VIII. THE "LAZY L"

by Andy Adams

　　THE "LAZY L"The homeward trip was a picnic. Counting mine, we had one hundred andfifty saddle horses. All surplus men in the employ of Major Mabry hadbeen previously sent home until there remained at the close of theseason only the drover, seven men, and myself. We averaged forty milesa day returning, sweeping down the plains like a north wind until RedRiver Station was reached. There our ways parted, and cutting separatemy horses, we bade each other farewell, the main outfit heading forFort Worth, while I bore to the westward for Palo Pinto. Major Sethwas anxious to secure my services for another year, but I madeno definite promises. We parted the best of friends. There werescattering ranches on my route, but driving fifty loose horses madetraveling slow, and it was nearly a week before I reached the Edwardsranch.The branding season was nearly over. After a few days' rest, an outfitof men was secured, and we started for my little ranch on the ClearFork. Word was sent to the county seat, appointing a date with thesurveyor, and on arriving at the new ranch I found that the corralshad been in active use by branding parties. We were soon in the thickof the fray, easily holding our own, branding every maverick on therange as well as catching wild cattle. My weakness for a good horsewas the secret of much of my success in ranching during the earlydays, for with a remuda of seventy picked horses it was impossible forany unowned animal to escape us. Our drag-net scoured the hills andvalleys, and before the arrival of the surveyor we had run the "44"on over five hundred calves, mavericks, and wild cattle. Differentoutfits came down the Brazos and passed up the Clear Fork, alwaysusing my corrals when working in the latter valley. We usually joinedin with these cow-hunting parties, extending to them every possiblecourtesy, and in return many a thrifty yearling was added to my brand.Except some wild-cattle hunting which we had in view, every hoof wasbranded up by the time the surveyor arrived at the ranch.The locating of twenty sections of land was an easy matter. We hadestablished corners from which to work, and commencing on the west endof my original location, we ran off an area of country, four mileswest by five south. New outside corners were established withburied charcoal and stakes, while the inner ones were indicated byhalf-buried rock, nothing divisional being done except to locate theland in sections. It was a beautiful tract, embracing a large bend ofthe Clear Fork, heavily timbered in several places, the soil being ofa rich, sandy loam and covered with grass. I was proud of my landedinterest, though small compared to modern ranches; and after thesurveying ended, we spent a few weeks hunting out several rendezvousof wild cattle before returning to the Edwards ranch.I married during the holidays. The new ranch was abandoned during thewinter months, as the cattle readily cared for themselves, requiringno attention. I now had a good working capital, and having establishedmyself by marriage into a respectable family of the country, I foundseveral avenues open before me. Among the different openings forattractive investment was a brand of cattle belonging to an estatesouth in Comanche County. If the cattle were as good as representedthey were certainly a bargain, as the brand was offered straightthrough at four dollars and a half a head. It was represented thatnothing had been sold from the brand in a number of years, the estatewas insolvent, and the trustee was anxious to sell the entire stockoutright. I was impressed with the opportunity, and early in thewinter George Edwards and I rode down to look the situation over. Byriding around the range a few days we were able to get a good idea ofthe stock, and on inquiry among neighbors and men familiar with thebrand, I was satisfied that the cattle were a bargain. A lawyer at thecounty seat was the trustee, and on opening negotiations with him itwas readily to be seen that all he knew about the stock was that shownby the books and accounts. According to the branding for the past fewyears, it would indicate a brand of five or six thousand cattle. Theonly trouble in trading was to arrange the terms, my offer being halfcash and the balance in six months, the cattle to be gathered earlythe coming spring. A bewildering list of references was given and wereturned home. Within a fortnight a letter came from the trustee,accepting my offer and asking me to set a date for the gathering. Ifelt positive that the brand ought to run forty per cent steercattle, and unless there was some deception, there would be in theneighborhood of two thousand head fit for the trail. I at once boughtthirty more saddle horses, outfitted a wagon with oxen to draw it,besides hiring fifteen cow-hands. Early in March we started forComanche County, having in the mean time made arrangements with theelder Edwards to supply one thousand head of trail cattle, intendedfor the Kansas market.An early spring favored the work. By the 10th of the month we wereactively engaged in gathering the stock. It was understood that wewere 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 ranchesgave us round-ups, and by the time we reached the home range of thebrand I was beginning to