[Illustration: ONE OF THE "BOYS. "

(Portrait. See p. 125. )

Frontispiece. ]

RANCHING, SPORT AND TRAVEL

BY

THOMAS CARSON, F. R. G. S. 

WITH SIXTEEN ILLUSTRATIONS

T. FISHER UNWIN

LONDON LEIPSICAdelphi Terrace Inselstrasse 20

1911

[_All Rights Reserved_]

INTRODUCTORY NOTE

This book is somewhat in the nature of an autobiography, covering as itdoes almost the whole of the Author's life. The main portion of thevolume is devoted to cattle ranching in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The Author has also included a record of his travels abroad, which hehopes will prove to be not uninteresting; and a chapter devoted to adescription of tea planting in India. 

CONTENTS

 CHAP. PAGE

 I. TEA PLANTING 13

 In Cachar--Apprenticeship--Tea Planting described--Polo --In Sylhet--Pilgrims at Sacred Pool--Wild Game--Amusements--Rainfall--Return to Cachar--Scottpore --Snakes--A Haunted Tree--Hill Tribes--Selecting a Location--Return to England. 

 II. CATTLE RANCHING IN ARIZONA 42

 Leave for United States of America--Iowa--New Mexico--Real Estate Speculation--Gambling--Billy the Kid--Start Ranching in Arizona--Description of Country--Apache and other Indians--Fauna--Branding Cattle--Ranch Notes--Mexicans--Politics--Summer Camp--Winter Camp--Fishing and Shooting--Indian Troubles. 

 III. CATTLE RANCHING IN ARIZONA (_continued_) 81

 The Cowboy--Accoutrements and Weapons--Desert Plants--Politics and Perjury--Mavericks--Mormons--Bog Riding. 

 IV. ODDS AND ENDS 103

 Scent and Instinct--Mules--Roping Contests--Antelopes --The Skunk--Garnets--Leave Arizona. 

 V. RANCHING IN NEW MEXICO 117

 The Scottish Company--My Difficulties and Dangers--Mustang Hunting--Round-up described--Shipping Cattle--Railroad Accidents--Close out Scotch Company's Interests. 

 VI. ODDS AND ENDS 152

 Summer Round-up Notes--Night Guarding--Stampedes--Bronco Busting--Cattle Branding, etc. 

 VII. ON MY OWN RANCH 170

 Locating--Plans--Prairie Fires and Guards--Bulls--Trading --Successful Methods--Loco-weed--Sale of Ranch. 

 VIII. ODDS AND ENDS 198

 The "Staked Plains"--High Winds--Lobo Wolves--Branding --Cows--Black Jack--Lightning and Hail--Classing Cattle--Conventions--"Cutting" versus Polo--Bull-Fight--Prize-Fights--River and Sea Fishing--Sharks. 

 IX. IN AMARILLO 226

 Purchase of Lots--Building--Boosting a Town. 

 X. FIRST TOUR ABROAD 234

 Mexico--Guatemala--Salvador--Panama--Colombia--Venezuela --Jamaica--Cuba--Fire in Amarillo--Rebuilding. 

 XI. SECOND TOUR ABROAD 250

 Bermudas--Switzerland--Italy--Monte Carlo--Algiers --Morocco--Spain--Biarritz and Pau. 

 XII. THIRD TOUR ABROAD 256

 Salt Lake City--Canada--Vancouver--Hawaii--Fiji --Australia--New Zealand--Tasmania--Summer at Home. 

 XIII. FOURTH TOUR ABROAD 270

 Yucatan--Honduras--Costa Rica--Panama--Equador--Peru --Chile--Argentina--Brazil--Teneriffe. 

 XIV. FIFTH TOUR ABROAD 287

 California--Honolulu--Japan--China--Singapore--Burmah --India--Ceylon--The End. 

 APPENDIX 317

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

 ONE OF THE "BOYS" (_see_ page 125) _Frontispiece_

 PLUCKING TEA LEAF 20

 NAGAS 37

 ROPING A GRIZZLY 70

 A SHOOTING SCRAPE 76

 ONE OF OUR MEN, TO SHOW HANG OF SIX-SHOOTER 78

 1883 IN ARIZONA, AUTHOR AND PARTY 80

 WOUND UP, HORSE TANGLED IN ROPE 106

 WATERING A HERD 116

 HERD ON TRAIL, SHOWING LEAD STEER 137

 CHANGING HORSES 153

 A REAL BAD ONE 164

 BREAKING THE PRAIRIE 230

 FIRST CROP--MILO MAIZE 230

 LLAMAS AS PACK ANIMALS 279

 DRIFTING SAND DUNE, ONE OF THOUSANDS 279

 PERUVIAN RUINS. NOTE DIMENSIONS OF STONES AND LOCKING SYSTEM 281

 PALACE OF MAHARANA OF UDAIPUR 310

RANCHING, SPORT AND TRAVEL

CHAPTER I

TEA PLANTING

 In Cachar--Apprenticeship--Tea Planting described--Polo--In Sylhet--Pilgrims at Sacred Pool--Wild Game--Amusements--Rainfall--Return to Cachar--Scottpore--Snakes--A Haunted Tree--Hill Tribes--Selecting a Location--Return to England. 

Having no inclination for the seclusion and drudgery of office work, determined to lead a country life of some kind or other, and even thenhaving a longing desire to roam the world and see foreign countries, Ihad arranged to accompany a friend to the Comoro Islands, north ofMadagascar; but changing my mind and accepting the better advice offriends, my start was made, not to the Comoro Islands, but to India andthe tea district of Cachar. Accordingly the age of twenty-two and theyear 1876 saw me on board a steamer bound for Calcutta. 

Steamers were slow sailers in those days, and it was a long trip viaGibraltar, Suez, Malta, the Canal and Point de Galle; but it was allvery interesting to me. 

Near Point de Galle we witnessed from the steamer a remarkable sight, adesperate fight, it seemed to be a fight and not play, between asea-serpent, which seemed to be about fifteen feet long, and a huge ray. The battle was fought on the surface of the water and even out of it, asthe ray several times threw himself into the air. How it ended we couldnot see. Anyway we had seen the sea-serpent, though not the fabulousmonster so often written about, and yet whose existence cannot bedisproved. The sea-serpent's tail is flattened. 

At Calcutta I visited a tea firm, who sent me up to Cachar to help atone of the gardens till a vacancy should occur. Calcutta, by the way, isor was overrun by jackals at night. They are the scavengers of the townand hunt in packs through the streets, their wolfish yelling being alittle disconcerting to a stranger. 

It was a long twelve days, but again a very interesting journey, in anative river boat, four rowers (or towers), to my destination. I had aservant with me, who proved a good, efficient cook and attendant. It wasrather trying to the "griffin" to notice, floating in the river, corpsesof natives, frequently perched upon by hungry vultures. 

The tea-garden selected for me was Narainpore, successfully managed by afellow-countryman, who proved to be a capital chap and who made my staywith him very pleasant. Narainpore was one of the oldest gardens, onteelah (hilly) land and quite healthy. There I gave what little help Icould, picked up some of the lingo, and learned a good deal about theplanting, growth and manufacture of tea. Neighbours were plentiful andlife quite sociable. Twice a week in the cold weather we played polo, sometimes with Munipoories, a hill tribe whose national game it is, andwho were then the undoubted champions. The Regent Senaputti was a keenplayer, and very picturesque in his costume of green velvet zouavejacket, salmon-pink silk dhotee and pink silk turban. In Munipoor eventhe children have their weekly polo matches. They breed ponies speciallyfor the game, and use them for nothing else, nor would they sell theirbest. Still, we rode Munipoor "tats" costing us from 50 rupees to 100. They were exceedingly small, averaging not eleven hands high, but wiry, active, speedy, full of grit, and seemed to love the game. As the gamewas there played, seven formed a side, the field was twice as large asnow and there were no goals. The ball had to be simply driven over theend line to count a score. 

