than an hour’s delay.  Overhauling and transferring the packs to horses, throwing away everything but the barest necessities, we crossed the lightened commissary, the freed mules swimming with the remuda.  On the morning of the twentieth day out from San Antonio, our segundo rode into the fort ahead of the herd.  We followed at our regular gait, and near the middle of the forenoon were met by Deweese and Tuttle, who piloted us to a pasture west of the city, where an outfit was encamped to receive the herd.  They numbered fifteen men, and looked at our insignificant crowd with contempt; but the count which followed showed we had not lost a hoof since we left the Nueces, although for the last ten nights the stock had had the fullest freedom.

The receiving outfit looked the brands over carefully.  The splendid grass and water of the past two weeks had transformed the famishing herd of a month before, and they were received without a question.  Rounding in our remuda for fresh mounts before starting to town, the vaqueros and I did some fancy roping in catching out the horses, partially from sheer lightness of heart because we were at our journey’s end, and partially to show this north Texas outfit that we were like the proverbial singed cat—­better than we looked.  Two of Turtle’s men rode into town with us that evening to lead back our mounts, the outfit having come in purposely to receive the horse herd and drive it to their ranch in Young County.  While riding in, they thawed nicely towards us, but kept me busy interpreting for them with our Mexicans.  Tuttle and Deweese rode together in the lead, and on nearing town one of the strangers bantered Pasquale to sell him a nice maguey rope which the vaquero carried.  When I interpreted the other’s wish to him, Pasquale loosened the lasso and made a present of it to Tuttle’s man.  I had almost as good a rope of the same material, which I presented to the other lad with us, and the drinks we afterward consumed over this slight testimony of the amicable relations existing between a northern and southern Texas outfit over the delivery and receiving of a horse herd, showed no evidence of a drouth.  The following morning I made inquiry for Frank Nancrede and the drovers who had driven a trail herd of cattle from Las Palomas two seasons before.  They were all well known about the fort, but were absent at the time, having put up two trail herds that spring in Uvalde County.  Deweese did not waste an hour more than was necessary in that town, and while waiting for the banks to open, arranged for our transportation to San Antonio.  We were all ready to start back before noon.  Fort Worth was a frontier town at the time, bustling and alert with live-stock interests; but we were anxious to get home, and promptly boarded a train for the south.  After entering the train, our segundo gave each of the vaqueros and myself some spending money, the greater portion of which went to the “butcher”