventures. The little ranchman who bought five
+hundred steers in the fall of 1869 was in the market the present
+summer for a thousand head. Demand always seemed to meet supply a
+little over half-way. The market closed firm, with every hoof taken
+and at prices that were entirely satisfactory to drovers. It would
+seem an impossibility were I to admit my profits for that year, yet at
+the close of the season I started overland to Texas with fifty choice
+saddle horses and a snug bank account. Surely those were the golden
+days of the old West.
+
+My last act before leaving Abilene that fall was to meet my enemy and
+force a personal settlement. Major Mabry washed his hands by firmly
+refusing to name my accuser, but from other sources I traced my
+defamer to a liveryman of the town. The fall before, on four horses
+and saddles, I paid a lien, in the form of a feed bill, of one hundred
+and twenty dollars for my stranded friends. The following day the same
+man presented me another bill for nearly an equal amount, claiming
+it had been assigned to him in a settlement with other parties. I
+investigated the matter, found it to be a disputed gambling account,
+and refused payment. An attempt was made, only for a moment, to hold
+the horses, resulting in my incurring the stableman's displeasure. The
+outcome was that on our return the next spring our patronage went
+to another _bran_, and the story, born in malice and falsehood, was
+started between employer and employee. I had made arrangements to
+return to Texas with the last one of Major Mabry's outfits, and the
+wagon and remuda had already started, when I located my traducer in a
+well-known saloon. I invited him to a seat at a table, determined to
+bring matters to an issue. He reluctantly complied, when I branded him
+with every vile epithet that my tongue could command, concluding by
+arraigning him as a coward. I was hungering for him to show some
+resistance, expecting to kill him, and when he refused to notice my
+insults, I called the barkeeper and asked for two glasses of whiskey
+and a pair of six-shooters. Not a word passed between us until the
+bartender brought the drinks and guns on a tray. "Now take your
+choice," said I. He replied, "I believe a little whiskey will do me
+good."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+THE "LAZY L"
+
+
+The homeward trip was a picnic. Counting mine, we had one hundred and
+fifty saddle horses. All surplus men in the employ of Major Mabry had
+been previously sent home until there remained at the close of the
+season only the drover, seven men, and myself. We averaged forty miles
+a day returning, sweeping down the plains like a north wind until Red
+River Station was reached. There our ways parted, and cutting separate
+my horses, we bade each other farewell, the main outfit heading for
+Fort Worth, while I bore to the westward for Palo Pinto. Major Seth
+was anxious to secure my services for another year, but I made
+no definite promises. We parted the best of friends. There were
+scattering ranches on my route, but driving fifty loose horses made
+traveling slow, and it was nearly a week before I reached the Edwards
+ranch.
+
+The branding season was nearly over. After a few days' rest, an outfit
+of men was secured, and we started for my little ranch on the Clear
+Fork. Word was sent to the county seat, appointing a date with the
+surveyor, and on arriving at the new ranch I found that the corrals
+had been in active use by branding parties. We were soon in the thick
+of the fray, easily holding our own, branding every maverick on the
+range as well as catching wild cattle. My weakness for a good horse
+was the secret of much of my success in ranching during the early
+days, for with a remuda of seventy picked horses it was impossible for
+any unowned animal to escape us. Our drag-net scoured the hills and
+valleys, and before the arrival of the surveyor we had run the "44"
+on over five hundred calves, mavericks, and wild cattle. Different
+outfits came down the Brazos and passed up the Clear Fork, always
+using my corrals when working in the latter valley. We usually joined
+in with these cow-hunting parties, extending to them every possible
+courtesy, and in return many a thrifty yearling was added to my brand.
+Except some wild-cattle hunting which we had in view, every hoof was
+branded up by the time the surveyor arrived at the ranch.
+
+The locating of twenty sections of land was an easy matter. We had
+established corners from which to work, and commencing on the west end
+of my original location, we ran off an area of country, four miles
+west by five south. New outside corners were established with
+buried charcoal and stakes, while the inner ones were indicated by
+half-buried rock, nothing divisional being done except to locate the
+land in sections. It was a beautiful tract, embracing a large bend of
+the Clear Fork, heavily timbered in several places, the soil being of
+a rich, sandy loam and covered with grass. I was proud of my landed
+interest, though small compared to modern ranches; and after the
+surveying ended, we spent a few weeks hunting out several rendezvous
+of wild cattle before returning to the Edwards ranch.
+
+I married during the holidays. The new ranch was abandoned during the
+winter months, as the cattle readily cared for themselves, requiring
+no attention. I now had a good working capital, and having established
+myself by marriage into a respectable family of the country, I found
+several avenues open before me. Among the different openings for
+attractive investment was a brand of cattle belonging to an estate
+south in Comanche County. If the cattle were as good as represented
+they were certainly a bargain, as the brand was offered straight
+through at four dollars and a half a head. It was represented that
+nothing had been sold from the brand in a number of years, the estate
+was insolvent, and the trustee was anxious to sell the entire stock
+outright. I was impressed with the opportunity, and early in the
+winter George Edwards and I rode down to look the situation over. By
+riding around the range a few days we were able to get a good idea of
+the stock, and on inquiry among neighbors and men familiar with the
+brand, I was satisfied that the cattle were a bargain. A lawyer at the
+county seat was the trustee, and on opening negotiations with him it
+was readily to be seen that all he knew about the stock was that shown
+by the books and accounts. According to the branding for the past few
+years, it would indicate a brand of five or six thousand cattle. The
+only trouble in trading was to arrange the terms, my offer being half
+cash and the balance in six months, the cattle to be gathered early
+the coming spring. A bewildering list of references was given and we
+returned home. Within a fortnight a letter came from the trustee,
+accepting my offer and asking me to set a date for the gathering. I
+felt positive that the brand ought to run forty per cent steer
+cattle, and unless there was some deception, there would be in the
+neighborhood of two thousand head fit for the trail. I at once bought
+thirty more saddle horses, outfitted a wagon with oxen to draw it,
+besides hiring fifteen cow-hands. Early in March we started for
+Comanche County, having in the mean time made arrangements with the
+elder Edwards to supply one thousand head of trail cattle, intended
+for the Kansas market.
+
+An early spring favored the work. By the 10th of the month we were
+actively engaged in gathering the stock. It was understood that we
+were to have the assistance of the ranch outfit in holding the cattle,
+but as they numbered only half a dozen and were miserably mounted,
+they were of little use except as herders. All the neighboring ranches
+gave us round-ups, and by the time we reached the home range of the
+brand I was beginning to get uneasy on account of the numbers under
+herd. My capital was limited, and if we gathered six thousand head it
+would absorb my money. I needed a little for expenses on the trail,
+and too many cattle would be embarrassing. There was no intention on
+my part to act dishonestly in the premises, even if we did drop out
+any number of yearlings during the last few days of the gathering. It
+was absolutely necessary to hold the numbers down to five thousand
+head, or as near that number as possible, and by keeping the ranch
+outfit on herd and my men out on round-ups, it was managed quietly,
+though we let no steer cattle two years old or over escape. When the
+gathering was finished, to the surprise of every one the herd counted
+out fifty-six hundred and odd cattle. But the numbers were still
+within the limits of my capital, and at the final settlement I asked
+the privilege of cutting out and leaving on the range one hundred head
+of weak, thin stock and cows heavy in calf. I offered to tally-mark
+and send after them during the fall branding, when the trustee begged
+me to make him an offer on any remnant of cattle, making me full owner
+of the brand. I hesitated to involve myself deeper in debt, but when
+he finally offered me the "Lazy L" brand outright for the sum of one
+thousand dollars, and on a credit, I never stuttered in accepting his
+proposal.
+
+I culled back one hundred before starting, there being no occasion now
+to tally-mark, as I was in full possession of the brand. This amount
+of cattle in one herd was unwieldy to handle. The first day's drive we
+scarcely made ten miles, it being nearly impossible to water such an
+unmanageable body of animals, even from a running stream. The second
+noon we cut separate all the steers two years old and upward, finding
+a few under twenty-three hundred in the latter class. This left three
+thousand and odd hundred in the mixed herd, running from yearlings to
+old range bulls. A few extra men were secured, and some progress was
+made for the next few days, the steers keeping well in the lead, the
+two herds using the same wagon, and camping within half a mile of each
+other at night. It was fully ninety miles to the Edwards ranch; and
+when about two thirds the distance was covered, a messenger met us
+and reported the home cattle under herd and ready to start. It still
+lacked two days of the appointed time for our return, but rather than
+disappoint any one, I took seven men and sixty horses with the lead
+herd and started in to the ranch, leaving the mixed cattle to follow
+with the wagon. We took a day's rations on a pack horse, touched at a
+ranch, and on the second evening reached home. My contingent to the
+trail herd would have classified approximately seven hundred twos, six
+hundred threes, and one thousand four years old or over.
+
+The next morning the herd started up the trail under George Edwards
+as foreman. It numbered a few over thirty-three hundred head and had
+fourteen men, all told, and ninety-odd horses, with four good mules to
+a new wagon. I promised to overtake them within a week, and the same
+evening rejoined the mixed herd some ten miles back down the country.
+Calves were dropping at an alarming rate, fully twenty of them were in
+the wagon, their advent delaying the progress of the herd. By dint of
+great exertion we managed to reach the ranch the next evening, where
+we lay over a day and rigged up a second wagon, purposely for calves.
+It was the intention to send the stock cattle to my new ranch on the
+Clear Fork, and releasing all but four men, the idle help about the
+home ranch were substituted. In moving cattle from one range to
+another, it should always be done with the coming of grass, as it
+gives them a full summer to locate and become attached to their new
+range. When possible, the coming calf crop should be born where the
+mothers are to be located, as it strengthens the ties between an
+animal and its range by making sacred the birthplace of its young.
+From instinctive warnings of maternity, cows will frequently return to
+the same retreat annually to give birth to their calves.
+
+It was about fifty miles between the home and the new ranch. As it was
+important to get the cattle located as soon as possible, they were
+accordingly started with but the loss of a single day. Two wagons
+accompanied them, every calf was saved, and by nursing the herd early
+and late we managed to average ten miles between sunrise and sunset.
+The elder Edwards, anxious to see the new ranch, accompanied us, his
+patience with a cow being something remarkable. When we lacked but a
+day's drive of the Clear Fork it was considered advisable for me
+to return. Once the cattle reached the new range, four men would
+loose-herd them for a month, after which they would continue to ride
+the range and turn back all stragglers. The veteran cowman assumed
+control, and I returned to the home ranch, where a horse had been left
+on which to overtake the trail herd. My wife caught several glimpses
+of me that spring; with stocking a new ranch and starting a herd on
+the trail I was as busy as the proverbial cranberry-merchant. Where
+a year before I was moneyless, now my obligations were accepted for
+nearly fourteen thousand dollars.
+
+I overtook the herd within one day's drive of Red River. Everything
+was moving nicely, the cattle were well trail-broken, not a run had
+occurred, and all was serene and lovely. We crossed into the Nations
+at the regular ford, nothing of importance occurring until we reached
+the Washita River. The Indians had been bothering us more or less, but
+we brushed them aside or appeased their begging with a stray beef.
+At the crossing of the Washita quite an encampment had congregated,
+demanding six cattle and threatening to dispute our entrance to the
+ford. Several of the boys with us pretended to understand the sign
+language, and this resulted in an animosity being engendered between
+two of the outfit over interpreting a sign made by a chief. After we
+had given the Indians two strays, quite a band of bucks gathered on
+foot at the crossing, refusing to let us pass until their demand had
+been fulfilled. We had a few carbines, every lad had a six-shooter or
+two, and, summoning every mounted man, we rode up to the ford. The
+braves outnumbered us about three to one, and it was easy to be seen
+that they had bows and arrows concealed under their blankets. I was
+determined to give up no more cattle, and in the powwow that followed
+the chief of the band became very defiant. I accused him and his band
+of being armed, and when he denied it one of the boys jumped a horse
+against the chief, knocking him down. In the melee, the leader's
+blanket was thrown from him, exposing a strung bow and quiver of
+arrows, and at the same instant every man brought his carbine or
+six-shooter to bear on the astonished braves. Not a shot was fired,
+nor was there any further resistance offered on the part of the
+Indians; but as they turned to leave the humiliated chief pointed to
+the sun and made a circle around his head as if to indicate a threat
+of scalping.
+
+It was in interpreting this latter sign that the dispute arose between
+two of the outfit. One of the boys contended that I was to be scalped
+before the sun set, while the other interpreted the threat that we
+would all he scalped before the sun rose again. Neither version
+troubled me, but the two fellows quarreled over the matter while
+returning to the herd, until the lie was passed and their six-shooters
+began talking. Fortunately they were both mounted on horses that were
+gun-shy, and with the rearing and plunging the shots went wild. Every
+man in the outfit interfered, the two fellows were disarmed, and we
+started on with the cattle. No interference was offered by the Indians
+at the ford, the guards were doubled that night, and the incident was
+forgotten within a week. I simply mention this to give some idea of
+the men of that day, willing to back their opinions, even on trivial
+matters, with their lives. "I'm the quickest man on the trigger that
+ever came over the trail," said a cowpuncher to me one night in a
+saloon in Abilene. "You're a blankety blank liar," said a quiet little
+man, a perfect stranger to both of us, not even casting a glance our
+way. I wrested a six-shooter from the hand of my acquaintance
+and hustled him out of the house, getting roundly cursed for my
+interference, though no doubt I saved human life.
+
+On reaching Stone's Store, on the Kansas line, I left the herd to
+follow, and arrived at Abilene in two days and a half. Only some
+twenty-five herds were ahead of ours, though I must have passed a
+dozen or more in my brief ride, staying over night with them and
+scarcely ever missing a meal on the road. My motive in reaching
+Abilene in advance of our cattle was to get in touch with the market,
+secure my trading-corrals again, and perfect my arrangements to do a
+commission business. But on arriving, instead of having the field to
+myself, I found the old corrals occupied by a trio of jobbers, while
+two new ones had been built within ten miles of town, and half a dozen
+firms were offering their services as salesmen. There was a lack of
+actual buyers, at least among my acquaintances, and the railroads had
+adjusted their rates, while a largely increased drive was predicted.
+The spring had been a wet one, the grass was washy and devoid of
+nutriment, and there was nothing in the outlook of an encouraging
+nature. Yet the majority of the drovers were very optimistic of the
+future, freely predicting better prices than ever before, while many
+declared their intention of wintering in case their hopes were not
+realized. By the time our herd arrived, I had grown timid of the
+market in general and was willing to sell out and go home. I make
+no pretension to having any extra foresight, probably it was my
+outstanding obligations in Texas that fostered my anxiety, but I was
+prepared to sell to the first man who talked business.
+
+Our cattle arrived in good condition. The weather continued wet and
+stormy, the rank grass harbored myriads of flies and mosquitoes, and
+the through cattle failed to take on flesh as in former years. Rival
+towns were competing for the trail business, wintered cattle were
+lower, and a perfect chaos existed as to future prices, drovers
+bolstering and pretended buyers depressing them. Within a week after
+their arrival I sold fifteen hundred of our heaviest beeves to an army
+contractor from Fort Russell in Dakota. He had brought his own outfit
+down to receive the cattle, and as his contract called for a million
+and a half pounds on foot, I assisted him in buying sixteen hundred
+more. The contractor was a shrewd Yankee, and although I admitted
+having served in the Confederate army, he offered to form a
+partnership with me for supplying beef to the army posts along the
+upper Missouri River. He gave me an insight into the profits in that
+particular trade, and even urged the partnership, but while the
+opportunity was a golden one, I was distrustful of a Northern man
+and declined the alliance. Within a year I regretted not forming the
+partnership, as the government was a stable patron, and my adopted
+State had any quantity of beef cattle.
+
+My brother paid me a visit during the latter part of June. We had not
+seen each other in five years, during which time he had developed into
+a prosperous stockman, feeding cattle every winter on his Missouri
+farm. He was anxious to interest me in corn-feeding steers, but I had
+my hands full at home, and within a week he went on west and bought
+two hundred Colorado natives, shipping them home to feed the coming
+winter. Meanwhile a perfect glut of cattle was arriving at Abilene,
+fully six hundred thousand having registered at Stone's Store on
+passing into Kansas, yet prices remained firm, considering the
+condition of the stock. Many drovers halted only a day or two, and
+turned westward looking for ranges on which to winter their herds.
+Barely half the arrivals were even offered, which afforded fair prices
+to those who wished to sell. Before the middle of July the last of
+ours was closed out at satisfactory prices, and the next day the
+outfit started home, leaving me behind. I was anxious to secure an
+extra remuda of horses, and, finding no opposition in that particular
+field, had traded extensively in saddle stock ever since my arrival
+at Abilene. Gentle horses were in good demand among shippers and
+ranchmen, and during my brief stay I must have handled a thousand
+head, buying whole remudas and retailing in quantities to suit, not
+failing to keep the choice ones for my own use. Within two weeks after
+George Edwards started home, I closed up my business, fell in with a
+returning outfit, and started back with one hundred and ten picked
+saddle horses. After crossing Red River, I hired a boy to assist me
+in driving the remuda, and I reached home only ten days behind the
+others.
+
+I was now the proud possessor of over two hundred saddle horses which
+had actually cost me nothing. To use a borrowed term, they were the
+"velvet" of my trading operations. I hardly feel able to convey an
+idea of the important role that the horses play in the operations of
+a cowman. Whether on the trail or on the ranch, there is a complete
+helplessness when the men are not properly mounted and able to cope
+with any emergency that may arise. On the contrary, and especially
+in trail work, when men are well mounted, there is no excuse for not
+riding in the lead of any stampede, drifting with the herd on the
+stormiest night, or trailing lost cattle until overtaken. Owing to
+the nature of the occupation, a man may be frequently wet, cold, and
+hungry, and entitled to little sympathy; but once he feels that he is
+no longer mounted, his grievance becomes a real one. The cow-horse
+subsisted on the range, and if ever used to exhaustion was worthless
+for weeks afterward. Hence the value of a good mount in numbers, and
+the importance of frequent changes when the duties were arduous. The
+importance of good horses was first impressed on me during my trips to
+Fort Sumner, and I then resolved that if fortune ever favored me to
+reach the prominence of a cowman, the saddle stock would have my first
+consideration.
+
+On my return it was too early for the fall branding. I made a trip out
+to the new ranch, taking along ample winter supplies, two extra lads,
+and the old remuda of sixty horses. The men had located the new cattle
+fairly well, the calf crop was abundant, and after spending a week I
+returned home. I had previously settled my indebtedness in Comanche
+County by remittances from Abilene, and early in the fall I made up an
+outfit to go down and gather the remnant of "Lazy L" cattle. Taking
+along the entire new remuda, we dropped down in advance of the
+branding season, visited among the neighboring ranches, and offered a
+dollar a head for solitary animals that had drifted any great distance
+from the range of the brand. A camp was established at some corrals on
+the original range, extra men were employed with the opening of the
+branding season, and after twenty days' constant riding we started
+home with a few over nine hundred head, not counting two hundred and
+odd calves. Little wonder the trustee threatened to sue me; but then
+it was his own proposition.
+
+On arriving at the Edwards ranch, we halted a few days in order to
+gather the fruits of my first mavericking. The fall work was nearly
+finished, and having previously made arrangements to put my brand
+under herd, we received two hundred and fifty more, with seventy-five
+thrifty calves, before proceeding on to the new ranch on the Clear
+Fork. On arriving there we branded the calves, put the two brands
+under herd, corralling them at night and familiarizing them with their
+new home, and turning them loose at the end of two weeks. Moving
+cattle in the fall was contrary to the best results, but it was an
+idle time, and they were all young stuff and easily located. During
+the interim of loose-herding this second contingent of stock cattle,
+the branding had been finished on the ranch, and I was able to take an
+account of my year's work. The "Lazy L" was continued, and from that
+brand alone there was an increase of over seventeen hundred calves.
+With all the expenses of the trail deducted, the steer cattle alone
+had paid for the entire brand, besides adding over five thousand
+dollars to my cash capital. Who will gainsay my statement that Texas
+was a good country in the year 1871?
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE SCHOOL OF EXPERIENCE
+
+
+Success had made me daring. And yet I must have been wandering
+aimlessly, for had my ambition been well directed, there is no telling
+to what extent I might have amassed a fortune. Opportunity was
+knocking at my gate, a giant young commonwealth was struggling in the
+throes of political revolution, while I wandered through it all like
+a blind man led by a child. Precedent was of little value, as present
+environment controlled my actions. The best people in Texas were
+doubtful of ever ridding themselves of the baneful incubus of
+Reconstruction. Men on whose judgment I relied laughed at me for
+acquiring more land than a mere homestead. Stock cattle were in such
+disrepute that they had no cash value. Many a section of deeded land
+changed owners for a milk cow, while surveyors would no longer locate
+new lands for the customary third, but insisted on a half interest.
+Ranchmen were so indifferent that many never went off their home range
+in branding the calf crop, not considering a ten or twenty per
+cent loss of any importance. Yet through it all--from my Virginia
+rearing--there lurked a wavering belief that some day, in some manner,
+these lands and cattle would have a value. But my faith was neither
+the bold nor the assertive kind, and I drifted along, clinging to any
+passing straw of opinion.
+
+The Indians were still giving trouble along the Texas frontier. A line
+of government posts, extending from Red River on the north to the Rio
+Grande on the south, made a pretense of holding the Comanches and
+their allies in check, while this arm of the service was ably seconded
+by the Texas Rangers. Yet in spite of all precaution, the redskins
+raided the settlements at their pleasure, stealing horses and adding
+rapine and murder to their category of crimes. Hence for a number of
+years after my marriage we lived at the Edwards ranch as a matter of
+precaution against Indian raids. I was absent from home so much that
+this arrangement suited me, and as the new ranch was distant but a
+day's ride, any inconvenience was more than recompensed in security.
+It was my intention to follow the trail and trading, at the same time
+running a ranch where anything unfit for market might be sent to
+mature or increase. As long as I could add to my working capital, I
+was content, while the remnants of my speculations found a refuge on
+the Clear Fork.
+
+During the winter of 1871-72 very little of importance transpired.
+Several social letters passed between Major Mabry and myself, in one
+of which he casually mentioned the fact that land scrip had declined
+until it was offered on the streets of the capital as low as twenty
+dollars a section. He knew I had been dabbling in land certificates,
+and in a friendly spirit wanted to post me on their decline, and had
+incidentally mentioned the fact for my information. Some inkling
+of horse sense told me that I ought to secure more land, and after
+thinking the matter over, I wrote to a merchant in Austin, and had him
+buy me one hundred sections. He was very anxious to purchase a second
+hundred at the same figure, but it would make too serious an inroad
+into my trading capital, and I declined his friendly assistance. My
+wife was the only person whom I took into confidence in buying the
+scrip, and I even had her secrete it in the bottom of a trunk, with
+strict admonitions never to mention it unless it became of value. It
+was not taxable, the public domain was bountiful, and I was young
+enough man those days to bide my time.
+
+The winter proved a severe one in Kansas. Nearly every drover who
+wintered his cattle in the north met with almost complete loss. The
+previous summer had been too wet for cattle to do well, and they
+had gone into winter thin in flesh. Instead of curing like hay, the
+buffalo grass had rotted from excessive rains, losing its nutritive
+qualities, and this resulted in serious loss among all range cattle.
+The result was financial ruin to many drovers, and even augured a
+lighter drive north the coming spring. Early in the winter I bought
+two brands of cattle in Erath County, paying half cash and getting six
+months' time on the remainder. Both brands occupied the same range,
+and when we gathered them in the early spring, they counted out a
+few over six thousand animals. These two contingents were extra good
+cattle, costing me five dollars a head, counting yearlings up, and
+from them I selected two thousand steer cattle for the trail. The
+mixed stuff was again sent to my Clear Fork ranch, and the steers went
+into a neighborhood herd intended for the Kansas market. But when the
+latter was all ready to start, such discouraging reports came down
+from the north that my friends weakened, and I bought their cattle
+outright.
+
+My reputation as a good trader was my capital. I had the necessary
+horses, and, straining my credit, the herd started thirty-one hundred
+strong. The usual incidents of flood and storm, of begging Indians
+and caravans like ourselves, formed the chronicle of the trip. Before
+arriving at the Kansas line we were met by solicitors of rival towns,
+each urging the advantages of their respective markets for our cattle.
+The summer before a small business had sprung up at Newton, Kansas, it
+being then the terminal of the Santa Fe Railway. And although Newton
+lasted as a trail town but a single summer, its reputation for
+bloodshed and riotous disorder stands notoriously alone among its
+rivals. In the mean time the Santa Fe had been extended to Wichita on
+the Arkansas River, and its representatives were now bidding for our
+patronage. Abilene was abandoned, yet a rival to Wichita had sprung up
+at Ellsworth, some sixty-five miles west of the former market, on the
+Kansas Pacific Railway. The railroads were competing for the cattle
+traffic, each one advertising its superior advantages to drovers,
+shippers, and feeders. I was impartial, but as Wichita was fully one
+hundred miles the nearest, my cattle were turned for that point.
+
+Wichita was a frontier village of about two thousand inhabitants. We
+found a convenient camp northwest of town, and went into permanent
+quarters to await the opening of the market. Within a few weeks
+a light drive was assured, and prices opened firm. Fully a
+quarter-million less cattle would reach the markets within the State
+that year, and buyers became active in securing their needed supply.
+Early in July I sold the last of my herd and started my outfit home,
+remaining behind to await the arrival of my brother. The trip was
+successful; the purchased cattle had afforded me a nice profit, while
+the steers from the two brands had more than paid for the mixed stuff
+left at home on the ranch. Meanwhile I renewed old acquaintances among
+drovers and dealers, Major Mabry among the former. In a confidential
+mood I confessed to him that I had bought, on the recent decline, one
+hundred certificates of land scrip, when he surprised me by saying
+that there had been a later decline to sixteen dollars a section. I
+was unnerved for an instant, but Major Mabry agreed with me that to a
+man who wanted the land the price was certainly cheap enough,--two
+and a half cents an acre. I pondered over the matter, and as my nerve
+returned I sent my merchant friend at Austin a draft and authorized
+him to buy me two hundred sections more of land scrip. I was actually
+nettled to think that my judgment was so short-sighted as to buy
+anything that would depreciate in value.
+
+My brother arrived and reported splendid success in feeding Colorado
+cattle. He was anxious to have me join forces with him and corn-feed
+an increased number of beeves the coming winter on his Missouri farm.
+My judgment hardly approved of the venture, but when he urged a
+promised visit of our parents to his home, I consented and agreed
+to furnish the cattle. He also encouraged me to bring as many as my
+capital would admit of, assuring me that I would find a ready sale for
+any surplus among his neighbors. My brother returned to Missouri, and
+I took the train for Ellsworth, where I bought a carload of picked
+cow-horses, shipping them to Kit Carson, Colorado. From there I
+drifted into the Fountain valley at the base of the mountains, where
+I made a trade for seven hundred native steers, three and four years
+old. They were fine cattle, nearly all reds and roans. While I was
+gathering them a number of amusing incidents occurred. The round-ups
+carried us down on to the main Arkansas River, and in passing Pueblo
+we discovered a number of range cattle impounded in the town. I cannot
+give it as a fact, but the supposition among the cowmen was that the
+object of the officials was to raise some revenue by distressing the
+cattle. The result was that an outfit of men rode into the village
+during the night, tore down the pound, and turned the cattle back on
+the prairie. The prime movers in the raid were suspected, and the next
+evening when a number of us rode into town an attempt was made to
+arrest us, resulting in a fight, in which an officer was killed and
+two cowboys wounded. The citizens rallied to the support of the
+officers, and about thirty range men, including myself, were arrested
+and thrown into jail. We sent for a lawyer, and the following morning
+the majority of us were acquitted. Some three or four of the boys were
+held for trial, bonds being furnished by the best men in the town, and
+that night a party of cowboys reentered the village, carried away the
+two wounded men and spirited them out of the country.
+
+Pueblo at that time was a unique town. Live-stock interests were its
+main support, and I distinctly remember Gann's outfitting store. At
+night one could find anywhere from ten to thirty cowboys sleeping on
+the counters, the proprietor turning the keys over to them at closing
+time, not knowing one in ten, and sleeping at his own residence. The
+same custom prevailed at Gallup the saddler's, never an article being
+missed from either establishment, and both men amassing fortunes out
+of the cattle trade in subsequent years. The range man's patronage had
+its peculiarities; the firm of Wright, Beverly & Co. of Dodge City,
+Kansas, accumulated seven thousand odd vests during the trail days.
+When a cow-puncher bought a new suit he had no use for an unnecessary
+garment like a vest and left it behind. It was restored to the stock,
+where it can yet be found.
+
+Early in August the herd was completed. I accepted seven hundred and
+twenty steers, investing every cent of spare money, reserving only
+sufficient to pay my expenses en route. It was my intention to drive
+the cattle through to Missouri, the distance being a trifle less than
+six hundred miles or a matter of six weeks' travel. Four men were
+secured, a horse was packed with provisions and blankets, and we
+started down the Arkansas River. For the first few days I did very
+little but build air castles. I pictured myself driving herds from
+Texas in the spring, reinvesting the proceeds in better grades of
+cattle and feeding them corn in the older States, selling in time to
+again buy and come up the trail. I even planned to send for my wife
+and baby, and looked forward to a happy reunion with my parents during
+the coming winter, with not a cloud in my roseate sky. But there were
+breakers ahead.
+
+An old military trail ran southeast from Fort Larned to other posts in
+the Indian Territory. Over this government road had come a number of
+herds of Texas cattle, all of them under contract, which, in reaching
+their destination, had avoided the markets of Wichita and Ellsworth.
+I crossed their trail with my Colorado natives,--the through cattle
+having passed a month or more before,--never dreaming of any danger.
+Ten days afterward I noticed a number of my steers were ailing; their
+ears drooped, they refused to eat, and fell to the rear as we grazed
+forward. The next morning there were forty head unable to leave the
+bed-ground, and by noon a number of them had died. I had heard of
+Texas fever, but always treated it as more or less a myth, and now
+it held my little herd of natives in its toils. By this time we had
+reached some settlement on the Cottonwood, and the pioneer settlers in
+Kansas arose in arms and quarantined me. No one knew what the trouble
+was, yet the cattle began dying like sheep; I was perfectly helpless,
+not knowing which way to turn or what to do. Quarantine was
+unnecessary, as within a few days half the cattle were sick, and it
+was all we could do to move away from the stench of the dead ones.
+
+A veterinary was sent for, who pronounced it Texas fever. I had
+previously cut open a number of dead animals, and found the contents
+of their stomachs and manifolds so dry that they would flash and burn
+like powder. The fever had dried up their very internals. In the hope
+of administering a purgative, I bought whole fields of green corn,
+and turned the sick and dying cattle into them. I bought oils by the
+barrel, my men and myself worked night and day, inwardly drenching
+affected animals, yet we were unable to stay the ravages of death.
+Once the cause of the trouble was located,--crossing ground over
+which Texas cattle had passed,--the neighbors became friendly, and
+sympathized with me. I gave them permission to take the fallen hides,
+and in return received many kindnesses where a few days before I had
+been confronted by shotguns. This was my first experience with Texas
+fever, and the lessons that I learned then and afterward make me
+skeptical of all theories regarding the transmission of the germ.
+
+The story of the loss of my Colorado herd is a ghastly one. This fever
+is sometimes called splenic, and in the present case, where animals
+lingered a week or ten days, while yet alive, their skins frequently
+cracked along the spine until one could have laid two fingers in the
+opening. The whole herd was stricken, less than half a dozen animals
+escaping attack, scores dying within three days, the majority
+lingering a week or more. In spite of our every effort to save them,
+as many as one hundred died in a single day. I stayed with them for
+six weeks, or until the fever had run through the herd, spent my last
+available dollar in an effort to save the dumb beasts, and, having my
+hopes frustrated, sold the remnant of twenty-six head for five dollars
+apiece. I question if they were worth the money, as three fourths of
+them were fever-burnt and would barely survive a winter, the only
+animals of value being some half dozen which had escaped the general
+plague. I gave each of my men two horses apiece, and divided my money
+with them, and they started back to Colorado, while I turned homeward
+a wiser but poorer man. Whereas I had left Wichita three months
+before with over sixteen thousand dollars clear cash, I returned with
+eighteen saddle horses and not as many dollars in money.
+
+My air-castles had fallen. Troubles never come singly, and for the
+last two weeks, while working with the dying cattle, I had suffered
+with chills and fever. The summer had been an unusually wet one,
+vegetation had grown up rankly in the valley of the Arkansas, and
+after the first few frosts the very atmosphere reeked with malaria.
+I had been sleeping on the ground along the river for over a month,
+drinking impure water from the creeks, and I fell an easy victim to
+the prevailing miasma. Nearly all the Texas drovers had gone home,
+but, luckily for me, Jim Daugherty had an outfit yet at Wichita and
+invited me to his wagon. It might be a week or ten days before he
+would start homeward, as he was holding a herd of cows, sold to an
+Indian contractor, who was to receive the same within two weeks. In
+the interim of waiting, still suffering from fever and ague, I visited
+around among the few other cow-camps scattered up and down the river.
+At one of these I met a stranger, a quiet little man, who also had
+been under the weather from malaria, but was then recovering. He took
+an interest in my case and gave me some medicine to break the chills,
+and we visited back and forth. I soon learned that he had come down
+with some of his neighbors from Council Grove; that they expected
+to buy cattle, and that he was banker for the party. He was much
+interested in everything pertaining to Texas; and when I had given him
+an idea of the cheapness of lands and live stock in my adopted State,
+he expressed himself as anxious to engage in trailing cattle north. A
+great many Texas cattle had been matured in his home county, and he
+thoroughly understood the advantages of developing southern steers in
+a northern climate. Many of his neighbors had made small fortunes
+in buying young stock at Abilene, holding them a year or two, and
+shipping them to market as fat cattle.
+
+The party bought six hundred two-year-old steers, and my new-found
+friend, the banker, invited me to assist in the receiving. My
+knowledge of range cattle was a decided advantage to the buyers, who
+no doubt were good farmers, yet were sadly handicapped when given pick
+and choice from a Texas herd and confined to ages. I cut, counted, and
+received the steers, my work giving such satisfaction that the party
+offered to pay me for my services. It was but a neighborly act,
+unworthy of recompense, yet I won the lasting regard of the banker
+in protecting the interests of his customers. The upshot of the
+acquaintance was that we met in town that evening and had a few drinks
+together. Neither one ever made any inquiry of the other's past
+or antecedents, both seeming to be satisfied with a soldier's
+acquaintance. At the final parting, I gave him my name and address and
+invited him to visit me, promising that we would buy a herd of cattle
+together and drive them up the trail the following spring. He accepted
+the invitation with a hearty grasp of the hand, and the simple promise
+"I'll come." Those words were the beginning of a partnership which
+lasted eighteen years, and a friendship that death alone will
+terminate.
+
+The Indian contractor returned on time, and the next day I started
+home with Daugherty's outfit. And on the way, as if I were pursued by
+some unrelenting Nemesis, two of my horses, with others, were stolen
+by the Indians one night when we were encamped near Red River. We
+trailed them westward nearly fifty miles, but, on being satisfied they
+were traveling night and day, turned back and continued our journey. I
+reached home with sixteen horses, which for years afterwards, among
+my hands and neighbors, were pointed out as Anthony's thousand-dollar
+cow-ponies. There is no denying the fact that I keenly felt the
+loss of my money, as it crippled me in my business, while my ranch
+expenses, amounting to over one thousand dollars, were unpaid. I was
+rich in unsalable cattle, owned a thirty-two-thousand-acre ranch,
+saddle horses galore, and was in debt. My wife's trunk was half full
+of land scrip, and to have admitted the fact would only have invited
+ridicule. But my tuition was paid, and all I asked was a chance, for I
+knew the ropes in handling range cattle. Yet this was the second time
+that I had lost my money and I began to doubt myself. "You stick to
+cows," said Charlie Goodnight to me that winter, "and they'll bring
+you out on top some day. I thought I saw something in you when you
+first went to work for Loving and me. Reed, if you'll just imbibe a
+little caution with your energy, you'll make a fortune out of cattle
+yet."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+THE PANIC OF '73
+
+
+I have never forgotten those encouraging words of my first employer.