It may be remarked here that the great Akbar was so fond of polo, butotherwise so busy, that he played the game at night with luminous balls. 

These Munipoories were a very fine race of people, much lighter ofcolour than their neighbouring tribes, very stately and dignified intheir bearing, and thorough sportsmen. Many of their women were reallyhandsome, and the girls, with red hibiscus blossoms stuck in theirjet-black hair, and their merry, laughing faces and graceful figures, were altogether quite attractive to the Sahib Log. 

But to return to tea. Our bungalow was of the usual type, consisting ofcement floor, roof of crossed bamboos and two feet of sun-grass thatch, supported by immense teak posts, hard as iron and bidding defiance tothe white ants. The walls were of mats. Tea-gardens usually had asurface of 300 to 1000 acres; some were on comparatively level ground, some on hilly (teelah) land. These teelahs were always carefullyterraced to prevent the wash of soil and permit cultivation. The plantswere spaced about three to six feet apart, according to whether theywere of the Chinese, the hybrid, or the pure indigenous breed, the lastbeing the largest, in its native state developing to the dimensions of asmall tree. 

I may as well here at once give a short sketch of the principal featuresof tea planting and manufacture, which will show what the duties of aplanter are, and how various are the occupations and operationsembraced. One must necessarily first have labour (coolies). These arerecruited in certain districts of India, usually by sending goodreliable men, already in your employ, to their home country, under acontract to pay them so much a head for every coolie they can persuade(by lies or otherwise) to come to your garden. The coolies must thenbind themselves to work for you for, say, three to four years. They arepaid for their work, not much it is true, but enough to support themwith comfort; the men about three annas (or fourpence) a day, the womentwo annas (or threepence). As they get to know their work and becomeexpert, the good men will earn as much as six annas a day, and some ofthe women, when plucking leaf, about the same. This is more thanabundant for these people. They not only have every comfort, but theybecome rich, so that in a few years they are able to rest on theirearnings, and work only at their convenience and when they feel like it. They are supplied with nothing, neither food nor clothing; medicinealone is free to them. The native staff of a garden consists of, say, two baboos, or book-keepers and clerks, a doctor baboo, sirdars oroverseers, and chowkidars or line watchmen. A sirdar accompanies and hascharge of each gang of coolies on whatever branch of work. One is alsoin charge of the factory or tea-house. 

Plant growth ceases about the end of October. Then cold-weather workbegins, including the great and important operation of pruning, whichrequires a large force and will occupy most of the winter. Alsocharcoal-burning for next season's supply; road-making, building andrepairing, jungle-cutting, bridge-building, and nursery-making: that is, preparing with great care beds in which the seed will be planted earlyin spring. Cultivation is also, of course, carried on; it can never beoverdone. In the factory, some men are busy putting together ormanufacturing new tea-boxes, lining them carefully with lead, whichneeds close attention, as the smallest hole in the lining of a tea-chestwill cause serious injury to the contents. 

When spring opens and the first glorious "flush" is on the bushes, thereis a readjustment of labour. Pluckers begin to gather the leaf, and asthe season advances more pluckers are needed, till possibly every man, woman and child may be called on for this operation alone, it being soimportant that the leaf flush does not get ahead and out of control, sothat the leaf would get tough and hard and less fit for manufacture;but cultivation is almost equally important, and every availablelabourer is kept hard at it. 

What a pleasure it is to watch a good expert workman, be he carpenter, bricklayer, ploughman, blacksmith, or only an Irish navvy. In even thehumblest of these callings the evidence of much training, practice orlong apprenticeship is noticeable. To an amateur who has tried such workhimself it will soon be apparent how crude his efforts are, how littlehe knows of the apparently simple operation. The navvy seems to workslowly; but he knows well, because his task is a day-long one, that hisforces must be economised, that over-exertion must be avoided. Thislesson was brought home to me when exasperated by the seeming lazinessof the coolie cultivators, I would seize a man's hoe and fly at thework, hoe vigorously for perhaps five minutes, swear at the man for hislack of strenuousness, then retire and find myself puffing and blowingand almost in a state of collapse. 

If an addition or extension is being made to the garden, the already cutjungle has to be burnt and the ground cleared in early spring, the soilbroken up and staked: that is, small sticks put in regular rows andintervals to show where the young plants are to be put. Then when therains have properly set in the actual planting begins. This is a workthat requires a lot of labour and close and careful superintendence. Imagine what it means to plant out 100 acres of ground, the plants setonly three or four feet apart! The right plucking of the leaf calls forequally careful looking after. The women are paid by the amount orweight they pluck, so they are very liable to pluck carelessly and sodamage the succeeding flush, or they may gather a lot of old leafunsuited for manufacturing purposes. In short, every detail of work, even cultivation, demands close supervision and the whole attention ofthe planter. 

When the new-plucked leaf is brought home it is spread out to wither insuitably-built sheds. (Here begins the tea-maker's responsibility. ) Thenit must be rolled, by hand or by machinery; fermented, and fired ordried over charcoal ovens; separated in its different classes, theyounger the leaf bud the more valuable the tea. It is then packed inboxes for market, and sampled by the planter. He does this by weighing atiny quantity of each class or grade of tea into separate cups, pouringboiling water on them, and then tasting the liquor by sipping a littleinto the mouth, not to be swallowed, but ejected again. 

[Illustration: PLUCKING TEA LEAF. ]

All this will give an idea of the variety of duties of a tea-planter. Hehas no time for shooting, polo, or visiting during the busy season. Butat mid-winter the great annual Mela takes place at the station, thelocal seat of Government. The Mela lasts a couple of weeks, and it is aseason of fun and jollity with both planters and natives. There were twoor three social clubs in Silchar; horse and pony racing, polo, cricketand football filled the day, dinner and sociability the night; and whatnights! The amount of liquor consumed at these meetings was almostincredible. 

Nothing can look more beautiful or more gratifying to the eye of theowner than a tract of tea, pruned level as a table and topped with newfresh young leaf-shoots, four to eight inches high, in full flush, readyfor the pluckers' nimble fingers. 

At the end of one year I was offered and accepted the position ofassistant at a Sylhet garden, called Kessoregool, the propertyconsisting of three distinct gardens, the principal one being directlyoverseered by the manager, an American. He, of course, was my superior. My charge was the Lucky Cherra Gardens, some few miles away. There Ispent two years, learning what I could of the business, but without theadvantage of European society; in fact, the Burra Sahib and myself werealmost the only whites in the district, and as he was drunk quite halfthe time, and we did not pull very well together, I was left to my ownresources. I found amusement in various ways. There was no polo, butsome of the native zemindars (landed proprietors) were always ready toget up a beat for leopards, tigers, deer and pig. Their method wassimply to drive the game into a net corral and spear them to death. TheGovernment Keddas, under Colonel Nuttal, were also not far away in hillTipperah, and it was intensely interesting to watch operations. Close tomy garden also was a sacred pool and a very beautiful waterfall. Thiswas visited twice a year by immense numbers of natives, some from greatdistances, for it was a famous and renowned place of pilgrimage. Itcould only be approached through my garden; and as there was no wagonroad, the pilgrims were always open to inspection, so to speak; and theywere well worth inspection, as among them were many races, all ages, both sexes, every caste or jat; robes, turbans and cupras of every shapeand colour; fakirs and wonder-workers, and beggars galore. Here, and onsuch an occasion only, could the sahib see face to face the harems ofthe wealthy natives, consisting of women who at no other time showedthemselves out of doors. Being the only sahib present I had all the "funof the fair" to myself, but always regretted the want of a companion toshare it with me. 

