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diff --git a/old/12884-8.txt b/old/12884-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..226f2c1 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12884-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8743 @@ +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*** + + +******* This file should be named 12884-8.txt or 12884-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/8/12884 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + diff --git a/old/12884-8.zip b/old/12884-8.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a49120d --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12884-8.zip diff --git a/old/12884.txt b/old/12884.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b756f4a --- /dev/null +++ b/old/12884.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8743 @@ +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*** + + +******* This file should be named 12884.txt or 12884.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +https://www.gutenberg.org/1/2/8/8/12884 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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