+Friends tided my finances over, and letters passed between my banker
+friend and myself, resulting in an appointment to meet him at Fort
+Worth early in February. There was no direct railroad at the time, the
+route being by St. Louis and Texarkana, with a long trip by stage to
+the meeting point. No definite agreement existed between us; he was
+simply paying me a visit, with the view of looking into the cattle
+trade then existing between our respective States. There was no
+obligation whatever, yet I had hopes of interesting him sufficiently
+to join issues with me in driving a herd of cattle. I wish I could
+describe the actual feelings of a man who has had money and lost
+it. Never in my life did such opportunities present themselves for
+investment as were tendered to me that winter. No less than half a
+dozen brands of cattle were offered to me at the former terms of half
+cash and the balance to suit my own convenience. But I lacked the
+means to even provision a wagon for a month's work, and I was
+compelled to turn my back on all bargains, many of which were
+duplicates of my former successes. I was humbled to the very dust; I
+bowed my neck to the heel of circumstances, and looked forward to the
+coming of my casual acquaintance.
+
+I have read a few essays on the relation of money to a community. None
+of our family were ever given to theorizing, yet I know how it feels
+to be moneyless, my experience with Texas fever affording me a
+post-graduate course. Born with a restless energy, I have lived in the
+pit of despair for the want of money, and again, with the use of it,
+have bent a legislature to my will and wish. All of which is foreign
+to my tale, and I hasten on. During the first week in February I drove
+in to Fort Worth to await the arrival of my friend, Calvin Hunter,
+banker and stockman of Council Grove, Kansas. Several letters were
+awaiting me in the town, notifying me of his progress, and in due time
+he arrived and was welcomed. The next morning we started, driving a
+good span of mules to a buckboard, expecting to cover the distance to
+the Brazos in two days. There were several ranches at which we could
+touch, en route, but we loitered along, making wide detours in order
+to drive through cattle, not a feature of the country escaping the
+attention of my quiet little companion. The soil, the native grasses,
+the natural waters, the general topography of the country, rich in
+its primal beauty, furnished a panorama to the eye both pleasing and
+exhilarating. But the main interest centred in the cattle, thousands
+of which were always in sight, lingering along the watercourses or
+grazing at random.
+
+We reached the Edwards ranch early the second evening. In the two
+days' travel, possibly twenty thousand cattle came under our immediate
+observation. All the country was an open range, brands intermingling,
+all ages and conditions, running from a sullen bull to seven-year-old
+beeves, or from a yearling heifer to the grandmother of younger
+generations. My anxiety to show the country and its cattle met a
+hearty second in Mr. Hunter, and abandoning the buckboard, we took
+horses and rode up the Brazos River as far as old Fort Belknap. All
+cattle were wintering strong. Turning south, we struck the Clear Fork
+above my range and spent a night at the ranch, where my men had built
+a second cabin, connecting the two by a hallway. After riding through
+my stock for two days, we turned back for the Brazos. My ranch hands
+had branded thirty-one hundred calves the fall before, and while
+riding over the range I was delighted to see so many young steers in
+my different brands. But our jaunt had only whetted the appetite of
+my guest to see more of the country, and without any waste of time we
+started south with the buckboard, going as far as Comanche County.
+Every day's travel brought us in contact with cattle for sale; the
+prices were an incentive, but we turned east and came back up the
+valley of the Brazos. I offered to continue our sightseeing, but
+my guest pleaded for a few days' time until he could hear from his
+banking associates. I needed a partner and needed one badly, and
+was determined to interest Mr. Hunter if it took a whole month. And
+thereby hangs a tale.
+
+The native Texan is not distinguished for energy or ambition. His
+success in cattle is largely due to the fact that nearly all the work
+can be done on horseback. Yet in that particular field he stands at
+the head of his class; for whether in Montana or his own sunny Texas,
+when it comes to handling cattle, from reading brands to cutting a
+trainload of beeves, he is without a peer. During the palmy days of
+the Cherokee Strip, a Texan invited Captain Stone, a Kansas City man,
+to visit his ranch in Tom Green County and put up a herd of steers to
+be driven to Stone's beef ranch in the Cherokee Outlet. The invitation
+was accepted, and on the arrival of the Kansas City man at the Texan's
+ranch, host and guest indulged in a friendly visit of several days'
+duration. It was the northern cowman's first visit to the Lone Star
+State, and he naturally felt impatient to see the cattle which he
+expected to buy. But the host made no movement to show the stock
+until patience ceased to be a virtue, when Captain Stone moved an
+adjournment of the social session and politely asked to be shown a
+sample of the country's cattle. The two cowmen were fast friends, and
+no offense was intended or taken; but the host assured his guest
+there was no hurry, offering to get up horses and show the stock
+the following day. Captain Stone yielded, and the next morning they
+started, but within a few miles met a neighbor, when all three
+dismounted in the shade of a tree. Commonplace chat of the country
+occupied the attention of the two Texans until hunger or some
+other warning caused one of them to look at his watch, when it was
+discovered to be three o'clock in the afternoon. It was then too late
+in the day to make an extensive ride, and the ranchman invited his
+neighbor and guest to return to the ranch for the night. Another day
+was wasted in entertaining the neighbor, the northern cowman, in the
+meantime, impatient and walking on nettles until a second start was
+made to see the cattle. It was a foggy morning, and they started on
+a different route from that previously taken, the visiting ranchman
+going along. Unnoticed, a pack of hounds followed the trio of
+horsemen, and before the fog lifted a cougar trail was struck and the
+dogs opened in a brilliant chorus. The two Texans put spurs to their
+horses in following the pack, the cattle buyer of necessity joining
+in, the chase leading into some hills, from which they returned after
+darkness, having never seen a cow during the day. One trivial incident
+after another interfered with seeing the cattle for ten days, when the
+guest took his host aside and kindly told him that he must be shown
+the cattle or he would go home.
+
+"You're not in a hurry, are you, captain?" innocently asked the Texan.
+"All right, then; no trouble to show the cattle. Yes, they run right
+around home here within twenty-five miles of the ranch. Show you a
+sample of the stock within an hour's ride. You can just bet that old
+Tom Green County has got the steers! Sugar, if I'd a-known that you
+was in a hurry, I could have shown you the cattle the next morning
+after you come. Captain, you ought to know me well enough by this time
+to speak your little piece without any prelude. You Yankees are so
+restless and impatient that I seriously doubt if you get all the
+comfort and enjoyment out of life that's coming to you. Make haste,
+some of you boys, and bring in a remuda; Captain Stone and I are going
+to ride over on the Middle Fork this morning. Make haste, now; we're
+in a hurry."
+
+In due time I suppose I drifted into the languorous ways of the Texan;
+but on the occasion of Mr. Hunter's first visit I was in the need of a
+moneyed partner, and accordingly danced attendance. Once communication
+was opened with his Northern associates, we made several short rides
+into adjoining counties, never being gone over two or three days.
+When we had looked at cattle to his satisfaction, he surprised me
+by offering to put fifty thousand dollars into young steers for the
+Kansas trade. I never fainted in my life, but his proposition stunned
+me for an instant, or until I could get my bearings. The upshot of
+the proposal was that we entered into an agreement whereby I was to
+purchase and handle the cattle, and he was to make himself useful
+in selling and placing the stock in his State. A silent partner was
+furnishing an equal portion of the means, and I was to have a third
+of the net profits. Within a week after this agreement was perfected,
+things were moving. I had the horses and wagons, men were plentiful,
+and two outfits were engaged. Early in March a contract was let in
+Parker County for thirty-one hundred two-year-old steers, and another
+in Young for fourteen hundred threes, the latter to be delivered at my
+ranch. George Edwards was to have the younger cattle, and he and Mr.
+Hunter received the same, after which the latter hurried west, fully
+ninety miles, to settle for those bought for delivery on the Clear
+Fork. In the mean time my ranch outfit had gathered all our steer
+cattle two years old and over, having nearly twenty-five hundred head
+under herd on my arrival to receive the three-year-olds. This amount
+would make an unwieldy herd, and I culled back all short-aged twos and
+thin steers until my individual contingent numbered even two thousand.
+The contracted steers came in on time, fully up to the specifications,
+and my herd was ready to start on the appointed day.
+
+Every dollar of the fifty thousand was invested in cattle, save enough
+to provision the wagons en route. My ranch outfit, with the exception
+of two men and ten horses, was pressed into trail work as a matter of
+economy, for I was determined to make some money for my partners. Both
+herds were to meet and cross at Red River Station. The season was
+favorable, and everything augured for a prosperous summer. At the
+very last moment a cloud arose between Mr. Hunter and me, but happily
+passed without a storm. The night before the second herd started, he
+and I sat up until a late hour, arranging our affairs, as it was not
+his intention to accompany the herds overland. After all business
+matters were settled, lounging around a camp-fire, we grew
+reminiscent, when the fact developed that my quiet little partner had
+served in the Union army, and with the rank of major. I always enjoy a
+joke, even on myself, but I flashed hot and cold on this confession.
+What! Reed Anthony forming a partnership with a Yankee major? It
+seemed as though I had. Fortunately I controlled myself, and under the
+excuse of starting the herd at daybreak, I excused myself and sought
+my blankets. But not to sleep. On the one hand, in the stillness
+of the night and across the years, came the accusing voices of old
+comrades. My very wounds seemed to reopen and curse me. Did my
+sufferings after Pittsburg Landing mean nothing? A vision of my dear
+old mother in Virginia, welcoming me, the only one of her three sons
+who returned from the war, arraigned me sorely. And yet, on the other
+hand, this man was my guest. On my invitation he had eaten my salt.
+For mutual benefit we had entered into a partnership, and I expected
+to profit from the investment of his money. More important, he had not
+deceived me nor concealed anything; neither did he know that I had
+served in the Confederate army. The man was honest. I was anxious to
+do right. Soldiers are generous to a foe. While he lay asleep in my
+camp, I reviewed the situation carefully, and judged him blameless.
+The next morning, and ever afterward, I addressed him by his military
+title. Nearly a year passed before Major Hunter knew that he and his
+Texas partner had served in the civil war under different flags.
+
+My partner returned to the Edwards ranch and was sent in to Fort
+Worth, where he took stage and train for home. The straight
+two-year-old herd needed road-branding, as they were accepted in a
+score or more brands, which delayed them in starting. Major Hunter
+expected to sell to farmers, to whom brands were offensive, and was
+therefore opposed to more branding than was absolutely necessary. In
+order to overcome this objection, I tally-marked all outside cattle
+which went into my herd by sawing from each steer about two inches
+from the right horn. As fast as the cattle were received this work was
+easily done in a chute, while in case of any loss by stampede the
+mark would last for years. The grass was well forward when both herds
+started, but on arriving at Red River no less than half a dozen herds
+were waterbound, one of which was George Edwards's. A delay of three
+days occurred, during which two other herds arrived, when the river
+fell, permitting us to cross. I took the lead thereafter, the second
+herd half a day to the rear, with the almost weekly incident of being
+waterbound by intervening rivers. But as we moved northward the floods
+seemed lighter, and on our arrival at Wichita the weather settled into
+well-ordered summer.
+
+I secured my camp of the year before. Major Hunter came down by train,
+and within a week after our arrival my outfit was settled with and
+sent home. It was customary to allow a man half wages returning, my
+partner approving and paying the men, also taking charge of all the
+expense accounts. Everything was kept as straight as a bank, and with
+one outfit holding both herds separate, expenses were reduced to a
+minimum. Major Hunter was back and forth, between his home town and
+Wichita, and on nearly every occasion brought along buyers, effecting
+sales at extra good prices. Cattle paper was considered gilt-edge
+security among financial men, and we sold to worthy parties a great
+many cattle on credit, the home bank with which my partners were
+associated taking the notes at their face. Matters rocked along, we
+sold when we had an opportunity, and early in August the remnant of
+each herd was thrown together and half the remaining outfit sent home.
+A drive of fully half a million cattle had reached Kansas that
+year, the greater portion of which had centred at Wichita. We were
+persistent in selling, and, having strong local connections, had
+sold out all our cattle long before the financial panic of '73 even
+started. There was a profitable business, however, in buying herds and
+selling again in small quantities to farmers and stockmen. My partners
+were anxious to have me remain to the end of the season, doing the
+buying, maintaining the camp, and holding any stock on hand. In
+rummaging through the old musty account-books, I find that we handled
+nearly seven thousand head besides our own drive, fifteen hundred
+being the most we ever had on hand at any one time.
+
+My active partner proved a shrewd man in business, and in spite of
+the past our friendship broadened and strengthened. Weeks before the
+financial crash reached us he knew of its coming, and our house was
+set in order. When the panic struck the West we did not own a hoof of
+cattle, while the horses on hand were mine and not for sale; and the
+firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. rode the gale like a seaworthy ship. The
+panic reached Wichita with over half the drive of that year unsold.
+The local banks began calling in money advanced to drovers, buyers
+deserted the market, and prices went down with a crash. Shipments of
+the best through cattle failed to realize more than sufficient to pay
+commission charges and freight. Ruin stared in the face every Texan
+drover whose cattle were unsold. Only a few herds were under contract
+for fall delivery to Indian and army contractors. We had run from the
+approaching storm in the nick of time, even settling with and sending
+my outfit home before the financial cyclone reached the prairies
+of Kansas. My last trade before the panic struck was an individual
+account, my innate weakness for an abundance of saddle horses
+asserting itself in buying ninety head and sending them home with my
+men.
+
+I now began to see the advantages of shrewd and far-seeing business
+associates. When the crash came, scarce a dozen drovers had sold out,
+while of those holding cattle at Wichita nearly every one had locally
+borrowed money or owed at home for their herds. When the banks,
+panic-stricken themselves, began calling in short-time loans, their
+frenzy paralyzed the market, many cattle being sacrificed at forced
+sale and with scarce a buyer. In the depreciation of values from the
+prices which prevailed in the early summer, the losses to the Texas
+drovers, caused by the panic, would amount to several million dollars.
+I came out of the general wreck and ruin untouched, though personally
+claiming no credit, as that must be given my partners. The year
+before, when every other drover went home prosperous and happy, I
+returned "broke," while now the situation was reversed.
+
+I spent a week at Council Grove, visiting with my business associates.
+After a settlement of the year's business, I was anxious to return
+home, having agreed to drive cattle the next year on the same terms
+and conditions. My partners gave me a cash settlement, and outside
+of my individual cattle, I cleared over ten thousand dollars on my
+summer's work. Major Hunter, however, had an idea of reentering the
+market,--with the first symptom of improvement in the financial
+horizon in the East,--and I was detained. The proposition of buying
+a herd of cattle and wintering them on the range had been fully
+discussed between us, and prices were certainly an incentive to make
+the venture. In an ordinary open winter, stock subsisted on the range
+all over western Kansas, especially when a dry fall had matured and
+cured the buffalo-grass like hay. The range was all one could wish,
+and Major Hunter and I accordingly dropped down to Wichita to look the
+situation over. We arrived in the midst of the panic and found matters
+in a deplorable condition. Drovers besought and even begged us to make
+an offer on their herds, while the prevailing prices of a month before
+had declined over half. Major Hunter and I agreed that at present
+figures, even if half the cattle were lost by a severe winter, there
+would still be money in the venture. Through financial connections
+East my partners knew of the first signs of improvement in the
+money-centres of the country. As I recall the circumstances, the panic
+began in the East about the middle of September, and it was the latter
+part of October before confidence was restored, or there was any
+noticeable change for the better in the monetary situation. But when
+this came, it found us busy buying saddle horses and cattle. The great
+bulk of the unsold stock consisted of cows, heifers, and young steers
+unfit for beef. My partners contended that a three-year-old steer
+ought to winter anywhere a buffalo could, provided he had the flesh
+and strength to withstand the rigors of the climate. I had no
+opinions, except what other cowmen had told me, but was willing to
+take the chances where there was a reasonable hope of success.
+
+The first move was to buy an outfit of good horses. This was done by
+selecting from half a dozen remudas, a trail wagon was picked up, and
+a complement of men secured. Once it was known that we were in the
+market for cattle, competition was brisk, the sellers bidding against
+each other and fixing the prices at which we accepted the stock. None
+but three-year-old steers were taken, and in a single day we closed
+trades on five thousand head. I received the cattle, confining my
+selections to five road and ten single-ranch brands, as it was not our
+intention to rebrand so late in the season. There was nothing to do
+but cut, count, and accept, and on the evening of the third day the
+herd was all ready to start for its winter range. The wagon had been
+well provisioned, and we started southwest, expecting to go into
+winter quarters on the first good range encountered. I had taken a
+third interest in the herd, paying one sixth of its purchase price,
+the balance being carried for me by my partners. Major Hunter
+accompanied us, the herd being altogether too large and unwieldy
+to handle well, but we grazed it forward with a front a mile wide.
+Delightful fall weather favored the cattle, and on the tenth day we
+reached the Medicine River, where, by the unwritten law of squatter's
+rights, we preempted ten miles of its virgin valley. The country was
+fairly carpeted with well-cured buffalo-grass; on the north and west
+was a range of sand-dunes, while on the south the country was broken
+by deep coulees, affording splendid shelter in case of blizzards or
+wintry storms.
+
+A dugout was built on either end of the range. Major Hunter took the
+wagon and team and went to the nearest settlement, returning with
+a load of corn, having contracted for the delivery of five hundred
+bushels more. Meanwhile I was busy locating the cattle, scattering
+them sparsely over the surrounding country, cutting them into bunches
+of not more than ten to twenty head. Corrals and cosy shelters were
+built for a few horses, comfortable quarters for the men, and we
+settled down for the winter with everything snug and secure. By the
+first of December the force was reduced to four men at each camp, all
+of whom were experienced in holding cattle in the winter. Lines giving
+ample room to our cattle were established, which were to be ridden
+both evening and morning in any and all weather. Two Texans, both
+experts as trailers, were detailed to trail down any cattle which left
+the boundaries of the range. The weather continued fine, and with the
+camps well provisioned, the major and I returned to the railroad and
+took train for Council Grove. I was impatient to go home, and took the
+most direct route then available. Railroads were just beginning to
+enter the West, and one had recently been completed across the eastern
+portion of the Indian Territory, its destination being south of Red
+River. With nothing but the clothes on my back and a saddle, I
+started home, and within twenty-four hours arrived at Denison, Texas.
+Connecting stages carried me to Fort Worth, where I bought a saddle
+horse, and the next evening I was playing with the babies at the home
+ranch. It had been an active summer with me, but success had amply
+rewarded my labors, while every cloud had disappeared and the future
+was rich in promise.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+A PROSPEROUS YEAR
+
+
+An open winter favored the cattle on the Medicine River. My partners
+in Kansas wrote me encouragingly, and plans were outlined for
+increasing our business for the coming summer. There was no activity
+in live stock during the winter in Texas, and there would be no
+trouble in putting up herds at prevailing prices of the spring before.
+I spent an inactive winter, riding back and forth to my ranch, hunting
+with hounds, and killing an occasional deer. While visiting at Council
+Grove the fall before, Major Hunter explained to our silent partner
+the cheapness of Texas lands. Neither one of my associates cared to
+scatter their interests beyond the boundaries of their own State, yet
+both urged me to acquire every acre of cheap land that my means would
+permit. They both recited the history and growth in value of the lands
+surrounding The Grove, telling me how cheaply they could have bought
+the same ten years before,--at the government price of a dollar and a
+quarter an acre,--and that already there had been an advance of four
+to five hundred per cent. They urged me to buy scrip and locate land,
+assuring me that it was only a question of time until the people
+of Texas would arise in their might and throw off the yoke of
+Reconstruction.
+
+At home general opinion was just the reverse. No one cared for more
+land than a homestead or for immediate use. No locations had been made
+adjoining my ranch on the Clear Fork, and it began to look as if I had
+more land than I needed. Yet I had confidence enough in the advice of
+my partners to reopen negotiations with my merchant friend at Austin
+for the purchase of more land scrip. The panic of the fall before had
+scarcely affected the frontier of Texas, and was felt in only a few
+towns of any prominence in the State. There had been no money in
+circulation since the war, and a financial stringency elsewhere made
+little difference among the local people. True, the Kansas cattle
+market had sent a little money home, but a bad winter with drovers
+holding cattle in the North, followed by a panic, had bankrupted
+nearly every cowman, many of them with heavy liabilities in Texas.
+There were very few banks in the State, and what little money there
+was among the people was generally hoarded to await the dawn of a
+brighter day.
+
+My wife tells a story about her father, which shows similar conditions
+prevailing during the civil war. The only outlet for cotton in Texas
+during the rebellion was by way of Mexico. Matamoros, near the mouth
+of the Rio Grande, waxed opulent in its trade of contrabrand cotton,
+the Texas product crossing the river anywhere for hundreds of miles
+above and being freighted down on the Mexican side to tide-water. The
+town did an immense business during the blockade of coast seaports,
+twenty-dollar gold pieces being more plentiful then than nickels are
+to-day, the cotton finding a ready market at war prices and safe
+shipment under foreign flags. My wife's father was engaged in the
+trade of buying cotton at interior points, freighting it by ox trains
+over the Mexican frontier, and thence down the river to Matamoros.
+Once the staple reached neutral soil, it was palmed off as a local
+product, and the Federal government dared not touch it, even though
+they knew it to be contrabrand of war. The business was transacted in
+gold, and it was Mr. Edwards's custom to bury the coin on his return
+from each trading trip. My wife, then a mere girl and the oldest
+of the children at home, was taken into her father's confidence
+in secreting the money. The country was full of bandits, either
+government would have confiscated the gold had they known its
+whereabouts, and the only way to insure its safety was to bury it.
+After several years trading in cotton, Mr. Edwards accumulated
+considerable money, and on one occasion buried the treasure at night
+between two trees in an adjoining wood. Unexpectedly one day he had
+occasion to use some money in buying a cargo of cotton, the children
+were at a distant neighbor's, and he went into the woods alone to
+unearth the gold. But hogs, running in the timber, had rooted up the
+ground in search of edible roots, and Edwards was unable to locate the
+spot where his treasure lay buried. Fearful that possibly the money
+had been uprooted and stolen, he sent for the girl, who hastily
+returned. As my wife tells the story, great beads of perspiration were
+dripping from her father's brow as the two entered the woods. And
+although the ground was rooted up, the girl pointed out the spot,
+midway between two trees, and the treasure was recovered without a
+coin missing. Mr. Edwards lost confidence in himself, and thereafter,
+until peace was restored, my wife and a younger sister always buried
+the family treasure by night, keeping the secret to themselves, and
+producing the money on demand.
+
+The merchant at Austin reported land scrip plentiful at fifteen
+to sixteen dollars a section. I gave him an order for two hundred
+certificates, and he filled the bill so promptly that I ordered
+another hundred, bringing my unlocated holdings up to six hundred
+sections. My land scrip was a standing joke between my wife and me,
+and I often promised her that when we built a house and moved to
+the Clear Fork, if the scrip was still worthless she might have the
+certificates to paper a room with. They were nicely lithographed, the
+paper was of the very best quality, and they went into my wife's trunk
+to await their destiny. Had it been known outside that I held such an
+amount of scrip, I would have been subjected to ridicule, and no doubt
+would have given it to some surveyor to locate on shares. Still I had
+a vague idea that land at two and a half cents an acre would never
+hurt me. Several times in the past I had needed the money tied up in
+scrip, and then I would regret having bought it. After the loss of
+my entire working capital by Texas fever, I was glad I had foresight
+enough to buy a quantity that summer. And thus I swung like a pendulum
+between personal necessities and public opinion; but when those
+long-headed Yankee partners of mine urged me to buy land, I felt once
+more that I was on the right track and recovered my grasp. I might
+have located fifty miles of the valley of the Clear Fork that winter,
+but it would have entailed some little expense, the land would then
+have been taxable, and I had the use of it without outlay or trouble.
+
+An event of great importance to the people of Texas occurred during
+the winter of 1873-74. The election the fall before ended in dispute,
+both great parties claiming the victory. On the meeting of the
+legislature to canvass the vote, all the negro militia of the
+State were concentrated in and around the capitol building. The
+Reconstruction regime refused to vacate, and were fighting to
+retain control; the best element of the people were asserting in no
+unmistakable terms their rights and bloodshed seemed inevitable. The
+federal government was appealed to, but refused to interfere. The
+legislature was with the people, and when the latter refused to be
+intimidated by a display of force, those in possession yielded the
+reins, and Governor Coke was inaugurated January 15, 1874; and thus
+the prediction of my partners, uttered but a few mouths before, became
+history.
+
+Major Hunter came down again about the last of February. Still
+unshaken in his confidence in the future of Texas, he complimented me
+on securing more land scrip. He had just returned from our camps on
+the Medicine River, and reported the cattle coming through in splendid
+condition. Gray wolves had harassed the herd during the early winter;
+but long-range rifles and poison were furnished, and our men waged a
+relentless war on these pirates along the Medicine. Cattle in Texas
+had wintered strong, which would permit of active operations beginning
+earlier than usual, and after riding the range for a week we were
+ready for business. It was well known in all the surrounding country
+that we would again be in the market for trail cattle, and offerings
+were plentiful. These tenders ran anywhere from stock cattle to heavy
+beeves; but the market which we were building up with farmers at
+Council Grove required young two and three year old steers. It again
+fell to my province to do the buying, and with the number of brands
+for sale in the country I expected, with the consent of my partners,
+to make a new departure. I was beginning to understand the advantages
+of growing cattle. My holdings of mixed stock on the Clear Fork had
+virtually cost me nothing, and while they may have been unsalable, yet
+there was a steady growth and they were a promising source of income.
+From the results of my mavericking and my trading operations I had
+been enabled to send two thousand young steers up the trail the spring
+before, and the proceeds from their sale had lifted me from the slough
+of despond and set me on a financial rock. Therefore my regard for the
+eternal cow was enhancing.
+
+Home prices were again ten dollars for two-year-old steers and
+twelve for threes. Instead of buying outright at these figures, my
+proposition was to buy individually brands of stock cattle, and turn
+over all steers of acceptable ages at prevailing prices to the firm of
+Hunter, Anthony & Co. in making up trail herds. We had already agreed
+to drive ten thousand head that spring, and my active partner readily
+saw the advantages that would accrue where one had the range and
+outfit to take care of the remnants of mixed stock. My partners were
+both straining their credit at home, and since it was immaterial to
+them, I was given permission to go ahead. This method of buying
+might slightly delay the starting of herds, and rather than do so I
+contracted for three thousand straight threes in Erath County. This
+herd would start ten days in advance of any other, which would give
+us cattle on the market at Wichita with the opening of the season. My
+next purchase was two brands whose range was around the juncture of
+the main Brazos and Clear Fork, adjoining my ranch. These cattle
+were to be delivered at our corrals, as, having received the
+three-year-olds from both brands the spring before, I had a good idea
+how the stock ought to classify. A third brand was secured up the
+Clear Fork, adjacent to my range, supposed to number about three
+thousand, from which nothing had been sold in four years. This latter
+contingent cost me five dollars a head, but my boys knew the brand
+well enough to know that they would run forty per cent steer cattle.
+In all three cases I bought all right and title to the brand, giving
+them until the last day of March to gather, and anything not tendered
+for count on receiving, the tail went with the hide.
+
+From these three brands I expected to make up the second herd easily.
+With no market for cattle, it was safe to count on a brand running one
+third steers or better, from which I ought to get twenty-five per cent
+of age for trail purposes. Long before any receiving began I bought
+four more brands outright in adjoining counties, setting the day for
+receiving on the 5th of April, everything to be delivered on my ranch
+on the Clear Fork. There were fully twenty-five thousand cattle in
+these seven brands, and as I had bought them all half cash and the
+balance on six months' time, it behooved me to be on the alert and
+protect my interests. A trusty man was accordingly sent from my ranch
+to assist in the gathering of each of the four outside brands, to be
+present at all round-ups, to see that no steer cattle were held back,
+and that the dropping calves were cared for and saved. This precaution
+was not taken around my ranch, for any animal which failed to be
+counted my own men would look out for by virtue of ownership of the
+brand. My saddle horses were all in fine condition, and were cut into
+remudas of ninety head each, two new wagons were fitted up, and all
+was ready to move.
+
+The Erath County herd was to be delivered to us on the 20th of March.
+George Edwards was to have charge, and he and Major Hunter started in
+ample time to receive the cattle, the latter proving an apt scholar,
+while the former was a thorough cowman. In the mean time I had made up
+a second outfit, putting a man who had made a number of trips with me
+as foreman in charge, and we moved out to the Clear Fork. The first
+herd started on the 22d, Major Hunter accompanying it past the Edwards
+ranch and then joining us on my range. We had kept in close touch with
+the work then in progress along the Brazos and Clear Fork, and it was
+probable that we might be able to receive in advance of the appointed
+day. Fortunately this happened in two cases, both brands overrunning
+all expectations in general numbers and the quantity of steer cattle.
+These contingents were met, counted, and received ten miles from the
+ranch, nothing but the steers two years old and upward being brought
+in to the corrals. The third brand, from west on the Clear Fork, came
+in on the dot, and this also surprised me in its numbers of heavy
+steer cattle. From the three contingents I received over thirteen
+thousand head, nearly four thousand of which were steers of trail age.
+On the first day of April we started the second herd of thirty-five
+hundred twos and threes, the latter being slightly in the majority,
+but we classified them equally. Major Hunter was pleased with the
+quality of the cattle, and I was more than satisfied with results, as
+I had nearly five hundred heavy steers left which would easily qualify
+as beeves. Estimating the latter at what they ought to net me at
+Wichita, the remnants of stock cattle cost me about a dollar and a
+half a head, while I had received more cash than the amount of the
+half payment.
+
+The beef steers were held under herd to await the arrival of the other
+contingents. If they fell short in twos and threes, I had hopes of
+finding an outlet for my beeves with the last herd. The young stuff
+and stock cattle were allowed to drift back on their own ranges, and
+we rested on our oars. We had warning of the approach of outside
+brands, several arriving in advance of appointment, and they were
+received at once. As before, every brand overran expectations, with no
+shortage in steers. My men had been wide awake, any number of mature
+beeves coming in with the mixed stock. As fast as they arrived we
+cut all steers of desirable age into our herd of beeves, sending the
+remnant up the river about ten miles to be put under loose herd for
+the first month. Fifteen-thousand cattle were tendered in the four
+brands, from which we cut out forty-six hundred steers of trail age.
+The numbers were actually embarrassing, not in stock cattle, but in
+steers, as our trail herd numbered now over five thousand. The outside
+outfits were all detained a few days for a settlement, lending their
+assistance, as we tally-marked all the stock cattle before sending
+them up the river to be put under herd. This work was done in a chute
+with branding irons, running a short bar over the holding-brand, the
+object being to distinguish animals received then from what might be
+gathered afterward. There were nearly one hundred men present, and
+with the amount of help available the third herd was ready to start on
+the morning of the 6th. It numbered thirty-five hundred, again nearly
+equal in twos and threes, my ranch foreman having charge. With the
+third herd started, the question arose what to do with the remnant of
+a few over sixteen hundred beeves. To turn them loose meant that with
+the first norther that blew they would go back to their own range.
+Major Hunter suggested that I drive an individual herd. I tried to
+sell him an interest in the cattle, but as their ages were unsuited to
+his market, he pleaded bankruptcy, yet encouraged me to fill up the
+herd and drive them on my own account.
+
+Something had to be done. I bought sixty horses from the different
+outfits then waiting for a settlement, adding thirty of my own to the
+remuda, made up an outfit from the men present, rigged a wagon, and
+called for a general round-up of my range. Two days afterward we had
+fifteen hundred younger steers of my own raising in the herd, and on
+the 10th of the month the fourth one moved out. A day was lost in
+making a general settlement, after which Major Hunter and I rode
+through the mixed cattle under herd, finding them contentedly
+occupying nearly ten miles of the valley of the Clear Fork. Calves
+were dropping at the rate of one hundred a day, two camps of five men
+each held them on an ample range, riding lines well back from the
+valley. The next morning we turned homeward, passing my ranch and
+corrals, which but a few days before were scenes of activity, but now
+deserted even by the dogs. From the Edwards ranch we were driven in to
+Fort Worth, and by the middle of the month reached Wichita.
+
+No herds were due to arrive for a month. My active partner continued
+on to his home at The Grove, and I started for our camps on the
+Medicine River. The grass was coming with a rush, the cattle were
+beginning to shed their winter coats, and our men assured me that the
+known loss amounted to less than twenty head. The boys had spent an
+active winter, only a few storms ever bunching the cattle, with less
+than half a dozen contingents crossing the established lines. Even
+these were followed by our trailers and brought back to their own
+range; and together with wolfing the time had passed pleasantly. An
+incident occurred at the upper camp that winter which clearly shows
+the difference between the cow-hand of that day and the modern
+bronco-buster. In baiting for wolves, many miles above our range, a
+supposed trail of cattle was cut by one of the boys, who immediately
+reported the matter to our Texas trailer at camp. They were not our
+cattle to a certainty, yet it was but a neighborly act to catch them,
+so the two men took up the trail. From appearances there were not over
+fifteen head in the bunch, and before following them many miles, the
+trailer became suspicious that they were buffalo and not cattle. He
+trailed them until they bedded down, when he dismounted and examined
+every bed. No cow ever lay down without leaving hair on its bed, so
+when the Texan had examined the ground where half a dozen had slept,
+his suspicions were confirmed. Declaring them buffalo, the two men
+took up the trail in a gallop, overtaking the band within ten miles
+and securing four fine robes. There is little or no difference in the
+tracks of the two animals. I simply mention this, as my patience has
+been sorely tried with the modern picturesque cowboy, who is merely an
+amateur when compared with the men of earlier days.
+
+I spent three weeks riding the range on the Medicine. The cattle had
+been carefully selected, now four and five years old, and if the
+season was favorable they would be ready for shipment early in the
+fall. The lower camp was abandoned in order to enlarge the range
+nearly one third, and after providing for the wants of the men, I rode
+away to the southeast to intercept the Chisholm trail where it crossed
+the Kansas line south of Wichita. The town of Caldwell afterward
+sprang up on the border, but at this time among drovers it was known
+as Stone's Store, a trading-post conducted by Captain Stone, afterward
+a cowman, and already mentioned in these memoirs. Several herds had
+already passed on my arrival; I watched the trail, meeting every
+outfit for nearly a week, and finally George Edwards came snailing
+along. He reported our other cattle from seven to ten days behind,
+but was not aware that I had an individual herd on the trail. Edwards
+moved on to Wichita, and I awaited the arrival of our second outfit.
+A brisk rivalry existed between the solicitors for Ellsworth and
+Wichita, every man working faithfully for his railroad or town, and at
+night they generally met in social session over a poker game. I never
+played a card for money now, not that my morals were any too good, but
+I was married and had partners, and business generally absorbed me to
+such an extent that I neglected the game.
+
+I met the second herd at Pond Creek, south in the Cherokee Outlet, and
+after spending a night with them rode through to Wichita in a day and
+night. We went into camp that year well up the Arkansas River, as two
+outfits would again hold the four herds. Our second outfit arrived at
+the chosen grazing grounds on time, the men were instantly relieved,
+and after a good carouse in town they started home. The two other
+herds came in without delay, the beeves arriving on the last of the
+month. Barely half as many cattle would arrive from Texas that summer,
+as many former drovers from that section were bankrupt on account of
+the panic of the year before. Yet the market was fairly well supplied
+with offerings of wintered Texans, the two classes being so distinct
+that there was very little competition between them. My active partner
+was on hand early, reporting a healthy inquiry among former customers,
+all of whom were more than pleased with the cattle supplied them the
+year before. By being in a position to extend a credit to reliable
+men, we were enabled to effect sales where other drovers dared not
+venture.
+
+Business opened early with us. I sold fifteen hundred of my heaviest
+beeves to an army contractor from Wyoming. My active partner sold the
+straight three-year-old herd from Erath County to an ex-governor from
+Nebraska, and we delivered it on the Republican River in that State.
