nge 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. Th