As to wild game, there were lots of jungle fowl (original stock of ourfamiliar barn-door cocks and hens), a few pigeons, Argus pheasants, small barking deer, pigs, sambur, barrasingha, metnas, crocodiles, leopards, tigers, bears and elephants; but I had little time forshooting and it was expensive work, the jungle being so thick thatriding elephants were quite necessary. If keen enough, one could sit allnight on a machan in a tree near a recent "kill, " on the chance ofStripes showing himself; but it never appealed to me much, that kind ofsport. If a tiger was raiding the cattle I would poison the "kill" withstrychnine. In this way I secured several very fine animals, getting twoat one time, so successfully poisoned that their bodies actually lay onthe dead bullock. One time I shot an enormous python, some eighteen feetin length, which took several men to carry home. Monkeys were plentifuland of several kinds. I was very fond of wandering amongst the high-treejungle and quietly watching their antics. In the dense forest there islittle undergrowth, so that one can move about freely and study theextraordinary forms of vegetation displayed. Ticks and leeches are tobe dreaded--a perfect nuisance. If you sit down or pause for a fewmoments where no leeches are in sight, suddenly and quickly they willappear marching on you, or at you, at a gallop. 

The popular idea of a wealth of flowers in tropical jungles is amisconception. In tree jungle no flowers are to be found, or at any ratethey are not visible. But if one can by some means attain an elevationand so be able to overlook the tree-tops, he will probably be rewardedwith a wonderful display, as many jungle trees are glorified with crownsof gorgeous colours. There will he also discover the honey-suckers, moths, butterflies, the beetles, and all the other insect brood which hehad also vainly looked for before. The fruits are likewise borne aloft, and therefore at the proper time these tree-tops will be the haunt ofthe monkeys, the parrots, the bats, the toucans, and all frugivorouscreation. 

Of all fruits the durian is the most delicious. Such is the universalopinion of men, including A. R. Wallace, who have had the opportunity ofbecoming familiar with it. It is purely tropical, grows on a lofty tree, is round and nearly as large as a cocoanut. A thick and tough rindprotects the delicacy contained within. When opened five cells arerevealed, satiny white, containing masses of cream-coloured pulp. Thispulp is the edible portion and has an indescribable flavour andconsistence. You can safely eat all you want of it, and the more you eatthe more you will want. To eat durian, as Mr Wallace says, is aloneworth a voyage to the East. But it has one strange quality--it smells sobadly as to be at first almost nauseating; some people even can neverbring themselves to touch it. Once this repulsion is mastered the fruitwill probably be preferred to all other foods. The natives give ithonourable titles, exalt it, and even wax poetical over it. 

Of course we all know the multitudinous uses of the bamboo. This grassis one of the most wonderful, beautiful and useful of Nature's gifts touncivilized man. And yet one more use has been found for it. In the Easta new industry has sprung up, viz. , the making of "Panama" hats ofbamboo strips or threads. In texture and pliability these hats are saidto even surpass the genuine "Panamas, " are absolutely impervious torain, and can be produced at a much lower cost. 

The Looshais killed pigs, and even tigers, by ingeniously settingpoisoned arrows in the woods, which were released by the animalspressing on a string. One of my coolies was unfortunate enough to beshot and killed in this way. 

Growing on decayed tree stumps I frequently found a saprophyte(_hymenophallus_), much larger than its English representative, indeed amonster in comparison, and possessing a vile and most odious smell, yetattractive to certain depraved insects. 

I made a very fine collection of butterflies, moths and beetles, which, however, was entirely destroyed by worms or ants during its passage toEngland. The magnificent Atlas moth was common in Sylhet and Cachar. What an extraordinarily beautiful creature it is, sometimes so large asto cover a dinner-plate. I never was privileged to see it fly. It seemedto be always in a languid or torpid condition. 

Thunderstorms occur almost daily during the wet season. By lightning Ilost several people. In one case, whilst standing watching a man removeseedlings from a nursery bed, standing indeed immediately behind andclose to him, there came a thrilling flash of lightning. It shook myselfas well as several women who stood by. The man in front of me, who hadbeen sitting on his haunches with a steel-ribbed umbrella over him, remained silent and still. At last I called on him to continue his workand pulled back the umbrella to see his face. He was stone dead. Examination showed a small blackish spot where the steel rib had restedand conveyed the fatal shock. 

The approach of the daily rainstorm, usually about noon, was aremarkable sight. Immense fan-shaped, thunderous-looking clouds wouldcome rolling up, billow upon billow, travelling at great speed andaccompanied by terrific wind. A flash of lightning and a crashing pealof thunder and the deluge began, literally a deluge. The rainfallaveraged about 180 inches in seven months. At Cherrapunji, in the KassiaHills, within sight of my place and only about twenty miles distant, therainfall was and is the greatest in the world, no other districtapproaching it in this respect, viz. , averaging per annum 450 inches;greatest recorded over 900 inches; and there is a record of _one_ month, July, of a fall of nearly 400 inches; yet all this precipitation takesplace during the six or seven wet months, the rest of the year beingabsolutely dry and rainless. These measurements are recorded at theGovernment Observatory Station and need not be disputed. It may readilybe supposed that the wet season, summer, with its high temperature anddamp atmosphere, was very trying to the European, and even to theimported coolies. Imagine living for six continuous months in thehottest palm-house in Kew Gardens; yet the planter is out and about allday long; nearly always on pony back, however, an enormously thick solahtoppee hat or a heavy white umbrella protecting his head. The dry, orcold season, however, was delightful. 

Close to Lucky Cherra Garden was a tract of bustee land on which someBengali cultivators grew rice and other crops. Our Company's boundaryline in some way conflicted with theirs, and a dispute arose which soondeveloped into a series of, first, most comical mix-ups, and afterwardsinto desperate "lathi" fights. The land in dispute was being hurriedlyploughed by buffalo teams belonging to the Bengalis; to uphold our claimI also secured teams and put them to ploughing on the same piece ofground. This could only lead to one thing--as said before, terrificlathi fights between the teamsters. For several days I went down to seethe fun, taking with me a number of the stoutest coolies on the garden. The men seemed to rather enjoy the sport, though a lick from a lathi (aformidable tough, hard and heavy cane) was far from a joke. Finally thebustee-wallahs agreed to stop operations and await legal judgment. 

After eighteen months I was suddenly left in sole charge of all theCompany's gardens, the Burra Sahib having finally succumbed to drink;but I was not long left in charge, being soon relieved by a moreexperienced man. Shortly after I was ordered to Scottpore Garden inCachar, the manager of which, a particularly fine man and a greatfriend of mine, had suffered the awful death of being pierced by thevery sharp end of a heavy, newly-cut bamboo, which he seems to haveridden against in the dark. He always rode at great speed, and he too, in this way, was a victim of drink. The tremendously high death-rateamongst planters was directly due to this fatal habit. 

Scottpore was a new (young) garden, not teelah, but level land, havingextremely rich soil. The bushes showed strong growth and there were no"vacancies"; indeed it was a model plantation. Unfortunately, it had thecharacter of extreme unhealthiness. Of my three predecessors two haddied of fever and one as before mentioned. The coolie death-rate wasshocking; so bad that, during my management, a Government Commission wassent to look into the situation, and the absolute closing of the gardenwas anticipated. The result was that I was debarred from recruiting andimporting certain coolies from certain districts in India, they beingpeculiarly susceptible to fever and dysentery. Almost every day atmorning muster the doctor reported so and so, or so many, dead, wipedoff the roll. Naturally the place suffered from lack of labour, afurther draining of the force being the absconding of coolies, runningoff, poor devils, to healthier places, and the stealing of my people byunscrupulous planters. 