+Small bunches of from three to five hundred were sold to farmers, and
+by the first of August we had our holdings reduced to two herds in
+charge of one outfit. When the hipping season began with our customers
+at The Grove, trade became active with us at Wichita. Scarcely a week
+passed but Major Hunter sold a thousand or more to his neighbors,
+while I skirmished around in the general market. When the outfit
+returned from the Republican River, I took it in charge, went down
+on the Medicine, and cut out a thousand beeves, bringing them to the
+railroad and shipping them to St. Louis. I never saw fatter cattle
+in my life. When we got the returns from the first consignment, we
+shipped two trainloads every fortnight until our holding's on the
+Medicine were reduced to a remnant. A competent bookkeeper was
+employed early in the year, and in keeping our accounts at Wichita,
+looking after our shipments, keeping individual interests, by brands,
+separate from the firm's, he was about the busiest man connected with
+the summer's business. Aside from our drive of over thirteen thousand
+head, we bought three whole herds, retailing them in small quantities
+to our customers, all of which was profitable. I bought four whole
+remudas on personal account, culled out one hundred and fifty head
+and sold them at a sacrifice, sending home the remaining two hundred
+saddle horses. I found it much cheaper and more convenient to buy my
+supply of saddle stock at trail terminals than at home. Once railroad
+connections were in operation direct between Kansas and Texas, every
+outfit preferred to go home by rail, but I adhered to former methods
+for many years.
+
+In summing up the year's business, never were three partners more
+surprised. With a remnant of nearly one hundred beeves unfit for
+shipment, the Medicine River venture had cleared us over two hundred
+per cent, while the horses on hand were worth ten dollars a head more
+than what they had cost, owing to their having wintered in the North.
+The ten thousand trail cattle paid splendidly, while my individual
+herd had sold out in a manner, leaving the stock cattle at home clear
+velvet. A programme was outlined for enlarging our business for the
+coming year, and every dollar of our profits was to be reinvested in
+wintering and trailing cattle from Texas. Next to the last shipment,
+the through outfit went home, taking the extra two hundred saddle
+horses with it, the final consignment being brought in to Wichita for
+loading out by our ranch help. The shipping ended in October. My last
+work of the year was the purchase of seven thousand three-year-old
+steers, intended for our Medicine River range. We had intentionally
+held George Edwards and his outfit for this purpose, and cutting the
+numbers into two herds, the Medicine River lads led off for winter
+quarters. We had bought the cattle worth the money, but not at a
+sacrifice like the year before, neither would we expect such profits.
+It takes a good nerve, but experience has taught me that in land and
+cattle the time of the worst depression is the time to buy. Major
+Hunter accompanied the herds to their winter quarters, sending Edwards
+with his outfit, after their arrival on the Medicine, back to Texas,
+while I took the train and reached home during the first week in
+November.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+CLEAR FORK AND SHENANDOAH
+
+
+I arrived home in good time for the fall work. The first outfit
+relieved at Wichita had instructions to begin, immediately on reaching
+the ranch, a general cow-hunt for outside brands. It was possible that
+a few head might have escaped from the Clear Fork range and returned
+to their old haunts, but these would bear a tally-mark distinguishing
+them from any not gathered at the spring delivery. My regular ranch
+hands looked after the three purchased brands adjoining our home
+range, but an independent outfit had been working the past four months
+gathering strays and remnants in localities where I had previously
+bought brands. They went as far south as Comanche County and picked
+up nearly one hundred "Lazy L's," scoured the country where I had
+purchased the two brands in the spring of 1872, and afterward confined
+themselves to ranges from which the outside cattle were received that
+spring. They had made one delivery on the Clear Fork of seven hundred
+head before my return, and were then away on a second cow-hunt.
+
+On my reaching the ranch the first contingent of gathered cattle were
+under herd. They were a rag-tag lot, many of them big steers, while
+much of the younger stuff was clear of earmark or brand until after
+their arrival at the home corrals. The ranch help herded them by day
+and penned them at night, but on the arrival of the independent outfit
+with another contingent of fifteen hundred the first were freed and
+the second put under herd. Counting both bunches, the strays numbered
+nearly a thousand head, and cattle bearing no tally-mark fully as
+many more, while the remainder were mavericks and would have paid the
+expenses of the outfit for the past four months. I now had over thirty
+thousand cattle on the Clear Fork, holding them in eleven brands, but
+decided thereafter to run all the increase in the original "44." This
+rule had gone into effect the fall previous, and I now proposed to run
+it on all calves branded. Never before had I felt the necessity of
+increasing my holdings in land, but with the number of cattle on hand
+it behooved me to possess a larger acreage of the Clear Fork valley.
+A surveyor was accordingly sent for, and while the double outfit was
+branding the home calf crop, I located on the west end of my range a
+strip of land ten miles long by five wide. At the east end of my ranch
+another tract was located, five by ten miles, running north and taking
+in all that country around the junction of the Clear Fork with the
+mother Brazos. This gave me one hundred and fifty sections of land,
+lying in the form of an immense Lazy L, and I felt that the expense
+was justified in securing an ample range for my stock cattle.
+
+My calf crop that fall ran a few over seven thousand head. They were
+good northern Texas calves, and it would cost but a trifle to run them
+until they were two-year-olds; and if demand continued in the upper
+country, some day a trail herd of steers could easily be made up from
+their numbers. I was beginning to feel rather proud of my land and
+cattle; the former had cost me but a small outlay, while the latter
+were clear velvet, as I had sold thirty-five hundred from their
+increase during the past two years. Once the surveying and branding
+was over, I returned to the Edwards ranch for the winter. The general
+outlook in Texas was for the better; quite a mileage of railroad
+had been built within the State during the past year, and new and
+prosperous towns had sprung up along their lines. The political
+situation had quieted down, and it was generally admitted that a
+Reconstruction government could never again rear its head on Texas
+soil. The result was that confidence was slowly being restored among
+the local people, and the press of the State was making a fight for
+recognition, all of which augured for a brighter future. Living on the
+frontier and absent the greater portion of the time, I took little
+interest in local politics, yet could not help but feel that the
+restoration of self-government to the best elements of our people
+would in time reflect on the welfare of the State. Since my advent in
+Texas I had been witness to the growth of Fort Worth from a straggling
+village in the spring of 1866 to quite a pretentious town in the fall
+of 1874.
+
+Ever since the partnership was formed I had been aware of and had
+fostered the political ambitions of the firm's silent member. He had
+been prominently identified with the State of Kansas since it was a
+territory, had held positions of trust, and had been a representative
+in Congress, and all three of us secretly hoped to see him advanced to
+the United States Senate. We had fully discussed the matter on various
+occasions, and as the fall elections had gone favorably, the present
+was considered the opportune time to strike. The firm mutually
+agreed to stand the expense of the canvass, which was estimated on a
+reasonable basis, and the campaign opened with a blare of trumpets.
+Assuming the role of a silent partner, I had reports furnished me
+regularly, and it soon developed that our estimate on the probable
+expense was too low. We had boldly entered the canvass, our man was
+worthy, and I wrote back instructing my partners to spare no expense
+in winning the fight. There were a number of candidates in the race
+and the legislature was in session, when an urgent letter reached me,
+urging my presence at the capital of Kansas. The race was narrowing to
+a close, a personal consultation was urged, and I hastened north as
+fast as a relay of horses and railroad trains could carry me. On my
+arrival at Topeka the fight had almost narrowed to a financial one,
+and we questioned if the game were worth the candle. Yet we were
+already involved in a considerable outlay, and the consultation
+resulted in our determination to win, which we did, but at an expense
+of a little over four times the original estimate, which, however,
+afterward proved a splendid investment.
+
+I now had hopes that we might enlarge our operations in handling
+government contracts. Major Hunter saw possibilities along the same
+line, and our silent partner was awakened to the importance of
+maintaining friendly relations with the Interior and War departments,
+gathering all the details in contracting beef with the government for
+its Indian agencies and army posts in the West. Up to date this had
+been a lucrative field which only a few Texas drovers had ventured
+into, most of the contractors being Northern and Eastern men, and
+usually buying the cattle with which to fill the contracts near the
+point of delivery. I was impatient to get into this trade, as the
+Indian deliveries generally took cows, and the army heavy beef, two
+grades of cattle that at present our firm had no certain demand for.
+Also the market was gradually moving west from Wichita, and it was
+only a question of a few years until the settlements of eastern Kansas
+would cut us off from our established trade around The Grove. I
+had seen Abilene pass away as a market, Wichita was doomed by the
+encroachments of agriculture, and it behooved us to be alert for a new
+outlet.
+
+I made up my mind to buy more land scrip. Not that there had been
+any perceptible improvement in wild lands, but the general outlook
+justified its purchase. My agent at Austin reported scrip to be had
+in ordinary quantities at former prices, and suggested that I supply
+myself fully, as the new administration was an economical one, and
+once the great flood of certificates issued by the last Reconstruction
+regime were absorbed, an advance in land scrip was anticipated. I
+accordingly bought three hundred sections more, hardly knowing what
+to do with it, yet I knew there was an empire of fine grazing country
+between my present home and the Pecos River. If ever the Comanches
+were brought under subjection there would be ranches and room for all;
+and our babies were principally boys.
+
+Major Hunter came down earlier than usual. He reported a clear, cold
+winter on the Medicine and no serious drift of cattle, and expressed
+the belief that we would come through with a loss not exceeding one
+per cent. This was encouraging, as it meant fat cattle next fall, fit
+for any market in the country. It was yet too early to make any move
+towards putting up herds for the trail, and we took train and went
+down the country as far as Austin. There was always a difference in
+cattle prices, running from one to two dollars a head, between the
+northern and southern parts of the State. Both of us were anxious
+to acquaint ourselves with the different grades, and made stops in
+several intervening counties, looking at cattle on the range and
+pricing them. We spent a week at the capital city and met all the
+trail drovers living there, many of whom expected to put up herds for
+that year southeast on the Colorado River. "Shanghai" Pierce had
+for some time been a prominent figure in the markets of Abilene and
+Wichita, driving herds of his own from the extreme coast country. But
+our market required a better quality than coasters and Mexican cattle,
+and we turned back up the country. Before leaving the capital, Major
+Hunter and I had a long talk with my merchant friend over the land
+scrip market, and the latter urged its purchase at once, if wanted, as
+the issue afloat was being gradually absorbed. Already there had been
+a noticeable advance in the price, and my partner gave me no
+peace until I bought, at eighteen dollars a section, two hundred
+certificates more. Its purchase was making an inroad on my working
+capital, but the major frowned on my every protest, and I yielded out
+of deference to his superior judgment.
+
+Returning, we stopped in Bell County, where we contracted for fifteen
+thousand two and three year old steers. They were good prairie-raised
+cattle, and we secured them at a dollar a head less than the prices
+prevailing in the first few counties south of Red River. Major Hunter
+remained behind, arranging his banking facilities, and I returned home
+after my outfits. Before leaving Bell County, I left word that we
+could use fifty good men for the trail, but they would have to come
+recommended by the ranchmen with whom we were dealing. We expected to
+make up five herds, and the cattle were to be ready for delivery to
+us between the 15th and 30th of March. I hastened home and out to the
+ranch, gathered our saddle stock, outfitted wagons, and engaged all
+my old foremen and twenty trusty men, and we started with a remuda
+of five hundred horses to begin the operations of the coming summer.
+Receiving cattle with me was an old story by this time, and frequently
+matters came to a standstill between the sellers and ourselves. We
+paid no attention to former customs of the country; all cattle had
+to come up full-aged or go into the younger class, while inferior or
+knotty stags were turned back as not wanted. Scarcely a day passed but
+there was more or less dispute; but we proposed paying for them, and
+insisted that all cattle tendered must come up to the specifications
+of the contract. We stood firm, and after the first two herds were
+received, all trouble on that score passed, and in making up the last
+three herds there was actually a surplus of cattle tendered. We used a
+road brand that year on all steers purchased, and the herds moved out
+from two to three days apart, the last two being made up in Coryell,
+the adjoining county north.
+
+George Edwards had charge of the rear herd. There were fourteen days
+between the first and the last starts, a fortnight of hard work, and
+we frequently received from ten to thirty miles distant from the
+branding pens. I rode almost night and day, and Edwards likewise,
+while Major Hunter kept all the accounts and settled with the sellers.
+As fast as one herd was ready, it moved out under a foreman and
+fourteen men, one hundred saddle horses, and a well-stocked
+commissary. We did our banking at Belton, the county seat, and after
+the last herd started we returned to town and received quite an
+ovation from the business men of the village. We had invested a
+little over one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in cattle in that
+community, and a banquet was even suggested in our honor by some of
+the leading citizens. Most of the contracts were made with merchants,
+many of whom did not own a hoof of cattle, but depended on their
+customers to deliver the steers. The business interests of the town
+were anxious to have us return next year. We declined the proposed
+dinner, as neither Major Hunter nor myself would have made a
+presentable guest. A month or more had passed since I had left the
+ranch on the Clear Fork, the only clothes I had were on my back, and
+they were torn in a dozen places from running cattle in the brush. My
+partner had been living in cow-camps for the past three weeks, and
+preferred to be excused from receiving any social attentions. So we
+thanked our friends and started for the railroad.
+
+Major Hunter went through to The Grove, while I stopped at Fort Worth.
+A buckboard from home was awaiting me, and the next morning I was at
+the Edwards ranch. A relay team was harnessed in, and after counting
+the babies I started for the Clear Fork. By early evening I was in
+consultation with my ranch foreman, as it was my intention to drive an
+individual herd if everything justified the venture. I never saw the
+range on the Clear Fork look better, and the books showed that we
+could easily gather two thousand twos and threes, while the balance of
+the herd could be made up of dry and barren cows. All we lacked was
+about thirty horses, and my ranch hands were anxious to go up the
+trail; but after riding the range one day I decided that it would be
+a pity to disturb the pastoral serenity of the valley. It was fairly
+dotted with my own cattle; month-old calves were playing in groups,
+while my horse frequently shied at new-born ones, lying like fawns
+in the tall grass. A round-up at that time meant the separation of
+mothers from their offspring and injury to cows approaching maternity,
+and I decided that no commercial necessity demanded the sacrifice.
+Then again it seemed a short-sighted policy to send half-matured
+steers to market, when no man could bring the same animals to a full
+development as cheaply as I could. Barring contagious diseases, cattle
+are the healthiest creatures that walk the earth, and even on an open
+range seldom if ever does one voluntarily forsake its birthplace.
+
+I spent two weeks on the ranch and could have stayed the summer
+through, for I love cattle. Our lead herd was due on the Kansas state
+line early in May, so remaining at the Edwards ranch until the last
+possible hour, I took train and reached Wichita, where my active
+partner was awaiting me. He had just returned from the Medicine River,
+and reported everything serene. He had made arrangements to have the
+men attend all the country round-ups within one hundred miles of our
+range. Several herds had already reached Wichita, and the next day I
+started south on horseback to meet our cattle at Caldwell on the line,
+or at Pond Creek in the Cherokee Outlet. It was going to be difficult
+to secure range for herds within fifteen miles of Wichita, and the
+opinion seemed general that this would be the last year that town
+could hope to hold any portion of the Texas cattle trade. On arriving
+at Pond Creek I found that fully half the herds were turning up that
+stream, heading for Great Bend, Ellsworth, Ellis, and Nickerson, all
+markets within the State of Kansas. The year before nearly one third
+the drive had gone to the two first-named points, and now other towns
+were offering inducements and bidding for a share of the present
+cattle exodus.
+
+Our lead herd arrived without an incident en route. The second one
+came in promptly, both passing on and picking their way through the
+border settlements to Wichita. I waited until the third one put in an
+appearance, leaving orders for it and the two rear ones to camp on
+some convenient creek in the Outlet near Caldwell. Arrangements were
+made with Captain Stone for supplying the outfits, and I hurried on
+to overtake the lead herds, then nearing Wichita. An ample range was
+found but twenty miles up the Arkansas River, and the third day all
+the Bell County men in the two outfits were sent home by train.
+The market was much the same as the year before: one herd of three
+thousand two-year-olds was our largest individual sale. Early in
+August the last herd was brought from the state line and the through
+help reduced to two outfits, one holding cattle at Wichita and the
+other bringing in shipments of beeves from the Medicine River range.
+The latter were splendid cattle, fatted to a finish for grass animals,
+and brought top prices in the different markets to which they were
+consigned. Omitting details, I will say it was an active year, as we
+bought and sold fully as many more as our drive amounted to, while I
+added to my stock of saddle horses an even three hundred head.
+
+An amusing incident occurred with one of my men while holding cattle
+that fall at Wichita. The boys were in and out of town frequently,
+and one of them returned to camp one evening and informed me that he
+wanted to quit work, as he intended to return to Wichita and kill a
+man. He was a good hand and I tried to persuade him out of the idea,
+but he insisted that it was absolutely necessary to preserve his
+honor. I threatened to refuse him a horse, but seeing that menace and
+persuasion were useless, I ordered him to pick my holdings of saddle
+stock, gave him his wages due, and told him to be sure and shoot
+first. He bade us all good-by, and a chum of his went with him. About
+an hour before daybreak they returned and awoke me, when the aggrieved
+boy said: "Mr. Anthony, I didn't kill him. No, I didn't kill him. He's
+a good man. You bet he's a game one. Oh, he's a good man all right."
+That morning when I awoke both lads were out on herd, and I had an
+early appointment to meet parties in town. Major Hunter gave me the
+story immediately on my arrival. The boys had located the offender in
+a store, and he anticipated the fact that they were on his trail. As
+our men entered the place, the enemy stepped from behind a pile of
+clothing with two six-shooters leveled in their faces, and ordered a
+clerk to relieve the pair of their pistols, which was promptly done.
+Once the particulars were known at camp, it was looked upon as a good
+joke on the lad, and whenever he was asked what he thought of Mr.
+Blank, his reply invariably was, "He's a good man."
+
+The drive that year to the different markets in Kansas amounted to
+about five hundred thousand cattle. One half this number were handled
+at Wichita, the surrounding country absorbing them to such an extent
+that when it came time to restock our Medicine River range I was
+compelled to go to Great Bend to secure the needed cattle. All saddle
+horses, both purchased and my own remudas, with wagons, were sent to
+our winter camps by the shipping crew, so that the final start for
+Texas would be made from the Medicine River. It was the last of
+October that the last six trains of beeves were brought in to the
+railroad for shipment, the season's work drawing to an end. Meanwhile
+I had closed contracts on ten thousand three-year-old steers at
+"The Bend," so as fast as the three outfits were relieved of their
+consignment of beeves they pulled out up the Arkansas River to receive
+the last cattle of the year. It was nearly one hundred miles from
+Wichita, and on the arrival of the shipping crews the herds were
+received and started south for their winter range. Major Hunter and
+I accompanied the herds to the Medicine, and within a week after
+reaching the range the two through outfits started home with five
+wagons and eight hundred saddle horses.
+
+It was the latter part of November when we left our winter camps and
+returned to The Grove for the annual settlement. Our silent partner
+was present, and we broke the necks of a number of champagne bottles
+in properly celebrating the success of the year's work. The wintered
+cattle had cleared the Dutchman's one per cent, while every hoof in
+the through and purchased herds was a fine source of profit. Congress
+would convene within a week, and our silent partner suggested that all
+three of us go down to Washington and attend the opening exercises. He
+had already looked into the contracting of beef to the government, and
+was particularly anxious to have my opinion on a number of contracts
+to be let the coming winter. It had been ten years since I left my old
+home in the Shenandoah Valley, my parents were still living, and all
+I asked was time enough to write a letter to my wife, and buy some
+decent clothing. The trio started in good time for the opening of
+Congress, but once we sighted the Potomac River the old home hunger
+came on me and I left the train at Harper's Ferry. My mother knew and
+greeted me just as if I had left home that morning on an errand, and
+had now returned. My father was breaking with years, yet had a
+mental alertness that was remarkable and a commercial instinct that
+understood the value of a Texas cow or a section of land scrip. The
+younger members of the family gathered from their homes to meet
+"Texas" Anthony, and for ten continuous days I did nothing but answer
+questions, running from the color of the baby's eyes to why we did not
+drive the fifteen thousand cattle in one herd, or how big a section of
+country would one thousand certificates of land scrip cover. My visit
+was broken by the necessity of conferring with my partners, so,
+promising to spend Christmas with my mother, I was excused until that
+date.
+
+At the War and Interior departments I made many friends. I understood
+cattle so thoroughly that there was no feature of a delivery to the
+government that embarrassed me in the least. A list of contracts to be
+let from each department was courteously furnished us, but not wishing
+to scatter our business too wide, we submitted bids for six Indian
+contracts and four for delivery to army posts on the upper Missouri
+River. Two of the latter were to be northern wintered cattle, and we
+had them on the Medicine River; but we also had a sure market on them,
+and it was a matter of indifference whether we secured them or not.
+The Indian contracts called for cows, and I was anxious to secure as
+many as possible, as it meant a market for the aging she stuff on
+my ranch. Heretofore this class had fulfilled their mission in
+perpetuating their kind, had lived their day, and the weeds grew
+rankly where their remains enriched the soil. The bids would not be
+opened until the middle of January, and we should have notice at once
+if fortunate in securing any of the awards. The holiday season was
+approaching, Major Hunter was expected at home, and the firm separated
+for the time being.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+THE CENTENNIAL YEAR
+
+
+I returned to Texas early in January. Quite a change had come over
+the situation since my leaving home the spring before. Except on the
+frontier, business was booming in the new towns, while a regular
+revolution had taken place within the past month in land values. The
+cheapness of wild lands had attracted outside capital, resulting in
+a syndicate being formed by Northern capitalists to buy up the
+outstanding issue of land scrip. The movement had been handled
+cautiously, and had possibly been in active operation for a year or
+more, as its methods were conducted with the utmost secrecy. Options
+had been taken on all scrip voted to corporations in the State and
+still in their possession, agents of the syndicate were stationed at
+all centres where any amount was afloat, and on a given day throughout
+the State every certificate on the market was purchased. The next
+morning land scrip was worth fifty dollars a section, and on my return
+one hundred dollars a certificate was being freely bid, while every
+surveyor in the State was working night and day locating lands for
+individual holders of scrip.
+
+This condition of affairs was largely augmented by a boom in sheep.
+San Antonio was the leading wool market in the State, many clips
+having sold as high as forty cents a pound for several years past on
+the streets of that city. Free range and the high price of wool was
+inviting every man and his cousin to come to Texas and make his
+fortune. Money was feverish for investment in sheep, flock-masters
+were buying land on which to run their bands, and a sheepman was an
+envied personage. Up to this time there had been little or no occasion
+to own the land on which the immense flocks grazed the year round, yet
+under existing cheap prices of land nearly all the watercourses in the
+immediate country had been taken up. Personally I was dumfounded at
+the sudden and unexpected change of affairs, and what nettled me most
+was that all the land adjoining my ranch had been filed on within the
+past month. The Clear Fork valley all the way up to Fort Griffin had
+been located, while every vacant acre on the mother Brazos, as far
+north as Belknap, was surveyed and recorded. I was mortified to think
+that I had been asleep, but then the change had come like a thief
+in the night. My wife's trunk was half full of scrip, I had had a
+surveyor on the ground only a year before, and now the opportunity had
+passed.
+
+But my disappointment was my wife's delight, as there was no longer
+any necessity for keeping secret our holdings in land scrip. The
+little tin trunk held a snug fortune, and next to the babies, my
+wife took great pride in showing visitors the beautiful lithographed
+certificates. My ambition was land and cattle, but now that the scrip
+had a cash value, my wife took as much pride in those vouchers as if
+the land had been surveyed, recorded, and covered with our own herds.
+I had met so many reverses that I was grateful for any smile of
+fortune, and bore my disappointment with becoming grace. My ranch
+had branded over eight thousand calves that fall, and as long as it
+remained an open range I had room for my holdings of cattle. There was
+no question but that the public domain was bountiful, and if it were
+necessary I could go farther west and locate a new ranch. But it
+secretly grieved me to realize that what I had so fondly hoped for had
+come without warning and found me unprepared. I might as well have
+held title to half a million acres of the Clear Fork Valley as a
+paltry hundred and fifty sections.
+
+Little time was given me to lament over spilt milk. On the return from
+my first trip to the Clear Fork, reports from the War and Interior
+departments were awaiting me. Two contracts to the army and four to
+Indian agencies had been awarded us, all of which could be filled with
+through cattle. The military allotments would require six thousand
+heavy beeves for delivery on the upper Missouri River in Dakota,
+while the nation's wards would require thirteen thousand cows at four
+different agencies in the Indian Territory. My active partner was due
+in Fort Worth within a week, while bonds for the faithful fulfillment
+of our contracts would be executed by our silent partner at
+Washington, D.C. These awards meant an active year to our firm, and
+besides there was our established trade around The Grove, which we had
+no intention of abandoning. The government was a sure market, and as
+long as a healthy demand continued in Kansas for young cattle, the
+firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. would be found actively engaged in
+supplying the same.
+
+Major Hunter arrived under a high pressure of enthusiasm. By
+appointment we met in Fort Worth, and after carefully reviewing the
+situation we took train and continued on south to San Antonio. I had
+seen a herd of beeves, a few years before, from the upper Nueces
+River, and remembered them as good heavy cattle. There were two
+dollars a head difference, even in ages among younger stock, between
+the lower and upper counties in the State, and as it was pounds
+quantity that we wanted for the army, it was our intention to look
+over the cattle along the Nueces River before buying our supply of
+beeves. We met a number of acquaintances in San Antonio, all of whom
+recommended us to go west if in search of heavy cattle, and a few days
+later we reached Uvalde County. This was the section from which the
+beeves had come that impressed me so favorably; I even remembered
+the ranch brands, and without any difficulty we located the owners,
+finding them anxious to meet buyers for their mature surplus cattle.
+We spent a week along the Frio, Leona, and Nueces rivers, and closed
+contracts on sixty-one hundred five to seven year old beeves. The
+cattle were not as good a quality as prairie-raised north Texas stock,
+but the pounds avoirdupois were there, the defects being in their
+mongrel colors, length of legs, and breadth of horns, heritages from
+the original Spanish stock. Otherwise they were tall as a horse,
+clean-limbed as a deer, and active on their feet, and they looked like
+fine walkers. I estimated that two bits a head would drive them to
+Red River, and as we bought them at three dollars a head less than
+prevailing prices for the same-aged beeves north of or parallel to
+Fort Worth, we were well repaid for our time and trouble.
+
+We returned to San Antonio and opened a bank account. The 15th of
+March was agreed on to receive. Two remudas of horses would have to
+be secured, wagons fitted up, and outfits engaged. Heretofore I had
+furnished all horses for trail work, but now, with our enlarging
+business, it would be necessary to buy others, which would be done at
+the expense of the firm. George Edwards was accordingly sent for, and
+met us at Waco. He was furnished a letter of credit on our San Antonio
+bank, and authorized to buy and equip two complete outfits for the
+Uvalde beeves. Edwards was a good judge of horses, there was an
+abundance of saddle stock in the country, and he was instructed to buy
+not less than one hundred and twenty-five head for each remuda, to
+outfit his wagons with four-mule teams, and announce us as willing to
+engage fourteen men to the herd. Once these details were arranged for,
+Major Hunter and myself bought two good horses and struck west for
+Coryell County, where we had put up two herds the spring before. Our
+return met with a flood of offerings, prices of the previous year
+still prevailed, and we let contracts for sixty-five hundred
+three-year-old steers and an equal number of dry and barren cows. We
+paid seven dollars a head for the latter, and in order to avoid any
+dispute at the final tender it was stipulated that the offerings
+must be in good flesh, not under five nor over eight years old, full
+average in weight, and showing no evidence of pregnancy. Under local
+customs, "a cow was a cow," and we had to be specific.
+
+We did our banking at Waco for the Coryell herds. Hastening north, our
+next halt was in Hood County, where we bought thirty-three hundred
+two-year-old steers and three thousand and odd cows. This completed
+eight herds secured--three of young steers for the agricultural
+regions, and five intended for government delivery. We still lacked
+one for the Indian Bureau, and as I offered to make it up from my
+holdings, and on a credit, my active partner consented. I was putting
+in every dollar at my command, my partners were borrowing freely at
+home, and we were pulling together like a six-mule team to make
+a success of the coming summer's work. It was now the middle of
+February, and my active partner went to Fort Worth, where I did my
+banking, to complete his financial arrangements, while I returned to
+the ranch to organize the forces for the coming campaign. All the
+latter were intrusted to me, and while I had my old foremen at my beck
+and call, it was necessary to employ five or six new ones. With our
+deliveries scattered from the Indian Territory to the upper Missouri
+River, as well as our established trade at The Grove, two of us could
+not cover the field, and George Edwards had been decided on as the
+third and trusted man. In a practical way he was a better cowman than
+I was, and with my active Yankee partner for a running mate they made
+a team that would take care of themselves in any cow country.
+
+A good foreman is a very important man in trail work. The drover or
+firm may or may not be practical cowmen, but the executive in the
+field must be the master of any possible situation that may arise,
+combining the qualities of generalship with the caution of an
+explorer. He must be a hail-fellow among his men, for he must command
+by deserving obedience; he must know the inmost thoughts of his herd,
+noting every sign of alarm or distress, and willingly sacrifice any
+personal comfort in the interest of his cattle or outfit. I had a few
+such men, boys who had grown up in my employ, several of whom I would
+rather trust in a dangerous situation with a herd than take active
+charge myself. No concern was given for their morals, but they must
+be capable, trustworthy, and honest, as they frequently handled large
+sums of money. All my old foremen swore by me, not one of them would
+accept a similar situation elsewhere, and in selecting the extra trail
+bosses their opinion was valued and given due consideration.
+
+Not having driven anything from my ranch the year before, a fine herd
+of twos, threes, and four-year-old steers could easily be made up. It
+was possible that a tenth and individual herd might be sent up the
+country, but no movement to that effect was decided on, and my regular
+ranch hands had orders only to throw in on the home range and gather
+outside steer cattle and dry cows. I had wintered all my saddle horses
+on the Clear Fork, and once the foremen were decided on, they repaired
+to the ranch and began outfitting for the start. The Coryell herds
+were to be received one week later than the beef cattle, and the
+outfits would necessarily have to start in ample time to meet us
+on our return from the upper Nueces River country. The two foremen
+allotted to Hood County would start a week later still, so that we
+would really move north with the advance of the season in receiving
+the cattle under contract. Only a few days were required in securing
+the necessary foremen, a remuda was apportioned to each, and credit
+for the commissary supplies arranged for, the employment of the men
+being left entirely to the trail bosses. Taking two of my older
+foremen with me, I started for Fort Worth, where an agreeable surprise
+awaited me. We had been underbidden at the War Department on both our
+proposals for northern wintered beeves. The fortunate bidder on one
+contract was refused the award,--for some duplicity in a former
+transaction, I learned later,--and the Secretary of War had approached
+our silent partner to fill the deficiency. Six weeks had elapsed,
+there was no obligation outstanding, and rather than advertise and
+relet the contract, the head of the War Department had concluded to
+allot the deficiency by private award. Major Hunter had been burning
+the wires between Fort Worth and Washington, in order to hold the
+matter open until I came in for a consultation. The department had
+offered half a cent a pound over and above our previous bid, and we
+bribed an operator to reopen his office that night and send a message
+of acceptance. We had ten thousand cattle wintering on the Medicine
+River, and it would just trim them up nicely to pick out all the
+heavy, rough beeves for filling an army contract.
+
+When we had got a confirmation of our message, we proceeded on south,
+accompanied by the two foremen, and reached Uvalde County within a
+week of the time set for receiving. Edwards had two good remudas in
+pastures, wagons and teams secured, and cooks and wranglers on hand,
+and it only remained to pick the men to complete the outfits. With
+three old trail foremen on the alert for good hands while the
+gathering and receiving was going on, the help would be ready in
+ample time to receive the herds. Gathering the beeves was in active
+operation on our arrival, a branding chute had been built to
+facilitate the work, and all five of us took to the saddle in
+assisting ranchmen in holding under herd, as we permitted nothing to
+be corralled night or day. The first herd was completed on the 14th,
+and the second a day later, both moving out without an hour's delay,
+the only instructions being to touch at Great Bend, Kansas, for final
+orders. The cattle more than came up to expectations, three fourths of
+them being six and seven years old, and as heavy as oxen. There was
+something about the days of the open range that left its impression on
+animals, as these two herds were as uniform in build as deer, and I
+question if the same country to-day has as heavy beeves.
+
+Three days were lost in reaching Coryell County, where our outfits
+were in waiting and twenty others were at work gathering cattle. The
+herds were made up and started without a hitch, and we passed on to
+Hood County, meeting every date promptly and again finding the trail
+outfits awaiting us. Leaving my active partner and George Edwards to
+receive the two herds, I rode through to the Clear Fork in a single
+day. A double outfit had been at work for the past two weeks gathering
+outside cattle and had over a thousand under herd on my arrival.
+Everything had worked out so nicely in receiving the purchased herds
+that I finally concluded to send out my steers, and we began gathering
+on the home range. By making small round-ups, we disturbed the young
+calves as little as possible. I took charge of the extra outfit and my
+ranch foreman of his own, one beginning on the west end of my range,
+the other going north and coming down the Brazos. At the end of a week
+the two crews came together with nearly eight thousand cattle under
+herd. The next day we cut out thirty-five hundred cows and started
+them on the trail, turning free the remnant of she stuff, and began
+shaping up the steers, using only the oldest in making up thirty-two
+hundred head. There were fully two thousand threes, the remainder
+being nearly equally divided between twos and fours. No road branding
+was necessary; the only delay in moving out was in provisioning a
+wagon and securing a foreman. Failing in two or three quarters, I
+at last decided on a young fellow on my ranch, and he was placed in
+charge of the last herd. Great Bend was his destination, I instructed
+him where to turn off the Chisholm trail,--north of the Salt Fork in
+the Cherokee Outlet,--and he started like an army with banners.
+
+I rejoined my active partner at Fort Worth. The Hood County cattle had
+started a week before, so taking George Edwards with us, we took train
+for Kansas. Major Hunter returned to his home, while Edwards and I
+lost no time in reaching the Medicine River. A fortnight was spent in
+riding our northern range, when we took horses and struck out for Pond
+Creek in the Outlet. The lead herds were due at this point early in
+May, and on our arrival a number had already passed. A road house and
+stage stand had previously been established, the proprietor of which
+kept a register of passing herds for the convenience of owners. None
+of ours were due, yet we looked over the "arrivals" with interest, and
+continued on down the trail to Red Fork. The latter was a branch of
+the Arkansas River, and at low water was inclined to be brackish,
+and hence was sometimes called the Salt Fork, with nothing to
+differentiate it from one of the same name sixty miles farther north.
+There was an old Indian trading post at Red Fork, and I lay over there
+while Edwards went on south to meet the cows. His work for the summer
+was to oversee the deliveries at the Indian agencies, Major Hunter
+was to look after the market at The Bend, and I was to attend to the
+contracts at army posts on the upper Missouri. Our first steer herd to
+arrive was from Hood County, and after seeing them safely on the Great
+Bend trail at Pond Creek, I waited for the other steer cattle from
+Coryell to arrive. Both herds came in within a day of each other,
+and I loitered along with them, finally overtaking the lead one when
+within fifty miles of The Bend. In fair weather it was a delightful
+existence to loaf along with the cattle; but once all three herds
+reached their destination, two outfits held them, and I took the Hood
+County lads and dropped back on the Medicine. Our ranch hands had
+everything shaped up nicely, and by working a double outfit and making
+round-ups at noon, when the cattle were on water, we quietly cut
+out three thousand head of our biggest beeves without materially
+disturbing our holdings on that range. These northern wintered cattle
+were intended for delivery at Fort Abraham Lincoln on the Missouri
+River in what is now North Dakota. The through heavy beeves from
+Uvalde County were intended for Fort Randall and intermediate posts,
+some of them for reissue to various Indian agencies. The reservations
+of half a dozen tribes were tributary to the forts along the upper
+Missouri, and the government was very liberal in supplying its wards
+with fresh beef.
+
+The Medicine River beeves were to be grazed up the country to Fort
+Lincoln. We passed old Fort Larned within a week, and I left the
+outfit there and returned to The Bend. The outfit in charge of the
+wintered cattle had orders to touch at and cross the Missouri River at
+Fort Randall, where I would meet them again near the middle of July.
+The market had fairly opened at Great Bend, and I was kept busy
+assisting Major Hunter until the arrival of the Uvalde beef herds.
+Both came through in splendid condition, were admired by every buyer
+in the market, and passed on north under orders to graze ten miles a
+day until reaching their destination. By this time the whereabouts of
+all the Indian herds were known, yet not a word had reached me from
+the foreman of my individual cattle after crossing into the Nations.
