The Project Gutenberg eBook, Reed Anthony, Cowman, by Andy Adams

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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
fr