On several occasions, when riding home on dark nights, have I detectedwhite objects on the side of the road. Not a movement would be seen, nota sound or a breath heard, only an ominous, suspicious silence reigned;it meant that these were some of my people absconding, being perhaps ledoff by a pimp from another garden--and woe betide the pimp if caught. Iwould call out to them, and if they did not respond would go after them;but generally they were too scared to resist or to attempt further toescape; so I would drive them in front of me back to the garden, inspectthem and take their names, try to find out who had put them up to it, etc. , and dismiss them to the lines in charge of the night-watchman. Youcould not well punish them, though a good caning was administeredsometimes to the men. Thus the plantation, instead of presenting aclean, well-cultivated appearance, had often that of an enormoushayfield; nevertheless the output and manufacture of tea was large andthe quality good. All that I myself could and did take credit for wasthis "quality, " as the prices obtained in Calcutta were the best of allthe Company's gardens. 

At Scottpore there was no lack of neighbours. My bungalow was on twocross-roads, a half-way house so to speak; consequently someone wascontinually dropping in. Frequently three or four visitors would arriveunannounced for dinner; the house was always "wide open. " Whisky, brandyand beer were always on the sideboard, and in my absence the bearer orkhansamah was expected, as a matter of course, to offer refreshments toall comers. The planter's code of hospitality demanded this, but it wasthe financial ruin of the Chota Sahib, depending solely on his modestsalary. 

At Scottpore I went in strong for vegetable, fruit and flower gardening, and not without success. Visitors came from a distance to view theflower-beds and eat my green peas, and I really think that I grew asfine pineapples and bananas as were produced anywhere. The pineapple ofgood stock and ripened on the plant is, I think, the most exquisite ofall fruits. A really ripe pine contains no fibre. You cut the top offand sup the delicious mushy contents with a spoon. 

In such a hot, steamy climate as we had in these tea districts, therapidity of growth of vegetation is, of course, remarkable. Bamboosillustrate this better than other plants, their growth being so muchmore noticeable, that of a young shoot amounting to as much as fourinches in one night. It sometimes appeared to my imagination that theweeds and grass grew one foot in a like period, especially when short oflabour. The planter usually takes a pride in the well-cultivatedappearance of the garden in his charge; but how can one be proud if theweeds overtop the bushes? It may be appropriate here to note thateighty-five per cent. Of the twenty-four hours' growth of plants occursbetween 12 p. M. And 6 a. M. ; during the noon hours the apparent growthalmost entirely ceases. 

Garden coolies are generally Hindoos and are imported from far-offdistricts. The local peasantry of Bengal are mostly Mohammedans and donot work on tea-gardens, except on such jobs as cutting jungle, building, etc. They speak a somewhat different tongue, so that we had tounderstand Bengali as well as Hindustani. I may mention here that asHindoos regard an egg as defiling, and Mohammedans despise an eater ofpork, our love for ham and eggs alienates us from both these classes;what beasts we must be! The Hindoos and the Bengal Mussulmans arecharacterized by cringing servility, open insolence, or rudeindifference. Contrast with this the Burmese agreeableness andaffability, or the bearing of the Rajput and the Sikh. In those days thenatives cringed before the Sahib Log much more than they do now. Thenall had to put their umbrellas down on passing a sahib, and all had toleave the side-walk on the white man's approach; not that the lawcompelled them to do so, it was simply a custom enforced by theirmasters, in the large cities as well as in the mofussil. 

We thought it advisable at all costs to keep the coolies in a properstate of subjection. Thus, when on a certain occasion a coolie of mineraised his kodalie (hoe) to strike me I had to give him a very severethrashing. Another time a man appeared somewhat insolent in his talk tome and I unfortunately hit him a blow on the body, from the effects ofwhich he died next day. Some of these people suffer from enlargedspleens and even a slight jar on that part of their anatomy may provefatal. 

A few more notes. Among the Sontals in Bengal the snake stone, foundwithin the head of the Adjutant-bird, is applied to a snake bite exactlyin the same way and with the same supposed results as the Texasmadstone, an accretion found, it is said, in the system of a white stag. Many natives of India die from purely imaginary snake bites. 

In Oude there have been many instances verified, or at least impossibleof contradiction, of so-called wolf-children, infants stolen by wolvesand suckled by them, that go on all fours, eat only raw meat, and, ofcourse, speak no language. 

The Nagas, a hill tribe and not very desirable neighbours, practise therefined custom of starving a dog, then supplying it with an enormousfeed of rice; and when the stomach is properly distended, killing it, the half-digested mess forming the _bonne-bouche_ of the tribal feast. 

Snake stories are always effective. I have none to tell. My bungalowroof, the thatch, was at all times infested by snakes, some quite large. At night one frequently heard them gliding between the bamboos andgrass, chasing mice, beetles, or perhaps lizards, and sometimes fallingon the top of the mosquito bar, or even on the dinner-table; but thesewere probably harmless creatures, as most snakes are. The cobra was notcommon in Cachar. It may be said here that a snake's mouth openscrossways as well as vertically, and each side has the power of workingindependently, the teeth being re-curved backwards. Prey once in thejaws cannot escape, and the snake itself can only dispose of it in oneway--downwards. 

At Scottpore I employed an elephant for certain work, such as haulingheavy posts out of the jungle. Sometimes his "little Mary" would troublehim, when a dose of castor oil would be effectively administered. Unfortunately, he misbehaved, ran amok, and tried to kill his mahout, and so that hatthi (elephant) had to be disposed of. 

When clearing jungle for a tea-garden the workmen sometimes come on acertain species of tree, of which they are in great dread. They cannotbe induced to cut it down and so the tree remains. Such a one stoodopposite my bungalow, a stately, handsome monarch of the forest. It wasa sacred, or rather a haunted tree, but as its shade was injurious totea-plant growth I was determined to have it destroyed. None of mypeople would touch it; so I sent over to a neighbour and explained thefacts to him, requesting him to send over a gang of his men to do thedeed. I was to see that they had no communication with my own people. Well, his men came and were put to work with axes. The result? Two ofthem died that day and the rest bolted. Yet this is not moreextraordinary than people dying of imaginary snake bites. 

Shortly afterwards an incident occurred to still further strengthen thenative belief that the tree was haunted. I had a very fine bull terrierwhich slept in the porch at night, the night-watchman also sleepingthere. One time I was aroused by terrific yells from the dog, and calledto the watchman to know the trouble. After apparently recovering fromhis fright he told me the devil had come from the tree and carried offthe dog. The morning showed traces of a tiger's or leopard's pugs, andmy poor terrier was of course never seen again. 

The hill tribes surrounding the valley of Cachar were the Kassias, Nagas, Kookies, Munipoories and Looshais, all of very similar type, except that the Munipoories were of somewhat lighter skin, were morecivilized and handsomer. The Kassias were noted for their wonderfulmuscular development, no doubt accounted for by their beingmountaineers, their poonjes (villages) being situated on the sides ofhigh and steep mountains. All their market products, supplies, etc. , were packed up and down these hills in thoppas, a sort of baskets orchairs slung on the back by a band over the forehead. In this way even aheavy man would be carried up the steep mountain-side, and generally bya woman. 

Once, in later years, whilst in Mexico, near Crizaba, I was intenselysurprised to meet in the forest a string of Indios going to market andusing this identical thoppa; the similar cut of the hair across theforehead, the blanket and dress, the physical features, even thepeculiar grunt emitted when carrying a weight, settled for me thelong-disputed question of the origin of the Aztecs. In Venezuela I sawexactly the same type in Castro's Indian troops, as also in the Indiannatives of Peru. 

[Illustration: NAGAS]

The Kassias were fond of games, such as tossing the caber, putting theweight and throwing the hammer, apparently a tribal institution. TheKookies and Nagas were restless, warlike and troublesome, and addictedto head hunting. They periodically raided some tea-gardens to securelead for bullets, and incidentally heads as trophies. Several plantershad been thus massacred, and at outlying gardens there was always thisdread and danger. On one occasion an urgent message was brought to mefrom such a garden, whose manager happened to be in Calcutta. His headbaboo begged me to come over and take charge, if only to reassure thecoolies, who had been running off into the jungle on the report of athreatened Naga raid. On going over I found the people tremendouslyexcited, and most of them scared nearly to death. My presence seemed toallay their fright, though if the savages had come we could have donenothing, having only a few rifles in the place and the coolies totallydemoralized. Luckily Mr Naga did not appear. 