+It was now the middle of June, and there were several points en
+route from which he might have mailed a letter, as did all the other
+foremen. Herds, which crossed at Red River Station a week after my
+steers, came into The Bend and reported having spoken no "44" cattle
+en route. I became uneasy and sent a courier as far south as the state
+line, who returned with a comfortless message. Finally a foreman in
+the employ of Jess Evens came to me and reported having taken dinner
+with a "44" outfit on the South Canadian; that the herd swam the river
+that afternoon, after which he never hailed them again. They were my
+own dear cattle, and I was worrying; I was overdue at Fort Randall,
+and in duty bound to look after the interests of the firm. Major
+Hunter came to the rescue, in his usual calm manner, and expressed his
+confidence that all would come out right in the end; that when the
+mystery was unraveled the foreman would be found blameless.
+
+I took a night train for the north, connected with a boat on the
+Missouri River, and by finally taking stage reached Fort Randall. The
+mental worry of those four days would age an ordinary man, but on my
+arrival at the post a message from my active partner informed me that
+my cattle had reached Dodge City two weeks before my leaving. Then the
+scales fell from my eyes, as I could understand that when inquiries
+were made for the Salt Fork, some wayfarer had given that name to
+the Red Fork; and the new Dodge trail turned to the left, from the
+Chisholm, at Little Turkey, the first creek crossed after leaving the
+river. The message was supplemented a few days later by a letter,
+stating that Dodge City would possibly be a better market than the
+Bend, and that my interests would be looked after as well as if I were
+present. A load was lifted from my shoulders, and when the wintered
+cattle passed Randall, the whole post turned out to see the beef herd
+on its way up to Lincoln. The government line of forts along the
+Missouri River had the whitest lot of officers that it was ever my
+good fortune to meet. I was from Texas, my tongue and colloquialisms
+of speech proclaimed me Southern-born, and when I admitted having
+served in the Confederate army, interest and attention was only
+heightened, while every possible kindness was simply showered on me.
+
+The first delivery occurred at Fort Lincoln. It was a very simple
+affair. We cut out half a dozen average beeves, killed, dressed, and
+weighed them, and an honest average on the herd was thus secured. The
+contract called for one and a half million pounds on foot; our tender
+overran twelve per cent; but this surplus was accepted and paid for.
+The second delivery was at Fort Pierre and the last at Randall, both
+of which passed pleasantly, the many acquaintances among army men that
+summer being one of my happiest memories. Leaving Randall, we put in
+to the nearest railroad point returning, where thirty men were sent
+home, after which we swept down the country and arrived at Great Bend
+during the last week in September. My active partner had handled
+his assignment of the summer's work in a masterly manner, having
+wholesaled my herd at Dodge City at as good figures as our other
+cattle brought in retail quantities at The Bend. The former point had
+received three hundred and fifty thousand Texas cattle that summer,
+while every one conceded that Great Bend's business as a trail
+terminal would close with that season. The latter had handled nearly a
+quarter-million cattle that year, but like Abilene, Wichita, and other
+trail towns in eastern Kansas, it was doomed to succumb to the advance
+guard of pioneer settlers.
+
+The best sale of the year fell to my active partner. Before the
+shipping season opened, he sold, range count, our holdings on the
+Medicine River, including saddle stock, improvements, and good will.
+The cattle might possibly have netted us more by marketing them, but
+it was only a question of time until the flow of immigration would
+demand our range, and Major Hunter had sold our squatter's rights
+while they had a value. A new foreman had been installed on our giving
+up possession, and our old one had been skirmishing the surrounding
+country the past month for a new range, making a favorable report on
+the Eagle Chief in the Outlet. By paying a trifling rental to the
+Cherokee Nation, permission could be secured to hold cattle on these
+lands, set aside as a hunting ground. George Edwards had been rotting
+all summer in issuing cows at Indian agencies, but on the first of
+October the residue of his herds would be put in pastures or turned
+free for the winter. Major Hunter had wound up his affairs at The
+Bend, and nothing remained but a general settlement of the summer's
+work. This took place at Council Grove, our silent partner and Edwards
+both being present. The profits of the year staggered us all. I was
+anxious to go home, the different outfits having all gone by rail or
+overland with the remudas, with the exception of the two from Uvalde,
+which were property of the firm. I had bought three hundred extra
+horses at The Bend, sending them home with the others, and now nothing
+remained but to stock the new range in the Cherokee Outlet. Edwards
+and my active partner volunteered for this work, it being understood
+that the Uvalde remudas would be retained for ranch use, and that
+not over ten thousand cattle were to be put on the new range for the
+winter. Our silent partner was rapidly awakening to the importance of
+his usefulness in securing future contracts with the War and Indian
+departments, and vaguely outlining the future, we separated to three
+points of the compass.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+ESTABLISHING A NEW RANCH
+
+
+I hardly knew Fort Worth on my return. The town was in the midst of
+a boom. The foundations of many store buildings were laid on Monday
+morning, and by Saturday night they were occupied and doing a
+land-office business. Lots that could have been bought in the spring
+for one hundred dollars were now commanding a thousand, while land
+scrip was quoted as scarce at twenty-five cents an acre. I hurried
+home, spoke to my wife, and engaged two surveyors to report one
+week later at my ranch on the Clear Fork. Big as was the State and
+boundless as was her public domain, I could not afford to allow this
+advancing prosperity to catch me asleep again, and I firmly concluded
+to empty that little tin trunk of its musty land scrip. True enough,
+the present boom was not noticeable on the frontier, yet there was
+a buoyant feeling in the air that betokened a brilliant future.
+Something enthused me, and as my creed was land and cattle, I made up
+my mind to plunge into both to my full capacity.
+
+The last outfit to return from the summer's drive was detained on the
+Clear Fork to assist in the fall branding. Another one of fifteen men
+all told was chosen from the relieved lads in making up a surveying
+party, and taking fifty saddle horses and a well-stocked commissary
+with us, we started due west. I knew the country for some distance
+beyond Fort Griffin, and from late maps in possession of the
+surveyors, we knew that by holding our course, we were due to strike
+a fork of the mother Brazos before reaching the Staked Plain. Holding
+our course contrary to the needle, we crossed the Double Mountain
+Fork, and after a week out from the ranch the brakes which form the
+border between the lowlands and the Llano Estacado were sighted.
+Within view of the foothills which form the approach of the famous
+plain, the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos are not over
+twelve miles apart. We traveled up the divide between these two
+rivers, and when within thirty miles of the low-browed borderland a
+halt was called and we went into camp. From the view before us one
+could almost imagine the feelings of the discoverer of this continent
+when he first sighted land; for I remember the thrill which possessed
+our little party as we looked off into either valley or forward to the
+menacing Staked Plain in our front. There was something primal in the
+scene,--something that brought back the words, "In the beginning God
+created the heavens and the earth." Men who knew neither creed nor
+profession of faith felt themselves drawn very near to some great
+creative power. The surrounding view held us spellbound by its beauty
+and strength. It was like a rush of fern-scents, the breath of pine
+forests, the music of the stars, the first lovelight in a mother's
+eye; and now its pristine beauty was to be marred, as covetous eyes
+and a lust of possession moved an earth-born man to lay hands on all
+things created for his use.
+
+Camp was established on the Double Mountain Fork. Many miles to the
+north, a spur of the Plain extended eastward, in the elbow of which it
+was my intention to locate the new ranch. A corner was established, a
+meridian line was run north beyond the Salt Fork and a random one west
+to the foothills. After a few days one surveyor ran the principal
+lines while the other did the cross-sectioning and correcting back,
+both working from the same camp, the wagon following up the work.
+Antelope were seen by the thousands, frequently buffaloes were
+sighted, and scarcely a day passed but our rifles added to the larder
+of our commissary supplies. Within a month we located four hundred
+sections, covering either side of the Double Mountain Fork, and
+embracing a country ten miles wide by forty long. Coming back to our
+original meridian line across to the Salt Fork, the work of surveying
+that valley was begun, when I was compelled to turn homeward. A list
+of contracts to be let by the War and Interior departments would be
+ready by December 1, and my partners relied on my making all the
+estimates. There was a noticeable advance of fully one dollar a head
+on steer cattle since the spring before, and I was supposed to have
+my finger on the pulse of supply and prices, as all government awards
+were let far in advance of delivery. George Edwards had returned a few
+days before and reported having stocked the new ranch in the Outlet
+with twelve thousand steers. The list of contracts to be let had
+arrived, and the two of us went over them carefully. The government
+was asking for bids on the delivery of over two hundred thousand
+cattle at various posts and agencies in the West, and confining
+ourselves to well-known territory, we submitted bids on fifteen
+awards, calling for forty-five thousand cattle in their fulfillment.
+
+Our estimates were sent to Major Hunter for his approval, who in turn
+forwarded them to our silent partner at Washington, to be submitted
+to the proper departments. As the awards would not be made until the
+middle of January, nothing definite could be done until then, so,
+accompanied by George Edwards, I returned to the surveying party on
+the Salt Fork of the Brazos. We found them busy at their work, the
+only interruption having been an Indian scare, which only lasted a few
+days. The men still carried rifles against surprise, kept a scout on
+the lookout while at work, and maintained a guard over the camp and
+remuda at night. During my absence they had located a strip of country
+ten by thirty miles, covering the valley of the Salt Fork, and we
+still lacked three hundred sections of using up the scrip. The river,
+along which they were surveying, made an abrupt turn to the north, and
+offsetting by sections around the bend, we continued on up the valley
+for twenty miles or until the brakes of the Plain made the land no
+longer desirable. Returning to our commencement point with still one
+hundred certificates left, we extended the survey five miles down both
+rivers, using up the last acre of scrip. The new ranch was irregular
+in form, but it controlled the waters of fully one million acres of
+fine grazing land and was clothed with a carpet of nutritive grasses.
+This was the range of the buffalo, and the instinct of that animal
+could be relied on in choosing a range for its successor, the Texas
+cow.
+
+The surveying over, nothing remained but the recording of the
+locations at the county seat to which for legal purposes this
+unorganized country was attached. All of us accompanied the outfit
+returning, and a gala week we spent, as no less than half a dozen
+buffalo robes were secured before reaching Fort Griffin. Deer and
+turkey were plentiful, and it was with difficulty that I restrained
+the boys from killing wantonly, as they were young fellows whose very
+blood yearned for the chase or any diverting excitement. We reached
+the ranch on the Clear Fork during the second week in January, and
+those of the outfit who had no regular homes were made welcome guests
+until work opened in the spring. My calf crop that fall had exceeded
+all expectations, nearly nine thousand having been branded, while
+the cattle were wintering in splendid condition. There was little or
+nothing to do, a few hunts with the hounds merely killing time until
+we got reports from Washington. In spite of all competition we secured
+eight contracts, five with the army and the remainder with the Indian
+Bureau.
+
+Then the work opened in earnest. My active partner was due the first
+of February, and during the interim George Edwards and I rode a circle
+of five counties in search of brands of cattle for sale. In the course
+of our rounds a large number of whole stocks were offered us, but
+at firmer prices, yet we closed no trades, though many brands were
+bargains. It was my intention to stock the new ranch on the Double
+Mountain Fork the coming summer, and if arrangements could be agreed
+on with Major Hunter, I might be able to repeat my success of the
+summer of '74. Emigration to Texas was crowding the ranches to the
+frontier, many of them unwillingly, and it appealed to me strongly
+that the time was opportune for securing an ample holding of stock
+cattle. The appearance of my active partner was the beginning of
+active operations, and after we had outlined the programme for the
+summer and gone through all the details thoroughly, I asked for the
+privilege of supplying the cows on the Indian contracts. Never did
+partners stand more willingly by each other than did the firm of
+Hunter, Anthony & Co., and I only had to explain the opportunity of
+buying brands at wholesale, sending the young steers up the trail and
+the aging, dry, and barren cows to Indian agencies, to gain the hearty
+approval of the little Yankee major. He was entitled to a great deal
+of credit for my holdings in land, for from his first sight of Texas,
+day after day, line upon line, precept upon precept, he had urged upon
+me the importance of securing title to realty, while its equivalent
+in scrip was being hawked about, begging a buyer. Now we rejoiced
+together in the fulfillment of his prophecy, as I can lay little claim
+to any foresight, but am particularly anxious to give credit where
+credit is due.
+
+With an asylum for any and all remnants of stock cattle, we authorized
+George Edwards to close trades on a number of brands. Taking with us
+the two foremen who had brought beef herds out of Uvalde County the
+spring before, the major and I started south on the lookout for
+beeves. The headwaters of the Nueces and its tributaries were again
+our destination, and the usual welcome to buyers was extended with
+that hospitality that only the days of the open range knew and
+practiced. We closed contracts with former customers without looking
+at their cattle. When a ranchman gave us his word to deliver us as
+good or better beeves than the spring before, there was no occasion to
+question his ability, and the cattle never deceived. There might arise
+petty wrangles over trifles, but the general hungering for a market
+among cowmen had not yet been satiated, and they offered us their best
+that we might come again. We placed our contracts along three rivers
+and over as many counties, limiting the number to ten thousand beeves
+of the same ages and paying one dollar a head above the previous
+spring. One of our foremen was provided with a letter of credit, and
+the two were left behind to make up three new and complete outfits for
+the trail.
+
+This completed the purchase of beef cattle. Two of our contracts
+called for northern wintered beeves, which would be filled out of our
+holdings in the Cherokee Outlet. We again stopped in central Texas,
+but prices were too firm, and we passed on west to San Saba and
+Lampasas counties, where we effected trades on nine thousand five
+hundred three-year-old steers. My own outfits would drop down from the
+Clear Fork to receive these cattle, and after we had perfected our
+banking arrangements the major returned to San Antonio and I started
+homeward. George Edwards had in the mean time bargained for ten
+brands, running anywhere from one to five thousand head, paying
+straight through five to seven dollars, half cash and the balance
+in eight months, everything to be delivered on the Clear Fork. We
+intentionally made these deliveries late--during the last week in
+March and the first one in April--in order that Major Hunter might
+approve of the three herds of cows for Indian delivery. Once I had
+been put in possession of all necessary details, Edwards started south
+to join Major Hunter, as the receiving of the Nueces River beeves was
+set for from the 10th to the 15th of March.
+
+I could see a busy time ahead. There was wood to haul for the
+branding, three complete outfits to start for the central part of the
+State, new wagons to equip for the trail, and others to care for the
+calf crop while en route to the Double Mountain Fork. There were oxen
+to buy in equipping teams to accompany the stock cattle to the new
+ranch, two yoke being allowed to each wagon, as it was strength and
+not speed that was desired. My old foremen rallied at a word and
+relieved me of the lesser details of provisioning the commissaries and
+engaging the help. Trusty men were sent to oversee and look out for
+my interests in gathering the different brands, the ranges of many of
+them being fifty to one hundred miles distant. The different brands
+were coming from six separate counties along the border, and on their
+arrival at my ranch we must be ready to receive, brand, and separate
+the herds into their respective classes, sending two grades to market
+and the remnant to their new home at the foot of the Staked Plain. The
+condition of the mules must be taken into consideration before the
+army can move, and in cattle life the same reliance is placed on the
+fitness for duty of the saddle horses. I had enough picked ones to
+make up a dozen remudas if necessary, and rested easy on that score.
+The date for receiving arrived and found us all ready and waiting.
+
+The first herd was announced to arrive on the 25th of March. I met it
+ten miles from the ranch. My man assured me that the brand as gathered
+was intact and that it would run fifty per cent dry cows and steers
+over two years old. A number of mature beeves even were noticeable and
+younger steers were numerous, while the miscellany of the herd ran to
+every class and condition of the bovine race. Two other brands were
+expected the next day, and that evening the first one to arrive was
+counted and accepted. The next morning the entire herd was run through
+a branding chute and classified, all steers above a yearling and dry
+and aging cows going into one contingent and the mixed cattle into
+another. In order to save horseflesh, this work was easily done in the
+corrals. By hanging a gate at the exit of the branding chute, a man
+sat overhead and by swinging it a variation of two feet, as the cattle
+trailed through the trough in single file, the herd was cut into two
+classes. Those intended for the trail were put under herd, while the
+stock cattle were branded into the "44" and held separate. The second
+and third herds were treated in a similar manner, when we found
+ourselves with over eleven thousand cattle on hand, with two other
+brands due in a few days. But the evening of the fourth day saw a herd
+of thirty-three hundred steers on its way to Kansas, while a second
+one, numbering two hundred more than the first, was lopped off from
+the mixed stuff and started west for the Double Mountain Fork.
+
+The situation was eased. A conveyance had been sent to the railroad to
+meet my partner, and before he and Edwards arrived two other brands
+had been received. A herd of thirty-five hundred dry cows was approved
+and started at once for the Indian Territory, while a second one
+moved out for the west, cleaning up the holdings of mixed stuff.
+The congestion was again relieved, and as the next few brands were
+expected to run light in steers, everything except cows was held under
+herd until all had been received. The final contingent came in from
+Wise County and were shaped up, and the last herd of cows, completing
+ten thousand five hundred, started for the Washita agency. I still had
+nearly sixty-five hundred steers on hand, and cutting back all of a
+small overplus of thin light cows, I had three brands of steers cut
+into one herd and four into another, both moving out for Dodge City.
+This left me with fully eight thousand miscellany on hand, with
+nothing but my ranch outfit to hold them, close-herding by day and
+bedding down and guarding them by night. Settlements were made with
+the different sellers, my outstanding obligations amounting to over
+one hundred thousand dollars, which the three steer herds were
+expected to liquidate. My active partner and George Edwards took train
+for the north. The only change in the programme was that Major Hunter
+was to look after our deliveries at army posts, while I was to meet
+our herds on their arrival in Dodge City. The cows were sold to the
+firm, and including my individual cattle, we had twelve herds on the
+trail, or a total of thirty-nine thousand five hundred head.
+
+On the return of the first outfit from the west, some three weeks
+after leaving, the herd of stock cattle was cut in two and started.
+But a single man was left on the Clear Fork, my ranch foreman taking
+one herd, while I accompanied the other. It requires the patience of
+a saint to handle cows and calves, two wagons to the herd being
+frequently taxed to their capacity in picking up the youngsters. It
+was a constant sight to see some of the boys carrying a new-born calf
+across the saddle seat, followed by the mother, until camp or the
+wagon was reached. I was ashamed of my own lack of patience on that
+trip, while irritable men could while away the long hours, nursing
+along the drag end of a herd of cows and their toddling offspring.
+We averaged only about ten miles a day, the herds were large and
+unwieldy, and after twelve days out both were scattered along the Salt
+Fork and given their freedom. Leaving one outfit to locate the cattle
+on the new range, the other two hastened back to the Clear Fork and
+gathered two herds, numbering thirty-five hundred each, of young
+cows and heifers from the ranch stock. But a single day was lost in
+rounding-up, when they were started west, half a day apart, and I
+again took charge of an outfit, the trip being an easy one and made in
+ten days, as the calves were large enough to follow and there were no
+drag cattle among them. On our arrival at the new ranch, the cows
+and heifers were scattered among the former herds, and both outfits
+started back, one to look after the Clear Fork and the other to bring
+through the last herd in stocking my new possessions. This gave me
+fully twenty-five thousand mixed cattle on my new range, relieving the
+old ranch of a portion of its she stuff and shaping up both stocks to
+better advantage.
+
+It was my intention to make my home on the Clear Fork thereafter, and
+the ranch outfit had orders to build a comfortable house during the
+summer. The frontier was rapidly moving westward, the Indian was no
+longer a dread, as it was only a question of time until the Comanche
+and his ally would imitate their red brethren and accept the dole of
+the superior race. I was due in Dodge City the first of June, the
+ranches would take care of themselves, and touching at the Edwards
+ranch for a day, I reached "Dodge" before any of the herds arrived.
+Here was a typical trail town, a winter resort for buffalo hunters, no
+settlement for fifty miles to the east, and an almost boundless range
+on which to hold through Texas cattle. The business was bound to
+concentrate at this place, as all other markets were abandoned within
+the State, while it was easily accessible to the mountain regions on
+the west. It was the logical meeting point for buyers and drovers; and
+while the town of that day has passed into history as "wicked Dodge,"
+it had many redeeming features. The veneer of civilization may have
+fallen, to a certain extent, from the wayfaring man who tarried in
+this cow town, yet his word was a bond, and he reverenced the pure in
+womanhood, though to insult him invited death.
+
+George Edwards and Major Hunter had become such great chums that I was
+actually jealous of being supplanted in the affections of the Yankee
+major. The two had been inseparable for months, visiting at The Grove,
+spending a fortnight together at the beef ranch in the Outlet, and
+finally putting in an appearance at Dodge. Headquarters for the summer
+were established at the latter point, our bookkeeper arrived, and
+we were ready for business. The market opened earlier than at more
+eastern points. The bulk of the sales were made to ranchmen, who used
+whole herds where the agricultural regions only bought cattle by the
+hundreds. It was more satisfactory than the retail trade; credit was
+out of the question, and there was no haggling over prices. Cattle
+companies were forming and stocking new ranges, and an influx of
+English and Scotch capital was seeking investment in ranches and live
+stock in the West,--a mere forerunner of what was to follow in later
+years.
+
+Our herds began arriving, and as soon as an outfit could be freed it
+was started for the beef ranch under George Edwards, where a herd of
+wintered beeves was already made up to start for the upper Missouri
+River. Major Hunter followed a week later with the second relieved
+outfit, and our cattle were all moving for their destinations. The
+through beef herds from the upper Nueces River had orders to touch
+at old Fort Larned to the eastward, Edwards drifted on to the Indian
+agencies, and I bestirred myself to the task of selling six herds of
+young cattle at Dodge. Once more I was back in my old element, except
+that every feature of the latter market was on an enlarged scale.
+Two herds were sold to one man in Colorado, three others went under
+contract to the Republican River in Nebraska, and the last one was cut
+into blocks and found a market with feeders in Kansas. Long before
+deliveries were concluded to the War or Interior departments,
+headquarters were moved back to The Grove, my work being done. In
+the interim of waiting for the close of the year's business, our
+bookkeeper looked after two shipments of a thousand head each from the
+beef ranch, while I visited my brother in Missouri and surprised him
+by buying a carload of thoroughbred bulls. Arrangements were made for
+shipping them to Fort Worth during the last week in November, and
+promising to call for them, I returned to The Grove to meet my
+partners and adjust all accounts for the year.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+HARVEST HOME
+
+
+The firm's profits for the summer of '77 footed up over two hundred
+thousand dollars. The government herds from the Cherokee Outlet
+paid the best, those sent to market next, while the through cattle
+remunerated us in the order of beeves, young steers, and lastly cows.
+There was a satisfactory profit even in the latter, yet the same
+investment in other classes paid a better per cent profit, and the
+banking instincts of my partners could be relied on to seek the
+best market for our capital. There was nothing haphazard about our
+business; separate accounts were kept on every herd, and at the end
+of the season the percentage profit on each told their own story. For
+instance, in the above year it cost us more to deliver a cow at an
+agency in the Indian Territory than a steer at Dodge City, Kansas. The
+herds sold in Colorado had been driven at an expense of eighty-five
+cents a head, those delivered on the Republican River ninety, and
+every cow driven that year cost us over one dollar a head in general
+expense. The necessity of holding the latter for a period of four
+months near agencies for issuing purposes added to the cost, and was
+charged to that particular department of our business.
+
+George Edwards and my active partner agreed to restock our beef ranch
+in the Outlet, and I returned to Missouri. I make no claim of being
+the first cowman to improve the native cattle of Texas, yet forty
+years' keen observation has confirmed my original idea,--that
+improvement must come through the native and gradually. Climatic
+conditions in Texas are such that the best types of the bovine race
+would deteriorate if compelled to subsist the year round on the open
+range. The strongest point in the original Spanish cattle was their
+inborn ability as foragers, being inured for centuries to drouth, the
+heat of summer, and the northers of winter, subsisting for months on
+prickly pear, a species of the cactus family, or drifting like game
+animals to more favored localities in avoiding the natural afflictions
+that beset an arid country. In producing the ideal range animal it
+was more important to retain those rustling qualities than to gain a
+better color, a few pounds in weight, and a shortening of horns and
+legs, unless their possessor could withstand the rigors of a variable
+climate. Nature befriends the animal race. The buffalo of Montana
+could face the blizzard, while his brother on the plains of Texas
+sought shelter from the northers in canons and behind sand-dunes,
+guided by an instinct that foretold the coming storm.
+
+I accompanied my car of thoroughbred bulls and unloaded them at the
+first station north of Fort Worth. They numbered twenty-five, all
+two-year-olds past, and were representative of three leading beef
+brands of established reputation. Others had tried the experiment
+before me, the main trouble being in acclimation, which affects
+animals the same as the human family. But by wintering them at their
+destination, I had hopes of inuring the importation so that they would
+withstand the coming summer, the heat of which was a sore trial to a
+northern-bred animal. Accordingly I made arrangements with a farmer
+to feed my car of bulls during the winter, hay and grain both being
+plentiful. They had cost me over five thousand dollars, and rather
+than risk the loss of a single one by chancing them on the range, an
+additional outlay of a few hundred dollars was justified. Limiting the
+corn fed to three barrels to the animal a month, with plenty of rough
+feed, ought to bring them through the winter in good, healthy form.
+The farmer promised to report monthly on their condition, and agreeing
+to send for them by the first of April, I hastened on home.
+
+My wife had taken a hand in the building of the new house on the Clear
+Fork. It was quite a pretentious affair, built of hewed logs, and
+consisted of two large rooms with a hallway between, a gallery on
+three sides, and a kitchen at the rear. Each of the main rooms had an
+ample fireplace, both hearths and chimneys built from rock, the only
+material foreign to the ranch being the lumber in the floors, doors,
+and windows. Nearly all the work was done by the ranch hands, even the
+clapboards were riven from oak that grew along the mother Brazos, and
+my wife showed me over the house as though it had been a castle that
+she had inherited from some feudal forbear. I was easily satisfied;
+the main concern was for the family, as I hardly lived at home enough
+to give any serious thought to the roof that sheltered me. The
+original buildings had been improved and enlarged for the men, and an
+air of prosperity pervaded the Anthony ranch consistent with the times
+and the success of its owner.
+
+The two ranches reported a few over fifteen thousand calves branded
+that fall. A dim wagon road had been established between the ranches,
+by going and returning outfits during the stocking of the new ranch
+the spring before, and the distance could now be covered in two days
+by buckboard. The list of government contracts to be let was awaiting
+my attention, and after my estimates had been prepared, and forwarded
+to my active partner, it was nearly the middle of December before I
+found time to visit the new ranch. The hands at Double Mountain had
+not been idle, snug headquarters were established, and three line
+camps on the outskirts of the range were comfortably equipped to
+shelter men and horses. The cattle had located nicely, two large
+corrals had been built on each river, and the calves were as thrifty
+as weeds. Gray wolves were the worst enemy encountered, running in
+large bands and finding shelter in the cedar brakes in the canons and
+foothills which border on the Staked Plain. My foreman on the Double
+Mountain ranch was using poison judiciously, all the line camps were
+supplied with the same, and an active winter of poisoning wolves
+was already inaugurated before my arrival. Long-range rifles would
+supplement the work, and a few years of relentless war on these pests
+would rid the ranch of this enemy of live stock.
+
+Together my foreman and I planned for starting an improved herd of
+cattle. A canon on the west was decided on as a range, as it was well
+watered from living springs, having a valley several miles wide,
+forming a park with ample range for two thousand cattle. The bluffs
+on either side were abrupt, almost an in closure, making it an easy
+matter for two men to loose-herd a small amount of stock, holding them
+adjoining my deeded range, yet separate. The survival of the fittest
+was adopted as the rule in beginning the herd, five hundred choice
+cows were to form the nucleus, to be the pick of the new ranch, thrift
+and formation to decide their selection. Solid colors only were to be
+chosen, every natural point in a cow was to be considered, with
+the view of reproducing the race in improved form. My foreman--an
+intelligent young fellow--was in complete sympathy, and promised
+me that he would comb the range in selecting the herd. The first
+appearance of grass in the spring was agreed on as the time for
+gathering the cows, when he would personally come to the Clear
+Fork and receive the importation of bulls, thus fully taking all
+responsibility in establishing the improved herd. By this method,
+unless our plans miscarried, in the course of a few years we expected
+to be raising quarter-bloods in the main ranch stock, and at the same
+time retaining all those essential qualities that distinguish the
+range-raised from the domestic-bred animal.
+
+On my return to the Clear Fork, which was now my home, a letter from
+my active partner was waiting, informing me that he and Edwards would
+reach Texas about the time the list of awards would arrive. They had
+been unsuccessful in fully stocking our beef ranch, securing only
+three thousand head, as prices were against them, and the letter
+intimated that something must be done to provide against a repetition
+of this unforeseen situation. The ranch in the Outlet had paid us a
+higher per cent on the investment than any of our ventures, and to
+neglect fully stocking it was contrary to the creed of Hunter, Anthony
+& Co. True, we were double-wintering some four thousand head of cattle
+on our Cherokee range, but if a fair allowance of awards was allotted
+the firm, requiring northern wintered cattle in filling, it might
+embarrass us to supply the same when we did not have the beeves in
+hand; it was our business to have the beef.
+
+At the appointed time the buckboard was sent to Fort Worth, and a few
+days later Major Hunter and our main segundo drove up to the Clear
+Fork. Omitting all preludes, atmosphere, and sunsets, we got down to
+business at once. If we could drive cattle to Dodge City and market
+them for eighty-five cents, we ought to be able to deliver them on our
+northern range for six bits, and the horses could be returned or sold
+at a profit. If any of our established trade must be sacrificed, why,
+drop what paid the least; but half stock our beef ranch? Never again!
+This was to be the slogan for the coming summer, and, on receiving the
+report from Washington, we were enabled to outline a programme for the
+year. The gradually advancing prices in cattle were alarming me, as
+it was now perceptible in cows, and in submitting our bids on Indian
+awards I had made the allowance of one dollar a head advance over the
+spring before. In spite of this we were allotted five contracts from
+the Interior Department and seven to the Army, three of the latter
+requiring ten thousand northern wintered beeves,--only oversold three
+thousand head. Major Hunter met my criticisms by taking the ground
+that we virtually had none of the cattle on hand, and if we could buy
+Southern stock to meet our requirements, why not the three thousand
+that we lacked in the North. Our bids had passed through his hands
+last; he knew our northern range was not fully stocked, and had
+forwarded the estimates to our silent partner at Washington, and now
+the firm had been assigned awards in excess of their holdings. But he
+was the kind of a partner I liked, and if he could see his way clear,
+he could depend on my backing him to the extent of my ability and
+credit.
+
+The business of the firm had grown so rapidly that it was deemed
+advisable to divide it into three departments,--the Army, the Indian,
+the beef ranch and general market. Major Hunter was specially
+qualified to handle the first division, the second fell to Edwards,
+and the last was assumed by myself. We were to consult each other when
+convenient, but each was to act separately for the firm, my commission
+requiring fifteen thousand cattle for our ranch in the Outlet, and
+three herds for the market at Dodge City. Our banking points were
+limited to Fort Worth and San Antonio, so agreeing to meet at the
+latter point on the 1st of February for a general consultation, we
+separated with a view to feeling the home market. Our man Edwards
+dropped out in the central part of the State, my active partner wished
+to look into the situation on the lower Nueces River, and I returned
+to the headwaters of that stream. During the past two summers we had
+driven five herds of heavy beeves from Uvalde and adjoining counties,
+and while we liked the cattle of that section, it was considered
+advisable to look elsewhere for our beef supply. Within a week I
+let contracts for five herds of two and three year old steers, then
+dropped back to the Colorado River and bought ten thousand more in
+San Saba and McCulloch counties. This completed the purchases in
+my department, and I hastened back to San Antonio for the expected
+consultation. Neither my active partner nor my trusted man had
+arrived, nor was there a line to indicate where they were or when they
+might be expected, though Major Hunter had called at our hotel a few
+days previously for his mail. The designated day was waning, and I was
+worried by the non-appearance of either, when I received a wire from
+Austin, saying they had just sublet the Indian contracts.
+
+The next morning my active partner and Edwards arrived. The latter had
+met some parties at the capital who were anxious to fill our Indian
+deliveries, and had wired us in the firm's name, and Major Hunter had
+taken the first train for Austin. Both returned wreathed in smiles,
+having sublet our awards at figures that netted us more than we could
+have realized had we bought and delivered the cattle at our own risk.
+It was clear money, requiring not a stroke of work, while it freed a
+valuable man in outfitting, receiving, and starting our other herds,
+as well as relieving a snug sum for reinvestment. Our capital lay idle
+half the year, the spring months were our harvest, and, assigning
+Edwards full charge of the cattle bought on the Colorado River,
+we instructed him to buy for the Dodge market four herds more in
+adjoining counties, bringing down the necessary outfits to handle them
+from my ranch on the Clear Fork. Previous to his return to San Antonio
+my active partner had closed contracts on thirteen thousand heavy
+beeves on the Frio River and lower Nueces, thus completing our
+purchases. A healthy advance was noticeable all around in steer
+cattle, though hardly affecting cows; but having anticipated a growing
+appreciation in submitting our bids, we suffered no disappointment. A
+week was lost in awaiting the arrival of half a dozen old foremen. On
+their arrival we divided them between us and intrusted them with the
+buying of horses and all details in making up outfits.
+
+The trails leading out of southern Texas were purely local ones, the
+only established trace running from San Antonio north, touching at
+Fort Griffin, and crossing into the Nations at Red River Station in
+Montague County. All our previous herds from the Uvalde regions had
+turned eastward to intercept this main thoroughfare, though we had
+been frequently advised to try a western outlet known as the Nueces
+Canon route. The latter course would bring us out on high tablelands,
+but before risking our herds through it, I decided to ride out the
+country in advance. The canon proper was about forty miles long,
+through which ran the source of the Nueces River, and if the way were
+barely possible it looked like a feasible route. Taking a pack horse
+and guide with me, I rode through and out on the mesa beyond. General
+McKinzie had used this route during his Indian campaigns, and had even
+built mounds of rock on the hills to guide the wayfarer, from the exit
+of the canon across to the South Llano River. The trail was a rough
+one, but there was grass sufficient to sustain the herds and ample
+bed-grounds in the valleys, and I decided to try the western outlet
+from Uvalde. An early, seasonable spring favored us with fine grass on
+which to put up and start the herds, all five moving out within a week
+of each other. I promised my foremen to accompany them through the
+canon, knowing that the passage would be a trial to man and beast, and
+asked the old bosses to loiter along, so that there would be but a few
+hours' difference between the rear and lead herds.
+
+I received sixteen thousand cattle, and the four days required in
+passing through Nueces Canon and reaching water beyond were the
+supreme physical test of my life. It was a wild section, wholly
+unsettled, between low mountains, the river-bed constantly shifting
+from one flank of the valley to the other, while cliffs from three to
+five hundred feet high alternated from side to side. In traveling the
+first twenty-five miles we crossed the bed of the river twenty-one
+times; and besides the river there were a great number of creeks and
+dry arroyos putting in from the surrounding hills, so that we were
+constantly crossing rough ground. The beds of the streams were covered
+with smooth, water-worn pebbles, white as marble, and then again we
+encountered limestone in lava formation, honeycombed with millions of
+sharp, up-turned cells. Some of the descents were nearly impossible
+for wagons, but we locked both hind wheels and just let them slide
+down and bounce over the boulders at the bottom. Half-way through the
+canon the water failed us, with the south fork of the Llano forty
+miles distant in our front. We were compelled to allow the cattle to
+pick their way over the rocky trail, the herds not over a mile apart,
+and scarcely maintaining a snail's pace. I rode from rear to front
+and back again a dozen times in clearing the defile, and noted that
+splotches of blood from tender-footed cattle marked the white pebbles
+at every crossing of the river-bed. On the evening of the third day,
+the rear herd passed the exit of the canon, the others having turned
+aside to camp for the night. Two whole days had now elapsed without
+water for the cattle.
+
+I had not slept a wink the two previous nights. The south fork of the
+Llano lay over twenty miles distant, and although it had ample water
+two weeks before, one of the foremen and I rode through to it that
+night to satisfy ourselves. The supply was found sufficient, and
+before daybreak we were back in camp, arousing the outfits and
+starting the herds. In the spring of 1878 the old military trail, with
+its rocky sentinels, was still dimly defined from Nueces Canon north
+to the McKinzie water-hole on the South Llano. The herds moved out
+with the dawn. Thousands of the cattle were travel-sore, while a few
+hundred were actually tender-footed. The evening before, as we came
+out into the open country, we had seen quite a local shower of rain in
+our front, which had apparently crossed our course nearly ten miles
+distant, though it had not been noticeable during our night's ride.
