XXI. LIVING IN THE SADDLE

by Andy Adams

　　LIVING IN THE SADDLEThe glow of a smouldering camp-fire piloted the returning horsemensafely to their wagon. A good night's rest fitted them for the task ofthe day, which began at sunrise. The next shipment would come from theflotsam of the year before, many of which were heavy beeves, intendedfor army delivery, but had fallen footsore on the long, drouthy march.The past winter had favored the lame and halt, and after five months ofsummer, the bulk of them had matured into finished beef.By shipping the different contingents separately, the brothers wereenabled to know the situation at all times. No accounts were kept, buthad occasion required, either Joel or Dell could have rendered astatement from memory of returns on the double and single wintered, aswell as on the purchased cattle. Sale statements were furnished by thecommission house, and by filing these, an account of the year'sshipments, each brand separate, could be made up at the end ofthe season.The early struggle of Wells Brothers, in stocking their range, was nowhappily over. Instead of accepting the crumbs which fell as theirportion, their credit and resources enabled them to choose the class ofcattle which promised growth and quick returns. The range had provenitself in maturing beef, and the ranch thereafter would carry onlysufficient cows to quiet and pacify its holdings of cattle."If this was my ranch," said Sargent to the brothers at breakfast, "I'dstock it with two-year-old steers and double-winter every hoof. Lookover those sale statements and you'll see what two winters mean. Thatfirst shipment of Lazy H's was as fat as mud, and yet they netted sevendollars a head less than those rag-tag, double-wintered ones. There's awaste that must be saved hereafter.""That's our intention," said Joel. "We'll ship out every hoof that hasthe flesh this year. Nearly any beef will buy three two-year-old steersto take his place. It may take another year or two to shape up ourcattle, but after that, every hoof must be double-wintered."An hour after sunrise, the drag-net was drawing together the firstround-up of the day. The importance of handling heavy beeves without anyexcitement was fully understood, and to gather a shipment withoutdisturbing those remaining was a task that required patience andintelligence. Men on the outside circle merely turned the cattle on theextremes of the range; they were followed by inner horsemen, and thedrag-net closed at a grazing pace, until the round-up halted on afew acres.The first three shipments had tried out the remuda. The last course inthe education of a cow-horse is cutting cattle out of a mixed round-up.On the present work, those horses which had proven apt were held inreserve, and while the first contingent of cattle was quieting down, theremuda was brought up and saddles shifted to four cutting horses. Theaverage cow can dodge and turn quicker than the ordinary horse, and onlya few of the latter ever combine action and intelligence to outwit theformer. Cunning and ingenuity, combined with the required alertness, aperfect rein, coupled with years of actual work, produce that rarest ofrange mounts--the cutting horse.Dell had been promised a trial in cutting out beeves. Sargent took himin hand, and mounted on two picked horses, they entered the herd. "Now,I'll pick the beeves," said the latter, "and you cut them out. All youneed to do is to rein that horse down on your beef, and he'll take himout of the herd. Of course you'll help the horse some little; but if youlet too many back, I'll call our wrangler and try him out. That horseknows the work just as well as you do. Now, go slow, and don't ride overyour beef."The work commenced. The beeves were lazy from flesh, inactive, and onlya few offered any resistance to the will of the horsemen. Dell made arecord of cutting out fifty beeves in less than an hour, and onlyletting one reënter the herd. The latter was a pony-built beef, andafter sullenly leaving the herd, with the agility of a cat, he whirledright and left on the space of a blanket, and beat the horse back intothe round-up. Sargent lent a hand on the second trial, and when the beefsaw that resistance was useless, he kicked up his heels and trotted awayto join those selected for shipment."He's laughing at you," said Sargent. "He only wanted to try you out.Just wanted to show you that no red-headed boy and flea-bit horse couldturn him. And he showed you.""This beats roping," admitted Dell, as the two returned to the herd,quite willing to change