exas herds, and Major
Hunter hastened on to Kansas City to protect our credit, while I hung
around Doan's Store until our last cattle crossed Red River. The
annual exodus from Texas to the North was on with a fury, and on my
arrival at Dodge all precedents in former prices were swept aside in
the eager rush to secure cattle. Herds were sold weeks before their
arrival, others were met as far south as Camp Supply, and it was
easily to be seen that it was a seller's market. Two thirds of the
trail herds merely took on new supplies at Dodge and passed on to the
Platte. Once our heavy beeves had crossed the Arkansas, my partner and
I swung round to Ogalalla and met our advance herd, the foreman of
which reported meeting buyers as far south as the Republican River.
It was actually dangerous to price cattle for fear of being under the
market; new classifications were being introduced, Pan-Handle and
north Texas steers commanding as much as three dollars a head over
their brethren from the coast and far south.

The boom in cattle of the early '80's was on with a vengeance. There
was no trouble to sell herds that year. One morning, while I was
looking for a range on the north fork of the Platte, Major Hunter sold
my seven thousand heifers at twenty-five dollars around, commanding
two dollars and a half a head over steers of the same age. Edwards had
been left in charge at Dodge, and my active partner reluctantly tore
himself away from the market at Ogalalla to attend our deliveries
of beef at army posts. Within six weeks after arriving at Dodge and
Ogalalla the last of our herds had changed owners, requiring another
month to complete the transfers at different destinations. Many of the
steers went as far north as the Yellowstone River, and Wyoming and
Nebraska were liberal buyers at the upper market, while Colorado,
Kansas, and the Indian Territory absorbed all offerings at the lower
point. Horses were even in demand, and while we made no effort to sell
our remudas, over half of them changed owners with the herds they had
accompanied into the North.

The season closed with a flourish. After we had wound up our affairs,
Edwards and I drifted down to the beef ranch with the unsold saddle
stock, and the shipping season opened. The Santa Fe Railway had built
south to Caldwell that spring, affording us a nearer shipping point,
and we moved out five to ten trainloads a week of single and double
wintered beeves. The through cattle fo