+The herds fell in behind one another that morning like columns of
+cavalry, and after a few miles their stiffness passed and they led out
+as if they had knowledge of the water ahead. Within two hours after
+starting we crossed a swell of the mesa, when the lead herd caught a
+breeze from off the damp hills to the left where the shower had fallen
+the evening before. As they struck this rise, the feverish cattle
+raised their heads and pulled out as if that vagrant breeze had
+brought them a message that succor and rest lay just beyond. The point
+men had orders to let them go, and as fast as the rear herds came up
+and struck this imaginary line or air current, a single moan would
+surge back through the herd until it died out at the rear. By noon
+there was a solid column of cattle ten miles long, and two hours later
+the drag and point men had trouble in keeping the different herds from
+mixing. Without a halt, by three o'clock the lead foremen were turning
+their charges right and left, and shortly afterward the lead cattle
+were plunging into the purling waters of the South Llano. The rear
+herds turned off above and below, filling the river for five miles,
+while the hollow-eyed animals gorged themselves until a half dozen
+died that evening and night.
+
+Leaving orders with the foremen to rest their herds well and move out
+half a day apart, I rode night and day returning to Uvalde. Catching
+the first stage out, I reached San Antonio in time to overtake Major
+Hunter, who was awaiting the arrival of the last beef herd from the
+lower country, the three lead ones having already passed that point.
+All trail outfits from the south then touched at San Antonio to
+provision the wagons, and on the approach of our last herd I met it
+and spent half a day with it,--my first, last, and only glimpse of our
+heavy beeves. They were big rangy fellows many of them six and seven
+years old, and from the general uniformity of the herd, I felt proud
+of the cowman that my protege and active partner had developed into.
+Major Hunter was anxious to reach home as soon as possible, in order
+to buy in our complement of northern wintered cattle; so, settling
+our business affairs in southern Texas, the day after the rear beeves
+passed we took train north. I stopped in the central part of
+the State, joining Edwards riding night and day in covering his
+appointments to receive cattle; and when the last trail herd moved out
+from the Colorado River there were no regrets.
+
+Hastening on home, on my arrival I was assured by my ranch foreman
+that he could gather a trail herd in less than a week. My saddle stock
+now numbered over a thousand head, one hundred of which were on the
+Double Mountain ranch, seven remudas on the trail, leaving available
+over two hundred on the Clear Fork. I had the horses and cattle, and
+on the word being given my ranch foreman began gathering our oldest
+steers, while I outfitted and provisioned a commissary and secured
+half a dozen men. On the morning of the seventh day after my arrival,
+an individual herd, numbering thirty-five hundred, moved out from the
+Clear Fork, every animal in the straight ranch brand. An old trail
+foreman was given charge, Dodge City was the destination, and a finer
+herd of three-year-olds could not have been found in one brand within
+the boundaries of the State. This completed our cattle on the trail,
+and a breathing spell of a few weeks might now be indulged in, yet
+there was little rest for a cowman. Not counting the contracts to the
+Indian Bureau, sublet to others, and the northern wintered beeves,
+we had, for the firm and individually, seventeen herds, numbering
+fifty-four thousand five hundred cattle on the trail. In order to
+carry on our growing business unhampered for want of funds, the firm
+had borrowed on short time nearly a quarter-million dollars that
+spring, pledging the credit of the three partners for its repayment.
+We had been making money ever since the partnership was formed, and
+we had husbanded our profits, yet our business seemed to outgrow our
+means, compelling us to borrow every spring when buying trail herds.
+
+In the mean time and while we were gathering the home cattle, my
+foreman and two men from the Double Mountain ranch arrived on the
+Clear Fork to receive the importation of bulls. The latter had not yet
+arrived, so pressing the boys into work, we got the trail herd away
+before the thoroughbreds put in an appearance. A wagon and three men
+from the home ranch had gone after them before my return, and they
+were simply loafing along, grazing five to ten miles a day, carrying
+corn in the wagon to feed on the grass. Their arrival found the ranch
+at leisure, and after resting a few days they proceeded on to their
+destination at a leisurely gait. The importation had wintered
+finely,--now all three-year-olds,--but hereafter they must subsist on
+the range, as corn was out of the question, and the boys had brought
+nothing but a pack horse from the western ranch. This was an
+experiment with me, but I was ably seconded by my foreman, who had
+personally selected every cow over a month before, and this was to
+make up the beginning of the improved herd. I accompanied them beyond
+my range and urged seven miles a day as the limit of travel. I then
+started for home, and within a week reached Dodge City, Kansas.
+
+Headquarters were again established at Dodge. Fortunately a new market
+was being developed at Ogalalla on the Platte River in Nebraska, and
+fully one third the trail herds passed on to the upper point. Before
+my arrival Major Hunter had bought the deficiency of northern wintered
+beeves, and early in June three herds started from our range in the
+Outlet for the upper Missouri River army posts. We had wintered all
+horses belonging to the firm on the beef ranch, and within a fortnight
+after its desertion, the young steers from the upper Nueces River
+began arriving and were turned loose on the Eagle Chief, preempting
+our old range. One outfit was retained to locate the cattle, the
+remaining ones coming in to Dodge and returning home by train.
+George Edwards lent me valuable assistance in handling our affairs
+economically, but with the arrival of the herds at Dodge he was
+compelled to look after our sub-contracts at Indian agencies. The
+latter were delivered in our name, all money passed through our hands
+in settlement, so it was necessary to have a man on the ground to
+protect our interests. With nothing but the selling of eight herds of
+cattle in an active market like Dodge, I felt that the work of the
+summer was virtually over. One cattle company took ten thousand
+three-year-old steers, two herds were sold for delivery at Ogalalla,
+and the remaining three were placed within a month after their
+arrival. The occupation of the West was on with a feverish haste, and
+money was pouring into ranches and cattle, affording a ready market to
+the drover from Texas.
+
+Nothing now remained for me but to draw the threads of our business
+together and await the season's settlement in the fall. I sold all the
+wagons and sent the remudas to our range in the Outlet, while from the
+first cattle sold the borrowed money was repaid. I visited Ogalalla
+to acquaint myself with its market, looked over our beef ranch in the
+Cherokee Strip during the lull, and even paid the different Indian
+agencies my respects to perfect my knowledge of the requirements of
+our business. Our firm was a strong one, enlarging its business year
+by year; and while we could not foresee the future, the present was a
+Harvest Home to Hunter, Anthony & Co.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+AN ACTIVE SUMMER
+
+
+The summer of 1878 closed with but a single cloud on the horizon. Like
+ourselves, a great many cattlemen had established beef ranches in the
+Cherokee Outlet, then a vacant country, paying a trifling rental to
+that tribe of civilized Indians. But a difference of opinion arose,
+some contending that the Cherokees held no title to the land; that the
+strip of country sixty miles wide by two hundred long set aside by
+treaty as a hunting ground, when no longer used for that purpose by
+the tribe, had reverted to the government. Some refused to pay the
+rent money, the council of the Cherokee Nation appealed to the general
+government, and troops were ordered in to preserve the peace. We felt
+no uneasiness over our holdings of cattle on the Strip, as we were
+paying a nominal rent, amounting to two bits a head a year, and were
+otherwise fortified in possession of our range. If necessary we could
+have secured a permit from the War Department, on the grounds of being
+government contractors and requiring a northern range on which to hold
+our cattle. But rather than do this, Major Hunter hit upon a happy
+solution of the difficulty by suggesting that we employ an Indian
+citizen as foreman, and hold the cattle in his name. The major had
+an old acquaintance, a half-breed Cherokee named LaFlors, who was
+promptly installed as owner of the range, but holding beeves for
+Hunter, Anthony & Co., government beef contractors.
+
+I was unexpectedly called to Texas before the general settlement
+that fall. Early in the summer, at Dodge, I met a gentleman who was
+representing a distillery in Illinois. He was in the market for a
+thousand range bulls to slop-feed, and as no such cattle ever came
+over the trail, I offered to sell them to him delivered at Fort Worth.
+I showed him the sights around Dodge and we became quite friendly,
+but I was unable to sell him his requirements unless I could show the
+stock. It was easily to be seen that he was not a range cattleman, and
+I humored him until he took my address, saying that if he were unable
+to fill his wants in other Western markets he would write me later.
+The acquaintance resulted in several letters passing between us that
+autumn, and finally an appointment was made to meet in Kansas City and
+go down to Texas together. I had written home to have the buckboard
+meet us at Fort Worth on October 1, and a few days later we were
+riding the range on the Brazos and Clear Fork. In the past there never
+had been any market for this class of drones, old age and death being
+the only relief, and from the great number of brands that I had
+purchased during my ranching and trail operations, my range was simply
+cluttered with these old cumberers. Their hides would not have paid
+freighting and transportation to a market, and they had become an
+actual drawback to a ranch, when the opportunity occurred and I sold
+twelve hundred head to the Illinois distillery. The buyer informed
+me that they fattened well; that there was a special demand for this
+quality in the export trade of dressed beef, and that owing to their
+cheapness and consequent profit they were in demand for distillery
+feeding.
+
+Fifteen dollars a head was agreed on as the price, and we earned it a
+second time in delivering that herd at Fort Worth. Many of the animals
+were ten years old, surly when irritated, and ready for a fight when
+their day-dreams were disturbed. There was no treating them humanely,
+for every effort in that direction was resented by the old rascals,
+individually and collectively. The first day we gathered two hundred,
+and the attempt to hold them under herd was a constant fight,
+resulting in every hoof arising on the bed-ground at midnight and
+escaping to their old haunts. I worked as good a ranch outfit of men
+as the State ever bred, I was right there in the saddle with them,
+yet, in spite of every effort, to say nothing of the profanity wasted,
+we lost the herd. The next morning every lad armed himself with a
+prod-pole long as a lance and tipped with a sharp steel brad, and we
+commenced regathering. Thereafter we corralled them at night, which
+always called for a free use of ropes, as a number usually broke away
+on approaching the pens. Often we hog-tied as many as a dozen, letting
+them lie outside all night and freeing them back into the herd in the
+morning. Even the day-herding was a constant fight, as scarcely an
+hour passed but some old resident would scorn the restraint imposed
+upon his liberties and deliberately make a break for freedom. A pair
+of horsemen would double on the deserter, and with a prod-pole to his
+ear and the pressure of a man and horse bearing their weight on
+the same, a circle would be covered and Toro always reentered the
+day-herd. One such lesson was usually sufficient, and by reaching
+corrals every night and penning them, we managed, after two weeks'
+hard work, to land them in the stockyards at Fort Worth. The buyer
+remained with and accompanied us during the gathering and en route to
+the railroad, evidently enjoying the continuous performance. He
+proved a good mixer, too, and returned annually thereafter. For years
+following I contracted with him, and finally shipped on consignment,
+our business relations always pleasant and increasing in volume until
+his death.
+
+Returning with the outfit, I continued on west to the new ranch, while
+the men began the fall branding at home. On arriving on the Double
+Mountain range, I found the outfit in the saddle, ironing up a big
+calf crop, while the improved herd was the joy and pride of my
+foreman. An altitude of about four thousand feet above sea-level had
+proved congenial to the thoroughbreds, who had acclimated nicely, the
+only loss being one from lightning. Two men were easily holding the
+isolated herd in their canon home, the sheltering bluffs affording
+them ample protection from wintry weather, and there was nothing
+henceforth to fear in regard to the experiment. I spent a week with
+the outfit; my ranch foreman assured me that the brand could turn
+out a trail herd of three-year-old steers the following spring and a
+second one of twos, if it was my wish to send them to market. But it
+was too soon to anticipate the coming summer; and then it seemed a
+shame to move young steers to a northern climate to be matured, yet it
+was an economic necessity. Ranch headquarters looked like a trapper's
+cave with wolf-skins and buffalo-robes taken the winter before, and it
+was with reluctance that I took my leave of the cosy dugouts on the
+Double Mountain Fork.
+
+On returning home I found a statement for the year and a pressing
+invitation awaiting me to come on to the national capital at once. The
+profits of the summer had exceeded the previous one, but some bills
+for demurrage remained to be adjusted with the War and Interior
+departments, and my active partner and George Edwards had already
+started for Washington. It was urged on me that the firm should make
+themselves known at the different departments, and the invitation
+was supplemented by a special request from our silent partner, the
+Senator, to spend at least a month at the capital. For years I had
+been promising my wife to take her on a visit to Virginia, and now
+when the opportunity offered, womanlike, she pleaded her nakedness in
+the midst of plenty. I never had but one suit at a time in my life,
+and often I had seen my wife dressed in the best the frontier of Texas
+afforded, which was all that ought to be expected. A day's notice was
+given her, the eldest children were sent to their grandparents, and
+taking the two youngest with us, we started for Fort Worth. I was
+anxious that my wife should make a favorable impression on my people,
+and in turn she was fretting about my general appearance. Out of a
+saddle a cowman never looks well, and every effort to improve his
+personal appearance only makes him the more ridiculous. Thus with each
+trying to make the other presentable, we started. We stopped a week at
+my brother's in Missouri, and finally reached the Shenandoah Valley
+during the last week in November. Leaving my wife to speak for herself
+and the remainder of the family, I hurried on to Washington and found
+the others quartered at a prominent hotel. A less pretentious
+one would have suited me, but then a United States senator must
+befittingly entertain his friends. New men had succeeded to the War
+and Interior departments, and I was properly introduced to each as
+the Texas partner of the firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. Within a week,
+several little dinners were given at the hotel, at which from a dozen
+to twenty men sat down, all feverish to hear about the West and the
+cattle business in particular. Already several companies had
+been organized to engage in ranching, and the capital had been
+over-subscribed in every instance; and actually one would have
+supposed from the chat that we were holding a cattle convention in
+the West instead of dining with a few representatives and government
+officials at Washington.
+
+I soon became the object of marked attention. Possibly it was my
+vocabulary, which was consistent with my vocation, together with my
+ungainly appearance, that differentiated me from my partners. George
+Edwards was neat in appearance, had a great fund of Western stories
+and experiences, and the two of us were constantly being importuned
+for incidents of a frontier nature. Both my partners, especially the
+Senator, were constantly introducing me and referring to me as a man
+who, in the course of ten years, had accumulated fifty thousand cattle
+and acquired title to three quarters of a million acres of land. I was
+willing to be a sociable fellow among my friends, but notoriety of
+this character was offensive, and in a private lecture I took my
+partners to task for unnecessary laudation. The matter was smoothed
+over, our estimates for the coming year were submitted, and after
+spending the holidays with my parents in Virginia, I returned to the
+capital to await the allotments for future delivery of cattle to the
+Army and Indian service. Pending the date of the opening of the bids
+a dinner was given by a senator from one of the Southern States, to
+which all members of our firm were invited, when the project was
+launched of organizing a cattle company with one million dollars
+capital. The many advantages that would accrue where government
+influence could be counted on were dwelt upon at length, the rapid
+occupation of the West was cited, the concentration of all Indian
+tribes on reservations, and the necessary requirements of beef in
+feeding the same was openly commented on as the opportunity of the
+hour. I took no hand in the general discussion, except to answer
+questions, but when the management of such a company was tendered me,
+I emphatically declined. My partners professed surprise at my refusal,
+but when the privacy of our rooms was reached I unburdened myself on
+the proposition. We had begun at the foot of the hill, and now having
+established ourselves in a profitable business, I was loath to give it
+up or share it with others. I argued that our trade was as valuable as
+realty or cattle in hand; that no blandishments of salary as manager
+could induce me to forsake legitimate channels for possibilities
+in other fields. "Go slow and learn to peddle," was the motto of
+successful merchants; I had got out on a limb before and met with
+failure, and had no desire to rush in where angels fear for their
+footing. Let others organize companies and we would sell them the
+necessary cattle; the more money seeking investment the better the
+market.
+
+Major Hunter was Western in his sympathies and coincided with my
+views, the Senator was won over from the enterprise, and the project
+failed to materialize. The friendly relations of our firm were
+slightly strained over the outcome, but on the announcement of the
+awards we pulled together again like brothers. In the allotment for
+delivery during the summer and fall of 1879, some eighteen contracts
+fell to us,--six in the Indian Bureau and the remainder to the Army,
+four of the latter requiring northern wintered beeves. A single award
+for Fort Buford in Dakota called for five million pounds on foot and
+could be filled with Southern cattle. Others in the same department
+ran from one and a half to three million pounds, varying, as wanted
+for future or present use, to through or wintered beeves. The latter
+fattened even on the trail and were ready for the shambles on their
+arrival, while Southern stock required a winter and time to acclimate
+to reach the pink of condition. The government maintained several
+distributing points in the new Northwest, one of which was Fort
+Buford, where for many succeeding years ten thousand cattle were
+annually received and assigned to lesser posts. This was the market
+that I knew. I had felt every throb of its pulse ever since I had
+worked as a common hand in driving beef to Fort Sumner in 1866. The
+intervening years had been active ones, and I had learned the lessons
+of the trail, knew to a fraction the cost of delivering a herd, and
+could figure on a contract with any other cowman.
+
+Leaving the arrangement of the bonds to our silent partner, the
+next day after the awards were announced we turned our faces to the
+Southwest. February 1 was agreed on for the meeting at Fort Worth, so
+picking up the wife and babies in Virginia, we embarked for our
+Texas home. My better half was disappointed in my not joining in the
+proposed cattle company, with its officers, its directorate, annual
+meeting, and other high-sounding functions. I could have turned into
+the company my two ranches at fifty cents an acre, could have sold my
+brand outright at a fancy figure, taking stock in lieu for the same,
+but I preferred to keep them private property. I have since known
+other cowmen who put their lands and cattle into companies, and
+after a few years' manipulation all they owned was some handsome
+certificates, possibly having drawn a dividend or two and held an
+honorary office. I did not then have even the experience of others to
+guide my feet, but some silent monitor warned me to stick to my trade,
+cows.
+
+Leaving the family at the Edwards ranch, I returned to Fort Worth
+in ample time for the appointed meeting. My active partner and our
+segundo had become as thick as thieves, the two being inseparable at
+idle times, and on their arrival we got down to business at once. The
+remudas were the first consideration. Besides my personal holdings
+of saddle stock, we had sent the fall before one thousand horses
+belonging to the firm back to the Clear Fork to winter. Thus equipped
+with eighteen remudas for the trail, we were fairly independent in
+that line. Among the five herds driven the year before to our beef
+ranch in the Outlet, the books showed not over ten thousand coming
+four years old that spring, leaving a deficiency of northern wintered
+beeves to be purchased. It was decided to restock the range with
+straight threes, and we again divided the buying into departments,
+each taking the same division as the year before. The purchase of
+eight herds of heavy beeves would thus fall to Major Hunter. Austin
+and San Antonio were decided on as headquarters and banking points,
+and we started out on a preliminary skirmish. George Edwards had an
+idea that the Indian awards could again be relet to advantage, and
+started for the capital, while the major and I journeyed on south.
+Some former sellers whom we accidentally met in San Antonio complained
+that we had forsaken them and assured us that their county, Medina,
+had not less than fifty thousand mature beeves. They offered to meet
+any one's prices, and Major Hunter urged that I see a sample of the
+cattle while en route to the Uvalde country. If they came up to
+requirements, I was further authorized to buy in sufficient to fill
+our contract at Fort Buford, which would require three herds, or ten
+thousand head. It was an advantage to have this delivery start
+from the same section, hold together en route, and arrive at their
+destination as a unit. I was surprised at both the quality and the
+quantity of the beeves along the tributaries of the Frio River, and
+readily let a contract to a few leading cowmen for the full allotment.
+My active partner was notified, and I went on to the headwaters of the
+Nueces River. I knew the cattle of this section so well that there was
+no occasion even to look at them, and in a few days contracted for
+five herds of straight threes. While in the latter section, word
+reached me that Edwards had sublet four of our Indian contacts, or
+those intended for delivery at agencies in the Indian Territory. The
+remaining two were for tribes in Colorado, and notifying our segundo
+to hold the others open until we met, I took stage back to San
+Antonio. My return was awaited by both Major Hunter and Edwards, and
+casting up our purchases on through cattle, we found we lacked only
+two herds of cows and the same of beeves. I offered to make up the
+Indian awards from my ranches, the major had unlimited offerings from
+which to pick, and we turned our attention to securing young steers
+for the open market. Our segundo was fully relieved and ordered back
+to his old stamping-ground on the Colorado River to contract for six
+herds of young cattle. It was my intention to bring remudas down from
+the Clear Fork to handle the cattle from Uvalde and Medina counties,
+but my active partner would have to look out for his own saddle stock
+for the other beef herds. Hurrying home, I started eight hundred
+saddle horses belonging to the firm to the lower country, assigned
+two remudas to leave for the Double Mountain ranch, detailed the same
+number for the Clear Fork, and authorized the remaining six to report
+to Edwards on the Colorado River.
+
+This completed the main details for moving the herds. There was an
+increase in prices over the preceding spring throughout the State,
+amounting on a general average to fully one dollar a head. We had
+anticipated the advance in making our contracts, there was an
+abundance of water everywhere, and everything promised well for an
+auspicious start. Only a single incident occurred to mar the otherwise
+pleasant relations with our ranchmen friends. In contracting for the
+straight threes from Uvalde County, I had stipulated that every animal
+tendered must be full-aged at the date of receiving; we were paying
+an extra price and the cattle must come up to specifications. Major
+Hunter had moved his herds out in time to join me in receiving the
+last one of the younger cattle, and I had pressed him into use as a
+tally clerk while receiving. Every one had been invited to turn in
+stock in making up the herd, but at the last moment we fell short
+of threes, when I offered to fill out with twos at the customary
+difference in price. The sellers were satisfied. We called them by
+ages as they were cut out, when a row threatened over a white steer.
+The foreman who was assisting me cut the animal in question for a
+two-year-old, Major Hunter repeated the age in tallying the steer,
+when the owner of the brand, a small ranchman, galloped up and
+contended that the steer was a three-year-old, though he lacked fully
+two months of that age. The owner swore the steer had been raised a
+milk calf; that he knew his age to a day; but Major Hunter firmly yet
+kindly told the man that he must observe the letter of the contract
+and that the steer must go as a two-year-old or not at all. In reply a
+six-shooter was thrown in the major's face, when a number of us rushed
+in on our horses and the pistol was struck from the man's hand. An
+explanation was demanded, but the only intelligent reply that could be
+elicited from the owner of the white steer was, "No G---- d----
+Yankee can classify my cattle." One of the ranchmen with whom we
+were contracting took the insult off my hands and gave the man his
+choice,--to fight or apologize. The seller cooled down, apologies
+followed, and the unfortunate incident passed and was forgotten with
+the day's work.
+
+A week later the herds on the Colorado River moved out. Major Hunter
+and I looked them over before they got away, after which he continued
+on north to buy in the deficiency of three thousand wintered beeves,
+while I returned home to start my individual cattle. The ranch outfit
+had been at work for ten days previous to my arrival gathering the
+three-year-old steers and all dry and barren cows. On my return they
+had about eight thousand head of mixed stock under herd and two trail
+outfits were in readiness, so cutting them separate and culling them
+down, we started them, the cows for Dodge and the steers for Ogalalla,
+each thirty-five hundred strong. Two outfits had left for the Double
+Mountain range ten days before, and driving night and day, I reached
+the ranch to find both herds shaped up and ready for orders. Both
+foremen were anxious to strike due north, several herds having crossed
+Red River as far west as Doan's Store the year before; but I was
+afraid of Indian troubles and routed them northeast for the old ford
+on the Chisholm trail. They would follow down the Brazos, cross over
+to the Wichita River, and pass about sixty miles to the north of the
+home ranch on the Clear Fork. I joined them for the first few days
+out, destinations were the same as the other private herds, and
+promising to meet them in Dodge, I turned homeward. The starting of
+these last two gave the firm and me personally twenty-three herds,
+numbering seventy-six thousand one hundred cattle on the trail.
+
+An active summer followed. Each one was busy in his department. I met
+Major Hunter once for an hour during the spring months, and we never
+saw each other again until late fall. Our segundo again rendered
+valuable assistance in meeting outfits on their arrival at the beef
+ranch, as it was deemed advisable to hold the through and wintered
+cattle separate for fear of Texas fever. All beef herds were routed
+to touch at headquarters in the Outlet, and thence going north, they
+skirted the borders of settlement in crossing Kansas and Nebraska.
+Where possible, all correspondence was conducted by wire, and with the
+arrival of the herds at Dodge I was kept in the saddle thenceforth.
+The demand for cattle was growing with each succeeding year, prices
+were firmer, and a general advance was maintained in all grades of
+trail stock. On the arrival of the cattle from the Colorado River, I
+had them reclassed, sending three herds of threes on to Ogalalla. The
+upper country wanted older stock, believing that it withstood the
+rigors of winter better, and I trimmed my sail to catch the wind. The
+cows came in early and were started west for their destination, the
+rear herds arrived and were located, while Dodge and Ogalalla
+howled their advantages as rival trail towns. The three herds of
+two-year-olds were sold and started for the Cherokee Strip, and I took
+train for the west and reached the Platte River, to find our cattle
+safely arrived at Ogalalla. Near the middle of July a Wyoming cattle
+company bought all the central Texas steers for delivery a month later
+at Cheyenne, and we grazed them up the South Platte and counted them
+out to the buyers, ten thousand strong. My individual herds classed as
+Pan-Handle cattle, exempt from quarantine, netted one dollar a head
+above the others, and were sold to speculators from the corn regions
+on the western borders of Nebraska. One herd of cows was intended for
+the Southern and the other for the Uncompahgre Utes, and they had been
+picking their way through and across the mountains to those agencies
+during the summer mouths. Late in August both deliveries were made
+wholesale to the agents of the different tribes, and my work was at an
+end. All unsold remudas returned to Dodge, the outfits were sent home,
+and the saddle stock to our beef ranch, there to await the close of
+the summer's drive.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+FORESHADOWS
+
+
+I returned to Texas early in September. My foreman on the Double
+Mountain ranch had written me several times during the summer,
+promising me a surprise on the half-blood calves. There was nothing
+of importance in the North except the shipping of a few trainloads
+of beeves from our ranch in the Outlet, and as the bookkeeper could
+attend to that, I decided to go back. I offered other excuses for
+going, but home-hunger and the improved herd were the main reasons. It
+was a fortunate thing that I went home, for it enabled me to get into
+touch with the popular feeling in my adopted State over the outlook
+for live stock in the future. Up to this time there had been no
+general movement in cattle, in sympathy with other branches of
+industry, notably in sheep and wool, supply always far exceeding
+demand. There had been a gradual appreciation in marketable steers,
+first noticeable in 1876, and gaining thereafter about one dollar a
+year per head on all grades, yet so slowly as not to disturb or excite
+the trade. During the fall of 1879, however, there was a feeling
+of unrest in cattle circles in Texas, and predictions of a notable
+advance could be heard on every side. The trail had been established
+as far north as Montana, capital by the millions was seeking
+investment in ranching, and everything augured for a brighter future.
+That very summer the trail had absorbed six hundred and fifty thousand
+cattle, or possibly ten per cent of the home supply, which readily
+found a market at army posts, Indian agencies, and two little cow
+towns in the North. Investment in Texas steers was paying fifty to one
+hundred per cent annually, the whole Northwest was turning into one
+immense pasture, and the feeling was general that the time had come
+for the Lone Star State to expect a fair share in the profits of this
+immense industry.
+
+Cattle associations, organized for mutual protection and the promotion
+of community interests, were active agencies in enlarging the Texas
+market. National conventions were held annually, at which every
+live-stock organization in the West was represented, and buyer and
+seller met on common ground. Two years before the Cattle Raisers'
+Association of Texas was formed, other States and Territories founded
+similar organizations, and when these met in national assembly the
+cattle on a thousand hills were represented. No one was more anxious
+than myself that a proper appreciation should follow the enlargement
+of our home market, yet I had hopes that it would come gradually and
+not excite or disturb settled conditions. In our contracts with the
+government, we were under the necessity of anticipating the market ten
+months in advance, and any sudden or unseen change in prices in the
+interim between submitting our estimates and buying in the cattle to
+fill the same would be ruinous. Therefore it was important to keep a
+finger on the pulse of the home market, to note the drift of straws,
+and to listen for every rumor afloat. Lands in Texas were advancing in
+value, a general wave of prosperity had followed self-government and
+the building of railroads, and cattle alone was the only commodity
+that had not proportionally risen in value.
+
+In spite of my hopes to the contrary, I had a well-grounded belief
+that a revolution in cattle prices was coming. Daily meeting with men
+from the Northwest, at Dodge and Ogalalla, during the summer just
+passed, I had felt every throb of the demand that pulsated those
+markets. There was a general inquiry for young steers, she stuff with
+which to start ranches was eagerly snapped up, and it stood to reason
+that if this reckless Northern demand continued, its influence
+would soon be felt on the plains of Texas. Susceptible to all these
+influences, I had returned home to find both my ranches littered with
+a big calf crop, the brand actually increasing in numbers in spite of
+the drain of trail herds annually cut out. But the idol of my eye was
+those half-blood calves. Out of a possible five hundred, there were
+four hundred and fifty odd by actual count, all big as yearlings and
+reflecting the selection of their parents. I loafed away a week at the
+canon camp, rode through them daily, and laughed at their innocent
+antics as they horned the bluffs or fought their mimic fights. The
+Double Mountain ranch was my pride, and before leaving, the foreman
+and I outlined some landed additions to fill and square up my
+holdings, in case it should ever be necessary to fence the range.
+
+On my return to the Clear Fork, the ranch outfit had just finished
+gathering from my own and adjoining ranges fifteen hundred bulls for
+distillery feeding. The sale had been effected by correspondence with
+my former customer, and when the herd started the two of us drove on
+ahead into Fort Worth. The Illinois man was an extensive dealer in
+cattle and had followed the business for years in his own State, and
+in the week we spent together awaiting the arrival of his purchase, I
+learned much of value. There was a distinct difference between a range
+cowman and a stockman from the older Western States; but while the
+occupations were different, there was much in common between the two.
+Through my customer I learned that Western range cattle, when well
+fatted, were competing with grass beeves from his own State; that they
+dressed more to their gross weight than natives, and that the quality
+of their flesh was unsurpassed. As to the future, the Illinois buyer
+could see little to hope for in his own country, but was enthusiastic
+over the outlook for us ranchmen in the Southwest. All these things
+were but straws which foretold the course of the wind, yet neither of
+us looked for the cyclone which was hovering near.
+
+I accompanied the last train of the shipment as far as Parsons,
+Kansas, where our ways parted, my customer going to Peoria, Illinois,
+while I continued on to The Grove. Both my partners and our segundo
+were awaiting me, the bookkeeper had all accounts in hand, and the
+profits of the year were enough to turn ordinary men's heads. But I
+sounded a note of warning,--that there were breakers ahead,--though
+none of them took me seriously until I called for the individual herd
+accounts. With all the friendly advantages shown us by the War and
+Interior departments, the six herds from the Colorado River, taking
+their chances in the open market, had cleared more money per head
+than had the heavy beeves requiring thirty-three per cent a larger
+investment. In summing up my warning, I suggested that now, while
+we were winners, would be a good time to drop contracting with the
+government and confine ourselves strictly to the open market. Instead
+of ten months between assuming obligations and their fulfillment, why
+not reduce the chances to three or four, with the hungry, clamoring
+West for our market?
+
+The powwow lasted several days. Finally all agreed to sever our
+dealings with the Interior Department, which required cows for Indian
+agencies, and confine our business to the open market and supplying
+the Army with beef. Our partner the Senator reluctantly yielded to the
+opinions of Major Hunter and myself, urging our loss of prestige
+and its reflection on his standing at the national capital. But we
+countered on him, arguing that as a representative of the West the
+opportunity of the hour was his to insist on larger estimates for the
+coming year, and to secure proportionate appropriations for both the
+War and Interior departments, if they wished to attract responsible
+bidders. If only the ordinary estimates and allowances were made, it
+would result in a deficiency in these departments, and no one cared
+for vouchers, even against the government, when the funds were not
+available to meet the same on presentation. Major Hunter suggested to
+our partner that as beef contractors we be called in consultation with
+the head of each department, and allowed to offer our views for the
+general benefit of the service. The Senator saw his opportunity,
+promising to hasten on to Washington at once, while the rest of us
+agreed to hold ourselves in readiness to respond to any call.
+
+Edwards and I returned to Texas. The former was stationed for the
+winter at San Antonio, under instructions to keep in touch with the
+market, while I loitered between Fort Worth and the home ranch. The
+arrival of the list of awards came promptly as usual, but beyond a
+random glance was neglected pending state developments. An advance of
+two dollars and a half a head was predicted on all grades, and buyers
+and superintendents of cattle companies in the North and West were
+quietly dropping down into Texas for the winter, inquiring for and
+offering to contract cattle for spring delivery at Dodge and Ogalalla.
+I was quietly resting on my oars at the ranch, when a special
+messenger arrived summoning me to Washington. The motive was easily
+understood, and on my reaching Fort Worth the message was supplemented
+by another one from Major Hunter, asking me to touch at Council Grove
+en route. Writing Edwards fully what would be expected of him during
+my absence, I reached The Grove and was joined by my partner, and we
+proceeded on to the national capital. Arriving fully two weeks in
+advance of the closing day for bids, all three of us called and paid
+our respects to the heads of the War and Interior departments. On
+special request of the Secretaries, an appointment was made for the
+following day, when the Senator took Major Hunter and me under
+his wing and coached us in support of his suggestions to either
+department. There was no occasion to warn me, as I had just come from
+the seat of beef supply, and knew the feverish condition of affairs at
+home.
+
+The appointments were kept promptly. At the Interior Department we
+tarried but a few minutes after informing the Secretary that we were
+submitting no bids that year in his division, but allowed ourselves to
+be drawn out as to the why and wherefore. Major Hunter was a man
+of moderate schooling, apt in conversation, and did nearly all the
+talking, though I put in a few general observations. We were cordially
+greeted at the War Office, good cigars were lighted, and we went over
+the situation fully. The reports of the year before were gone over,
+and we were complimented on our different deliveries to the Army. We
+accepted all flatteries as a matter of course, though the past is
+poor security for the future. When the matter of contracting for the
+present year was broached, we confessed our ability to handle any
+awards in our territory to the number of fifty to seventy-five
+thousand beeves, but would like some assurance that the present or
+forthcoming appropriations would be ample to meet all contracts. Our
+doubts were readily removed by the firmness of the Secretary when as
+we arose to leave, Major Hunter suggested, by way of friendly advice,
+that the government ought to look well to the bonds of contractors,
+saying that the beef-producing regions of the West and South had
+experienced an advance in prices recently, which made contracting
+cattle for future delivery extremely hazardous. At parting regret
+was expressed that the sudden change in affairs would prevent our
+submitting estimates only so far as we had the cattle in hand.
+
+Three days before the limit expired, we submitted twenty bids to the
+War Department. Our figures were such that we felt fully protected, as
+we had twenty thousand cattle on our Northern range, while advice
+was reaching us daily from the beef regions of Texas. The opening of
+proposals was no surprise, only seven falling to us, and all admitting
+of Southern beeves. Within an hour after the result was known, a wire
+was sent to Edwards, authorizing him to contract immediately for
+twenty-two thousand heavy steer cattle and advance money liberally on
+every agreement. Duplicates of our estimates had been sent him the
+same day they were submitted at the War Office. Our segundo had triple
+the number of cattle in sight, and was then in a position to act
+intelligently. The next morning Major Hunter and I left the capital
+for San Antonio, taking a southern route through Virginia, sighting
+old battlefields where both had seen service on opposing sides,
+but now standing shoulder to shoulder as trail drovers and army
+contractors. We arrived at our destination promptly. Edwards was
+missing, but inquiry among our bankers developed the fact that he had
+been drawing heavily the past few days, and we knew that all was well.
+A few nights later he came in, having secured our requirements at
+an advance of two to three dollars a head over the prices of the
+preceding spring.
+
+The live-stock interests of the State were centring in the coming
+cattle convention, which would be held at Fort Worth in February. At
+this meeting heavy trading was anticipated for present and future
+delivery, and any sales effected would establish prices for the coming
+spring. From the number of Northern buyers that were in Texas, and
+others expected at the convention, Edwards suggested buying, before
+the meeting, at least half the requirements for our beef ranch and
+trail cattle. Major Hunter and I both fell in with the idea of our
+segundo, and we scattered to our old haunts under agreement to report
+at Fort Worth for the meeting of the clans. I spent two weeks among my
+ranchmen friends on the headwaters of the Frio and Nueces rivers, and
+while they were fully awake to the advance in prices, I closed trades
+on twenty-one thousand two and three year old steers for March
+delivery. It was always a weakness in me to overbuy, and in receiving
+I could never hold a herd down to the agreed numbers, but my
+shortcomings in this instance proved a boon. On arriving at Fort
+Worth, the other two reported having combed their old stamping-grounds
+of half a dozen counties along the Colorado River, and having secured
+only fifteen thousand head. Every one was waiting until after the
+cattle convention, and only those who had the stock in hand could be
+induced to talk business or enter into agreements.