the subject. "Actually when a beef reaches theedge of the herd, this horse swells up and his eyes pop out likedoor-knobs. You can feel every muscle in him become as rigid as ropes,and he touches the ground as if he was walking on eggs. Look at him now;goes poking along as if he was half asleep.""He's a cutting horse and doesn't wear himself out. Whenever you canstrip the bridle off, while cutting out a beef, and handle your steer,that's the top rung a cow-horse can reach. He's a king pin--that'sroyalty."A second round-up was required to complete the train-load of beeves.They were not uniform in weight or age, and would require reclassingbefore loading aboard the cars. Their flesh and finish were fully up tostandard, but the manner in which they were acquired left them uneven,their ages varying from four to seven years."There's velvet in this shipment," said Sargent, when the beeves hadbeen counted and trimmed. "These cattle can defy competition. Instead offive cents a head for watering last year's drive, this year's shipmentfrom crumbs will net you double that amount. The first gathering of beefwill square the account with every thirsty cow you watered last summer."An extra day was allowed in which to reach the railroad. The shipmentmust pen the evening before, and halting the herd within half a mile ofthe railway corrals, the reclassing fell to Joel and Sargent. Thecontingent numbered four hundred and forty beeves, and in order to havethem marketable, all rough, heavy cattle must be cut into a class bythemselves, leaving the remainder neat and uniform. A careful hour'swork resulted in seven car-loads of extra heavy beeves, which werecorralled separately and in advance of the others, completing a long dayin the saddle.Important mail was awaiting Wells Brothers at the station. A permit fromthe state quarantine authorities had been secured, due to the influenceof the commission house and others, admitting the through herd, then enroute from Ogalalla. The grant required a messenger to meet the herdwithout delay, and Dell volunteered his services as courier. Darknessfell before supper was over and the messenger ready."One more shipment will clean up our beeves," said Joel to his brother,"and those through cattle can come in the day we gather our last train.We'll give them a clear field. If the herd hasn't reached theRepublican, push ahead until you meet it."A hundred-mile ride lay before Dell Wells. "You mean for the herd tofollow the old trail," he inquired, "and turn off opposite ourmiddle tank?""That's it; and hold the cattle under herd until we can count andreceive them."Dell led out his horse and mounted. "Dog-toe will take me safely hometo-night," said he, "and we'll reach the Republican by noon to-morrow.If the herd's there, you haven't an hour to waste. We'll drop down onyou in a day and a half."The night received courier and horse. A clatter of caution and advicefollowed the retreating figure out of hearing, when the others threwthemselves down around the camp-fire. Early morning found the outfitastir, and as on the previous occasion, the wagon and remuda werestarted home at daybreak. The loading and shipping instructions weremerely a repetition of previous consignments, and the train had barelyleft the station when the cavalcade rode to overtake the commissary.The wagon was found encamped on the Prairie Dog. An hour's rest wasallowed, fresh horses were saddled, when Joel turned to the cook andwrangler: "Make camp to-night on the middle tank, below headquarters.We'll ride on ahead and drift all the cattle up the creek. Our onlyround-up to-morrow will be well above the old winter corral. It's ourlast gathering of beef, and we want to make a general round-up of therange. We'll drift cattle until dark, so that it'll be late when wereach camp."The outfit of horsemen followed the old trail, and only sighted theBeaver late in the afternoon. The last new tank, built that spring, wasless than a mile below the old crossing; and veering off there, thedrag-net was thrown across the valley below it, and a general driftbegun. An immense half-circle, covering the limits of the range, pointedthe cattle into the valley, and by moving forward and converging as theevening advanced, a general drift was maintained. The pace was barelythat of grazing, and as darkness approached, all cattle on the lower endof the range were grazed safely above the night camp and left adrift.The wagon had arrived, and the men reached camp by twos and threes.There was little danger of the cattle returning to their