The Looshais were a particularly warlike race, and gardens situated neartheir territory were supplied by Government with stands of arms and hadstockades for defence in case of attack. 

The tea-planter's life was to me a very enjoyable one. There was lots ofinteresting work to be done, lots of sport and amusement, and lots ofgood fellows. The life promised to be an ideal one. For its enjoyment, however, indeed for its possibility, there is one essential--goodhealth. Unfortunately that, during the whole period at Scottpore, wasnot mine; for the whole eighteen months fever had its grip on me;appetite was quite gone, and I subsisted on nothing but eggs, milk andwhisky. Six months more would have done me up; but just at this timecame the announcement of my father's death. For this reason and onaccount of my health I resigned the position and prepared to visit home, meaning to return, however, to India. 

I determined before going to look out a piece of land suitable for asmall plantation; and, after much consideration, decided to hunt for itin Eastern Sylhet. So bidding adieu to friends I hied me down to theselected district, secured a good man as guide (a man of intelligenceand intimate knowledge of the country was essential), and hired anelephant to carry us and break a way through the jungle. In the courseof our search we came to a piece of seemingly swampy ground; the highreeds which had once covered it had been eaten down and the surface ofthe bog trodden on till it became caked, firm and almost solid. Ourpath was across it, but on coming to the edge the elephant refused toproceed. On the mahout urging him he roared and protested in every way, so much so that I was somewhat alarmed and suggested to the mahout thatthe elephant knew better than he the danger of proceeding. Finally, however, the elephant decided to try the ground, and carefully andslowly he made his way across, his great feet at every step depressingthe surface, which perceptibly waved like thin ice all around him. I wasprepared and ready to jump clear at the first sign of danger, for had webroken through we should have probably all disappeared in the bog. Hatthi was as much relieved as myself on reaching terra firma. My guidetold me that this land had no bottom, that under the packed surfacethere was twenty feet of soft, black, loamy mud. This set me thinking. Iwas after something of this nature. In the course of the next day wecame upon a somewhat similar piece of ground, some 300 acres in extent, still covered with the original reeds and other vegetation. The soil wasin places exposed and was of a rich, dark brown loamy character. Takinga long ten-foot bamboo and pressing it firmly on the ground it could beforced nearly out of sight. That was enough for me. The object soughtfor was found. Further tests with a spade and bamboo were made atdifferent points; deep drainage seemed practicable, and, what was quiteimportant, a small navigable river bounded the property. Then I huntedup a native surveyor, traced the proposed boundaries, got numbers anddata, etc. , to enable me to send my application to the proper quarter, which I soon afterwards did, making a money deposit in part payment tothe Government. My task was completed, and I at once started forCalcutta and home. 

As things turned out I never returned to the country and so had toabandon my rights, etc. ; but in support of my judgment I was very muchgratified to learn years afterwards that someone else had secured anddeveloped this particular piece of land as a tea-garden, and that it hadturned out to be the most valuable, much the most valuable, piece of tealand, acre for acre, in the whole country. Often and bitterly since thenhave I regretted not being able to return and develop and operate thisideal location. More than that, I had learned the tea-growing business, had devoted over three years to its careful study, felt myself in everyway competent, and had found a life in many ways suited to my tastes. All this had to be abandoned. In India the white man lives in greatluxury. He has a great staff of servants, his every whim and wish isanticipated and satisfied, his comfort watched over. To leave _this_, to go straight out to the West, the wild and woolly West, where servantswere not! The very suggestion of such a thing to me on leaving Indiawould have received no consideration whatever. It would have seemedutterly impossible, but "El Hombre propone y el Deos depone" as theMexicans say. 

During the whole four years' stay in India I was practically barred fromladies' society, nearly all the planters being unmarried men. Alas! fortwenty years longer of my life this very unfortunate and demoralizingcondition was to continue. 

There were no railroads then to Cachar and no steamers, so I againperformed the journey to Calcutta in a native boat, and there, by-the-bye, I witnessed the sight for the first time of an apparentlunatic playing a game called Golf; a game which later was to be morefamiliar to me, and myself to become one of the greatest lunatics ofall. The run home was in no way remarkable, except for the intenseanticipated pleasure of again seeing the old country. 

CHAPTER II

CATTLE RANCHING IN ARIZONA

 Leave for United States of America--Iowa--New Mexico--Real Estate Speculation--Gambling--Billy the Kid--Start Ranching in Arizona--Description of Country--Apache and other Indians--Fauna--Branding Cattle--Ranch Notes--Mexicans--Politics--Summer Camp--Winter Camp--Fishing and Shooting--Indian Troubles. 

My health seemed to have reached a more serious condition than imagined;and so on the advice of my friends, but with much regret, I decided tohenceforth cast my lot in a more bracing climate. Having no profession, and hating trade in any form, the choice was limited and confined tolive stock or crop farming of one kind or another. 

Accordingly, after six months at home and on complete recovery ofhealth, I took my way to the United States of America, first to Lemarsin Iowa, where was a well-known colony of Britishers, said Britishersconsisting almost entirely of the gentlemen class, some with much money, some with little, none of them with much knowledge of practical businesslife or affairs, all of them with the idea of social superiority overthe natives, which they very foolishly showed. Sport, not work, occupiedtheir whole time and attention. Altogether it seemed that this was noplace for one who had to push his fortunes. The climate, too, seemed tobe far from agreeable, in summer being very hot, in winter very cold;so, with another man, I decided to go further west and south, to thesheep and cattle country of New Mexico; not that I had any knowledge ofsheep or cattle, hardly knowing the one from the other; but the natureof Ranch life (Ranch with a big R) and the romance attaching to it hadmuch to do with my determination. 

Arrived in New Mexico I went to live with a sheepman--a practicalsheepman from Australia--to study the industry and see how I liked it. In the neighbourhood was a cattle ranch and a lot of cowboys. I saw muchof _their_ life, and was so attracted by it that the sheep propositionwas finally abandoned as unsuitable. Still, I was very undecided, knewlittle of the ways of the country and still less of the cattle business. I moved to the small town of Las Vegas, then about the western end ofthe Santa Fé railroad. Here I stayed six months, making acquaintancesand listening to others' experiences. 

Las Vegas was then a true frontier town. It was "booming, " full of lifeand all kinds of people, money plentiful, saloons, gambling-dens anddance-halls "wide open. " Real Estate was moving freely, pricesadvancing, speculation rife, and--I caught the infection! A fewsuccessful deals gave me courage and tempted me further. I became a realgambler. On some deals I made tremendous profits. I even owned a saloonand gambling-hall, which paid me a huge rental and gave me my drinksfree! The world looked "easy. "

Not content with Las Vegas, I followed the road to Albuquerque andSocorro, had some deals there and spent my evenings playing poker, faroand monte with the best and "toughest" of them. Santa Fé, the capital, was then as much a "hell" as Las Vegas. 

Let me try to describe one of these gambling resorts. A long, low room, probably a saloon, with the pretentious bar in front; tables on eitherside of the room, and an eager group round each one, the game beingroulette, faro, highball, poker, crapps or monte. The dealers, orprofessional gamblers, are easily distinguished. Their dress consistsinvariably of a well-laundered "biled" (white) shirt, huge diamond studin front, no collar or tie, perhaps a silk handkerchief tied looselyround the neck, and an open unbuttoned waistcoat. They are necessarilycool, wide-awake, self-possessed men. All in this room are chewingtobacco and distributing the results freely on the floor. Now and thenthe dealers call for drinks all round, perhaps to keep the companytogether and encourage play. But poker, the royal game, the best of allgambling games, is generally played in a retired room, where quietnessand some privacy are secured. Mere idlers and "bums" are not wantedaround; perhaps the room is a little cleaner, but the floor is littered, if the game has lasted long, with dozens of already used and abandonedpacks of cards. At Las Vegas the majority of the players were cowboysand cattlemen; at Socorro miners and prospectors; at Albuquerque allkinds; at Santa Fé politicians and officials and Mexicans, but Chinamen, always a few Chinamen, everywhere; and what varied types of men one rubsshoulders with! The cowpunchers, probably pretty well "loaded" (tipsy), the "prominent" lawyer, the horny-handed miner, the inscrutable "John";the scout, or frontier man, with hair long as a woman's; the half-breedMexican or greaser elbowing a don of pure Castilian blood; the men all"packing" guns (six-shooters), some in the pocket, some displayedopenly. The dealer, of course, has his lying handy under the table; butshooting scrapes are rare. If there is any trouble it will be settledsomewhere else afterwards. 