+
+The convention was a notable affair. Men from Montana and intervening
+States and Territories rubbed elbows and clinked their glasses with
+the Texans to "Here's to a better acquaintance." The trail drovers
+were there to a man, the very atmosphere was tainted with cigar
+smoke, the only sounds were cattle talk, and the nights were wild and
+sleepless. "I'll sell ten thousand Pan-Handle three-year-old steers
+for delivery at Ogalalla," spoken in the lobby of a hotel or barroom,
+would instantly attract the attention of half a dozen men in fur
+overcoats and heavy flannel. "What are your cattle worth laid down on
+the Platte?" was the usual rejoinder, followed by a drink, a cigar,
+and a conference, sometimes ending in a deal or terminating in a
+friendly acquaintance. I had met many of these men at Abilene,
+Wichita, and Great Bend, and later at Dodge City and Ogalalla, and now
+they had invaded Texas, and the son of a prophet could not foretell
+the future. Our firm never offered a hoof, but the three days of the
+convention were forewarnings of the next few years to follow. I was
+personally interested in the general tendency of the men from the
+upper country to contract for heifers and young cows, and while the
+prices offered for Northern delivery were a distinct advance over
+those of the summer before, I resisted all temptations to enter into
+agreements. The Northern buyers and trail drovers selfishly joined
+issues in bearing prices in Texas; yet, in spite of their united
+efforts, over two hundred thousand cattle were sold during the
+meeting, and at figures averaging fully three dollars a head over
+those of the previous spring.
+
+The convention adjourned, and those in attendance scattered to their
+homes and business. Between midnight and morning of the last day of
+the meeting, Major Hunter and I closed contracts for two trail herds
+of sixty-five hundred head in Erath and Comanche counties. Within a
+week two others of straight three-year-olds were secured,--one in my
+home county and the other fifty miles northwest in Throckmorton. This
+completed our purchases for the present, giving us a chain of cattle
+to receive from within one county of the Rio Grande on the south to
+the same distance from Red River on the north. The work was divided
+into divisions. One thousand extra saddle horses were needed for the
+beef herds and others, and men were sent south, to secure them. All
+private and company remudas had returned to the Clear Fork to winter,
+and from there would be issued wherever we had cattle to receive. A
+carload of wagons was bought at the Fort, teams were sent in after
+them, and a busy fortnight followed in organizing the forces. Edwards
+was assigned to assist Major Hunter in receiving the beef cattle along
+the lower Frio and Nueces, starting in ample time to receive the
+saddle stock in advance of the beeves. There was three weeks'
+difference in the starting of grass between northern and southern
+Texas, and we made our dates for receiving accordingly, mine for
+Medina and Uvalde counties following on the heels of the beef herds
+from the lower country.
+
+From the 12th of March I was kept in the saddle ten days, receiving
+cattle from the headwaters of the Frio and Nueces rivers. All my old
+foremen rendered valuable assistance, two and three herds being in
+the course of formation at a time, and, as usual, we received eleven
+hundred over and above the contracts. The herds moved out on good
+grass and plenty of water, the last of the heavy beeves had passed
+north on my return to San Antonio, and I caught the first train out to
+join the others in central Texas. My buckboard had been brought down
+with the remudas and was awaiting me at the station, the Colorado
+River on the west was reached that night, and by noon the next day I
+was in the thick of the receiving. When three herds had started, I
+reported in Comanche and Erath counties, where gathering for our herds
+was in progress; and fixing definite dates that would allow Edwards
+and my partner to arrive, I drove on through to the Clear Fork. Under
+previous instructions, a herd of thirty-five hundred two-year-old
+heifers was ready to start, while nearly four thousand steers were
+in hand, with one outfit yet to come in from up the Brazos. We were
+gathering close that year, everything three years old or over must go,
+and the outfits were ranging far and wide. The steer herd was held
+down to thirty-two hundred, both it and the heifers moving out the
+same day, with a remnant of over a thousand three-year-old steers left
+over.
+
+The herd under contract to the firm in the home county came up full
+in number, and was the next to get away. A courier arrived from the
+Double Mountain range and reported a second contingent of heifers
+ready, but that the steers would overrun for a wieldy herd. The next
+morning the overplus from the Clear Fork was started for the new
+ranch, with orders to make up a third steer herd and cross Red River
+at Doan's. This cleaned the boards on my ranches, and the next day I
+was in Throckmorton County, where everything was in readiness to
+pass upon. This last herd was of Clear Fork cattle, put up within
+twenty-five miles of Fort Griffin, every brand as familiar as my own,
+and there was little to do but count and receive. Road-branding was
+necessary, however; and while this work was in progress, a relay
+messenger arrived from the ranch, summoning me to Fort Worth
+posthaste. The message was from Major Hunter, and from the hurried
+scribbling I made out that several herds were tied up when ready to
+start, and that they would be thrown on the market. I hurried home,
+changed teams, and by night and day driving reached Fort Worth and
+awakened my active partner and Edwards out of their beds to get the
+particulars. The responsible man of a firm of drovers, with five herds
+on hand, had suddenly died, and the banks refused to advance the
+necessary funds to complete their payments. The cattle were under
+herd in Wise and Cook counties, both Major Hunter and our segundo had
+looked them over, and both pronounced the herds gilt-edged north Texas
+steers. It would require three hundred thousand dollars to buy and
+clear the herds, and all our accounts were already overdrawn, but it
+was decided to strain our credit. The situation was fully explained in
+a lengthy message to a bank in Kansas City, the wires were kept busy
+all day answering questions; but before the close of business we had
+authority to draw for the amount needed, and the herds, with remudas
+and outfits complete, passed into our hands and were started the
+next day. This gave the firm and me personally thirty-three herds,
+requiring four hundred and ninety-odd men and over thirty-five hundred
+horses, while the cattle numbered one hundred and four thousand head.
+
+Two thirds of the herds were routed by way of Doan's Crossing in
+leaving Texas, while all would touch at Dodge in passing up the
+country. George Edwards accompanied the north Texas herds, and Major
+Hunter hastened on to Kansas City to protect our credit, while I hung
+around Doan's Store until our last cattle crossed Red River. The
+annual exodus from Texas to the North was on with a fury, and on my
+arrival at Dodge all precedents in former prices were swept aside in
+the eager rush to secure cattle. Herds were sold weeks before their
+arrival, others were met as far south as Camp Supply, and it was
+easily to be seen that it was a seller's market. Two thirds of the
+trail herds merely took on new supplies at Dodge and passed on to the
+Platte. Once our heavy beeves had crossed the Arkansas, my partner and
+I swung round to Ogalalla and met our advance herd, the foreman of
+which reported meeting buyers as far south as the Republican River.
+It was actually dangerous to price cattle for fear of being under the
+market; new classifications were being introduced, Pan-Handle and
+north Texas steers commanding as much as three dollars a head over
+their brethren from the coast and far south.
+
+The boom in cattle of the early '80's was on with a vengeance. There
+was no trouble to sell herds that year. One morning, while I was
+looking for a range on the north fork of the Platte, Major Hunter sold
+my seven thousand heifers at twenty-five dollars around, commanding
+two dollars and a half a head over steers of the same age. Edwards had
+been left in charge at Dodge, and my active partner reluctantly tore
+himself away from the market at Ogalalla to attend our deliveries
+of beef at army posts. Within six weeks after arriving at Dodge and
+Ogalalla the last of our herds had changed owners, requiring another
+month to complete the transfers at different destinations. Many of the
+steers went as far north as the Yellowstone River, and Wyoming and
+Nebraska were liberal buyers at the upper market, while Colorado,
+Kansas, and the Indian Territory absorbed all offerings at the lower
+point. Horses were even in demand, and while we made no effort to sell
+our remudas, over half of them changed owners with the herds they had
+accompanied into the North.
+
+The season closed with a flourish. After we had wound up our affairs,
+Edwards and I drifted down to the beef ranch with the unsold saddle
+stock, and the shipping season opened. The Santa Fe Railway had built
+south to Caldwell that spring, affording us a nearer shipping point,
+and we moved out five to ten trainloads a week of single and double
+wintered beeves. The through cattle for restocking the range had
+arrived early and were held separate until the first frost, when
+everything would be turned loose on the Eagle Chief. Trouble was still
+brewing between the Cherokee Nation and the government on the one side
+and those holding cattle in the Strip, and a clash occurred that fall
+between a lieutenant of cavalry and our half-breed foreman LaFlors.
+The troops had been burning hay and destroying improvements belonging
+to cattle outfits, and had paid our range a visit and mixed things
+with our foreman. The latter stood firm on his rights as a Cherokee
+citizen and cited his employers as government beef contractors, but
+the young lieutenant haughtily ignored all statements and ordered the
+hay, stabling, and dug-outs burned. Like a flash of light, LaFlors
+aimed a six-shooter at the officer's breast, and was instantly covered
+by a dozen carbines in the hands of troopers.
+
+"Order them to shoot if you dare," smilingly said the Cherokee to the
+young lieutenant, a cocked pistol leveled at the latter's heart,
+"and she goes double. There isn't a man under you can pull a trigger
+quicker than I can." The hay was not burned, and the stabling and
+dug-outs housed our men and horses for several winters to come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+THE BEGINNING OF THE BOOM
+
+
+The great boom in cattle which began in 1880 and lasted nearly five
+years was the beginning of a ruinous end. The frenzy swept all over
+the northern and western half of the United States, extended into the
+British possessions in western Canada, and in the receding wave the
+Texan forgot the pit from which he was lifted and bowed down and
+worshiped the living calf. During this brief period the great breeding
+grounds of Texas were tested to their utmost capacity to supply the
+demand, the canebrakes of Arkansas and Louisiana were called upon for
+their knotty specimens of the bovine race, even Mexico responded, and
+still the insatiable maw of the early West called for more cattle. The
+whirlpool of speculation and investment in ranches and range stock
+defied the deserts on the west, sweeping across into New Mexico and
+Arizona, where it met a counter wave pushing inland from California
+to possess the new and inviting pastures. Naturally the Texan was the
+last to catch the enthusiasm, but when he found his herds depleted to
+a remnant of their former numbers, he lost his head and plunged into
+the vortex with the impetuosity of a gambler. Pasture lands that he
+had scorned at ten cents an acre but a decade before were eagerly
+sought at two and three dollars, and the cattle that he had bartered
+away he bought back at double and triple their former prices.
+
+How I ever weathered those years without becoming bankrupt is
+unexplainable. No credit or foresight must be claimed, for the
+opinions of men and babes were on a parity; yet I am inclined to think
+it was my dread of debt, coupled with an innate love of land and
+cattle, that saved me from the almost universal fate of my fellow
+cowmen. Due acknowledgment must be given my partners, for while I held
+them in check in certain directions, the soundness of their advice
+saved my feet from many a stumble. Major Hunter was an unusually
+shrewd man, a financier of the rough and ready Western school; and
+while we made our mistakes, they were such as human foresight could
+not have avoided. Nor do I withhold a word of credit from our silent
+partner, the Senator, who was the keystone to the arch of Hunter,
+Anthony & Co., standing in the shadow in our beginning as trail
+drovers, backing us with his means and credit, and fighting valiantly
+for our mutual interests when the firm met its Waterloo.
+
+The success of our drive for the summer of 1880 changed all plans for
+the future. I had learned that percentage was my ablest argument in
+suggesting a change of policy, and in casting up accounts for the
+year we found that our heavy beeves had paid the least in the general
+investment. The banking instincts of my partners were unerring, and in
+view of the open market that we had enjoyed that summer it was decided
+to withdraw from further contracting with the government. Our profits
+for the year were dazzling, and the actual growth of our beeves in the
+Outlet was in itself a snug fortune, while the five herds bought at
+the eleventh hour cleared over one hundred thousand dollars, mere
+pin-money. I hurried home to find that fortune favored me personally,
+as the Texas and Pacific Railway had built west from Fort Worth during
+the summer as far as Weatherford, while the survey on westward was
+within easy striking distance of both my ranches. My wife was dazed
+and delighted over the success of the summer's drive, and when I
+offered her the money with which to build a fine house at Fort Worth,
+she balked, but consented to employ a tutor at the ranch for the
+children.
+
+I had a little leisure time on my hands that fall. Activity in wild
+lands was just beginning to be felt throughout the State, and the
+heavy holders of scrip were offering to locate large tracts to
+suit the convenience of purchasers. Several railroads held immense
+quantities of scrip voted to them as bonuses, all the charitable
+institutions of the State were endowed with liberal grants, and the
+great bulk of certificates issued during the Reconstruction regime
+for minor purposes had fallen into the hands of shrewd speculators.
+Among the latter was a Chicago firm, who had opened an office at Fort
+Worth and employed a corps of their own surveyors to locate lands
+for customers. They held millions of acres of scrip, and I opened
+negotiations with them to survey a number of additions to my Double
+Mountain range. Valuable water-fronts were becoming rather scarce,
+and the legislature had recently enacted a law setting apart every
+alternate section of land for the public schools, out of which grew
+the State's splendid system of education. After the exchange of a few
+letters, I went to Fort Worth and closed a contract with the Chicago
+firm to survey for my account three hundred thousand acres adjoining
+my ranch on the Salt and Double Mountain forks of the Brazos. In my
+own previous locations, the water-front and valley lands were all that
+I had coveted, the tracts not even adjoining, the one on the Salt Fork
+lying like a boot, while the lower one zigzagged like a stairway in
+following the watercourse. The prices agreed on were twenty cents an
+acre for arid land, forty for medium, and sixty for choice tracts,
+every other section to be set aside for school purposes in compliance
+with the law. My foreman would designate the land wanted, and the firm
+agreed to put an outfit of surveyors into the field at once.
+
+My two ranches were proving a valuable source of profit. After
+starting five herds of seventeen thousand cattle on the trail
+that spring, and shipping on consignment fifteen hundred bulls to
+distilleries that fall, we branded nineteen thousand five hundred
+calves on the two ranges. In spite of the heavy drain, the brand
+was actually growing in numbers, and as long as it remained an open
+country I had ample room for my cattle even on the Clear Fork. Each
+stock was in splendid shape, as the culling of the aging and barren of
+both sexes to Indian agencies and distilleries had preserved the brand
+vigorous and productive. The first few years of its establishment I
+am satisfied that the Double Mountain ranch increased at the rate of
+ninety calves to the hundred cows, and once the Clear Fork range was
+rid of its drones, a similar ratio was easily maintained on that
+range. There was no such thing as counting one's holdings; the
+increase only was known, and these conclusions, with due allowance for
+their selection, were arrived at from the calf crop of the improved
+herd. Its numbers were known to an animal, all chosen for their vigor
+and thrift, the increase for the first two years averaging ninety-four
+per cent.
+
+There is little rest for the wicked and none for a cowman. I was
+planning an enjoyable winter, hunting with my hounds, when the former
+proposition of organizing an immense cattle company was revived at
+Washington. Our silent partner was sought on every hand by capitalists
+eager for investment in Western enterprises, and as cattle were
+absorbing general attention at the time, the tendency of speculation
+was all one way. The same old crowd that we had turned down two
+winters before was behind the movement, and as certain predictions
+that were made at that time by Major Hunter and myself had since come
+true, they were all the more anxious to secure our firm as associates.
+Our experience and resultant profits from wintering cattle in southern
+Kansas and the Cherokee Strip were well known to the Senator, and, to
+judge from his letters and frequent conversations, he was envied by
+his intimate acquaintances in Congress. In the revival of the original
+proposition it was agreed that our firm might direct the management
+of the enterprise, all three of us to serve on the directorate and to
+have positions on the executive committee. This sounded reasonable,
+and as there was a movement on foot to lease the entire Cherokee
+Outlet from that Nation, if an adequate range could be secured, such a
+cattle company as suggested ought to be profitable.
+
+Major Hunter and I were a unit in business matters, and after an
+exchange of views by letter, it was agreed to run down to the capital
+and hold a conference with the promoters of the proposed company. My
+parents were aging fast, and now that I was moderately wealthy it was
+a pleasure to drop in on them for a week and hearten their declining
+years. Accordingly with the expectation of combining filial duty and
+business, I took Edwards with me and picked up the major at his home,
+and the trio of us journeyed eastward. I was ten days late in reaching
+Washington. It was the Christmas season in the valley; every darky
+that our family ever owned renewed his acquaintance with Mars' Reed,
+and was remembered in a way befitting the season. The recess for the
+holidays was over on my reaching the capital, yet in the mean time a
+crude outline of the proposed company was under consideration. On
+the advice of our silent partner, who well knew that his business
+associates were slightly out of their element at social functions and
+might take alarm, all banquets were cut out, and we met in little
+parties at cafes and swell barrooms. In the course of a few days all
+the preliminaries were agreed on, and a general conference was called.
+
+Neither my active partner nor myself was an orator, but we had coached
+the silent member of the firm to act in our behalf. The Senator was a
+flowery talker, and in prefacing his remarks he delved into antiquity,
+mentioning the Aryan myth wherein the drifting clouds were supposed
+to be the cows of the gods, driven to and from their feeding grounds.
+Coming down to a later period, he referred to cattle being figured on
+Egyptian monuments raised two thousand years before the Christian era,
+and to the important part they were made to play in Greek and Roman
+mythology. Referring to ancient biblical times, he dwelt upon the
+pastoral existence of the old patriarchs, as they peacefully led their
+herds from sheltered nook to pastures green. Passing down and through
+the cycles of change from ancient to modern times, he touched upon the
+relation of cattle to the food supply of the world, and finally the
+object of the meeting was reached. In few and concise words, an
+outline of the proposed company was set forth, its objects and
+limitations. A pound of beef, it was asserted, was as staple as a loaf
+of bread, the production of the one was as simple as the making of the
+other, and both were looked upon equally as the staff of life. Other
+remarks of a general nature followed. The capital was limited to one
+million dollars, though double the capitalization could have been
+readily placed at the first meeting. Satisfactory committees were
+appointed on organization and other preliminary steps, and books
+were opened for subscriptions. Deference was shown our firm, and
+I subscribed the same amount as my partners, except that half my
+subscription was made in the name of George Edwards, as I wanted him
+on the executive committee if the company ever got beyond its present
+embryo state. The trio of us taking only one hundred and fifty
+thousand dollars, there was a general scramble for the remainder.
+
+The preliminary steps having been taken, nothing further could be done
+until a range was secured. My active partner, George Edwards, and
+myself were appointed on this committee, and promising to report at
+the earliest convenience, we made preparations for returning West.
+A change of administration was approaching, and before leaving the
+capital, Edwards, my partners, and myself called on Secretaries Schurz
+of the Interior Department and Ramsey of the War Department. We had
+done an extensive business with both departments in the past, and were
+anxious to learn the attitude of the government in regard to leasing
+lands from the civilized Indian nations. A lease for the Cherokee
+Outlet was pending, but for lack of precedent the retiring
+Secretary of the Interior, for fear of reversal by the succeeding
+administration, lent only a qualified approval of the same. There were
+six million acres of land in the Outlet, a splendid range for maturing
+beef, and if an adequate-sized ranch could be secured the new company
+could begin operations at once. The Cherokee Nation was anxious to
+secure a just rental, an association had offered $200,000 a year for
+the Strip, and all that was lacking was a single word of indorsement
+from the paternal government.
+
+Hoping that the incoming administration would take favorable action
+permitting civilized Indian tribes to lease their surplus lands, we
+returned to our homes. The Cherokee Strip Cattle Association had
+been temporarily organized some time previous,--not being chartered,
+however, until March, 1883,--and was the proposed lessee of the Outlet
+in which our beef ranch lay. The organization was a local one, created
+for the purpose of removing all friction between the Cherokees and the
+individual holders of cattle in the Strip. The officers and directors
+of the association were all practical cattlemen, owners of herds
+and ranges in the Outlet, paying the same rental as others into the
+general treasury of the organization. Major Hunter was well acquainted
+with the officers, and volunteered to take the matter up at once, by
+making application in person for a large range in the Cherokee Strip.
+There was no intention on the part of our firm to forsake the trail,
+this cattle company being merely a side issue, and active preparations
+were begun for the coming summer.
+
+The annual cattle convention would meet again in Fort Worth in
+February. With the West for our market and Texas the main source of
+supply, there was no occasion for any delay in placing our contracts
+for trail stock. The closing figures obtainable at Dodge and Ogalalla
+the previous summer had established a new scale of prices for Texas,
+and a buyer must either pay the advance or let the cattle alone.
+Edwards and I were in the field fully three weeks before the
+convention met, covering our old buying grounds and venturing into new
+ones, advancing money liberally on all contracts, and returning to
+the meeting with thirty herds secured. Major Hunter met us at the
+convention, and while nothing definite was accomplished in securing
+a range, a hopeful word had reached us in regard to the new
+administration. Starting the new company that spring was out of the
+question, and all energies were thrown into the forthcoming drive.
+Representatives from the Northwest again swept down on the convention,
+all Texas was there, and for three days and nights the cattle
+interests carried the keys of the city. Our firm offered nothing,
+but, on the other hand, bought three herds of Pan-Handle steers for
+acceptance early in April. Three weeks of active work were required
+to receive the cattle, the herds starting again with the grass. My
+individual contingent included ten thousand three-year-old steers,
+two full herds of two-year-old heifers, and seven thousand cows. The
+latter were driven in two herds; extra wagons with oxen attached
+accompanied each in order to save the calves, as a youngster was an
+assistance in selling an old cow. Everything was routed by Doan's
+Crossing, both Edwards and myself accompanying the herds, while Major
+Hunter returned as usual by rail. The new route, known as the Western
+trail, was more direct than the Chisholm though beset by Comanche and
+Kiowa Indians once powerful tribes, but now little more than beggars.
+The trip was nearly featureless, except that during a terrible storm
+on Big Elk, a number of Indians took shelter under and around one of
+our wagons and a squaw was killed by lightning. For some unaccountable
+reason the old dame defied the elements and had climbed up on a water
+barrel which was ironed to the side of the commissary wagon, when
+the bolt struck her and she tumbled off dead among her people. The
+incident created quite a commotion among the Indians, who set up a
+keening, and the husband of the squaw refused to be comforted until I
+gave him a stray cow, when he smiled and asked for a bill of sale so
+that he could sell the hide at the agency. I shook my head, and the
+cook told him in Spanish that no one but the owner could give a hill
+of sale, when he looked reproachfully at me and said, "Mebby so you
+steal him."
+
+I caught a stage at Camp Supply and reached Dodge a week in advance
+of the herds. Major Hunter was awaiting me with the report that our
+application for an extra lease in the Cherokee Strip had been refused.
+Those already holding cattle in the Outlet were to retain their old
+grazing grounds, and as we had no more range than we needed for the
+firm's holding of stock, we must look elsewhere to secure one for the
+new company. A movement was being furthered in Washington, however, to
+secure a lease from the Cheyenne and Arapahoe tribes, blanket Indians,
+whose reservation lay just south of the Strip, near the centre of the
+Territory and between the Chisholm and Western trails. George Edwards
+knew the country, having issued cows at those agencies for several
+summers, and reported the country well adapted for ranging cattle. We
+had a number of congressmen and several distinguished senators in our
+company, and if there was such a thing as pulling the wires with the
+new administration, there was little doubt but it would be done.
+Kirkwood of Iowa had succeeded Schurz in the Interior Department,
+and our information was that he would at least approve of any lease
+secured. We were urged at the earliest opportunity to visit the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe agency, and open negotiations with the ruling
+chiefs of those tribes. This was impossible just at present, for with
+forty herds, numbering one hundred and twenty-six thousand cattle, on
+the trail and for our beef ranch, a busy summer lay before us. Edwards
+was dispatched to meet and turn off the herds intended for our range
+in the Outlet, Major Hunter proceeded on to Ogalalla, while I remained
+at Dodge until the last cattle arrived or passed that point.
+
+The summer of 1881 proved a splendid market for the drover. Demand far
+exceeded supply and prices soared upward, while she stuff commanded a
+premium of three to five dollars a head over steers of the same age.
+Pan-Handle and north Texas cattle topped the market, their quality
+easily classifying them above Mexican, coast, and southern breeding.
+Herds were sold and cleared out for their destination almost as fast
+as they arrived; the Old West wanted the cattle and had the range and
+to spare, all of which was a tempered wind to the Texas drover. I
+spent several months in Dodge, shaping up our herds as they arrived,
+and sending the majority of them on to Ogalalla. The cows were the
+last to arrive on the Arkansas, and they sold like pies to hungry
+boys, while all the remainder of my individual stock went on to the
+Platte and were handled by our segundo and my active partner. Near the
+middle of the summer I closed up our affairs at Dodge, and, taking the
+assistant bookkeeper with me, moved up to Ogalalla. Shortly after my
+arrival there, it was necessary to send a member of the firm to Miles
+City, on the Yellowstone River in Montana, and the mission fell to
+me. Major Hunter had sold twenty thousand threes for delivery at that
+point, and the cattle were already en route to their destination on my
+arrival. I took train and stage and met the herds on the Yellowstone.
+
+On my return to Ogalalla the season was drawing to a feverish close.
+All our cattle were sold, the only delay being in deliveries and
+settlements. Several of our herds were received on the Platte, but,
+as it happened, nearly all our sales were effected with new cattle
+companies, and they had too much confidence in the ability of the
+Texas outfits to deliver to assume the risk themselves. Everything
+was fish to our net, and if a buyer had insisted on our delivering in
+Canada, I think Major Hunter would have met the request had the price
+been satisfactory. We had the outfits and horses, and our men were
+plainsmen and were at home as long as they could see the north star.
+Edwards attended a delivery on the Crazy Woman in Wyoming, Major
+Hunter made a trip for a similar purpose to the Niobrara in Nebraska,
+and various trail foremen represented the firm at minor deliveries.
+All trail business was closed before the middle of September, the
+bookkeepers made up their final statements, and we shook hands all
+round and broke the necks of a few bottles.
+
+But the climax of the year's profits came from the beef ranch in the
+Outlet. The Eastern markets were clamoring for well-fatted Western
+stock, and we sent out train after train of double wintered beeves
+that paid one hundred per cent profit on every year we had held them.
+The single wintered cattle paid nearly as well, and in making ample
+room for the through steers we shipped out eighteen thousand head from
+our holdings on the Eagle Chief. The splendid profits from maturing
+beeves on Northern ranges naturally made us anxious to start the new
+company. We were doing fairly well as a firm and personally, and with
+our mastery of the business it was but natural that we should enlarge
+rather than restrict our operations. There had been no decrease of the
+foreign capital, principally Scotch and English, for investment in
+ranges and cattle in the West during the summer just past, and it was
+contrary to the policy of Hunter, Anthony & Co. to take a backward
+step. The frenzy for organizing cattle companies was on with a fury,
+and half-breed Indians and squaw-men, with rights on reservations,
+were in demand as partners in business or as managers of cattle
+syndicates.
+
+An amusing situation developed during the summer of 1881 at Dodge. The
+Texas drovers formed a social club and rented and furnished quarters,
+which immediately became the rendezvous of the wayfaring mavericks.
+Cigars and refreshments were added, social games introduced, and in
+burlesque of the general craze of organizing stock companies to engage
+in cattle ranching, our club adopted the name of The Juan-Jinglero
+Cattle Company, Limited. The capital stock was placed at five million,
+full-paid and non-assessable, with John T. Lytle as treasurer, E.G.
+Head as secretary, Jess Pressnall as attorney, Captain E.G. Millet as
+fiscal agent for placing the stock, and a dozen leading drovers as
+vice-presidents, while the presidency fell to me. We used the best
+of printed stationery, and all the papers of Kansas City and Omaha
+innocently took it up and gave the new cattle company the widest
+publicity. The promoters of the club intended it as a joke, but the
+prominence of its officers fooled the outside public, and applications
+began to pour in to secure stock in the new company. No explanation
+was offered, but all applications were courteously refused, on the
+ground that the capital was already over-subscribed. All members were
+freely using the club stationery, thus daily advertising us far and
+wide, while no end of jokes were indulged in at the expense of the
+burlesque company. For instance, Major Seth Mabry left word at the
+club to forward his mail to Kansas City, care of Armour's Bank, as he
+expected to be away from Dodge for a week. No sooner had he gone than
+every member of the club wrote him a letter, in care of that popular
+bank, addressing him as first vice-president and director of The
+Juan-Jinglero Cattle Company. While attending to business Major Mabry
+was hourly honored by bankers and intimate friends desiring to secure
+stock in the company, to all of whom he turned a deaf ear, but kept
+the secret. "I told the boys," said Major Seth on his return, "that
+our company was a close corporation, and unless we increased the
+capital stock, there was no hope of them getting in on the ground
+floor."
+
+In Dodge practical joking was carried to the extreme, both by citizens
+and cowmen. One night a tipsy foreman, who had just arrived over the
+trail, insisted on going the rounds with a party of us, and in order
+to shake him we entered a variety theatre, where my maudlin friend
+soon fell asleep in his seat. The rest of us left the theatre, and
+after seeing the sights I wandered back to the vaudeville, finding the
+performance over and my friend still sound asleep. I awoke him, never
+letting him know that I had been absent for hours, and after rubbing
+his eyes open, he said: "Reed, is it all over? No dance or concert?
+They give a good show here, don't they?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+THE CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOE CATTLE COMPANY
+
+
+The assassination of President Garfield temporarily checked our plans
+in forming the new cattle company. Kirkwood of the Interior Department
+was disposed to be friendly to all Western enterprises, but our
+advices from Washington anticipated a reorganization of the cabinet
+under Arthur. Senator Teller was slated to succeed Kirkwood, and as
+there was no question about the former being fully in sympathy with
+everything pertaining to the West, every one interested in the pending
+project lent his influence in supporting the Colorado man for the
+Interior portfolio. Several senators and any number of representatives
+were subscribers to our company, and by early fall the outlook was
+so encouraging that we concluded at least to open negotiations for
+a lease on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation. A friendly
+acquaintance was accordingly to be cultivated with the Indian agent of
+these tribes. George Edwards knew him personally, and, well in advance
+of Major Hunter and myself, dropped down to the agency and made known
+his errand. There were already a number of cattle being held on
+the reservation by squaw-men, sutlers, contractors, and other army
+followers stationed at Fort Reno. The latter ignored all rights of the
+tribes, and even collected a rental from outside cattle for grazing on
+the reservation, and were naturally antagonistic to any interference
+with their personal plans. There had been more or less friction
+between the Indian agent and these usurpers of the grazing privileges,
+and a proposition to lease a million acres at an annual rental of
+fifty thousand dollars at once met with the sanction of the agent.
+Major Hunter and I were notified of the outlook, and at the close of
+the beef-shipping season we took stage for the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
+Agency. Our segundo had thoroughly ridden over the country, the range
+was a desirable one, and we soon came to terms with the agent. He was
+looked upon as a necessary adjunct to the success of our company,
+a small block of stock was set aside for his account, while his
+usefulness in various ways would entitle his name to grace the salary
+list. For the present the opposition of the army followers was to
+be ignored, as no one gave them credit for being able to thwart our
+plans.
+
+The Indian agent called the head men of the two tribes together. The
+powwow was held at the summer encampment of the Cheyennes, and the
+principal chiefs of the Arapahoes were present. A beef was barbecued
+at our expense, and a great deal of good tobacco was smoked. Aside
+from the agent, we employed a number of interpreters; the council
+lasted two days, and on its conclusion we held a five years' lease,
+with the privilege of renewal, on a million acres of as fine grazing
+land as the West could boast. The agreement was signed by every chief
+present, and it gave us the privilege to fence our range, build
+shelter and stabling for our men and horses, and otherwise equip
+ourselves for ranching. The rental was payable semiannually in
+advance, to begin with the occupation of the country the following
+spring, and both parties to the lease were satisfied with the terms
+and conditions. In the territory allotted to us grazed two small
+stocks of cattle, one of which had comfortable winter shelters on
+Quartermaster Creek. Our next move was to buy both these brands and
+thus gain the good will of the only occupants of the range. Possession
+was given at once, and leaving Edwards and a few men to hold the
+range, the major and I returned to Kansas and reported our success to
+Washington.
+
+The organization was perfected, and The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company began operations with all the rights and privileges of an
+individual. One fourth of the capital stock was at once paid into the
+hands of the treasurer, the lease and cattle on hand were transferred
+to the new company, and the executive committee began operations for
+the future. Barbed wire by the carload was purchased sufficient to
+build one hundred miles of four-strand fence, and arrangements were
+made to have the same freighted one hundred and fifty miles inland
+by wagon from the railway terminal to the new ranch on Quartermaster
+Creek. Contracts were let to different men for cutting the posts and
+building the fence, and one of the old trail bosses came on from Texas
+and was installed as foreman of the new range. The first meeting of
+stockholders--for permanent organization--was awaiting the convenience
+of the Western contingent; and once Edwards was relieved, he and
+Major Hunter took my proxy and went on to the national capital. Every
+interest had been advanced to the farthest possible degree: surveyors
+would run the lines, the posts would be cut and hauled during the
+winter, and by the first of June the fences would be up and the range
+ready to receive the cattle.
+
+I returned to Texas to find everything in a prosperous condition. The
+Texas and Pacific railway had built their line westward during
+the past summer, crossing the Colorado River sixty miles south of
+headquarters on the Double Mountain ranch and paralleling my Clear
+Fork range about half that distance below. Previous to my return, the
+foreman on my Western ranch shipped out four trains of sixteen hundred
+bulls on consignment to our regular customer in Illinois, it being
+the largest single shipment made from Colorado City since the railway
+reached that point. Thrifty little towns were springing up along the
+railroad, land was in demand as a result of the boom in cattle, and an
+air of prosperity pervaded both city and hamlet and was reflected in a
+general activity throughout the State. The improved herd was the pride
+of the Double Mountain ranch, now increased by over seven hundred
+half-blood heifers, while the young males were annually claimed
+for the improvement of the main ranch stock. For fear of in-and-in
+breeding, three years was the limit of use of any bulls among the
+improved cattle, the first importation going to the main stock, and a
+second consignment supplanting them at the head of the herd.
+
+In the permanent organization of The Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company, the position of general manager fell to me. It was my wish
+that this place should have gone to Edwards, as he was well qualified
+to fill it, while I was busy looking after the firm and individual
+interests. Major Hunter likewise favored our segundo, but the Eastern
+stockholders were insistent that the management of the new company
+should rest in the hands of a successful cowman. The salary contingent
+with the position was no inducement to me, but, with the pressure
+brought to bear and in the interests of harmony, I was finally
+prevailed on to accept the management. The proposition was a simple
+one,--the maturing and marketing of beeves; we had made a success of
+the firm's beef ranch in the Cherokee Outlet, and as far as human
+foresight went, all things augured for a profitable future.
+
+There was no intention on the part of the old firm to retire from the
+enviable position that we occupied as trail drovers. Thus enlarging
+the scope of our operations as cowmen simply meant that greater
+responsibility would rest on the shoulders of the active partners and
+our trusted men. Accepting the management of the new company meant, to
+a certain extent, a severance of my personal connection with the firm,
+yet my every interest was maintained in the trail and beef ranch. One
+of my first acts as manager of the new company was to serve a notice
+through our secretary-treasurer calling for the capital stock to be
+paid in on or before February 1, 1882. It was my intention to lay the
+foundation of the new company on a solid basis, and with ample capital
+at my command I gave the practical experiences of my life to the
+venture. During the winter I bought five hundred head of choice saddle
+horses, all bred in north Texas and the Pan-Handle, every one of which
+I passed on personally before accepting.
+
+Thus outfitted, I awaited the annual cattle convention. Major Hunter
+and our segundo were present, and while we worked in harmony, I was as
+wide awake for a bargain in the interests of the new company as they
+were in that of the old firm. I let contracts for five herds of
+fifteen thousand Pan-Handle three-year-old steers for delivery on the
+new range in the Indian Territory, and bought nine thousand twos to be
+driven on company account. There was the usual whoop and hurrah at the
+convention, and when it closed I lacked only six thousand head of my
+complement for the new ranch. I was confining myself strictly to north
+Texas and Pan-Handle cattle, for through Montana cowmen I learned that
+there was an advantage, at maturity, in the northern-bred animal.