favorite rangeduring the night, but for fear of stragglers, at an early hour in themorning the drag-net was again thrown out from camp. Headquarters waspassed before the horsemen began encountering any quantity of cattle,and after passing the old winter corral, the men on the points of thehalf-circle were sent to ride the extreme limits of the range. By themiddle of the forenoon, everything was adrift, and as the cattlenaturally turned into the valley for their daily drink, a few completecircles brought the total herd into a general round-up, numbering overfifteen hundred head of mixed cattle.Meanwhile the wagon and remuda had followed up the drift, dinner waswaiting, and after the mid-day meal had been bolted, orders rang out."Right here's where all hands and the cook draw fresh horses," saidSargent, "and get into action. It's a bulky herd, and cutting out willbe slow. The cook and wrangler must hold the beeves, and that will turnthe rest of us free to watch the round-up and cut out."By previous agreement, in order to shorten the work, Joel was to cut outthe remnant of double-wintered beeves, Manly the Lazy H's, while Sargentand an assistant would confine their selections to the single-winteredones in the ---- Y brand. Each man would tally his own work, evencar-loads were required, and a total would constitute the shipment. Thecutting out began quietly; but after a nucleus of beeves were selected,their numbers gained at the rate of three to five a minute, while thesweat began to reek from the horses.Joel cut two car-loads of prime beeves, and then tendered his servicesto Sargent. The cattle had quieted, and a fifth man was relieved fromguarding the round-up, and sent to the assistance of Manly. A steadystream of beef poured out for an hour, when a comparison of figures wasmade. Manly was limited to one hundred and twenty head, completing aneven thousand shipped from the brand, and lacking four, was allowed tocomplete his number. Sargent was without limit, the object being to trimthe general herd of every heavy, rough beef, and a tally on numbers wasall that was required. The work was renewed with tireless energy, andwhen the limit of twenty cars was reached, a general conference resultedin cutting two loads extra."That leaves the home cattle clean of rough stuff," said Sargent, as hedismounted and loosened the saddle on a tired horse. "Any aged steersleft are clean thrifty cattle, and will pay their way to hold anotheryear. Turn the round-up adrift."After blowing their horses, a detail of men drifted the general herd upthe creek. Others lent their assistance to the wrangler in corrallinghis remuda, and after relieving the cutting horses, the beeves weregrazed down the valley. The outfit had not spent a night at headquartersin some time, the wagon serving as a substitute, and orders for eveningfreed all hands except two men on herd with the beeves.The hurry of the day was over. On securing fresh horses, Joel andSargent turned to the assistance of the detail, then drifting the mainherd westward. The men were excused, to change mounts, and relieved fromfurther duty until the guards, holding the beeves, were arranged for thenight. The remnant of the herd was pushed up the creek and freed nearHackberry Grove, and on returning to overtake the beeves, the twohorsemen crossed a spur of the tableland, jutting into the valley,affording a perfect view of the surrounding country.With the first sweep of the horizon, their horses were reined to a halt.Fully fifteen miles to the northeast, and in a dip of the plain, hung anominous dust cloud. Both horsemen read the sign at a glance.Sargent was the first to speak. "Dell met the herd on the Republican,"said he with decision. "It's the Stoddard cattle from Ogalalla. Thepitch of their dust shows they're trailing south."The sign in the sky was read correctly. The smoke from a running trainand the dust from a trailing herd, when viewed from a distance, pitchesupward from a horizon line, and the moving direction of train or herd iseasily read by an observant plainsman. Sargent's summary was confirmedon reaching headquarters, where Dell and the trail foreman were found,the latter regaling Manly and others with the chronicle of thenew trail.The same foreman as the year before was in charge of the herd. Heprotested against any step tending to delivery for that day, even tolooking the cattle over. "Uncle Dud wouldn't come," said he, "and it'sup to me to make the delivery. I've been pioneering around all summerwith this herd, and now that I'm my own boss, I'll