get uneasy on account of the numbers underherd. My capital was limited, and if we gathered six thousand head itwould absorb my money. I needed a little for expenses on the trail,and too many cattle would be embarrassing. There was no intention onmy part to act dishonestly in the premises, even if we did drop outany number of yearlings during the last few days of the gathering. Itwas absolutely necessary to hold the numbers down to five thousandhead, or as near that number as possible, and by keeping the ranchoutfit 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 thegathering was finished, to the surprise of every one the herd countedout fifty-six hundred and odd cattle. But the numbers were stillwithin the limits of my capital, and at the final settlement I askedthe privilege of cutting out and leaving on the range one hundred headof weak, thin stock and cows heavy in calf. I offered to tally-markand send after them during the fall branding, when the trustee beggedme to make him an offer on any remnant of cattle, making me full ownerof the brand. I hesitated to involve myself deeper in debt, but whenhe finally offered me the "Lazy L" brand outright for the sum of onethousand dollars, and on a credit, I never stuttered in accepting hisproposal.I culled back one hundred before starting, there being no occasion nowto tally-mark, as I was in full possession of the brand. This amountof cattle in one herd was unwieldy to handle. The first day's drive wescarcely made ten miles, it being nearly impossible to water such anunmanageable body of animals, even from a running stream. The secondnoon we cut separate all the steers two years old and upward, findinga few under twenty-three hundred in the latter class. This left threethousand and odd hundred in the mixed herd, running from yearlings toold range bulls. A few extra men were secured, and some progress wasmade for the next few days, the steers keeping well in the lead, thetwo herds using the same wagon, and camping within half a mile of eachother at night. It was fully ninety miles to the Edwards ranch; andwhen about two thirds the distance was covered, a messenger met usand reported the home cattle under herd and ready to start. It stilllacked two days of the appointed time for our return, but rather thandisappoint any one, I took seven men and sixty horses with the leadherd and started in to the ranch, leaving the mixed cattle to followwith the wagon. We took a day's rations on a pack horse, touched at aranch, and on the second evening reached home. My contingent to thetrail herd would have classified approximately seven hundred twos, sixhundred threes, and one thousand four years old or over.The next morning the herd started up the trail under George Edwardsas foreman. It numbered a few over thirty-three hundred head and hadfourteen men, all told, and ninety-odd horses, with four good mules toa new wagon. I promised to overtake them within a week, and the sameevening rejoined the mixed herd some ten miles back down the country.Calves were dropping at an alarming rate, fully twenty of them were inthe wagon, their advent delaying the progress of the herd. By dint ofgreat exertion we managed to reach the ranch the next evening, wherewe 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 theClear Fork, and releasing all but four men, the idle help about thehome ranch were substituted. In moving cattle from one range toanother, it should always be done with the coming of grass, as itgives them a full summer to locate and become attached to their newrange. When possible, the coming calf crop should be born where themothers are to be located, as it strengthens the ties between ananimal and its range by making sacred the birthplace of its young.From instinctive warnings of maternity, cows will frequently return tothe same retreat annually to give birth to their calves.It was about fifty miles between the home and the new ranch. As it wasimportant to get the cattle located as soon as possible, they wereaccordingly started with but the loss of a single day. Two wagonsaccompanied them, every calf was saved, and by nursing the herd earlyand late we managed to average ten miles between sunrise and sunset.The elder Edwards, anxious to see the new ranch, accompanied us, hispatience with a cow being something remarkable. When we lacked but aday's drive of the Clear Fork it was considered advisable for meto return. Once the cattle reached the new range, four men wouldloose-herd them for a month, after which they would continue to ridethe range and turn back all stragglers. The veteran cowman assumedcontrol, and I returned to the home ranch, where a horse had been lefton which to overtake the trail herd. My wife caught several glimpsesof me that spring; with stocking a new ranch and starting a herd onthe trail I was as busy as the proverbial cranberry-merchant. Wherea year before I was moneyless, now my obligations were accepted fornearly fourteen thousand dollars.I overtook the herd within one day's drive of Red River. Everythingwas moving nicely, the cattle were well trail-broken, not a run hadoccurred, and all was serene and lovely. We crossed into the Nationsat the regular ford, nothing of importance occurring until we reachedthe Washita River. The Indians had been bothering