they disappeared at once.

In my own pasture in New Mexico I for various reasons decided to
"breed," instead of simply handle steers. Steers were certainly safer
and surer, and the life was an easy one. But there appeared to me
greater possibilities in breeding if the cows were handled right and
taken proper care of. It will be seen by-and-by that my anticipations
were more than justified, so that the success of this little ranch has
been a source of pride to me.

The ranch was called "Running Water," because situated on Running Water
Draw, a creek that never to my knowledge "ran" except after a very heavy
rain. Prairie fires were the greatest danger in this level range
country, there being no rivers, caсons, or even roads to check their
advance. Lightning might set the grass afire; a match carelessly dropped
by the cigarette-smoker; a camp fire not properly put out; or any
mischievously-inclined individual might set the whole country ablaze.
Indeed, the greatest prairie fire I have record of was maliciously
started to windward of my ranch by an ill-disposed neighbour (one of the
men whose cattle the Scotch Company had closed out and who ever after
had a grudge against me) purposely to burn me out. He did not quite
succeed, as by hard fighting all night we managed to save half the
grass; but the fire extended 130 miles into Texas, burning out a strip
from thirty to sixty miles wide. On account of a very high wind blowing
that fire jumped my "guard," a term which needs explanation. All round
my pasture, on the outside of the fence, for a distance of over forty
miles was ploughed a fire-guard thus: two or three ploughed furrows and,
100 feet apart, other two or three ploughed furrows, there being thus a
strip of land forty miles long and 100 feet wide. Between these furrows
we burnt the grass, an operation that required great care and yet must
be done as expeditiously as possible to save time, labour and expense. A
certain amount of wind must be blowing so as to insure a clean and rapid
burn; but a high gusty wind is most dangerous, as the flames are pretty
sure to jump the furrows, enter the pasture, and get away from you. The
excitement at such a critical time is of course very great. In such
cases it was at first our practice to catch and kill a yearling, split
it open and hitch ropes to the hind feet, when two of us mounted men
would drag the entire carcass over the line of fire. It was effective
but an expensive and cumbrous method. Later I adopted a device called a
"drag," composed of iron chains, in the nature of a harrow, covered by a
raw hide for smothering purposes. This could be dragged quite rapidly
and sometimes had to be used over miles and miles of encroaching fire.
The horses might get badly burnt, and in very rank grass where the
fierce flames were six to eight feet high it was useless. Sometimes we
worked all night, and no doubt it formed a picturesque spectacle and a
scene worthy of an artist's brush. Across the centre of the pasture for
further safety, as also around the bull and horse pasture, was a similar
fire-guard, so that I had in all some fifty-five miles of guard to
plough and burn. It is such critical and dangerous, yet necessary, work
that I always took care to be present myself and personally boss the
operation. Without such a fire-guard one is never free from anxiety.
Many other ranchers who were careless in this matter paid dearly for it.
These fires were dangerous in other ways. A dear old friend of mine was
caught by and burnt to death in one. Another man, a near neighbour, when
driving a team of mules, got caught likewise, and very nearly lost his
life. He was badly burnt and lost his team.

Hitherto it had been the universal custom of cattlemen to use "grade"
bulls, many of them, alas! mere "scrubs" of no breeding at all. No one
used pure-bred registered bulls except to raise "grade" bulls with. I
determined to use "registered" pure-bred bulls alone, and no others, to
raise _steers_ with, and was the first man to my knowledge to do so.
Neighbours ridiculed the idea, saying that they would not get many
calves, that they could not or would not "rustle"--that is, they would
not get about with the cows--that they would need nursing and feeding
and would not stand the climate. Well, I went east, selected and bought
at very reasonable figures the number needed, all very high bred, indeed
some of them fashionably so, and took them to the ranch. By the way,
bulls were not called bulls in "polite" society: you must call them
"males." Very shortly afterwards there was a rise in value of cattle, a
strong demand for such bulls, and prices went "out of sight." Thus the
bulls that cost me some 100 dollars apiece in a little while were worth
200 or even 300 dollars. The young bulls "rustled" splendidly, and as
next spring came along there was much interest felt as to results. To my
great delight almost every cow had a calf, and nearly every calf was
alike red body and white face, etc. (Hereford). I kept and used these
same bulls six or seven seasons; every year got the highest calf-brand
or crop amongst all my neighbours; and soon, with prudent culling of the
cows, my small herd (some 2000) was the best in the country; and my
young steers topped the market, beating even the crack herds that had
been established for twenty years and had great reputations.

