. In this favored land of freedom all of our great
men have been of the common people and struggled up from some humble
position. A life of toil may seem to be hard, but it conforms to
nature and natural laws and favors the development of the best that is
in man; and he who shirks toil misses his opportunity. Whatever tends
to wean men from work only weakens them. Luxury and indolence travel
on the downward road of degeneracy. They may make pleasant temporary
indulgence, but are fatal to ultimate success.

Locomotion on a ranch consists almost entirely of horseback riding as
walking is too slow and tiresome and wheeled conveyance is often
inconvenient or impossible for cross-country driving. When the
ranchman mounts his horse in the morning to make his daily rounds he
has a clear field before him. He is "monarch of all he surveys" and
practically owns the earth, since his neighbors live many miles away
and his road leads in any direction clear to the horizon.

The average ranch is not intended to furnish luxuries, but to serve the
best interests of the business in hand, that of growing cattle. It is
usually a "stag camp" composed entirely of men who occupy a rude cabin
near some convenient spring or stream of water, where they keep house
in ranch style and live after a fashion. No money is ever expended in
unnecessary improvements, but every dollar spent in repairs is put
where it will do the most good. The house furnishings are all of the
plainest kind and intended to meet only present necessities. The
larder is not supplied with luxuries nor is the cuisine prolific of
dainties, but there is always on hand a supply of the necessaries of
life.

Every man has his particular work to perform, but unless it be on some
large ranch where the force of men employed is sufficiently large to
require the services of a chef, he is also expected to assist in
keeping house. It is an unwritten law of the ranch that everybody on
the place must share in this work and if anyone shirks his duty he must
either promptly mend his ways or else quit his job. It is seldom,
however, that this rule has to be enforced, as the necessities of the
case require that every man shall be able to prepare a meal as he is
liable to be left alone for days or weeks at a time when he must either
cook or starve.

The equipment of the cowboy is his horse and reata. They are his
constant companions and serve his every purpose. His work include