Our drag-net scoured the hills and
valleys, and before the arrival of the surveyor we had run the "44"
on over five hundred calves, mavericks, and wild cattle. Different
outfits came down the Brazos and passed up the Clear Fork, always
using my corrals when working in the latter valley. We usually joined
in with these cow-hunting parties, extending to them every possible
courtesy, and in return many a thrifty yearling was added to my brand.
Except some wild-cattle hunting which we had in view, every hoof was
branded up by the time the surveyor arrived at the ranch.
The locating of twenty sections of land was an easy matter. We had
established corners from which to work, and commencing on the west end
of my original location, we ran off an area of country, four miles
west by five south. New outside corners were established with
buried charcoal and stakes, while the inner ones were indicated by
half-buried rock, nothing divisional being done except to locate the
land in sections. It was a beautiful tract, embracing a large bend of
the Clear Fork, heavily timbered in several places, the soil being of
a rich, sandy loam and covered with grass. I was proud of my landed
interest, though small compared to modern ranches; and after the
surveying ended, we spent a few weeks hunting out several rendezvous
of wild cattle before returning to the Edwards ranch.
I married during the holidays.
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