+Major Hunter and our segundo bought and contracted in a dozen counties
+from the Rio Grande to Red River during the convention, and at
+the close we scattered to the four winds in the interests of our
+respective work. In order to give my time and attention to the new
+organization, I assigned my individual cattle to the care of the firm,
+of which I was sending out ten thousand three-year-old steers and two
+herds of aging and dry cows. They would take their chances in the open
+market, though I would have dearly loved to take over the young steers
+for the new company rather than have bought their equivalent in
+numbers. I had a dislike to parting with an animal of my own breeding,
+and to have brought these to a ripe maturity under my own eye would
+have been a pleasure and a satisfaction. But such an action might have
+caused distrust of my management, and an honest name is a valuable
+asset in a cowman's capital.
+
+My ranch foremen made up the herds and started my individual cattle on
+the trail. I had previously bought the two remaining herds in Archer
+and Clay counties, and in the five that were contracted for and would
+be driven at company risk and account, every animal passed and was
+received under my personal inspection. Three of the latter were routed
+by way of the Chisholm trail, and two by the Western, while the cattle
+under contract for delivery at the company ranch went by any route
+that their will and pleasure saw fit. I saw very little of my old
+associates during the spring months, for no sooner had I started the
+herds than I hastened to overtake the lead one so as to arrive with
+the cattle at their new range. I had kept in touch with the building
+of fences, and on our arrival, near the middle of May, the western and
+southern strings were completed. It was not my intention to inclose
+the entire range, only so far as to catch any possible drift of cattle
+to the south or west. A twenty-mile spur of fence on the east, with
+half that line and all the north one open, would be sufficient until
+further encroachments were made on our range. We would have to ride
+the fences daily, anyhow, and where there was no danger of drifting,
+an open line was as good as a fence.
+
+As fast as the cattle arrived they were placed under loose herd for
+the first two weeks. Early in June the last of the contracted herds
+arrived and were scattered over the range, the outfits returning to
+Texas. I reduced my help gradually, as the cattle quieted down and
+became located, until by the middle of summer we were running the
+ranch with thirty men, which were later reduced to twenty for the
+winter. Line camps were established on the north and east, comfortable
+quarters were built for fence-riders and their horses, and aside
+from headquarters camp, half a dozen outposts were maintained. Hay
+contracts were let for sufficient forage to winter forty horses, the
+cattle located nicely within a month, and time rolled by without a
+cloud on the horizon of the new cattle company. I paid a flying visit
+to Dodge and Ogalalla, but, finding the season drawing to a close and
+the firm's cattle all sold, I contentedly returned to my accepted
+task. I had been buried for several months in the heart of the Indian
+Territory, and to get out where one could read the daily papers was
+a treat. During my banishment, Senator Teller had been confirmed as
+Secretary of the Interior, an appointment that augured well for the
+future of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company. Advices from
+Washington were encouraging, and while the new secretary lacked
+authority to sanction our lease, his tacit approval was assured.
+
+The firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. made a barrel of money in trailing
+cattle and from their beef ranch during the summer of 1882. I actually
+felt grieved over my portion of the season's work for while I had
+established a promising ranch, I had little to show, the improvement
+account being heavy, owing to our isolation. It was doubtful if
+we could have sold the ranch and cattle at a profit, yet I was
+complimented on my management, and given to understand that the
+stockholders were anxious to double the capitalization should I
+consent. Range was becoming valuable, and at a meeting of the
+directors that fall a resolution was passed, authorizing me to secure
+a lease adjoining our present one. Accordingly, when paying the second
+installment of rent money, I took the Indian agent of the two tribes
+with me. The leading chiefs were pleased with my punctuality in
+meeting the rental, and a proposition to double their income of
+"grass" money met with hearty grunts of approval. I made the council
+a little speech,--my maiden endeavor,--and when it was interpreted
+to the squatting circle I had won the confidence of these simple
+aborigines. A duplicate of our former lease in acreage and terms was
+drawn up and signed; and during the existence of our company the best
+teepee in the winter or summer encampments, of either the Cheyennes or
+Arapahoes, was none too good for Reed Anthony when he came with the
+rent money or on other business.
+
+Our capital stock was increased to two million dollars, in the latter
+half of which, one hundred thousand was asked for and allotted to me.
+I stayed on the range until the first of December, freighting in a
+thousand bushels of corn for the horses and otherwise seeing that the
+camps were fully provisioned before returning to my home in Texas.
+The winter proved dry and cold, the cattle coming through in fine
+condition, not one per cent of loss being sustained, which is a good
+record for through stock. Spring came and found me on the trail, with
+five herds on company account and eight herds under contract,--a total
+of forty thousand cattle intended for the enlarged range. All these
+had been bought north of the quarantine line in Texas, and were turned
+loose with the wintered ones, fever having been unknown among our
+holdings of the year before. In the mean time the eastern spur of
+fence had been taken down and the southern line extended forty miles
+eastward and north the same distance. The northern line of our range
+was left open, the fences being merely intended to catch any possible
+drift from summer storms or wintry blizzards. Yet in spite of this
+precaution, two round-up outfits were kept in the field through the
+early summer, one crossing into the Chickasaw Nation and the other
+going as far south as Red River, gathering any possible strays from
+the new range.
+
+I was giving my best services to the new company. Save for the fact
+that I had capable foremen on my individual ranches in Texas,
+my absence was felt in directing the interests of the firm and
+personally. Major Hunter had promoted an old foreman to a trusted man,
+and the firm kept up the volume of business on the trail and ranch,
+though I was summoned once to Dodge and twice to Ogalalla during the
+summer of 1883. Issues had arisen making my presence necessary, but
+after the last trail herd was sold I returned to my post. The boom was
+still on in cattle at the trail markets, and Texas was straining every
+energy to supply the demand, yet the cry swept down from the North for
+more cattle. I was branding twenty thousand calves a year on my two
+ranches, holding the increase down to that number by sending she stuff
+up the country on sale, and from half a dozen sources of income I
+was coining money beyond human need or necessity. I was then in the
+physical prime of my life and was master of a profitable business,
+while vistas of a brilliant future opened before me on every hand.
+
+When the round-up outfits came in for the summer, the beef shipping
+began. In the first two contingents of cattle purchased in securing
+the good will of the original range, we now had five thousand double
+wintered beeves. It was my intention to ship out the best of the
+single wintered ones, and five separate outfits were ordered into
+the saddle for that purpose. With the exception of line and fence
+riders,--for two hundred and forty miles were ridden daily, rain or
+shine, summer or winter,--every man on the ranch took up his abode
+with the wagons. Caldwell and Hunnewell, on the Kansas state line
+were the nearest shipping points, requiring fifteen days' travel with
+beeves, and if there was no delay in cars, an outfit could easily
+gather the cattle and make a round trip in less than a month. Three
+or four trainloads, numbering from one thousand and fifty to fourteen
+hundred head, were cut out at a time and handled by a single outfit.
+I covered the country between the ranch and shipping points, riding
+night and day ahead in ordering cars, and dropping back to the ranch
+to superintend the cutting out of the next consignment of cattle. Each
+outfit made three trips, shipping out fifteen thousand beeves that
+fall, leaving sixty thousand cattle to winter on the range.
+
+Several times that fall, when shipping beeves from Caldwell, we met up
+with the firm's outfits from the Eagle Chief in the Cherokee Outlet.
+Naturally the different shipping crews looked over each other's
+cattle, and an intense rivalry sprang up between the different foremen
+and men. The cattle of the new company outshone those of the old firm,
+and were outselling them in the markets, while the former's remudas
+were in a class by themselves, all of which was salt to open wounds
+and magnified the jealousy between our own outfits. The rivalry
+amused me, and until petty personalities were freely indulged in, I
+encouraged and widened the breach between the rival crews. The outfits
+under my direction had accumulated a large supply of saddle and
+sleeping blankets procured from the Indians, gaudy in color,
+manufactured in sizes for papoose, squaw, and buck. These goods were
+of the finest quality, but during the annual festivals of the tribe
+Lo's hunger for gambling induced him to part, for a mere song, with
+the blanket that the paternal government intended should shelter him
+during the storms of winter. Every man in my outfits owned from six
+to ten blankets, and the Eagle Chief lads rechristened the others,
+including myself, with the most odious of Indian names. In return,
+we refused to visit or eat at their wagons, claiming that they lived
+slovenly and were lousy. The latter had an educated Scotchman with
+them, McDougle by name, the ranch bookkeeper, who always went into
+town in advance to order cars. McDougle had a weakness for the cup,
+and on one occasion he fell into the hands of my men, who humored
+his failing, marching him through the streets, saloons, and hotels
+shouting at the top of his voice, "Hunter, Anthony & Company are going
+to ship!" The expression became a byword among the citizens of the
+town, and every reappearance of McDougle was accepted as a herald that
+our outfits from the Eagle Chief were coming in with cattle.
+
+A special meeting of the stockholders was called at Washington that
+fall, which all the Western members attended. Reports were submitted
+by the secretary-treasurer and myself, the executive committee
+made several suggestions, the proposition, to pay a dividend was
+overwhelmingly voted down, and a further increase of the capital stock
+was urged by the Eastern contingent. I sounded a note of warning,
+called attention to the single cloud on the horizon, which was the
+enmity that we had engendered in a clique of army followers in
+and around Fort Reno. These men had in the past, were even then,
+collecting toll from every other holder of cattle on the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation. That this coterie of usurpers hated the new
+company and me personally was a well-known fact, while its influence
+was proving much stronger than at first anticipated, and I cheerfully
+admitted the same to the stockholders assembled. The Eastern mind,
+living under established conditions, could hardly realize the chaotic
+state of affairs in the West, with its vicious morals, and any attempt
+to levy tribute in the form of blackmail was repudiated by the
+stockholders in assembly. Major Hunter understood my position and
+delicately suggested coming to terms with the company's avowed enemies
+as the only feasible solution of the impending trouble. To further
+enlarge our holdings of cattle and leased range, he urged, would be
+throwing down the gauntlet in defiance of the clique of army attaches.
+Evidently no one took us seriously, and instead, ringing resolutions
+passed, enlarging the capital stock by another million, with
+instructions to increase our leases accordingly.
+
+The Western contingent returned home with some misgivings as to the
+future. Nothing was to be feared from the tribes from whom we were
+leasing, nor the Comanche and his allies on the southwest, though
+there were renegades in both; but the danger lay in the flotsam of the
+superior race which infested the frontier. I felt no concern for my
+personal welfare, riding in and out from Fort Reno at my will and
+pleasure, though I well knew that my presence on the reservation was a
+thorn in the flesh of my enemies. There was little to fear, however,
+as the latter class of men never met an adversary in the open, but by
+secret methods sought to accomplish their objects. The breach between
+the Indian agent and these parasites of the army was constantly
+widening, and an effort had been made to have the former removed, but
+our friends at the national capital took a hand, and the movement was
+thwarted. Fuel was being constantly added to the fire, and on our
+taking a third lease on a million acres, the smoke gave way to flames.
+Our usual pacific measures were pursued, buying out any cattle in
+conflict, but fencing our entire range. The last addition to our
+pasture embraced a strip of country twenty miles wide, lying north of
+and parallel to the two former leases, and gave us a range on which no
+animal need ever feel the restriction of a fence. Ten to fifteen acres
+were sufficient to graze a steer the year round, but owing to the fact
+that we depended entirely on running water, much of the range would
+be valueless during the dry summer months. I readily understood the
+advantages of a half-stocked range, and expected in the future to
+allow twenty-five acres in the summer and thirty in the winter to the
+pasture's holdings. Everything being snug for the winter, orders
+were left to ride certain fences twice a day,--lines where we feared
+fence-cutting,--and I took my departure for home.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+HOLDING THE FORT
+
+
+As in many other lines of business, there were ebb and flood tides in
+cattle. The opening of the trail through to the extreme Northwest gave
+the range live stock industry its greatest impetus. There have always
+been seasons of depression and advances, the cycles covering periods
+of ten to a dozen years, the duration of the ebb and stationary tides
+being double that of the flood. Outside influences have had their
+bearing, and the wresting of an empire from its savage possessors
+in the West, and its immediate occupancy by the dominant race in
+ranching, stimulated cattle prices far beyond what was justified by
+the laws of supply and demand. The boom in live stock in the Southwest
+which began in the early '80's stands alone in the market variations
+of the last half-century. And as if to rebuke the folly of man and
+remind him that he is but grass, Nature frowned with two successive
+severe winters, humbling the kings and princes of the range.
+
+Up to and including the winter of 1883-84 the loss among range cattle
+was trifling. The country was new and open, and when the stock could
+drift freely in advance of storms, their instincts carried them to the
+sheltering coulees, cut banks, and broken country until the blizzard
+had passed. Since our firm began maturing beeves ten years before, the
+losses attributable to winter were never noticed, nor did they in the
+least affect our profits. On my ranches in Texas the primitive law
+of survival of the fittest prevailed, the winter-kill falling sorest
+among the weak and aging cows. My personal loss was always heavier
+than that of the firm, owing to my holdings being mixed stock, and due
+to the fact that an animal in the South never took on tallow enough
+to assist materially in resisting a winter. The cattle of the North
+always had the flesh to withstand the rigors of the wintry season,
+dry, cold, zero weather being preferable to rain, sleet, and the
+northers that swept across the plains of Texas. The range of the new
+company was intermediate between the extremes of north and south, and
+as we handled all steer cattle, no one entertained any fear from the
+climate.
+
+I passed a comparatively idle winter at my home on the Clear Fork.
+Weekly reports reached me from the new ranch, several of which caused
+uneasiness, as our fences were several times cut on the southwest, and
+a prairie fire, the work of an incendiary, broke out at midnight on
+our range. Happily the wind fell, and by daybreak the smoke arose
+in columns, summoning every man on the ranch, and the fire was soon
+brought under control. As a precaution to such a possibility we had
+burned fire-guards entirely around the range by plowing furrows one
+hundred feet apart and burning out the middle. Taking advantage of
+creeks and watercourses, natural boundaries that a prairie fire could
+hardly jump, we had cut and quartered the pasture with fire-guards in
+such a manner that, unless there was a concerted action on the part of
+any hirelings of our enemies, it would have been impossible to have
+burned more than a small portion of the range at any one time.
+But these malicious attempts at our injury made the outfit doubly
+vigilant, and cutting fences and burning range would have proven
+unhealthful occupations had the perpetrators, red or white, fallen
+into the hands of the foreman and his men. I naturally looked on the
+bright side of the future, and in the hope that, once the entire range
+was fenced, we could keep trespassers out, I made preparations for the
+spring drive.
+
+With the first appearance of grass, all the surplus horses were
+ordered down to Texas from the company ranch. There was a noticeable
+lull at the cattle convention that spring, and an absence of buyers
+from the Northwest was apparent, resulting in little or no trouble
+in contracting for delivery on the ranch, and in buying on company
+account at the prevailing prices of the spring before. Cattle were
+high enough as it was; in fact the market was top-heavy and wobbling
+on its feet, though the brightest of us cowmen naturally supposed that
+current values would always remain up in the pictures. As manager of
+the new company, I bought and contracted for fifty thousand steers,
+ten herds of which were to be driven on company account. All the
+cattle came from the Pan-Handle and north Texas, above the quarantine
+line, the latter precaution being necessary in order to avoid any
+possibility of fever, in mixing through and northern wintered stock.
+With the opening of spring two of my old foremen were promoted to
+assist in the receiving, as my contracts called for everything to be
+passed upon on the home range before starting the herds. Some little
+friction had occurred the summer before with the deliveries at the
+company ranch in an effort to turn in short-aged cattle. All contracts
+this year and the year before called for threes, and frequently
+several hundred long twos were found in a single herd, and I refused
+to accept them unless at the customary difference in price. More or
+less contention arose, and, for the present spring, I proposed to curb
+all friction at home, allotting to my assistants the receiving of
+the herds for company risk, and personally passing on seven under
+contract.
+
+The original firm was still in the field, operating exclusively in
+central Texas and Pan-Handle cattle. Both my ranches sent out their
+usual contribution of steers and cows, consigned to the care of the
+firm, which was now giving more attention to quality than quantity.
+The absence of the men from the Northwest at the cattle convention
+that spring was taken as an omen that the upper country would soon be
+satiated, a hint that retrenchment was in order, and a better class of
+stock was to receive the firm's attention in its future operations. My
+personal contingent of steers would have passed muster in any country,
+and as to my consignment of cows, they were pure velvet, and could
+defy competition in the upper range markets. Everything moved out with
+the grass as usual, and when the last of the company herds had crossed
+Red River, I rode through to the new ranch. The north and east line
+of fence was nearing completion, the western string was joined to
+the original boundary, and, with the range fully inclosed, my ranch
+foreman, the men, and myself looked forward to a prosperous future.
+
+The herds arrived and were located, the usual round-up outfits were
+sent out wherever there was the possibility of a stray, and we settled
+down in pastoral security. The ranch outfit had held their own during
+the winter just passed, had trailed down stolen cattle, and knew to a
+certainty who the thieves were and where they came from. Except what
+had been slaughtered, all the stock was recovered, and due notice
+given to offenders that Judge Lynch would preside should any one
+suspected of fence-cutting, starting incendiary fires, or stealing
+cattle be caught within the boundaries of our leases. Fortunately the
+other cowmen were tiring of paying tribute to the usurpers, and our
+determined stand heartened holders of cattle on the reservation, many
+of whom were now seeking leases direct from the tribes. I made it my
+business personally to see every other owner of live stock occupying
+the country, and urge upon them the securing of leases and making an
+organized fight for our safety. Lessees in the Cherokee Strip had
+fenced as a matter of convenience and protection, and I urged the same
+course on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation, offering the free use
+of our line fences to any one who wished to adjoin our pastures. In
+the course of a month, nearly every acre of the surrounding country
+was taken, only one or two squaw-men holding out, and these claiming
+their ranges under Indian rights. The movement was made so aggressive
+that the usurpers were driven into obscurity, never showing their hand
+again until after the presidential election that fall.
+
+During the summer a deputation of Cheyennes and Arapahoes visited me
+at ranch headquarters. On the last lease taken, and now inclosed
+in our pasture, there were a number of wild plum groves, covering
+thousands of acres, and the Indians wanted permission to gather the
+ripening fruit. Taking advantage of the opportunity, in granting the
+request I made it a point to fortify the friendly relations, not only
+with ourselves, but with all other cattlemen on the reservation.
+Ten days' permission was given to gather the wild plums, camps were
+allotted to the Indians, and when the fruit was all gathered, I
+barbecued five stray beeves in parting with my guests. The Indian
+agent and every cowman on the reservation were invited, and at the
+conclusion of the festival the Quaker agent made the assembled chiefs
+a fatherly talk. Torpid from feasting, the bucks grunted approval of
+the new order of things, and an Arapahoe chief, responding in behalf
+of his tribe, said that the rent from the grass now fed his people
+better than under the old buffalo days. Pledging anew the fraternal
+bond, and appointing the gathering of the plums as an annual festival
+thereafter, the tribes took up their march in returning to their
+encampment.
+
+I was called to Dodge but once during the summer of 1884. My steers
+had gone to Ogalalla and were sold, the cows remaining at the lower
+market, all of which had changed owners with the exception of one
+thousand head. The demand had fallen off, and a dull close of the
+season was predicted, but I shaded prices and closed up my personal
+holdings before returning. Several of the firm's steer herds were
+unsold at Dodge, but on the approach of the shipping season I returned
+to my task, and we began to move out our beeves with seven outfits
+in the saddle. Four round trips were made to the crew, shipping out
+twenty thousand double and half that number of single wintered cattle.
+The grass had been fine that summer, and the beeves came up in prime
+condition, always topping the market as range cattle at the markets to
+which they were consigned. That branch of the work over, every energy
+was centred in making the ranch snug for the winter. Extra fire-guards
+were plowed, and the middles burned out, cutting the range into a
+dozen parcels, and thus, as far as possible, the winter forage was
+secured for our holdings of eighty thousand cattle. Hay and grain
+contracts had been previously let, the latter to be freighted in from
+southern Kansas, when the news reached us that the recent election had
+resulted in a political change of administration. What effect this
+would have on our holding cattle on Indian lands was pure conjecture,
+though our enemies came out of hiding, gloating over the change,
+and swearing vengeance on the cowmen on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe
+reservation.
+
+The turn of the tide in cattle prices was noticeable at all the range
+markets that fall. A number of herds were unsold at Dodge, among them
+being one of ours, but we turned it southeast early in September and
+wintered it on our range in the Outlet. The largest drive in the
+history of the trail had taken place that summer, and the failure of
+the West and Northwest to absorb the entire offerings of the drovers
+made the old firm apprehensive of the future. There was a noticeable
+shrinkage in our profits from trail operations, but with the
+supposition that it was merely an off year, the matter was passed for
+the present. It was the opinion of the directors of the new company
+that no dividends should he declared until our range was stocked to
+its full capacity, or until there was a comfortable surplus. This
+suited me, and, returning home, I expected to spend the winter with my
+family, now increased to four girls and six boys.
+
+But a cowman can promise himself little rest or pleasure. After a
+delightful week spent on my western ranch, I returned to the Clear
+Fork, and during the latter part of November a terrible norther swept
+down and caught me in a hunting-camp twenty-five miles from home. My
+two oldest boys were along, a negro cook, and a few hands, and in
+spite of our cosy camp, we all nearly froze to death. Nothing but a
+roaring fire saved us during the first night of its duration, and the
+next morning we saddled our horses and struck out for home, riding
+in the face of a sleet that froze our clothing like armor. Norther
+followed norther, and I was getting uneasy about the company ranch,
+when I received a letter from Major Hunter, stating that he was
+starting for our range in the Outlet and predicting a heavy loss of
+cattle. Headquarters in the Indian Territory were fully two hundred
+and fifty miles due north, and within an hour after receiving the
+letter, I started overland on horseback, using two of my best saddlers
+for the trip. To have gone by rail and stage would have taken four
+days, and if fair weather favored me I could nearly divide that time
+by half. Changing horses frequently, one day out I had left Red River
+in my rear, but before me lay an uninhabited country, unless I veered
+from my course and went through the Chickasaw Nation. For the sake of
+securing grain for the horses, this tack was made, following the old
+Chisholm trail for nearly one hundred miles. The country was in the
+grip of winter, sleet and snow covering the ground, with succor for
+man and horse far apart. Mumford Johnson's ranch on the Washita River
+was reached late the second night, and by daybreak the next morning I
+was on the trail, making Quartermaster Creek by one o'clock that day.
+Fortunately no storms were encountered en route, but King Winter ruled
+the range with an iron hand, fully six inches of snow covering the
+pasture, over which was a crusted sleet capable of carrying the weight
+of a beef. The foreman and his men were working night and day to
+succor the cattle. Between storms, two crews of the boys drifted
+everything back from the south line of fence, while others cut ice and
+opened the water to the perishing animals. Scarcity of food was the
+most serious matter; being unable to reach the grass under its coat of
+sleet and snow, the cattle had eaten the willows down to the ground.
+When a boy in Virginia I had often helped cut down basswood and maple
+trees in the spring for the cattle to browse upon, and, sending to the
+agency for new axes, I armed every man on the ranch with one, and we
+began felling the cottonwood and other edible timber along the creeks
+and rivers in the pasture. The cattle followed the axemen like sheep,
+eating the tender branches of the softer woods to the size of a man's
+wrist, the crash of a falling tree bringing them by the dozens to
+browse and stay their hunger. I swung an axe with the men, and never
+did slaves under the eye of a task-master work as faithfully or as
+long as we did in cutting ice and falling timber in succoring our
+holding of cattle. Several times the sun shone warm for a few days,
+melting the snow off the southern slopes, when we took to our saddles,
+breaking the crust with long poles, the cattle following to where the
+range was bared that they might get a bit of grass. Had it not been
+for a few such sunny days, our loss would have been double what it
+was; but as it was, with the general range in the clutches of sleet
+and snow for over fifty days, about twenty per cent, of our holdings
+were winter-killed, principally of through cattle.
+
+Our saddle stock, outside of what was stabled and grain-fed, braved
+the winter, pawing away the snow and sleet in foraging for their
+subsistence. A few weeks of fine balmy weather in January and February
+followed the distressing season of wintry storms, the cattle taking
+to the short buffalo-grass and rapidly recuperating. But just when
+we felt that the worst was over, simultaneously half a dozen prairie
+fires broke out in different portions of the pasture, calling every
+man to a fight that lasted three days. Our enemies, not content with
+havoc wrought by the elements, were again in the saddle, striking in
+the dark and escaping before dawn, inflicting injuries on dumb animals
+in harassing their owners. That it was the work of hireling renegades,
+more likely white than red, there was little question; but the
+necessity of preserving the range withheld us from trailing them down
+and meting out a justice they so richly deserved. Dividing the ranch
+help into half a dozen crews, we rode to the burning grass and began
+counter-firing and otherwise resorting to every known method in
+checking the consuming flames. One of the best-known devices, in short
+grass and flank-fires, was the killing of a light beef, beheading and
+splitting it open, leaving the hide to hold the parts together. By
+turning the animal flesh side down and taking ropes from a front and
+hind foot to the pommels of two saddles, the men, by riding apart,
+could straddle the flames, virtually rubbing the fire out with the
+dragging carcass. Other men followed with wet blankets and beat out
+any remaining flames, the work being carried on at a gallop, with a
+change of horses every mile or so, and the fire was thus constantly
+hemmed in to a point. The variations of the wind sometimes entirely
+checked all effort, between midnight and morning being the hours in
+which most progress was accomplished. No sooner was one section of the
+fire brought under control than we divided the forces and hastened
+to lend assistance to the next nearest section, the cooks with
+commissaries following up the firefighters. While a single blade of
+grass was burning, no one thought of sleeping, and after one third of
+the range was consumed, the last of the incendiary fires was stamped
+out, when we lay down around the wagons and slept the sleep of
+exhaustion.
+
+There was still enough range saved to bring the cattle safely
+through until spring. Leaving the entire ranch outfit to ride the
+fences--several lines of which were found cut by the renegades in
+entering and leaving the pasture--and guard the gates, I took train
+and stage for the Grove. Major Hunter had returned from the firm's
+ranch in the Strip, where heavy losses were encountered, though
+it then rested in perfect security from any influence except the
+elements. With me, the burning of the company range might be renewed
+at any moment, in which event we should have to cut our own fences and
+let the cattle drift south through an Indian country, with nothing to
+check them except Red River. A climax was approaching in the company's
+existence, and the delay of a day or week might mean inestimable loss.
+In cunning and craftiness our enemies were expert; they knew their
+control of the situation fully, and nothing but cowardice would
+prevent their striking the final, victorious blow. My old partner and
+I were a unit as to the only course to pursue,--one which meant a
+dishonorable compromise with our enemies, as the only hope of saving
+the cattle. A wire was accordingly sent East, calling a special
+meeting of the stockholders. We followed ourselves within an hour.
+On arriving at the national capital, we found that all outside
+shareholders had arrived in advance of ourselves, and we went into
+session with closed doors and the committee on entertainment and
+banquets inactive. In as plain words as the English language would
+permit, as general manager of the company, I stated the cause for
+calling the meeting, and bluntly suggested the only avenue of escape.
+Call it tribute, blackmail, or what you will, we were at the mercy
+of as heartless a set of scoundrels as ever missed a rope, whose
+mercenaries, like the willing hirelings that they were, would
+cheerfully do the bidding of their superiors. Major Hunter, in his
+remarks before the meeting, modified my rather radical statement,
+with the more plausible argument that this tribute money was merely
+insurance, and what was five or ten thousand dollars a year, where
+an original investment of three millions and our surplus were in
+jeopardy? Would any line--life, fire, or marine--carry our risk as
+cheaply? These men had been receiving toll from our predecessors, and
+were then in a position to levy tribute or wreck the company.
+
+Notwithstanding our request for immediate action, an adjournment was
+taken. A wire could have been sent to a friend in Fort Reno that
+night, and all would have gone well for the future security of the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company. But I lacked authority to send
+it, and the next morning at the meeting, the New England blood that
+had descended from the Puritan Fathers was again in the saddle,
+shouting the old slogans of no compromise while they had God and right
+on their side. Major Hunter and I both keenly felt the rebuke,
+but personal friends prevented an open rupture, while the more
+conservative ones saw brighter prospects in the political change of
+administration which was soon to assume the reins of government.
+A number of congressmen and senators among our stockholders were
+prominent in the ascendant party, and once the new regime took charge,
+a general shake-up of affairs in and around Fort Reno was promised.
+I remembered the old maxim of a new broom; yet in spite of the
+blandishments that were showered down in silencing my active partner
+and me, I could almost smell the burning range, see the horizon
+lighted up at night by the licking flames, hear the gloating of our
+enemies, in the hour of their victory, and the click of the nippers of
+my own men, in cutting the wire that the cattle might escape and live.
+
+I left Washington somewhat heartened. Major Hunter, ever inclined
+to look on the bright side of things, believed that the crisis had
+passed, even bolstering up my hopes in the next administration. It was
+the immediate necessity that was worrying me, for it meant a summer's
+work to gather our cattle on Red River and in the intermediate
+country, and bring them back to the home range. The mysterious absence
+of any report from my foreman on my arrival at the Grove did not
+mislead me to believe that no news was good news, and I accordingly
+hurried on to the front. There was a marked respect shown me by the
+civilians located at Fort Reno, something unusual; but I hurried on
+to the agency, where all was quiet, and thence to ranch headquarters.
+There I learned that a second attempt to burn the range had been
+frustrated; that one of our boys had shot dead a white man in the act
+of cutting the east string of fence; that the same night three fires
+had broken out in the pasture, and that a squad of our men, in riding
+to the light, had run afoul of two renegade Cheyennes armed with
+wire-nippers, whose remains then lay in the pasture unburied. Both
+horses were captured and identified as not belonging to the Indians,
+while their owners were well known. Fortunately the wind veered
+shortly after the fires started, driving the flames back against the
+plowed guards, and the attempt to burn the range came to naught.
+A salutary lesson had been administered to the hirelings of the
+usurpers, and with a new moon approaching its full, it was believed
+that night marauding had ended for that winter. None of our boys
+recognized the white man, there being no doubt but he was imported
+for the purpose, and he was buried where he fell; but I notified the
+Indian agent, who sent for the remains of the two renegades and took
+possession of the horses. The season for the beginning of active
+operations on trail and for ranch account was fast approaching, and,
+leaving the boys to hold the fort during my absence, I took my private
+horses and turned homeward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+THE FRUITS OF CONSPIRACY
+
+
+With a loss of fully fifteen thousand cattle staring me in the face, I
+began planning to recuperate the fortunes of the company. The cattle
+convention, which was then over, was conspicuous by the absence of all
+Northern buyers. George Edwards had attended the meeting, was cautious
+enough to make no contracts for the firm, and fully warned me of
+the situation. I was in a quandary; with an idle treasury of over a
+million, my stewardship would be subject to criticism unless I became
+active in the interests of my company. On the other hand, a dangerous
+cloud hung over the range, and until that was removed I felt like a
+man who was sent for and did not want to go. The falling market in
+Texas was an encouragement, but my experience of the previous winter
+had had a dampening effect, and I was simply drifting between adverse
+winds. But once it was known that I had returned home, my old
+customers approached me by letter and personally, anxious to sell and
+contract for immediate delivery. Trail drovers were standing aloof,
+afraid of the upper markets, and I could have easily bought double my
+requirements without leaving the ranch. The grass was peeping here and
+there, favorable reports came down from the reservation, and still I
+sat idle.
+
+The appearance of Major Hunter acted like a stimulus. Reports about
+the new administration were encouraging--not from our silent partner,
+who was not in sympathy with the dominant party, but from other
+prominent stockholders who were. The original trio--the little major,
+our segundo, and myself--lay around under the shade of the trees
+several days and argued the possibilities that confronted us on trail
+and ranch. Edwards reproached me for my fears, referring to the time,
+nineteen years before, when as common hands we fought our way across
+the Staked Plain and delivered the cattle safely at Fort Sumner. He
+even taunted me with the fact that our employers then never hesitated,
+even if half the Comanche tribe were abroad, roving over their old
+hunting grounds, and that now I was afraid of a handful of army
+followers, contractors, and owners of bar concessions. Edwards knew
+that I would stand his censure and abuse as long as the truth was
+told, and with the major acting as peacemaker between us I was finally
+whipped into line. With a fortune already in hand, rounding out my
+forty-fifth year, I looted the treasury by contracting and buying
+sixty thousand cattle for my company.
+
+The surplus horses were ordered down from above, and the spring
+campaign began in earnest. The old firm was to confine its operations
+to fine steers, handling my personal contribution as before, while I
+rallied my assistants, and we began receiving the contracted cattle at
+once. Observation had taught me that in wintering beeves in the North
+it was important to give the animals every possible moment of time to
+locate before the approach of winter. The instinct of a dumb beast is
+unexplainable yet unerring. The owner of a horse may choose a range
+that seems perfect in every appointment, but the animal will spurn the
+human selection and take up his abode on some flinty hills, and there
+thrive like a garden plant. Cattle, especially steers, locate slowly,
+and a good summer's rest usually fortifies them with an inward coat of
+tallow and an outward one of furry robe, against the wintry storms.
+I was anxious to get the through cattle to the new range as soon as
+practicable, and allowed the sellers to set their dates as early as
+possible, many of them agreeing to deliver on the reservation as soon
+as the middle of May. Ten wagons and a thousand horses came down
+during the last days of March, and early in April started back with
+thirty thousand cattle at company risk.
+
+All animals were passed upon on the Texas range, and on their arrival
+at the pasture there was little to do but scatter them over the ranch
+to locate. I reached the reservation with the lead herd, and was glad
+to learn from neighboring cowmen that a suggestion of mine, made the
+fall before, had taken root. My proposition was to organize all the
+cattlemen on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation into an association
+for mutual protection. By cooeperation we could present a united front
+to our enemies, the usurpers, and defy them in their nefarious schemes
+of exacting tribute. Other ranges besides ours had suffered by fire
+and fence-cutters during the winter just passed, and I returned to
+find my fellow cowmen a unit for organization. A meeting was called at
+the agency, every owner of cattle on the reservation responded, and an
+association was perfected for our mutual interest and protection. The
+reservation was easily capable of carrying half a million cattle, the
+tribes were pleased with the new order of things, and we settled down
+with a feeling of security not enjoyed in many a day.
+
+But our tranquil existence received a shock within a month, when a
+cowboy from a neighboring ranch, and without provocation, was shot
+down by Indian police in a trader's store at the agency. The young
+fellow was a popular Texan, and as nearly all the men employed on the
+reservation came from the South, it was with difficulty that our boys
+were restrained from retaliating. Those from Texas had little or no
+love for an Indian anyhow, and nothing but the plea of policy in
+preserving peaceful relations with the tribes held them in check. The
+occasional killing of cattle by Indians was overlooked, until they
+became so bold as to leave the hides and heads in the pasture, when
+an appeal was made to the agent. But the aborigine, like his white
+brother, has sinful ways, and the influence of one evil man can
+readily combat the good advice of half a dozen right-minded ones, and
+the Quaker agent found his task not an easy one. Cattle were being
+killed in remote and unfrequented places, and still we bore with it,
+the better class of Indians, however, lending their assistance to
+check the abuse. On one occasion two boys and myself detected a band
+of five young bucks skinning a beef in our pasture, and nothing but my
+presence prevented a clash between my men and the thieves. But it
+was near the wild-plum season, and as we were making preparations
+to celebrate that event, the killing of a few Indians might cause
+distrust, and we dropped out of sight and left them to the enjoyment
+of their booty. It was pure policy on my part, as we could shame
+or humble the Indian, and if the abuse was not abated, we could
+remunerate ourselves by with-holding from the rent money the value of
+cattle killed.
+
+Our organization for mutual protection was accepted by our enemies as
+a final defiance. A pirate fights as valiantly as if his cause were
+just, and, through intermediaries, the gauntlet was thrown back in
+our faces and notice served that the conflict had reached a critical
+stage. I never discussed the issue direct with members of the clique,
+as they looked upon me as the leader in resisting their levy of
+tribute, but indirectly their grievances were made known. We were
+accused of having taken the bread out of their very mouths, which was
+true in a sense, but we had restored it tenfold where it was entitled
+to go,--among the Indians. With the exception of an occasional bottle
+of whiskey, none of the tribute money went to the tribes, but was
+divided among the usurpers. They waxed fat in their calling and were
+insolent and determined, while our replies to all overtures looking to
+peace were firm and to the point. Even at that late hour I personally
+knew that the clique had strength in reserve, and had I enjoyed the
+support of my company, would willingly have stood for a compromise.
