ayman on the old home plantation and I never lost courage or
my nerve under the most trying circumstances, always cool, observant and
ready for what might turn up, made me liked and respected by my
employers and those of the cattle kings of the western country it was my
good fortune to meet and know. On our own ranch, among my own companions
my position was as high as a king, enjoying the trust and confidence of
my employers and the homage of the men many of whom were indebted to me
on occasions when my long rope or ever ready forty-five colt pistol had
saved them from serious injury or death. But I thought nothing of those
things then, my only ambition was to learn the business and excel in all
things connected with the cow boy's life that I was leading and for
which I had genuine liking. Mounted on my favorite horse, my long
horsehide lariat near my hand, and my trusty guns in my belt and the
broad plains stretching away for miles and miles, every foot of which I
was familiar with, I felt I could defy the world. What man with the fire
of life and youth and health in his veins could not rejoice in such a
life? The fall and winter of 1874 passed on the Arizona ranch without
any unusual occurrence, the cattle wintered well and prospects were
bright for the coming year. In the early spring we again began
preparing for the big round up, the brandings and the cuttings. There
had been hundreds of calves and colts added to the vast herds, these all
had to be cut out and branded, while all the cattle that had strayed
during the winter had to be rounded up and accounted for. This work kept
us in the saddle the greater part of the time. Sometimes we would be
absent for days and weeks at a time on the trail of a bunch of strayed
cattle. On these trips we often encountered big herds of buffalo and
these supplied us with meat, and such meat! A buffalo steak fresh from a
still quivering buffalo broiled over coals is a dish fit for the Gods.
Coming back from one of these trips after strays early in 1875 we were
notified to get ready to take a herd of five hundred head of horses up
in South Dakota, the trip was a long one but horses can travel much
faster than cattle and on the whole are much easier to handle. On the
trails we were all happy at the prospect of the trip and were not long
in getting ready and getting the horses started out on the trail, we
took them by way of New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska. They gave us very
little tro