Chapter XI. All in the Day's Work

by Andy Adams

　　The next morning the herds moved out like brigades of an army ondress-parade. Our front covered some six or seven miles, theBuford cattle in the lead, while those intended for Indiandelivery naturally fell into position on flank and rear. Mybeeves had enjoyed a splendid rest during the past week, and noweasily took the lead in a steady walk, every herd avoiding thetrail until necessity compelled us to reenter it. The old pathwaywas dusty and merely pointed the way, and until rain fell tosettle it, our intention was to give it a wide berth. As themorning wore on and the herds drew farther and farther apart,except for the dim dust-clouds of ten thousand trampling feet ona raw prairie, it would have been difficult for us to establisheach other's location. Several times during the forenoon, when aswell of the plain afforded us a temporary westward view, wecaught glimpses of Forrest's cattle as they snailed forward,fully five miles distant and barely noticeable under the lowsky-line. The Indian herds had given us a good start in themorning, and towards evening as the mirages lifted, not adust-signal was in sight, save one far in our lead.The mouth of June, so far, had been exceedingly droughty. Thescarcity of water on the plains between Dodge and Ogalalla wasthe dread of every trail drover. The grass, on the other hand,had matured from the first rank growth of early spring into aforage, rich in sustenance, from which our beeves took on fleshand rounded into beauties. Lack of water being the one drawback,long drives, not in miles but hours, became the order of the day;from four in the morning to eight at night, even at an ox's pace,leaves every landmark of the day far in the rear at nightfall.Thus for the next few days we moved forward, the monotony ofexistence broken only by the great variety of mirage, the glareof heat-waves, and the silent signal in the sky of othervoyageurs like ourselves. On reaching Pig Boggy, nothing butpools greeted us, while the regular crossing was dry and dustyand paved with cattle bones. My curiosity was strong enough tocause me to revisit the old bridge which I had helped to buildtwo seasons before; though unused, it was still intact, a creditto the crude engineering of Pete Slaughter. After leaving thevalley of the Solomon, the next running water was Pawnee Fork,where we overtook and passed six thousand yearling heifers in twoherds, sold the winter before by John Blocker for delivery inMontana. The Northwest had not yet learned that Texas was thenatural breeding-ground for cattle, yet under favorableconditions in both sections, the ranchman of the South couldraise one third more calves from an equal number of cows.The weather continued hot and sultry. Several times storms hungon our left for hours which we hoped would reach us, and at nightthe lightning flickered in sheets, yet with the exception ofcooling the air, availed us nothing. But as we encamped one nighton the divide before reaching the Smoky River, a storm struck usthat sent terror to our hearts. There were men in my outfit, andothers in Lovell's employ, who were from ten to twenty years mysenior, having spent almost their lifetime in the open, who hadnever before witnessed such a night. The atmosphere seemed to beovercharged with electricity, which played its pranks among us,neither man nor beast being exempt. The storm struck the divideabout two hours after the cattle had been bedded, and from thenuntil dawn every man was in the saddle, the herd drifting fullythree miles during the night. Such keen flashes of lightningaccompanied by instant thunder I had never before witnessed,though the rainfall, after the first dash, was light in quantity.Several times the rain ceased entirely, when the phosphorus, likea prairie fire, appeared on every hand. Great sheets of itflickered about, the cattle and saddle stock were soon covered,while every bit of metal on our accoutrements was coated andtwinkling with phosphorescent light. My gauntlets were covered,and wherever I touched myself, it seemed to smear and spread andrefuse to wipe out. Several times we were able to hold up andquiet the cattle, but along their backs flickered the ghostlylight, while across the herd, which occupied acres, it remindedone of the burning lake in the regions infernal. As the nightwore on, several showers fell, accompanied by almost incessantbolts of lightning, but the rainfall only added moisture to theground and this acted like fuel in reviving the phosphor. Severalhours before dawn, great sheets of the fiery elements chased eachother across the northern sky, lighting up our surroundings untilone could have read ordinary print. The cattle stood humped ortook an occasional step forward, the men sat their horses, sullenand morose, forming new resolutions for the future, in whichtrail work was not included. But morning came at last, cool andcloudy, a slight recompense for the heat which we had enduredsince leaving Dodge.With the breaking of day, the herd was turned back on its course.For an hour or more the cattle grazed freely, and as the sunbroke through the clouds, they dropped down like tired infantryon a march, and we allowed them an hour's rest. We were stillsome three or four miles eastward of the trail, and afterbreakfasting and changing mounts we roused the cattle and startedon an angle for the trail, expecting to intercept it before noon.There was some settlement