But things took a turn; slackness, then actual depression in Real Estatevalues set in, and oh! how quickly. Like many others, I got scared andhastened to "get out. " It was almost too late, not quite. On cleaningup, my financial position was just about the same as at the beginning ofthe campaign. It was a lesson, a valuable experience; but I admit thatReal Estate speculation threw a glamour over me that still remains. Itis the way to wealth for the man who knows how to go about it. 

About this time two Englishmen arrived in Las Vegas, and we soon gotacquainted. One could easily see that they were not tenderfeet. On thecontrary, they appeared to be shrewd, practical men of affairs. They hadbeen cattle ranching up north for some years, had a good knowledge ofthe business, and were "good fellows. " They had come south to look out acattle ranch and continue in the business. They wanted a little morecapital, which seemed my opportunity, and the upshot was that we formeda partnership, for good or for ill, which lasted for many years (overtwelve), but which was never financially successful. Considering myentire ignorance of cattle affairs, and having abounding confidence inmy two partners, I agreed to leave the entire control and management intheir hands. 

It was about this time (1883) that I was fortunate enough to meet atFort Sumner the then great Western celebrity, "Billy the Kid. " Billy wasa young cowboy who started wrong by using his gun on some trivialoccasion. Like all, or at least many, young fellows of his age he wantedto appear a "bad man. " One shooting scrape led to another; he became anoutlaw; cattle troubles, and finally the Lincoln County War, in which hetook a leading part, gave him every opportunity for his now murderingpropensities, so that soon the tally of his victims amounted to sometwenty-five lives. The Lincoln County New Mexico "War, " in which it isbelieved that first to last over 200 men were killed, was purely acattleman's war, but the most terrible and bloody that ever took placein the West. New Mexico was at that time probably the most lawlesscountry in the world. 

Only a month after my meeting Billy in Fort Sumner he was killed there, not in his "boots, " but in his stockings, by Sheriff Pat Garret. He wasshot practically in his bed and given no "show. " His age when killed wasonly twenty-three years. There were afterwards many other "kids" emulousof Billy's renown, because of which, and their youthfulness, they werealways the most dangerous of men. 

Our senior partner, not satisfied with New Mexico, went out to Arizonafor a look round, liked the prospect, and decided to locate there, so wemoved out accordingly. Arizona (Arida Zona) was at this time apractically new and unoccupied territory; that is, though there were afew Mexicans, a few Mormons and a great many Indians, a few sheep andfewer cattle, it could not be called a settled country, and most of thegrazing land was in a virgin state. 

My partner had bought out a Mexican's rights, his cattle, water-claims, ranches, etc. , located at the Cienega in Apache county, near thehead-waters of the Little Colorado River. To close the deal part paymentin advance had to be made; and to ensure promptness the paper was givento my care to be delivered to the seller as quickly as possible. Accordingly I travelled by train to the nearest railroad point, Holbrook, found an army ambulance about to convey the commanding officerto Camp Apache, and he was good enough to allow me to accompany him partof the way. It was a great advantage to me, as otherwise there was noconveyance, nor had I a horse or any means of getting to the ranch, about eighty miles. Judging from the colonel's armed guard and the factof travelling at night, it occurred to me that something was wrong, andon questioning him he told me that he would not take any "chances, " thatthe Apaches were "out" on the war-path, but that they never attacked inthe dark. This lent more interest to the trip, though it was interestingenough to me simply to see the nature of the country where we haddecided to make our home. We got through all right. Next morning I hireda horse and reached the ranch the same day. 

As this was to be our country for many years to come, it will be well todescribe its physical features, etc. Arizona, of course, is a hugeterritory, some 400 by 350 miles. It embraces pure unadulterated desertregions in the west; a large forest tract in the centre; the rest has asemi-arid character, short, scattering grass all over it; to the eye ofa stranger a dreary and desolate region! The east central part, where wewere, has a general elevation of 4000 to 6000 feet above sea-level, sothat the fierce summer heat is tempered to some extent, especially aftersundown. In winter there were snowstorms and severe cold, but the snowdid not lie long, except in the mountains, where it reached a depth ofseveral feet. 

The Little Colorado River (Colorado Chiquito), an affluent of theGreater River, had its headquarters in the mountains, south of ourranch. It was a small stream, bright and clear, and full of speckledtrout in its upper part; lower down most of the time dry; at other timesa flood of red muddy water, or a succession of small, shallow pools of aboggy, quicksandy nature, that ultimately cost us many thousands ofcattle. The western boundary of Arizona is the Big Colorado River. Where the Santa Fé railroad crosses it at the Needles is one of thehottest places in North America. In summer the temperature runs up to ashigh as 120 degrees Fahr. , and I have even heard it asserted to go to125 degrees in the shade; and I cannot doubt it, as even on our ownranch the thermometer often recorded 110 degrees; that at an elevationof 4000 feet, whereas the Needles' elevation above sea-level is only afew hundreds. At Jacobabad, India, the greatest heat recorded is 126degrees, and at Kashan, in Persia, a month--August--averaged 127degrees, supposed to be the hottest place on earth. 

Above the Needles begins or ends the very wonderful Grand Cañon, extending north for 270 miles, its depth in places being as much as 6000feet, and that at certain points almost precipitously. The wonderfulcolouring of the rocks, combined with the overpowering grandeur of it, make it one of the most impressive and unique sights of the world. 

Now, stop and think what that is--2000 yards! say a mile; and imaginethe effect on a stranger when he first approaches it, which he willgenerally do without warning--nothing, absolutely nothing, to indicatethe presence of this wonderful gorge till he arrives at its very brink. Its aspect is always changing according to the hour of day, the periodof the year, the atmospheric conditions. The air is dry and bracing atall times; and as pure, clear and free from dust or germs as probablycan be found anywhere on earth. The panorama may be described as"_wunderschön_. " Anyone of sensibility will sit on the rock-rim forhours, possibly days, in dumb contemplation of the beauty and immensity. No one has yet, not even the most eloquent writer, been quite able toexpress his feelings and sentiments, though many have attempted to do soin the hotel register; some of the greatest poets and thinkers admittingin a few lines their utter inability. Our Colorado Chiquito in its lowerparts has an equally romantic aspect. 

Close to our ranch was another of Nature's wonders, a petrified forest, quite unique in that the exposed tree trunks are solid masses of agate, chalcedony, jasper, opal and other silicate crystals, the variety ofwhose colouring, with their natural brilliancy, makes a wonderfullybeautiful combination. These trees are supposed to have been the NorfolkIsland pine, a tree now extinct, are of large dimensions, all prostrate, lying in no particular order, and all broken up into large or smallersections. Many carloads have been removed and shipped to Easternfactories, where the sections are sawn through and polished, and themost lovely table tops, etc. , imaginable produced. One must beware ofrattlesnakes when prowling about these "ruins. "

To complete the physical description of Arizona territory something mustbe said of the pine-clad mountain range to the south of us. The bulk ofthis area constituted the Apache Indian Reservation. It was reserved forthese Indians as a hunting-ground as well as a home. No one else wasallowed to settle within its boundaries, or graze their sheep or cattlethere. It was truly a hunter's paradise, being largely covered withforest trees, broken here and there by open parks and glades and meadowlands, drained by streams of clear cool water, which combining, produceda few considerable-sized rivers, "hotching" with trout, unsophisticatedand so simple in their natures that it seemed a positive shame to takeadvantage of them. These mountains were the haunt of the elk, thebig-horned sheep, black-and white-tailed deer, grizzly, cinnamon, silvertip, and brown and black bears; the porcupine, racoon and beaver; alsothe prong-horned antelope, though it is more of a plains country animal. But more of this some other time. 

