And yet, on the other
hand, this man was my guest. On my invitation he had eaten my salt.
For mutual benefit we had entered into a partnership, and I expected
to profit from the investment of his money. More important, he had not
deceived me nor concealed anything; neither did he know that I had
served in the Confederate army. The man was honest. I was anxious to
do right. Soldiers are generous to a foe. While he lay asleep in my
camp, I reviewed the situation carefully, and judged him blameless.
The next morning, and ever afterward, I addressed him by his military
title. Nearly a year passed before Major Hunter knew that he and his
Texas partner had served in the civil war under different flags.
My partner returned to the Edwards ranch and was sent in to Fort
Worth, where he took stage and train for home. The straight
two-year-old herd needed road-branding, as they were accepted in a
score or more brands, which delayed them in starting. Major Hunter
expected to sell to farmers, to whom brands were offensive, and was
therefore opposed to more branding than was absolutely necessary. In
order to overcome this objection, I tally-marked all outside cattle
which went into my herd by sawing from each steer about two inches
from the right horn. As fast as the cattle were received this work was
easily done in a chute, while in case of any loss by stampede the
mark would last for years.
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