To give an instance: my principle was to work with little or no borrowed
money. Thus my position was such that I did not always _have_ to market
my steers to pay running expenses; and as I hate trading and dickering,
as it is called, my independence gave me a strong position. Well, once
when travelling to the ranch I met on the train two "feeders" from the
north, who told me they wanted to buy two or three hundred choice
two-year-old, high-bred, even, well-coloured and well-shaped steers.
Having by chance some photos in my pocket of my steers (as yearlings
taken the year before) I produced them. They seemed pleased with them
and asked the price, which I told them; but they said no ranch cattle
were worth that money and ridiculed the idea of my asking it. "Oh," I
said, "it is nothing to me; that is the price of the cattle," but I
carefully also told them how to get to my place and invited them to come
and see me. Oh, no! they said it was too ridiculous! We travelled on to
Amarillo and I at once went out to Running Water. Only two days
afterwards, on coming in to dinner, I found my two gentlemen seated on
the porch waiting for me. After dinner we saddled up and went out to see
the steers. The dealers were evidently surprised and made a long and
careful inspection. Evidently they were well pleased, and on returning
to the house it was also evident that they were going to adopt the usual
tactics of whittling a small piece of wood (a seemingly necessary
accompaniment to a trade) and "dickering"; so I again told them my
terms, same as before, and hinted that they might take or leave them as
they liked. The deal was closed without further ado, some money put up,
and next day I started for England, leaving to the foreman the duty and
responsibility of delivering the steers at the date specified. These
men, like most other operators, were dealing with borrowed money got
from commission houses in Kansas City. I learnt afterwards that their
Kansas City friends, on hearing of the trade, refused to supply the
funds till they had sent a man out specially to see the two-year-old
steers that could possibly be worth so much money. He came out, saw
them, and reported them to be well worth the price; and they were
acknowledged to be the finest small bunch of steers ever shipped out of
the south-west country. This was very gratifying indeed.

Another revolution in ranch practice was the keeping up of my bulls in
winter-time and not putting them out with the cows till the middle of
July. This also met with the ridicule of all the "old-timers"; but it
was entirely successful! The calf crop was not only a very large one but
the calves were dropped all about the same time, were thus of an even
age (an important matter for dealers), and they "came" when their
mothers were strong and had lots of milk.

Young cows and heifers having their first calves had to be watched very
closely, and we had often to help them in delivery. It may also be
mentioned here that the sight of a green, freshly-skinned hide, or a
freshly-skinned carcass, will frequently cause cows to "slink" their
calves. The smell of blood too creates a tremendous commotion amongst
the cattle generally; why, is not quite known.

I also made a practice in early spring of taking up weak or poor cows
that looked like needing it, putting them in a separate pasture and
feeding them on just two pounds of cotton-seed meal once a day; no hay,
only the dry, wild grass in the small pasture. The good effect of even
such a pittance of meal was simply astounding. Thereafter I do not think
I ever lost a single cow from poverty or weakness. This use of meal on
a range ranch was in its way also a novelty. Afterwards it became
general and prices of cotton-seed and cotton-seed meal doubled and more.

When a very large number of range cattle, say 2000 or so, required
feeding on account of poverty, hay in our country not being obtainable,
cotton-seed (whole) would be fed to them by the simple and effective
method of loading a large wagon with it, driving it over the pasture,
and scattering thinly, not dumping, the seed on to the grass sod. The
cattle would soon get so fond of it that they would come running as soon
as the wagon appeared and follow it up in a long string, the strongest
and greediest closest to the wagon, the poor emaciated, poverty-stricken
ones tailing off in the rear. But not one single seed was wasted,
everyone being gleaned and picked up in a very short time. It is the
best, easiest and most effective way: indeed, the only possible way with
such a large number of claimants. And as said before, the recuperating
effect of this cotton-seed is simply astonishing. It may be noted,
however, that if fed in bulk and to excess the animals will sometimes go
blind, which must be guarded against.

In the matter of salt it had become the common practice to use sacked
stuff (pulverized) for cattle. There was a strong prejudice against
rock salt; so much so that when I decided to buy a carload or two it had
to be specially ordered. Another laugh was raised at my proposed use of
it. The cattle would get sore tongues, or they would spend so long a
time licking it they would have no time to graze, etc., etc. Meantime I
had lost some cows by their too quick lapping of the pulverized stuff.
Thereafter I never lost one from such a cause and the cattle throve
splendidly. Besides, the rock salt was much easier handled and
considerably more economical.

My wells were deep, none less than 250 feet, the iron casing 10-inch
diameter, the pipe 6-inch or 8-inch, and the mill-wheels 20 feet in
diameter; this huge wind power being necessary to pump up from such a
depth a sufficiency of water. The water was pumped directly into very
large shallow drinking wooden tubs, thence into big reserve earthen
tanks (fenced in), and thence again led by pipe to other large
drinking-tubs outside and below the tanks, supplied with floating
stop-valves. This arrangement, arrived at after much deliberation,
worked very well indeed; no water was wasted, and it was always clean;
and in very cold weather the cattle always got warm, freshly-pumped well
water in the upper tub, an important matter and one reason why my cattle
always did so well. But oh, dear! the trouble and work we often had
with these wells! Perhaps in zero temperature something would go wrong
with the pump valve or the piston leather would wear out, or in a new
well the quicksand would work in. Neither myself, foreman nor boy was an
expert or had any mechanical knowledge; though continued troubles, much
hard work, accompanied by, alas! harder language,