We waited for good grass before beginning the gathering. Half a
dozen round-ups on the home range would be all that was necessary in
completing the numbers allotted to the Edwards ranch. Three other
cowmen were going to turn in a thousand head and furnish and mount a
man each, there being no occasion to road-brand, as every one knew the
ranch, brands which would go to make up the herd. An outfit of twelve
men was considered sufficient, as it was an open prairie country and
through civilized tribes between Texas and Kansas. All the darkies
and Mexicans from the home ranch who could be spared were to be taken
along, making it necessary to hire only three outside men. The drive
was looked upon as an experiment, there being no outlay of money, even
the meal and bacon which went into the commissary being supplied from
the Edwards household. The country contributed the horses and cattle,
and if the project paid out, well and good; if not there was small
loss, as they were worth nothing at home. The 20th of April was set
for starting. Three days' work on the home range and we had two
thousand cattle under herd, consisting of dry or barren cows and
steers three years old or over, fully half the latter being heavy
beeves. We culled back and trimmed our allotment down to sixteen
hundred, and when the outside contingents were thrown in we had a few
over twenty-eight hundred cattle in the herd.
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