The second day after the arrival of the trail foreman, we divided our forces into two squads and started out to gather our three-year-olds.  By the ranch records, there were over two thousand steers of that age in the Las Palomas brand.  Deweese took ten men and half of the ranch saddle horses and went up above the mouth of the Ganso to begin gathering.  Uncle Lance took the remainder of the men and horses and went down the river nearly to Shepherd’s, leaving Dan Happersett and three Mexicans to hold and night-herd the trail remuda. Nancrede declined to stay at the ranch and so joined our outfit on the down-river trip.  We had postponed the gathering until the last hour, for every day improved the growing grass on which our mounts must depend for subsistence, and once we started, there would be little rest for men or horses.

The younger cattle for the herd were made up within a week after the invitations were sent to the neighboring ranches.  Naturally they would be the last cattle to be received and would come in for delivery between the twentieth and the last of the month.  With the plans thus outlined, we started our gathering.  Counting Nancrede, we had twelve men in the saddle in our down-river outfit.  Taking nothing but three-year-olds, we did not accumulate cattle fast; but it was continuous work, every man, with the exception of Uncle Lance, standing a guard on night-herd.  The first two days we only gathered about five hundred steers.  This number was increased by about three hundred on the third day, and that evening Dan Happersett with a vaquero rode into camp and reported that Nancrede’s outfit had arrived from San Antonio.  He had turned the remuda over to them on their arrival, sending the other two Mexicans to join Deweese above on the river.

The fourth day finished the gathering.  Nancrede remained with us to the last, making a hand which left no doubt in any one’s mind that he was a cowman from the ground up.  The last round-up on the afternoon of the fourth day, our outriders sighted the vaqueros from Deweese’s outfit, circling and drifting in the cattle on their half of the circle.  The next morning the two camps were thrown together on the river opposite the ranch.  Deweese had fully as many cattle as we had, and when the two cuts had been united and counted, we lacked but five head of nineteen hundred.  Several of Nancrede’s men joined us that morning, and within an hour, under the trail foreman’s directions, we cut back the overplus, and the cattle were accepted.

Under the contract we were to road-brand them, though Nancrede ordered his men to assist us in the work.  Under ordinary circumstances we should also have vented the ranch brand, but owing to the fact that this herd was to be trailed to Abilene, Kansas, and possibly sold beyond that point, it was unnecessary and therefore omitted.  We had a branding chute on the ranch for grown cattle, and the following morning the herd