The Apache Indians (Apache is not their proper name, but Tinneh; theformer was given to them by the Mexicans and signifies "enemy") wereand are the most dreaded of all the redskin tribes. They always havebeen warlike and perhaps naturally cruel, and at the time of our arrivalin the country they had about attained their most bloodthirsty andmurderous character. Shocking ill-treatment by white skalawags andUnited States officials had changed their nature; but more about themalso by-and-by. 

North of us were the numerous and powerful Navajo Indians. They were notso much dreaded by us, their Reservation being further away, and theythen being of a peaceful disposition, devoted to horse and sheepbreeding and the manufacture of blankets. 

These are the famous Navajo blankets so often seen in English homes, valued for the oddness of their patterns and colours, but used inArizona mainly as saddle blankets. The majority of them are coarselymade and of little intrinsic value; but others, made for the chiefs orother special purposes, are finely woven, very artistic, and sell forlarge sums of money. Rain will not penetrate them and they makeexcellent bed coverings. 

These Navajoes used to declare that they would never quit the war-pathtill a certain "Dancing Man" appeared, and that they would never beconquered till then. An American officer, named Backus, at FortDefiance, constructed a dummy man, who danced by the pulling of wires, and showed him to the Indians. They at once accepted him as theirpromised visitor, and have since then never gone on the war-path. Thismay seem an incredible tale, but is a fact. 

Also near us were the Zuni Indians, who, like the Pueblo Indians, livedin stone-built communal houses, had entirely different customs to thoseof the Apaches and Navajoes, and are perhaps the debased descendants ofa once powerful and advanced nation. Whilst speaking of Indians, it maybe said that the plains tribes, such as the Comanches, believe in theimmortality of the soul and the future life. All will attain it, allwill reach the Happy Hunting-Ground, unless prevented by such accidentsas being scalped, which results in annihilation of the soul. 

Is it not strange that though these barbarians believe in theimmortality of the soul yet our materialistic Old Testament never evensuggests a future life; and it seems that no Jew believes or ever wastaught to believe in it. 

Indian self-torture is to prove one's endurance of pain. A broad knifeis passed through the pectoral muscles, and a horse-hair rope inserted, by which they must swing from a post till the flesh is torn through. Indians will never scalp a negro; it is "bad medicine. " By the way, isnot scalping spoken of in the Book of Maccabees as a custom of the Jewsand Syrians? The tit-bits of a butchered carcass are, to the Indians, the intestines, a speciality being the liver with the contents of thegall bladder sprinkled over it! Horses, dogs, wolves and skunks aregreatly valued for food. 

Amongst certain tribes Hiawatha was a Messiah of divine origin, but bornon earth. He appeared long ago as a teacher and prophet, taught thempicture-writing, healing, etc. ; gave them the corn plant and pipe; hewas an ascetic; told them of the Isles of the Blessed and promised tocome again. In Mexico Quetzalcohuatl was a similar divine visitor, prophet and teacher. 

But to return to our own immediate affairs. At a reasonable price webought out another cattleman, his ranches, cattle and saddle horses. Asrequired by law, we also adopted and recorded a cattle brand. Our firstbusiness was to brand our now considerable herd, which entailed animmense amount of very hard work. This in later years would have been novery great undertaking, but at that time "squeezers" and branding"chutes" were not known. Our corrals were primitive and not suited forthe work, and our cattle extraordinarily wild and not accustomed tocontrol of any kind. Indeed, the men we had bought out had sold to usfor the simple reason that they could not properly handle them. Thefour-legged beasties had got beyond their control, and many of them hadalmost become wild animals. These cattle, too, had very little of the"improved" character in them. Well-bred bulls had never been introduced. 

Some of the bulls we found had almost reached their allottedspan--crusty old fellows indeed and scarred in many a battle;"moss-heads" we called them, and the term was well applied, for theirhoary old heads gave the idea of their being covered with moss. 

Most of the cattle had never been in a corral in their lives, and someof the older steers were absolute "outlaws, " magnificent creatures, tento twelve years of age, with immense spreading horns, sleek and glossysides, and quite unmanageable. They could not be got into a herd, or ifgot in, would very soon walk out again. Eventually some had to be shoton the range like any wild animal, simply to get rid of them; but theyat least afforded us many a long and wild gallop. 

There was one great steer in particular, reckoned to be ten or twelveyears old, quite a celebrity in fact on account of his unmanageableness, his independence and boldness, which we had frequently seen and triedto secure, but hitherto without success. He had a chum, another outlaw, and they grazed in a particular part of the range far from the haunts oftheir kin and of man. Three of us undertook to make one more effort tosecure him. At the headquarters ranch we had gathered a herd of cattleand we proposed to try and run the steer in that direction, where theother boys would be on the lookout and would head him into the round-up. Two of us were to go out and find the steer and start him homewards; Imyself undertook to wait about half-way, and when they came in sight totake up the running and relieve them. They found him all right abouttwenty miles out, turned him and started him. No difficulty so far. Heran with the ease of a horse, and he was still going as he willed, without having the idea of being coerced. Meantime I had been taking iteasy, lolling on the ground, my horse beside me with bridle down. Suddenly the sound of hoof-beats and a succession of yells warned me to"prepare to receive cavalry. " Through a cleft in a hill I could see thequarry coming at a mad gallop directly for me, the two men poundingalong behind. I had just time and no more to tighten girth and get intothe saddle when he was on me, and my horse being a bit drowsy it neededsharp digging of the spurs to get out of the way. I forget how manymiles the boys said they had already run him, but it was a prodigiousdistance and we were still eight miles from the ranch. The steer wasgetting hot, it began to suspect something, and to feel the pressure. Ashe came down on me he looked like a mountain, his eyes were bright, hewas blowing a bit, and looked particularly nasty. When in such acondition it does not do to overpress, as, if you do, the chances arethe steer will wheel round, challenge you and get on the fight. Muchcircumspection is needed. He will certainly charge you if you get toonear, and on a tired horse he would have the advantage. So you must e'enhalt and wait--not get down, that would be fatal--wait five minutes itmay be, ten minutes, or a quarter of an hour, till the gentleman coolsoff a bit. Then you start him off again, not so much driving him now, hewon't be driven, but guiding his course towards the herd. In this casewe succeeded beautifully, though at the end he had to be raced oncemore. And so he was finally headed into the round-up; but dear me, heonly entered it from curiosity. No round-up for him indeed! no corraland no going to market! He entered the herd, took a look round, a sniffand a smell, and was off again out at the other side as if the devil wasafter him, and indeed he wasn't far wrong. The chase was abandoned andhis majesty doomed later on to a rifle bullet wherever found. 

Our principal and indeed only corral at that time was of solid stonewalls, a "blind" corral, and most difficult to get any kind of cattleinto. While pushing them in, each man had his "rope" down ready to atonce drop it over the horns of any animal attempting to break back. Thushalf our force would sometimes be seen tying down these truants, whichwere left lying on the ground to cool their tempers till we had time toattend to them; and it is a fact that some of these individuals, especially females, died where they lay, apparently of broken hearts orshame at their subjection. They showed no sign of injury by rough usage, only their damnable tempers, rage and chagrin were responsible for theirdeaths. 