in the Smoky River Valley which must beavoided, as in years past serious enmity had been engenderedbetween settlers and drovers in consequence of the ravages ofTexas fever among native cattle. I was riding on the left point,and when within a short distance of the trail, one of the boyscalled my attention to a loose herd of cattle, drifting south andfully two miles to the west of us. It was certainly somethingunusual, and as every man of us scanned them, a lone horseman wasseen to ride across their front, and, turning them, continue onfor our herd. The situation was bewildering, as the naturalcourse of every herd was northward, but here was one apparentlyabandoned like a water-logged ship at sea.The messenger was a picture of despair. He proved to be the ownerof the abandoned cattle, and had come to us with an appeal forhelp. According to his story, he was a Northern cowman and hadpurchased the cattle a few days before in Dodge. He had boughtthe outfit complete, with the understanding that the through helpwould continue in his service until his range in Wyoming wasreached. But it was a Mexican outfit, foreman and all, and duringthe storm of the night before, one of the men had been killed bylightning. The accident must have occurred near dawn, as the manwas not missed until daybreak, and like ours, his cattle haddrifted with the storm. Some time was lost in finding the body,and to add to the panic that had already stricken the outfit, theshirt of the unfortunate vaquero was burnt from the corpse. Thehorse had escaped scathless, though his rider met death, whilethe housings were stripped from the saddle so that it fell fromthe animal. The Mexican foreman and vaqueros had thrown theirhands in the air; steeped in superstition, they considered theloss of their comrade a bad omen, and refused to go farther. Theherd was as good as abandoned unless we could lend a hand.The appeal was not in vain. Detailing four of my men, and leavingJack Splann as segundo in charge of our cattle, I galloped awaywith the stranger. As we rode the short distance between the twoherds and I mentally reviewed the situation, I could not help butthink it was fortunate for the alien outfit that their employerwas a Northern cowman instead of a Texan. Had the present ownerbeen of the latter school, there would have been more than onedead Mexican before a valuable herd would have been abandonedover an unavoidable accident. I kept my thoughts to myself,however, for the man had troubles enough, and on reaching hisdrifting herd, we turned them back on their course. It was highnoon when we reached his wagon and found the Mexican outfit stillkeening over their dead comrade. We pushed the cattle, a mixedherd of about twenty-five hundred, well past the camp, and ridingback, dismounted among the howling vaqueros. There was not thesemblance of sanity among them. The foreman, who could speak somelittle English, at least his employer declared he could, wascarrying on like a madman, while a majority of the vaqueros wereplaying a close second. The dead man had been carried in and waslying under a tarpaulin in the shade of the wagon. Feeling thatmy boys would stand behind me, and never offering to look at thecorpse, I inquired in Spanish of the vaqueros which one of themen was their corporal. A heavy-set, bearded man was pointed out,and walking up to him, with one hand I slapped him in the faceand with the other relieved him of a six-shooter. He staggeredback, turned ashen pale, and before he could recover from thesurprise, in his own tongue I berated him as a worthless cur fordeserting his employer over an accident. Following up thetemporary advantage, I inquired for the cook and horse-wrangler,and intimated clearly that there would be other dead Mexicans ifthe men were not fed and the herd and saddle stock looked after;that they were not worthy of the name of vaqueros if they werelax in a duty with which they had been intrusted."But Pablo is dead," piped one of the vaqueros in defense."Yes, he is," said G--G Cederdall in Spanish, bristling up to thevaquero who had volunteered the reply; "and we'll bury him and ahalf-dozen more of you if necessary, but the cattle will not beabandoned--not for a single hour. Pablo is dead, but he was nobetter than a hundred other men who have lost their lives on thistrail. If you are a lot of locoed sheep-herders instead ofvaqueros, why didn't you stay at home with the children insteadof starting out to do a man's work. Desert your employer, willyou? Not in a country where there is no chance to pick up othermen. Yes, Pablo is dead, and we'll bury him."The aliens were disconcerted, and wilted. The owner picked upcourage and ordered the cook to prepare dinner. We loaned ourhorses to the wrangler and another man, the remuda was broughtin, and before we sat down to the midday meal, every vaquero hada horse under saddle, while two of them had ridden away to lookafter the grazing cattle. With order restored, we set aboutsystematically to lay away the unfortunate man. A detail ofvaqueros under Cederdall prepared a grave on the nearest knoll,and wrapping the corpse in a tarpaulin, we buried him like asailor at sea. Several vaqueros were visibly affected at thegraveside, and in order to pacify them, I suggested that weunload the wagon of supplies and haul up a load of rock from anear-by outcropping ledge. Pablo had fallen like a good soldierat his post, I urged, and it was befitting that his