At last I was saved.  With the opening of work my troubles lifted like a night fog before the rising sun.  Even the first view of the remuda revived my spirits, as I had been allotted one hundred fine cow-horses.  They had been brought up during the winter, had run in a good pasture for some time, and with the opening of spring were in fine condition.  Many trail men were short-sighted in regard to mounting their outfits, and although we had our differences, I want to say that Major Mabry and his later associates never expected a man to render an honest day’s work unless he was properly supplied with horses.  My allowance for the spring of 1870 was again seven horses to the man, with two extra for the foreman, which at that early day in trailing cattle was considered the maximum where Kansas was the destination.  Many drovers allowed only five horses to the man, but their men were frequently seen walking with the herd, their mounts mingling with the cattle, unable to carry their riders longer.

The receiving of the herd in Williamson County was an easy matter.  Four prominent ranchmen were to supply the beeves to the number of three thousand.  Nearly every hoof was in the straight ranch brand of the sellers, only some two hundred being mixed brands and requiring the usual road-branding.  In spite of every effort to hold the herd down to the contracted number, we received one hundred and fifty extra; but then they were cattle that no justifiable excuse could be offered in refusing.  The last beeves were received on the 22d of the month, and after cutting separate all cattle of outside brands, they were sent to the chute to receive the road-mark.  Major Mabry was present, and a controversy arose between the sellers and himself over our refusal to road-brand, or at least vent the ranch brands, on the great bulk of the herd.  Too many brands on an animal was an objection to the shippers and feeders of the North, and we were anxious to cater to their wishes as far as possible.  The sellers protested against the cattle leaving their range without some mark to indicate their change of ownership.  The country was all open; in case of a stampede and loss of cattle within a few hundred miles they were certain to drift back to their home range, with nothing to distinguish them from their brothers of the same age.  Flesh marks are not a good title by which to identify one’s property, where those possessions consist of range cattle, and the law recognized the holding brand as the hall-mark of ownership.  But a compromise was finally agreed upon, whereby we were to run the beeves through the chute and cut the brush from their tails.  In a four or five year old animal this tally-mark would hold for a year, and in no wise work any hardship to the animal in warding off insect life.  In case of any loss on the trail my employer agreed to pay one dollar a head for regathering any stragglers that returned within a year.  The proposition was a fair one, the ranchmen yielded, and we ran the whole herd through the chute, cutting the brush within a few inches of the end of the tail-bone.  By tightly wrapping the brush once around the blade of a sharp knife, it was quick work to thus vent a chuteful of cattle, both the road-branding and tally-marking being done in two days.