m with much knowledge of practical business
life or affairs, all of them with the idea of social superiority over
the natives, which they very foolishly showed. Sport, not work, occupied
their whole time and attention. Altogether it seemed that this was no
place for one who had to push his fortunes. The climate, too, seemed to
be far from agreeable, in summer being very hot, in winter very cold;
so, with another man, I decided to go further west and south, to the
sheep and cattle country of New Mexico; not that I had any knowledge of
sheep or cattle, hardly knowing the one from the other; but the nature
of Ranch life (Ranch with a big R) and the romance attaching to it had
much to do with my determination.

Arrived in New Mexico I went to live with a sheepman--a practical
sheepman from Australia--to study the industry and see how I liked it.
In the neighbourhood was a cattle ranch and a lot of cowboys. I saw much
of _their_ life, and was so attracted by it that the sheep proposition
was finally abandoned as unsuitable. Still, I was very undecided, knew
little of the ways of the country and still less of the cattle business.
I moved to the small town of Las Vegas, then about the western end of
the Santa Fe railroad. Here I stayed six months, making acquaintances
and listening to others' experiences.

Las Vegas was then a true frontier town. It was "booming," full of life
and all kinds of people, money plentiful, saloons, gambling-dens and
dance-halls "wide open." Real Estate was moving freely, prices
advancing, speculation rife, and--I caught the infection! A few
successful deals gave me courage and tempted me further. I became a real
gambler. On some deals I made tremendous profits. I even owned a saloon
and gambling-hall, which paid me a huge rental and gave me my drinks
free! The world looked "easy."

Not content with Las Vegas, I followed the road to Albuquerque and
Socorro, had some deals there and spent my evenings playing poker, faro
and monte with the best and "toughest" of them. Santa Fe, the capital,
was then as much a "hell" as Las Vegas.

Let me try to describe one of these gambling resorts. A long, low room,
probably a saloon, with the pretentious bar in front; tables on either
side of the room, and an eager group round each one, the game being
roulette, faro, highball, poker, crapps or monte. The dealers, or
professional gamblers, are easily distinguished. Their dress consists
invariably of a well-laund