+But it was out of the question to suggest it, and, trusting to the new
+administration, we politely told them to crack their whips.
+
+The _fiesta_ which followed the plum gathering was made a notable
+occasion. All the cowmen on the reservation had each contributed a
+beef to the barbecue, the agent saw to it that all the principal
+chiefs of both tribes were present, and after two days of feasting,
+the agent made a Quaker talk, insisting that the bond between the
+tribes and the cowmen must be observed to the letter. He reviewed at
+length the complaints that had reached him of the killing of cattle,
+traceable to the young and thoughtless, and pointed out the patience
+of the cattlemen in not retaliating, but in spreading a banquet
+instead to those who had wronged them. In concluding, he warned them
+that the patience of the white man had a limit, and, while they hoped
+to live in peace, unless the stealing of beef was stopped immediately,
+double the value of the cattle killed would be withheld from the next
+payment of grass money. It was in the power of the chiefs present to
+demand this observance of faith among their young men, if the bond
+to which their signatures were attached was to be respected in the
+future. The leading chiefs of both tribes spoke in defense, pleading
+their inability to hold their young men in check as long as certain
+evil influences were at work among their people. The love of gambling
+and strong drink was yearly growing among their men, making them
+forget their spoken word, until they were known as thieves and liars.
+The remedy lay in removing these evil spirits and trusting the tribes
+to punish their own offenders, as the red man knew no laws except his
+own.
+
+The festival was well worth while and augured hopefully for the
+future. Clouds were hovering on the horizon, however, and, while at
+Ogalalla, I received a wire that a complaint had been filed against
+us at the national capital, and that the President had instructed the
+Lieutenant-General of the Army to make an investigation. Just what the
+inquiry was to be was a matter of conjecture; possibly to determine
+who was supplying the Indians with whiskey, or probably our friends at
+Washington were behind the movement, and the promised shake-up of army
+followers in and around Fort Reno was materializing. I attended to
+some unsettled business before returning, and, on my arrival at the
+reservation, a general alarm was spreading among the cattle interests,
+caused by the cock-sure attitude of the usurpers and a few casual
+remarks that had been dropped. I was appealed to by my fellow cowmen,
+and, in turn, wired our friends at Washington, asking that our
+interests be looked after and guarded. Pending a report, General P.H.
+Sheridan arrived with a great blare of trumpets at Fort Reno for
+the purpose of holding the authorized investigation. The general's
+brother, Michael, was the recognized leader of the clique of army
+followers, and was interested in the bar concessions under the sutler.
+Matters, therefore, took on a serious aspect. All the cowmen on the
+reservation came in, expecting to be called before the inquiry, as it
+was then clear that a fight must be made to protect our interests. No
+opportunity, however, was given the Indians or cattlemen to present
+their side of the question, and when a committee of us cowmen called
+on General Sheridan we were cordially received and politely informed
+that the investigation was private. I believe that forty years have so
+tempered the animosities of the Civil War that an honest opinion is
+entitled to expression. And with due consideration to the record of a
+gallant soldier, I submit the question, Were not the owners of half a
+million cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation entitled to a
+hearing before a report was made that resulted in an order for their
+removal?
+
+I have seen more trouble at a country dance, more bloodshed in a
+family feud, than ever existed or was spilled on the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation. The Indians were pleased, the lessees were
+satisfied, yet by artfully concealing the true cause of any and all
+strife, a report, every word of which was as sweet as the notes of
+a flute, was made to the President, recommending the removal of the
+cattle. It was found that there had been a gradual encroachment on the
+liberties of the tribes; that the rental received from the surplus
+pasture lands had a bad tendency on the morals of the Indians,
+encouraging them in idleness; and that the present system retarded
+all progress in agriculture and the industrial arts. The report was
+superficial, religiously concealing the truth, but dealing with broad
+generalities. Had the report emanated from some philanthropical
+society, it would have passed unnoticed or been commented on as an
+advance in the interest of a worthy philanthropy but taken as a whole,
+it was a splendid specimen of the use to which words can be put in
+concealing the truth and cloaking dishonesty.
+
+An order of removal by the President followed the report. Had we been
+subjects of a despotic government and bowed our necks like serfs, the
+matter would have ended in immediate compliance with the order. But we
+prided ourselves on our liberties as Americans, and an appeal was to
+be made to the first citizen of the land, the President of the United
+States. A committee of Western men were appointed, which would be
+augmented by others at the national capital, and it was proposed to
+lay the bare facts in the chief executive's hands and at least ask
+for a modification of the order. The latter was ignorant in its
+conception, brutal and inhuman in its intent, ending in the threat
+to use the military arm of the government, unless the terms and
+conditions were complied with within a given space of time. The
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company, alone, not to mention the other
+members of our association equally affected, had one hundred and
+twenty-five thousand head of beeves and through steers on its range,
+and unless some relief was granted, a wayfaring man though a fool
+could see ruin and death and desolation staring us in the face.
+Fortunately Major Hunter had the firm's trail affairs so well in hand
+that Edwards could close up the business, thus relieving my active
+partner to serve on the committee, he and four others offering to act
+in behalf of our association in calling on the President. I was
+among the latter, the only one in the delegation from Texas, and we
+accordingly made ready and started for Washington.
+
+Meanwhile I had left orders to start the shipping with a vengeance.
+The busy season was at hand on the beef ranges, and men were scarce;
+but I authorized the foreman to comb the country, send to Dodge if
+necessary, and equip ten shipping outfits and keep a constant string
+of cattle moving to the markets. We had about sixty-five thousand
+single and double wintered beeves, the greater portion of which were
+in prime condition; but it was the through cattle that were worrying
+me, as they were unfit to ship and it was too late in the season to
+relocate them on a new range. But that blessed hope that springs
+eternal in the human breast kept us hopeful that the President had
+been deceived into issuing his order, and that he would right all
+wrongs. The more sanguine ones of the Western delegation had matters
+figured down to a fraction; they believed that once the chief
+executive understood the true cause of the friction existing on the
+reservation, apologies would follow, we should all be asked to remain
+for lunch, and in the most democratic manner imaginable everything
+would be righted. I had no opinions, but kept anticipating the worst;
+for if the order stood unmodified, go we must and in the face of
+winter and possibly accompanied by negro troops. To return to Texas
+meant to scatter the cattle to the four winds; to move north was to
+court death unless an open winter favored us.
+
+On our arrival at Washington, all senators and congressmen
+shareholders in our company met us by appointment. It was an inactive
+season at the capital, and hopes were entertained that the President
+would grant us an audience at once; but a delay of nearly a week
+occurred. In the mean time several conferences were held, at which a
+general review of the situation was gone over, and it was decided to
+modify our demands, asking for nothing personally, only a modification
+of the order in the interest of humanity to dumb animals. Before our
+arrival, a congressman and two senators, political supporters of
+the chief executive, had casually called to pay their respects, and
+incidentally inquired into the pending trouble between the cattlemen
+and the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Indians. Reports were anything but
+encouraging; the well-known obstinacy of the President was admitted;
+it was also known that he possessed a rugged courage in pursuance of
+an object or purpose. Those who were not in political sympathy with
+the party in power characterized the President as an opinionated
+executive, and could see little or no hope in a personal appeal.
+
+However, the matter was not to be dropped. The arrival of a deputation
+of cattlemen from the West was reported by the press, their purposes
+fully, set forth, and in the interim of waiting for an appointment,
+all of us made hay with due diligence. Major Hunter and I had a
+passing acquaintance at both the War and Interior departments, and
+taking along senators and representatives in political sympathy with
+the heads of those offices, we called and paid our respects. A number
+of old acquaintances were met, hold-overs from the former regime, and
+a cordial reception was accorded us. Now that the boom in cattle was
+over, we expressed a desire to resume our former business relations
+as contractors with the government. At both departments, the existent
+trouble on the Indian reservations was well known, and a friendly
+inquiry resulted, which gave us an opportunity to explain our position
+fully. There was a hopeful awakening to the fact that there had been a
+conspiracy to remove us, and the most friendly advances of assistance
+were proffered in setting the matter right. Public opinion is a strong
+factor, and with the press of the capital airing our grievances daily,
+sympathy and encouragement were simply showered down upon us.
+
+Finally an audience with the President was granted. The Western
+delegation was increased by senators and representatives until the
+committee numbered an even dozen. Many of the latter were personal
+friends and ardent supporters of the chief executive. The rangemen
+were introduced, and we proceeded at once to the matter at issue. A
+congressman from New York stated the situation clearly, not mincing
+his words in condemning the means and procedure by which this order
+was secured, and finally asking for its revocation, or a modification
+that would permit the evacuation of the country without injury to the
+owners and their herds. Major Hunter, in replying to a question of the
+President, stated our position: that we were in no sense intruders,
+that we paid our rental in advance, with the knowledge and sanction of
+the two preceding Secretaries of the Interior, and only for lack of
+precedent was their indorsement of our leases withheld. It soon became
+evident that countermanding the order was out of the question, as
+to vacillate or waver in a purpose, right or wrong, was not a
+characteristic of the chief executive. Our next move was for a
+modification of the order, as its terms required us to evacuate that
+fall, and every cowman present accented the fact that to move cattle
+in the mouth of winter was an act that no man of experience would
+countenance. Every step, the why and wherefore, must be explained to
+the President, and at the request of the committee, I went into detail
+in making plain what the observations of my life had taught me of the
+instincts and habits of cattle,--why in the summer they took to
+the hills, mesas, and uplands, where the breezes were cooling and
+protected them from insect life; their ability to foretell a storm in
+winter and seek shelter in coulees and broken country. I explained
+that none of the cattle on the Cheyenne and Arapahoe reservation
+were native to that range, but were born anywhere from three to five
+hundred miles to the south, fully one half of them having arrived
+that spring; that to acquaint an animal with its new range, in cattle
+parlance to "locate" them, was very important; that every practical
+cowman moved his herds to a new range with the grass in the spring, in
+order that ample time should be allowed to acclimate and familiarize
+them with such shelters as nature provided to withstand the storms of
+winter. In concluding, I stated that if the existent order could be so
+modified as to permit all through cattle and those unfit for market
+to remain on their present range for the winter, we would cheerfully
+evacuate the country with the grass in the spring. If such relief
+could be consistently granted, it would no doubt save the lives of
+hundreds and thousands of cattle.
+
+The President evidently was embarrassed by the justice of our prayer.
+He consulted with members of the committee, protesting that he should
+be spared from taking what would be considered a backward step, and
+after a stormy conference with intimate friends, lasting fully an
+hour, he returned and in these words refused to revoke or modify his
+order: "If I had known," said he, "what I know now, I never would have
+made the order; but having made it, I will stand by it."
+
+Laying aside all commercial considerations, we had made our entreaty
+in behalf of dumb animals, and the President's answer angered a
+majority of the committee. I had been rebuked too often in the past
+by my associates easily to lose my temper, and I naturally looked at
+those whose conscience balked at paying tribute, while my sympathies
+were absorbed for the future welfare of a quarter-million cattle
+affected by the order. We broke into groups in taking our leave,
+and the only protest that escaped any one was when the York State
+representative refused the hand of the executive, saying, "Mr.
+President, I have my opinion of a man who admits he is wrong and
+refuses to right it." Two decades have passed since those words,
+rebuking wrong in high places, were uttered, and the speaker has since
+passed over to the silent majority. I should feel that these memoirs
+were incomplete did I not mention the sacrifice and loss of prestige
+that the utterance of these words cost, for they were the severance of
+a political friendship that was never renewed.
+
+The autocratic order removing the cattle from the Cheyenne and
+Arapahoe reservation was born in iniquity and bore a harvest unequaled
+in the annals of inhumanity. With the last harbor of refuge closed
+against us, I hastened back and did all that was human to avert the
+impending doom, every man and horse available being pressed into
+service. Our one hope lay in a mild winter, and if that failed us the
+affairs of the company would be closed by the merciless elements. Once
+it was known that the original order had not been modified, and
+in anticipation of a flood of Western cattle, the markets broke,
+entailing a serious commercial loss. Every hoof of single and double
+wintered beeves that had a value in the markets was shipped regardless
+of price, while I besought friends in the Cherokee Strip for a refuge
+for those unfit and our holding of through cattle. Fortunately the
+depreciation in live stock and the heavy loss sustained the previous
+winter had interfered with stocking the Outlet to its fall capacity,
+and by money, prayers, and entreaty I prevailed on range owners and
+secured pasturage for seventy-five thousand head. Long before the
+shipping season ended I pressed every outfit belonging to the firm on
+the Eagle Chief into service, and began moving out the through cattle
+to their new range. Squaw winter and snow-squalls struck us on the
+trail, but with a time-limit hanging over our heads, and rather than
+see our cattle handled by nigger soldiers, we bore our burdens, if not
+meekly, at least in a manner consistent with our occupation. I have
+always deplored useless profanity, yet it was music to my ears to
+hear the men arraign our enemies, high and low, for our present
+predicament. When the last beeves were shipped, a final round-up was
+made, and we started out with over fifty thousand cattle in charge of
+twelve outfits. Storms struck us en route, but we weathered them, and
+finally turned the herds loose in the face of a blizzard.
+
+The removed cattle, strangers in a strange land, drifted to the fences
+and were cut to the quick by the biting blasts. Early in January the
+worst blizzard in the history of the plains swept down from the north,
+and the poor wandering cattle were driven to the divides and frozen
+to death against the line fences. Of all the appalling sights that an
+ordinary lifetime on the range affords, there is nothing to compare
+with the suffering and death that were daily witnessed during the
+month of January in the winter of 1885-86. I remained on the range,
+and left men at winter camps on every pasture in which we had stock,
+yet we were powerless to relieve the drifting cattle. The morning
+after the great storm, with others, I rode to a south string of fence
+on a divide, and found thousands of our cattle huddled against it,
+many frozen to death, partially through and hanging on the wire. We
+cut the fences in order to allow them to drift on to shelter, but the
+legs of many of them were so badly frozen that, when they moved, the
+skin cracked open and their hoofs dropped off. Hundreds of young
+steers were wandering aimlessly around on hoofless stumps, while their
+tails cracked and broke like icicles. In angles and nooks of the
+fence, hundreds had perished against the wire, their bodies forming
+a scaling ladder, permitting late arrivals to walk over the dead and
+dying as they passed on with the fury of the storm. I had been a
+soldier and seen sad sights, but nothing to compare to this; the
+moaning of the cattle freezing to death would have melted a heart of
+adamant. All we could do was to cut the fences and let them drift, for
+to halt was to die; and when the storm abated one could have walked
+for miles on the bodies of dead animals. No pen could describe the
+harrowing details of that winter; and for years afterward, or until
+their remains had a commercial value, a wayfarer could have traced
+the south-line fences by the bleaching bones that lay in windrows,
+glistening in the sun like snowdrifts, to remind us of the closing
+chapter in the history of the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle Company.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+IN CONCLUSION
+
+
+The subsequent history of the ill-fated Cheyenne and Arapahoe Cattle
+Company is easily told. Over ninety per cent of the cattle moved under
+the President's order were missing at the round-up the following
+spring. What few survived were pitiful objects, minus ears and tails,
+while their horns, both root and base, were frozen until they drooped
+down in unnatural positions. Compared to the previous one, the winter
+of 1885-86, with the exception of the great January blizzard, was the
+less severe of the two. On the firm's range in the Cherokee Strip our
+losses were much lighter than during the previous winter, owing to the
+fact that food was plentiful, there being little if any sleet or
+snow during the latter year. Had we been permitted to winter in the
+Cheyenne and Arapahoe country, considering our sheltered range and
+the cattle fully located, ten per cent would have been a conservative
+estimate of loss by the elements. As manager of the company I lost
+five valuable years and over a quarter-million dollars. Time has
+mollified my grievances until now only the thorn of inhumanity to dumb
+beasts remains. Contrasted with results, how much more humane it would
+have been to have ordered out negro troops from Fort Reno and shot
+the cattle down, or to have cut the fences ourselves, and, while our
+holdings were drifting back to Texas, trusted to the mercy of the
+Comanches.
+
+I now understand perfectly why the business world dreads a political
+change in administration. Whatever may have been the policy of one
+political party, the reverse becomes the slogan of the other on
+its promotion to power. For instance, a few years ago, the general
+government offered a bounty on the home product of sugar, stimulating
+the industry in Louisiana and also in my adopted State. A change of
+administration followed, the bounty was removed, and had not the
+insurance companies promptly canceled their risks on sugar mills, the
+losses by fire would have been appalling. Politics had never affected
+my occupation seriously; in fact I profited richly through the
+extravagance and mismanagement of the Reconstruction regime in Texas,
+and again met the defeat of my life at the hands of the general
+government.
+
+With the demand for trail cattle on the decline, coupled with two
+severe winters, the old firm of Hunter, Anthony & Co. was ripe for
+dissolution. We had enjoyed the cream of the trade while it lasted,
+but conditions were changing, making it necessary to limit and
+restrict our business. This was contrary to our policy, though the
+spring of 1886 found us on the trail with sixteen herds for the firm
+and four from my own ranches, one half of which were under contract.
+A dry summer followed, and thousands of weak cattle were lost on the
+trail, while ruin and bankruptcy were the portion of a majority of the
+drovers. We weathered the drouth on the trail, selling our unplaced
+cattle early, and before the beef-shipping season began, our range in
+the Outlet, including good will, holding of beeves, saddle horses, and
+general improvements, was sold to a Kansas City company, and the old
+firm passed out of existence. Meanwhile I had closed up the affairs of
+the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Company, returning a small pro rata of the
+original investment to shareholders, charging my loss to tuition in
+rounding out my education as a cowman.
+
+The productive capacity of my ranches for years past safely tided me
+over all financial difficulties. With all outside connections severed,
+I was then enabled to give my personal attention to ranching in Texas.
+I was fortunate in having capable ranch foremen, for during my almost
+continued absence there was a steady growth, together with thorough
+management of my mixed cattle. The improved herd, now numbering over
+two thousand, was the pride of my operations in live stock, while my
+quarter and three-eighths blood steers were in a class by themselves.
+We were breeding over a thousand half and three-quarters blood bulls
+annually, and constantly importing the best strains to the head of
+the improved herd. Results were in evidence, and as long as the trail
+lasted, my cattle were ready sellers in the upper range markets. For
+the following few years I drove my own growing of steers, usually
+contracting them in advance. The days of the trail were numbered; 1889
+saw the last herd leave Texas, many of the Northern States having
+quarantined against us, and we were afterward compelled to ship by
+rail in filling contracts on the upper ranges.
+
+When Kansas quarantined against Texas cattle, Dodge was abandoned as
+a range market. The trail moved West, first to Lakin and finally to
+Trail City, on the Colorado line. In attempting to pass the former
+point with four Pan-Handle herds in the spring of 1888, I ran afoul of
+a quarantine convention. The cattle were under contract in Wyoming,
+and it was my intention not even to halt the herds, but merely to take
+on supplies in passing. But a deputation met us south of the river,
+notifying me that the quarantine convention was in session, and
+requesting me not to attempt to cross the Arkansas. I explained that
+my cattle were from above the dead line in Texas, had heretofore gone
+unmolested wherever they wished, and that it was out of my way to turn
+west and go up through Colorado. The committee was reasonable, looked
+over the lead herd, and saw that I was driving graded cattle, and
+finally invited me in to state my case before the convention. I
+accompanied the men sent to warn me away, and after considerable
+parley I was permitted to address the assembly. In a few brief words
+I stated my destination, where I was from, and the quality of cattle
+making up my herds, and invited any doubters to accompany me across
+the river and look the stock over. Fortunately a number of the
+cattlemen in the convention knew me, and I was excused while the
+assembly went into executive session to consider my case. Prohibition
+was in effect at Lakin, and I was compelled to resort to diplomacy in
+order to cross the Arkansas River with my cattle. It was warm, sultry
+weather in the valley, and my first idea was to secure a barrel of
+bottled beer and send it over to the convention, but the town was dry.
+I ransacked all the drug stores, and the nearest approach to
+anything that would cheer and stimulate was Hostetter's Bitters. The
+prohibition laws were being rigidly enforced, but I signed a "death
+warrant" and ordered a case, which the druggist refused me until I
+explained that I had four outfits of men with me and that we had
+contracted malaria while sleeping on the ground. My excuse won, and
+taking the case of bitters on my shoulder, I bore it away to the
+nearest livery stable, where I wrote a note, with my compliments, and
+sent both by a darkey around to the rear door of the convention hall.
+
+On adjournment for dinner, my case looked hopeless. There was a
+strong sentiment against admitting any cattle from Texas, all former
+privileges were to be set aside, and the right to quarantine against
+any section or state was claimed as a prerogative of a free people.
+The convention was patiently listening to all the oratorical talent
+present, and my friends held out a slender hope that once the
+different speakers had relieved their minds they might feel easier
+towards me, and possibly an exception would be made in my case. During
+the afternoon session I received frequent reports from the convention,
+and on the suggestion of a friend I began to skirmish around for a
+second case of bitters. There were only three drug stores in the
+town, and as I was ignorant of the law, I naturally went back to the
+druggist from whom I secured the first case. To my surprise he refused
+to supply my wants, and haughtily informed me that one application a
+day was all the law permitted him to sell to any one person. Rebuffed,
+I turned to another drug store, and was greeted by the proprietor, who
+formerly ran a saloon in Dodge. He recognized me, calling me by name;
+and after we had pledged our acquaintance anew behind the prescription
+case, I was confidentially informed that I could have his whole house
+and welcome, even if the State of Kansas did object and he had to go
+to jail. We both regretted that the good old days in the State were
+gone, but I sent around another case of bitters and a box of cigars,
+and sat down patiently to await results. With no action taken by
+the middle of the afternoon, I sent around a third installment of
+refreshments, and an hour later called in person at the door of the
+convention. The doorkeeper refused to admit me, but I caught his eye,
+which was glassy, and received a leery wink, while a bottle of bitters
+nestled cosily in the open bosom of his shirt. Hopeful that the signs
+were favorable, I apologized and withdrew, but was shortly afterwards
+sent for and informed that an exception had been made in my favor, and
+that I might cross the river at my will and pleasure. In the interim
+of waiting, in case I was successful, I had studied up a little speech
+of thanks, and as I arose to express my appreciation, a chorus of
+interruptions greeted me: "G' on, Reed! G' on, you d----d old
+cow-thief! Git out of town or we'll hang you!"
+
+With the trail a thing of the past, I settled down to the peaceful
+pursuits of a ranchman. The fencing of ranges soon became necessary,
+the Clear Fork tract being first inclosed, and a few years later
+owners of pastures adjoining the Double Mountain ranch wished to
+fence, and I fell in with the prevailing custom. On the latter range
+I hold title to a little over one million acres, while there are two
+hundred sections of school land included in my western pasture, on
+which I pay a nominal rental for its use. All my cattle are now
+graded, and while no effort is made to mature them, the advent of
+cotton-seed oil mills and other sources of demand have always afforded
+me an outlet for my increase. I have branded as many as twenty-five
+thousand calves in a year, and to this source of income alone I
+attribute the foundation of my present fortune. As a source of wealth
+the progeny of the cow in my State has proven a perennial harvest,
+with little or no effort on the part of the husbandman. Reversing
+the military rule of moving against the lines of least resistance,
+experience has taught me to follow those where Nature lends its
+greatest aid. Mine being strictly a grazing country, by preserving the
+native grasses and breeding only the best quality of cattle, I have
+always achieved success. I have brought up my boys to observe these
+economics of nature, and no plow shall ever mar the surface where
+my cows have grazed, generation after generation, to the profit and
+satisfaction of their owner. Where once I was a buyer in carload lots
+of the best strains of blood in the country, now I am a seller by
+hundreds and thousands of head, acclimated and native to the soil. One
+man to his trade and another to his merchandise, and the mistakes
+of my life justly rebuke me for dallying in paths remote from my
+legitimate calling.
+
+There is a close relationship between a cowman and his herds. My
+insight into cattle character exceeds my observation of the human
+family. Therefore I wish to confess my great love for the cattle of
+the fields. When hungry or cold, sick or distressed, they express
+themselves intelligently to my understanding, and when dangers of
+night and storm and stampede threaten their peace and serenity, they
+instinctively turn to the refuge of a human voice. When a herd was
+bedded at night, and wolves howled in the distance, the boys on guard
+easily calmed the sleeping cattle by simply raising their voices in
+song. The desire of self-preservation is innate in the animal race,
+but as long as the human kept watch and ward, the sleeping cattle had
+no fear of the common enemy. An incident which I cannot explain, but
+was witness to, occurred during the war. While holding cattle for the
+Confederate army we received a consignment of beeves from Texas. One
+of the men who accompanied the herd through called my attention to a
+steer and vouchsafed the statement that the animal loved music,--that
+he could be lured out of the herd with singing. To prove his
+assertion, the man sang what he termed the steer's favorite, and to
+the surprise of every soldier present, a fine, big mottled beef walked
+out from among a thousand others and stood entranced over the simple
+song. In my younger days my voice was considered musical; I could sing
+the folk-songs of my country better than the average, and when
+the herdsmen left us, I was pleased to see that my vocal efforts
+fascinated the late arrival from Texas. Within a week I could call him
+out with a song, when I fell so deeply in love with the broad-horn
+Texan that his life was spared through my disloyalty. In the daily
+issue to the army we kept him back as long as possible; but when our
+supply was exhausted, and he would have gone to the shambles the
+following day, I secretly cut him out at night and drove him miles to
+our rear, that his life might be spared. Within a year he returned
+with another consignment of beef; comrades who were in the secret
+would not believe me; but when a quartette of us army herders sang
+"Rock of Ages," the steer walked out and greeted us with mute
+appreciation. We enjoyed his company for over a month, I could call
+him with a song as far as my voice reached, and when death again
+threatened him, we cut him to the rear and he was never spoken again.
+Loyal as I was to the South, I would have deserted rather than have
+seen that steer go to the shambles.
+
+In bringing these reminiscences to a close, I wish to bear testimony
+in behalf of the men who lent their best existence that success
+should crown my efforts. Aside from my family, the two pleasantest
+recollections of my life are my old army comrades and the boys who
+worked with me on the range and trail. When men have roughed it
+together, shared their hardships in field and by camp-fire like true
+comrades, there is an indescribable bond between them that puts to
+shame any pretense of fraternal brotherhood. Among the hundreds, yes,
+the thousands, of men who worked for our old firm on the trail, all
+feel a pride in referring to former associations. I never leave home
+without meeting men, scattered everywhere, many of them prosperous,
+who come to me and say, "Of course you don't remember me, but I made
+a trip over the trail with your cattle,--from San Saba County in '77.
+Jake de Poyster was foreman. By the way, is your old partner, the
+little Yankee major, still living?" The acquaintance, thus renewed by
+chance, was always a good excuse for neglecting any business, and many
+a happy hour have I spent, living over again with one of my old boys
+the experiences of the past.
+
+I want to say a parting word in behalf of the men of my occupation.
+Sterling honesty was their chief virtue. A drover with an established
+reputation could enter any trail town a month in advance of the
+arrival of his cattle, and any merchant or banker would extend him
+credit on his spoken word. When the trail passed and the romance of
+the West was over, these same men were in demand as directors of
+banks or custodians of trust funds. They were simple as truth itself,
+possessing a rugged sense of justice that seemed to guide and direct
+their lives. On one occasion a few years ago, I unexpectedly dropped
+down from my Double Mountain ranch to an old cow town on the railroad.
+It was our regular business point, and I kept a small bank account
+there for current ranch expenses. As it happened, I needed some money,
+but on reaching the village found the banks closed, as it was Labor
+Day. Casually meeting an old cowman who was a director in the bank
+with which I did business, I pretended to take him to task over my
+disappointment, and wound up my arraignment by asking, "What kind of a
+jim-crow bank are you running, anyhow?"
+
+"Well, now, Reed," said he in apology, "I really don't know why the
+bank should close to-day, but there must be some reason for it. I
+don't pay much attention to those things, but there's our cashier and
+bookkeeper,--you know Hank and Bill,--the boys in charge of the bank.
+Well, they get together every once in a while and close her up for
+a day. I don't know why they do it, but those old boys have read
+history, and you can just gamble your last cow that there's good
+reasons for closing."
+
+The fraternal bond between rangemen recalls the sad end of one of my
+old trail bosses. The foreman in question was a faithful man, working
+for the firm during its existence and afterwards in my employ. I would
+have trusted my fortune to his keeping, my family thought the world
+of him, and many was the time that he risked his life to protect my
+interests. When my wife overlooks the shortcomings of a man, it is
+safe to say there is something redeemable in him, even though the
+offense is drinking. At idle times and with convivial company, this
+man would drink to excess, and when he was in his cups a spirit of
+harmless mischief was rampant in him, alternating with uncontrollable
+flashes of anger. Though he was usually as innocent as a kitten, it
+was a deadly insult to refuse drinking with him, and one day he shot a
+circle of holes around a stranger's feet for declining an invitation.
+A complaint was lodged against him, and the sheriff, not knowing the
+man, thoughtlessly sent a Mexican deputy to make the arrest. Even
+then, had ordinary courtesy been extended, the unfortunate occurrence
+might have been avoided. But an undue officiousness on the part of the
+officer angered the old trail boss, who flashed into a rage, defying
+the deputy, and an exchange of shots ensued. The Mexican was killed at
+the first fire, and my man mounted his horse unmolested, and returned
+to the ranch. I was absent at the time, but my wife advised him to go
+in and surrender to the proper authorities, and he obeyed her like a
+child.
+
+We all looked upon him as one of the family, and I employed the best
+of counsel. The circumstances were against him, however, and in
+spite of an able defense he received a sentence of ten years. No one
+questioned the justice of the verdict, the law must be upheld, and the
+poor fellow was taken to the penitentiary to serve out the sentence.
+My wife and I concealed the facts from the younger children, who were
+constantly inquiring after his return, especially my younger girls,
+with whom he was a great favorite. The incident was worse than a
+funeral; it would not die out, as never a day passed but inquiry was
+made after the missing man; the children dreamed about him, and awoke
+from their sleep to ask if he had come and if he had brought them
+anything. The matter finally affected my wife's nerves, the older boys
+knew the truth, and the younger children were becoming suspicious of
+the veracity of their parents. The truth was gradually leaking out,
+and after he had served a year in prison, I began a movement with the
+view of securing his pardon. My influence in state politics was
+always more or less courted, and appealing to my friends, I drew up
+a petition, which was signed by every prominent politician in that
+section, asking that executive clemency be extended in behalf of my
+old foreman. The governor was a good friend of mine, anxious to
+render me a service, and through his influence we managed to have the
+sentence so reduced that after serving two years the prisoner was
+freed and returned to the ranch. He was the same lovable character,
+tolerated by my wife and fondled by the children, and he refused to
+leave home for over a year. Ever cautious to remove temptation from
+him, both my wife and I hoped that the lesson would last him through
+life, but in an unguarded hour he took to drink, and shot to death his
+dearest friend.
+
+For the second offense he received a life sentence. My regret over
+securing his pardon, and the subsequent loss of human life, affected
+me as no other event has ever done in my career. This man would have
+died for me or one of mine, and what I thought to be a generous act to
+a man in prison proved a curse that haunted me for many years. But all
+is well now between us. I make it a point to visit him at least once a
+year; we have talked the matter over and have come to the conclusion
+that the law is just and that he must remain in confinement the
+remainder of his days. That is now the compact, and, strange to say,
+both of us derive a sense of security and peace from our covenant such
+as we had never enjoyed during the year of his liberty. The wardens
+inform me that he is a model prisoner, perfectly content in his
+restraint; and I have promised him that on his death, whether it
+occurs before or after mine, his remains will be brought back to the
+home ranch and be given a quiet grave in some secluded spot.
+
+For any success that I may have achieved, due acknowledgment must be
+given my helpmate. I was blessed with a wife such as falls to the lot
+of few men. Once children were born to our union and a hearthstone
+established, the family became the magnet of my life. It mattered not
+where my occupation carried me, or how long my absence from home, the
+lodestar of a wife and family was a sustaining help. Our first cabin,
+long since reduced to ashes, lives in my memory as a palace. I was
+absent at the time of its burning, but my wife's father always enjoyed
+telling the story on his daughter. The elder Edwards was branding
+calves some five miles distant from the home ranch, but on sighting
+the signal smoke of the burning house, he and his outfit turned the
+cattle loose, mounted their horses, and rode to the rescue at a
+break-neck pace. When they reached the scene our home was enveloped in
+flames, and there was no prospect of saving any of its contents. The
+house stood some distance from the other ranch buildings, and as there
+was no danger of the fire spreading, there was nothing that could be
+done and the flames held undisputed sway. The cause of the fire was
+unknown, my wife being at her father's house at the time; but on
+discovering the flames, she picked up the baby and ran to the burning
+cabin, entered it and rescued the little tin trunk that held her
+girlhood trinkets and a thousand certificates of questionable land
+scrip. When the men dashed up, my wife was sitting on the tin trunk,
+surrounded by the children, all crying piteously, fully unconscious
+of the fact that she had saved the foundation of my present landed
+holdings. The cabin had cost two weeks' labor to build, its
+contents were worthless, but I had no record of the numbers of the
+certificates, and to my wife's presence of mind or intuition in
+an emergency all credit is given for saving the land scrip. Many
+daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. The
+compiling of these memoirs has been a pleasant task. In this
+summing-up of my active life, much has been omitted; and then again,
+there seems to have been a hopeless repetition with the recurring
+years, for seedtime and harvest come to us all as the seasons roll
+round. Four of my boys have wandered far afield, forging out for
+themselves, not content to remain under the restraint of older
+brothers who have assumed the active management of my ranches. One bad
+general is still better than two good ones, and there must be a head
+to a ranch if it is to be made a success. I still keep an eye over
+things, but the rough, hard work now falls on younger shoulders, and I
+find myself delegated to amuse and be amused by the third generation
+of the Anthonys. In spite of my years, I still enjoy a good saddle
+horse, scarcely a day passing but I ride from ten to twenty miles.
+There is a range maxim that "the eyes of the boss make a fat horse,"
+and at deliveries of cattle, rounds-ups, and branding, my mere
+presence makes things move with alacrity. I can still give the boys
+pointers in handling large bodies of cattle, and the ranch outfits
+seem to know that we old-time cowmen have little use for the modern
+picturesque cowboy, unless he is an all-round man and can deliver the
+goods in any emergency.
+
+With but a few years of my allotted span yet to run, I find myself
+in the full enjoyment of all my faculties, ready for a romp with my
+grandchildren or to crack a joke with a friend. My younger girls are
+proving splendid comrades, always ready for a horseback ride or a trip
+to the city. It has always been a characteristic of the Anthony family
+that they could ride a horse before they could walk, and I find the
+third generation following in the footsteps of their elders. My
+grandsons were all expert with a rope before they could read, and it
+is one of the evidences of a merciful providence that their lives have
+been spared, as it is nearly impossible to keep them out of mischief
+and danger. To forbid one to ride a certain dangerous horse only
+serves to heighten his anxiety to master the outlaw, and to banish
+him from the branding pens means a prompt return with or without
+an excuse. On one occasion, on the Double Mountain ranch, with the
+corrals full of heavy cattle, I started down to the pens, but met two
+of my grandsons coming up the hill, and noticed at a glance that there
+had been trouble. I stopped the boys and inquired the cause of their
+tears, when the youngest, a barefooted, chubby little fellow, said to
+me between his sobs, "Grandpa, you'd--you'd--you'd better keep away
+from those corrals. Pa's as mad as a hornet, and--and--and he quirted
+us--yes, he did. If you fool around down there, he'll--he'll--he'll
+just about wear you out."
+
+Should this transcript of my life ever reach the dignity of
+publication, the casual reader, in giving me any credit for success,
+should bear in mind the opportunities of my time. My lot was cast with
+the palmy days of the golden West, with its indefinable charm, now
+past and gone and never to return. In voicing this regret, I desire
+to add that my mistakes are now looked back to as the chastening
+rod, leading me to an appreciation of higher ideals, and the final
+testimony that life is well worth the living.
+
+
+
+***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK REED ANTHONY, COWMAN***
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