us more or less, butwe 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 theford. Several of the boys with us pretended to understand the signlanguage, and this resulted in an animosity being engendered betweentwo of the outfit over interpreting a sign made by a chief. After wehad given the Indians two strays, quite a band of bucks gathered onfoot at the crossing, refusing to let us pass until their demand hadbeen fulfilled. We had a few carbines, every lad had a six-shooter ortwo, and, summoning every mounted man, we rode up to the ford. Thebraves outnumbered us about three to one, and it was easy to be seenthat they had bows and arrows concealed under their blankets. I wasdetermined to give up no more cattle, and in the powwow that followedthe chief of the band became very defiant. I accused him and his bandof being armed, and when he denied it one of the boys jumped a horseagainst the chief, knocking him down. In the mêlée, the leader'sblanket was thrown from him, exposing a strung bow and quiver ofarrows, and at the same instant every man brought his carbine orsix-shooter to bear on the astonished braves. Not a shot was fired,nor was there any further resistance offered on the part of theIndians; but as they turned to leave the humiliated chief pointed tothe sun and made a circle around his head as if to indicate a threatof scalping.It was in interpreting this latter sign that the dispute arose betweentwo of the outfit. One of the boys contended that I was to be scalpedbefore the sun set, while the other interpreted the threat that wewould all he scalped before the sun rose again. Neither versiontroubled me, but the two fellows quarreled over the matter whilereturning to the herd, until the lie was passed and their six-shootersbegan talking. Fortunately they were both mounted on horses that weregun-shy, and with the rearing and plunging the shots went wild. Everyman in the outfit interfered, the two fellows were disarmed, and westarted on with the cattle. No interference was offered by the Indiansat the ford, the guards were doubled that night, and the incident wasforgotten within a week. I simply mention this to give some idea ofthe men of that day, willing to back their opinions, even on trivialmatters, with their lives. "I'm the quickest man on the trigger thatever came over the trail," said a cowpuncher to me one night in asaloon in Abilene. "You're a blankety blank liar," said a quiet littleman, a perfect stranger to both of us, not even casting a glance ourway. I wrested a six-shooter from the hand of my acquaintanceand hustled him out of the house, getting roundly cursed for myinterference, though no doubt I saved human life.On reaching Stone's Store, on the Kansas line, I left the herd tofollow, and arrived at Abilene in two days and a half. Only sometwenty-five herds were ahead of ours, though I must have passed adozen or more in my brief ride, staying over night with them andscarcely ever missing a meal on the road. My motive in reachingAbilene in advance of our cattle was to get in touch with the market,secure my trading-corrals again, and perfect my arrangements to do acommission business. But on arriving, instead of having the field tomyself, I found the old corrals occupied by a trio of jobbers, whiletwo new ones had been built within ten miles of town, and half a dozenfirms were offering their services as salesmen. There was a lack ofactual buyers, at least among my acquaintances, and the railroads hadadjusted their rates, while a largely increased drive was predicted.The spring had been a wet one, the grass was washy and devoid ofnutriment, and there was nothing in the outlook of an encouragingnature. Yet the majority of the drovers were very optimistic of thefuture, freely predicting better prices than ever before, while manydeclared their intention of wintering in case their hopes were notrealized. By the time our herd arrived, I had grown timid of themarket in general and was willing to sell out and go home. I makeno pretension to having any extra foresight, probably it was myoutstanding obligations in Texas that fostered my anxiety, but I wasprepared to sell to the first man who talked business.Our cattle arrived in good condition. The weather continued wet andstormy, the rank grass harbored myriads of flies and mosquitoes, andthe through cattle failed to take on flesh as in former years. Rivaltowns were competing for the trail business, wintered cattle werelower, and a perfect chaos existed as to future prices, droversbolstering and pretended buyers depressing them. Within a week aftertheir arrival I sold fifteen hundred of our heaviest beeves to an armycontractor from Fort Russell in Dakota. He had brought his own outfitdown to receive the cattle, and as his contract called for a millionand a half pounds on foot, I assisted him in buying sixteen hundredmore. The contractor was a shrewd Yankee, and although I admittedhaving served in the Confederate army, he offered to form apartnership with me for supplying beef to the army posts along theupper Missouri River. He gave me an insight into the profits in thatparticular trade, and even urged the partnership, but while theopportunity was a golden one, I was distrustful of a Northern manand declined the alliance. Within a year I regretted