comradesshould mark his last resting-place. To our agreeable surprise thecorporal hurrahed his men and the wagon was unloaded in a jiffyand dispatched after a load of rock. On its return, we spent anhour in decorating the mound, during which time lament wasexpressed for the future of Pablo's soul. Knowing the almostuniversal faith of this alien race, as we stood around thefinished mound, Cederdall, who was Catholic born, called forcontributions to procure the absolution of the Church. The ownerof the cattle was the first to respond, and with the aid of myboys and myself, augmented later by the vaqueros, a purse of overfifty dollars was raised and placed in charge of the corporal, tobe expended in a private mass on their return to San Antonio.Meanwhile the herd and saddle stock had started, and reloadingthe wagon, we cast a last glance at the little mound which made anew landmark on the old trail.The owner of the cattle was elated over the restoration of order.My contempt for him, however, had not decreased; the old maxim offools rushing in where angels feared to tread had only been againexemplified. The inferior races may lack in courage andleadership, but never in cunning and craftiness. This alienoutfit had detected some weakness in the armor of their newemployer, and when the emergency arose, were ready to takeadvantage of the situation. Yet under an old patron, these samemen would never dare to mutiny or assert themselves. That therewere possible breakers ahead for this cowman there was no doubt;for every day that those Mexicans traveled into a strangecountry, their Aztec blood would yearn for their Southern home.And since the unforeseen could not be guarded against, at thefirst opportunity I warned the stranger that it was altogethertoo soon to shout. To his anxious inquiries I replied that hisvery presence with the herd was a menace to its successfulhandling by the Mexican outfit. He should throw allresponsibility on the foreman, or take charge himself, which wasimpossible now; for an outfit which will sulk and mutiny oncewill do so again under less provocation. When my curtain lecturewas ended, the owner authorized me to call his outfit togetherand give them such instructions as I saw fit.We sighted our cattle but once during the afternoon. On locatingthe herd, two of my boys left us to return, hearing the messagethat the rest of us might not put in an appearance beforemorning. All during the evening, I made it a point to cultivatethe acquaintance of several vaqueros, and learned the names oftheir master and rancho. Taking my cue from the generalinformation gathered, when we encamped for the night and allhands, with the exception of those on herd, had finished catchinghorses, I attracted their attention by returning the six-shootertaken from their corporal at noontime. Commanding attention, intheir mother tongue I addressed myself to the Mexican foreman."Felipe Esquibil," said I, looking him boldly in the face, "youwere foreman of this herd from Zavalla County, Texas, to theArkansaw River, and brought your cattle through without loss oraccident."The herd changed owners at Dodge, but with the understandingthat you and your vaqueros were to accompany the cattle to thisgentleman's ranch in the upper country. An accident happens, andbecause you are not in full control, you shift the responsibilityand play the baby act by wanting to go home. Had the death of oneof your men occurred below the river, and while the herd wasstill the property of Don Dionisio of Rancho Los Olmus, you wouldhave lost your own life before abandoning your cattle. Now, withthe consent and approval of the new owner, you are again investedwith full charge of this herd until you arrive at the PlatteRiver. A new outfit will relieve you on reaching Ogalalla, andthen you will be paid your reckoning and all go home. In yourimmediate rear are five herds belonging to my employer, and Ihave already sent warning to them of your attempted desertion. Afortnight or less will find you relieved, and the only safety instore for you is to go forward. Now your employer is going to mycamp for the night, and may not see you again before this herdreaches the Platte. Remember, Don Felipe, that the opportunity isyours to regain your prestige as a corporal--and you need itafter to-day's actions. What would Don Dionisio say if he knewthe truth? And do you ever expect to face your friends again atLos Olmus? From a trusted corporal back to a sheep-shearer wouldbe your reward--and justly."Cederdall, Wolf, and myself shook hands with several vaqueros,and mounting our horses we started for my camp, taking thestranger with us. Only once did he offer any protest to going."Very well, then," replied G--G, unable to suppress his contempt,"go right back. I'll gamble that you sheathe a knife beforemorning if you do. It strikes me you don't sabe Mexicans verymuch."Around the camp-fire that night, the day's work was reviewed. Myrather drastic treatment of the corporal was fully commented uponand approved by the outfit, yet provoked an inquiry from theirrepressible Parent. Turning to the questioner, Burl Van Veddersaid in dove-like tones: "Yes, dear, slapped him just to remindthe varmint that his feet were on the earth, and that pawing theair and keening didn't do any good. Remember, love, there was theliving to be fed, the dead to bury, and the work in hand requiredevery man to do his duty. Now was there anything else you'd liketo know?"