take orders from noone. We made rather a forced drive from the Republican, and I want agood night's rest for both the herd and myself. Ten o'clock in themorning will be early enough to tender the cattle for delivery. In themean time, our pilot, the red-headed clerk, will answer all questions.As for myself, I'm going to sleep in the new tent, and if any one callsor wakes me in the morning, I'll get up and wear him out. I've lost aright smart of sleep this summer, and I won't stand no trifling."Joel fully understood that the object in delay was to have the herd inpresentable condition, and offered no objection. The beeves were grazedup opposite headquarters, and the guards were arranged for the night,which passed without incident. Thereafter, as a matter of precaution, adead-line must be maintained between the wintered and the throughcattle; and as Manly was to remain another year, he and an assistantwere detailed to stay at headquarters. A reduced mount of horses wasallowed them, and starting the beeves at daybreak, the wagon and remudafollowed several hours later.The trail foreman was humored in his wishes. It was nearly noon when thethrough herd was reached, grazed and watered to surfeiting, and a singleglance satisfied Joel Wells that the cattle fully met every requirement.The question of age was disposed of as easily as that of quality."We gathered this year's drive on our home ranges," said the foreman,"and each age was held separate until the herds were made up. I startedwith fifteen hundred threes and sixteen hundred twos, with ten headextra of each age, in case of loss on the trail. Our count on leavingOgalalla showed a loss of twelve head. I'm willing to class or countthem as they run. Manly knows the make-up of the herd."Sargent and the brothers rode back and forth through the scatteredcattle. It meant a big saving of time to accept them on a straightcount, and on being rejoined by the foreman, Joel waived his intent toclassify the cattle."I bought this herd on Mr. Stoddard's word," said he, "and I'm going toclass it on yours. String out your cattle, and you and Manly countagainst Sargent and myself."A correct count on a large herd is no easy task. In trailing formation,the cattle march between a line of horsemen, but in the open thedifficulty is augmented. A noonday sun lent its assistance in quietingthe herd, which was shaped into an immense oval, and the countattempted. The four men elected to make the count cut off a number ofthe leaders, and counting them, sent them adrift. Thereafter, the trailoutfit fed the cattle between the quartette, who sat their horses inspeechless intensity, as the column filed through at random. Each manused a string, containing ten knots, checking the hundreds by slippingthe knots, and when the last hoof had passed in review, the quiet of along hour was relieved by a general shout, when the trail outfit dashedup to know the result."How many strays have you?" inquired Sargent of the foreman, as thequartette rode together."That's so; there's a steer and a heifer; we'll throw them in for goodmeasure. What's your count?""Minus the strays, mine repeats yours at Ogalalla," answered Sargent,turning to Joel."Thirty-one hundred and ten," said the boy.The trail foreman gave vent to a fit of laughter. "Young fellow," saidhe, "I never allow no man to outdo me in politeness. If you bought thesecattle on my old man's word, I want you to be safe in receiving them.We'll class them sixteen hundred twos, and fifteen hundred threes, andany overplus falls to the red-headed pilot. That's about what Uncle Dudwould call a Texas count and classification. Shake out your horses;dinner's waiting."There were a few details to arrange. Manly must have an assistant, andan extra man was needed with the shipment, both of whom volunteered fromthe through outfit. The foreman was invited to move up to headquartersand rest to his heart's content, but in his anxiety to report to hisemployer, the invitation was declined."We'll follow up to-morrow," said he, "and lay over on the railroaduntil you come in with our beeves. The next hard work I do is to get intouch with my Uncle Dudley.""Look here--how about it--when may we expect you home?" sputtered Manly,as the others hurriedly made ready to overtake the beef herd."When you see us again," answered Joel, mounting his horse. "If thisshipment strikes a good market, we may drop down to Trail City and pickup another herd. It largely depends on our bank account. Until you seeor hear from us, hold the dead-line and locate your cattle."