not forming thepartnership, as the government was a stable patron, and my adoptedState had any quantity of beef cattle.My brother paid me a visit during the latter part of June. We had notseen each other in five years, during which time he had developed intoa prosperous stockman, feeding cattle every winter on his Missourifarm. He was anxious to interest me in corn-feeding steers, but I hadmy hands full at home, and within a week he went on west and boughttwo hundred Colorado natives, shipping them home to feed the comingwinter. Meanwhile a perfect glut of cattle was arriving at Abilene,fully six hundred thousand having registered at Stone's Store onpassing into Kansas, yet prices remained firm, considering thecondition of the stock. Many drovers halted only a day or two, andturned westward looking for ranges on which to winter their herds.Barely half the arrivals were even offered, which afforded fair pricesto those who wished to sell. Before the middle of July the last ofours was closed out at satisfactory prices, and the next day theoutfit started home, leaving me behind. I was anxious to secure anextra remuda of horses, and, finding no opposition in that particularfield, had traded extensively in saddle stock ever since my arrivalat Abilene. Gentle horses were in good demand among shippers andranchmen, and during my brief stay I must have handled a thousandhead, buying whole remudas and retailing in quantities to suit, notfailing to keep the choice ones for my own use. Within two weeks afterGeorge Edwards started home, I closed up my business, fell in with areturning outfit, and started back with one hundred and ten pickedsaddle horses. After crossing Red River, I hired a boy to assist mein driving the remuda, and I reached home only ten days behind theothers.I was now the proud possessor of over two hundred saddle horses whichhad actually cost me nothing. To use a borrowed term, they were the"velvet" of my trading operations. I hardly feel able to convey anidea of the important rôle that the horses play in the operations ofa cowman. Whether on the trail or on the ranch, there is a completehelplessness when the men are not properly mounted and able to copewith any emergency that may arise. On the contrary, and especiallyin trail work, when men are well mounted, there is no excuse for notriding in the lead of any stampede, drifting with the herd on thestormiest night, or trailing lost cattle until overtaken. Owing tothe nature of the occupation, a man may be frequently wet, cold, andhungry, and entitled to little sympathy; but once he feels that he isno longer mounted, his grievance becomes a real one. The cow-horsesubsisted on the range, and if ever used to exhaustion was worthlessfor weeks afterward. Hence the value of a good mount in numbers, andthe importance of frequent changes when the duties were arduous. Theimportance of good horses was first impressed on me during my trips toFort Sumner, and I then resolved that if fortune ever favored me toreach the prominence of a cowman, the saddle stock would have my firstconsideration.On my return it was too early for the fall branding. I made a trip outto the new ranch, taking along ample winter supplies, two extra lads,and the old remuda of sixty horses. The men had located the new cattlefairly well, the calf crop was abundant, and after spending a week Ireturned home. I had previously settled my indebtedness in ComancheCounty by remittances from Abilene, and early in the fall I made up anoutfit to go down and gather the remnant of "Lazy L" cattle. Takingalong the entire new remuda, we dropped down in advance of thebranding season, visited among the neighboring ranches, and offered adollar a head for solitary animals that had drifted any great distancefrom the range of the brand. A camp was established at some corrals onthe original range, extra men were employed with the opening of thebranding season, and after twenty days' constant riding we startedhome with a few over nine hundred head, not counting two hundred andodd calves. Little wonder the trustee threatened to sue me; but thenit was his own proposition.On arriving at the Edwards ranch, we halted a few days in order togather the fruits of my first mavericking. The fall work was nearlyfinished, and having previously made arrangements to put my brandunder herd, we received two hundred and fifty more, with seventy-fivethrifty calves, before proceeding on to the new ranch on the ClearFork. On arriving there we branded the calves, put the two brandsunder herd, corralling them at night and familiarizing them with theirnew home, and turning them loose at the end of two weeks. Movingcattle in the fall was contrary to the best results, but it was anidle time, and they were all young stuff and easily located. Duringthe interim of loose-herding this second contingent of stock cattle,the branding had been finished on the ranch, and I was able to take anaccount of my year's work. The "Lazy L" was continued, and from thatbrand alone there was an increase of over seventeen hundred calves.With all the expenses of the trail deducted, the steer cattle alonehad paid for the entire brand, besides adding over five thousanddollars to my cash capital. Who will gainsay my statement that Texaswas a good country in the year 1871?