In spite of
careful handling, the herd became spoiled, and would run from the
howl of a wolf or the snort of a horse. The dark hour before dawn was
usually the crucial period, and until the arid belt was reached all
hands were aroused at two o'clock in the morning. The start was timed
so as to reach the dry drive during the full of the moon, and although
it was a test of endurance for man and beast, there was relief in
the desert waste--from the lurking savage--which recompensed for its
severity. Three sleepless nights were borne without a murmur, and on
our reaching Horsehead Crossing and watering the cattle they were
turned back on the mesa and freed for the time being. The presence of
Indian sign around the ford was the reason for turning loose, but at
the round-up the next morning the experiment proved a costly one, as
three hundred and sixty-three beeves were missing. The cattle were
nervous and feverish through suffering from thirst, and had they been
bedded closely, stampeding would have resulted, the foreman choosing
the least of two alternatives in scattering the herd. That night we
slept the sleep of exhausted men, and the next morning even awaited
the sun on the cattle before throwing them together, giving the Indian
thieves full ten hours the start. The stealing of cattle by the
Comanches was something unusual, and there was just reason for
believing that the present theft was instigated by renegade Mexicans,
allies in the war of '36.
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