s it is let go it immediately hunts its mother and
never fails to find her. When cow and calf have come together the calf
is again caught and the branding finished.

The pain produced by the hot branding iron makes the calf bawl lustily
and struggle to free itself. The mother cow sometimes resents the
punishment of her offspring by charging and chasing the men who are
doing the branding; or, if she is of a less fiery disposition, shows
her displeasure by a look of reproach as much as to say, "You bad men,
what have you done to hurt my little darling?"

A peculiarity of brands is that they do not all grow alike. Sometimes
a brand, after it is healed, remains unchanged during the life of the
animal. At other times it enlarges to several times its original size.
Various reasons are assigned to account for this difference. Some
claim that the brand only grows with the calf; others assert that it is
due to deep branding; and, again, it is ascribed to lunar influence.
But, as to the real cause of the difference, no explanation has been
given that really explains the phenomenon.

The cowboy's work is nearly all done in the saddle and calls for much
hard riding. He rides like a Centaur, but is clumsy on his feet.
Being so much in the saddle his walking muscles become weakened, and
his legs pressing against the body of his horse, in time, makes him
bowlegged. In addition he wears high-heeled Mexican boots which throw
him on his toes when he walks and makes his already shambling gait even
more awkward.

A cowboy's life has little in it to inspire him with high ideals or
arouse his ambition to achieve greatness. He leads a hard life among
rough men and receives only coarse fare and rougher treatment. His
life is narrow and he works in a rut that prevents him from taking a
broad view of life. All that he has is his monthly wages, and,
possibly, a hope that at some future day he may have a herd of cattle
of his own.

Managing a herd of range cattle successfully is an art that can only be
acquired by long practice, and it is surprising how expert men can
become at that business. All the work done among cattle is on
horseback, which includes herding, driving, cutting and roping. The
trained cow pony seemingly knows as much about a round-up as his
master, and the two, together, form a combination that is invincible in
a herd of wild cattle. The cow or steer that is selected to be roped
or cut out rarely escapes. Wh