Inside the corral everything, of course, had to be roped and thrown tobe branded. It was rough and even dangerous work, and individualanimals, again generally cows, would sometimes make desperate charges, and even assist an unfortunate "puncher" in scaling the walls. In afteryears we built proper corrals, and in the course of time, by frequentand regular handling, the cattle became more docile and better-mannered. For one thing, they were certainly easily gathered. When we wanted toround them up we had only to ride out ten or twenty miles, swing roundand "holler, " when all the cattle within sight or hearing would at oncestart on the run for the ranch. These were not yet domesticated cattlein that they always wanted to run and never to walk. Indeed, oncestarted it was difficult to hold them back. This was not very conduciveto the accumulation of tallow on their generally very bare bones. 

I well remember the first bunch of steers sold off the ranch, which weredriven to Fort Wingate, to make beef for the soldiers. About two hundredhead of steers, from six to twelve years of age, all black, brown, brindle or yellow, ne'er a red one amongst them; magnificently horned, in fair flesh, perfect health and spirits; such steers you could not"give away" to-day; but we got sixty dollars apiece for them and werewell rid of them; and how they walked! The ponies could hardly keep upwith them; and what cowman does not know the pleasure of driving fastwalking beef cattle? Ne'er a "drag" amongst them! You had only to"point" them and let them "hit the trail"; but a stampede at night wasall the more a terrific affair, though even in such a case if they gotaway they would keep together, and when you found one you found themall. Such a bunch of magnificent, wild, proud-looking steer creatureswill never be seen again, in America at least, because you cannot getthem now of such an age, nor of such primitive colours; colours that, Ibelieve, the best-bred cattle would in course of long years and manygenerations' neglect revert to. 

The method adopted when an obstreperous steer made repeated attempts toleave the herd was to send a bullet through his horn, which gave himsomething to think about and shake his head over. No doubt it hurt himterribly, but it generally was an effective check to his waywardness. And when some old hoary-headed bull wanted to "gang his ain gait" apiece of cactus tossed on to his back, whence it was difficult to shakeoff, would give him also something to think about. 

Another small herd we some time later disposed of were equally goodtravellers, and indeed were driven from the ranch in one day to CampApache, another military post, a distance of over 40 miles. In this casethe trail was through forest country where there was no "holding"ground, so they had to be pushed through. 

Our herd increased and throve fairly well for a number of years tillother "outfits" began to throw cattle into the country, and sheepmenbegan to dispute our right to certain grazing lands. We did not quiterealize it at the time, but it was the beginning of the end. We had goneinto a practically virgin country, controlled an immense area, and thestock throve accordingly. But others were jealous of our success, threwin their cattle as already said, and their sheep, and ultimately weswamped one another. The grass was eaten down, over-grazed, droughtscame, prices broke, and so the end. From 500 our annual calf brandmounted to 4000; halted there, and gradually dropped back to theoriginal tally. Our cattle, from poverty, bogged in the river, orperished from hunger. This was all due to the barbarous grazing systemunder which we worked, the United States refusing to sell or lease landfor grazing purposes; consequently, except at the end of a gun, one hadno control over his range. Cattle versus sheep wars resulted, stealingbecame rampant and success impossible. 

Among other sales made was that of some 1500 steers, of all ages, whichwe drove right up to the heart of Colorado and disposed of at goodprices. This drive was marked by a serious stampede, on a dark night inrough country, by which two of the boys got injured, though happily notseriously. Then another time we made an experimental shipment of 500 oldsteers to California, to be grazed and fattened on alfalfa. They weregot through all right and put in an alfalfa field, and I remained incharge of them. Our cattle were not accustomed to wire fences, or beingpenned up in a small enclosure, and of course had never seen alfalfa; sofor a week or more they did nothing but walk round the fence, tramplingthe belly-high lucerne to the ground. Gradually, however, they got toeating it, and in six weeks began to pick up. Briefly stated, thisadventure was a financial failure. Like the cattle I had been myself anentire stranger to the wonderful alfalfa plant, and I never tiredmarvelling at its exuberance of growth and its capacity for supportinganimal life. The heat in San Joachin Valley in high summer is almostoverpowering, and vegetable growth under irrigation quite phenomenal. Alfalfa was cut some six or seven times in the season; each time a heavycrop. After taking cattle out of one pasture, then grazed bare, it wasonly three weeks till the plant was in full growth again, in fullflower, two feet high and ready for the reception of more live stock. The variety of animal life subsisting on alfalfa was extraordinary. Allkinds of domestic stock throve on it and liked it. In our field, besidescattle, were geese, ducks, turkeys, rabbits and hares in thousands, doves and quails in flocks, and gophers innumerable; frogs, toads, ratsand mice; while bees, wasps, butterflies and moths, and myriads ofother insects were simply pushing one another out of the way. It was awonderful study. 

In Utah much difficulty was found in growing clover. This was accountedfor by the fact that there were no old maids in that polygamous country. Old maids naturally were not allowed! And there being none, there wereof course no cats to kill the mice that eat the bumble-bees' nests;thus, no bumble-bees to fertilize it, therefore no clover. Old maidshave found their function. 

Figs could not be grown successfully in California till the Smyrna wasphad been imported to fertilize the flower. 

And while talking of bees: on the Mississippi River bee-keepers are inthe habit of drifting their broods on rafts up the river, following theadvance of spring and thus securing fresh fields and pastures new of theyoung spring blossoms; which is somewhat similar to the Chinaman's habitof carrying his ducks (he does love ducks), thousands of them, on raftsand boats up and down the broad Yangtse to wherever the richest grazingand grub-infested beds may be found. 

I should not forget to say that care must be used in putting cattle onalfalfa. At some seasons it is more dangerous than at others. A numberof these steers "bloated, " and I had to stick them with a knife promptlyto save their lives. A new experience to me, but I soon "caught on. "

But something must be said about our little county town, San Juan, county seat of Apache County in which we were located. St Johnsconsisted of one general store, three or four saloons, a drug store, anewspaper office, court-house, jail, etc. A small settlement of Mormons, who confined themselves to farming on the narrow river bottom, and anequal number of Mexicans, an idle and mischievous riffraff, though oneor two of them had considerable herds of sheep, and others were countyofficials. County affairs were dreadfully mismanaged and county fundsmisused. For our own protection we had to take part in politics, form anOpposition, and after a long struggle, in which my partners did nobleservice, we carried an election, put in our own officials, securedcontrol of the county newspaper, and had things as we wanted them. Butit was a bitter fight, and the old robber gang, who had run the countyfor years, were desperate in their resentment. Unfortunately, thisresentment was basely and maliciously shown by an attempt, successfulbut happily not fatal, to poison one of my partners. He had a long andgrim fight with death, but his indomitable will pulled him through. Imyself, though I had little to do with politics, had a narrow escapefrom a somewhat similar fate. Living at that time, in winter, at whatwas called the Meadows Camp, I usually had a quarter of beef hung in theporch. Frost kept it sweet and sound for a long period, and every day itwas my practice to cut off a steak for consumption. There were two cats, fortunately, and a slice was often thrown to them. One morning I firstgave them their portion, then cut my own. In a few minutes theunfortunate animals were in the throes of strychnine poisoning and diedin short order. It was a shock to me and a warning. 

The Mexicans continued for some time to be mean and threatening. Bush-whacking at night was attempted, and they even threatened an attackon our headquarters ranch; but we were a pretty strong outfit, had ourown sheriff, and by-and-by a number of good friends. 

In our district rough country and timber prevented the cattle driftingvery much. In winter they naturally sought the lower range; in summerthey went to the mountains. Headquarters was about half-way between. Itwas finally arranged that I should take charge of the lower winter campduring winter and the mountain camp during summer. My partners mostlyremained at headquarters. In summer time, from April to the end ofOctober, this arrangement suited me very well indeed; in fact, it wasmade at my own suggestion; and the life, though a solitary one for longperiods, suited me to the ground and I enjoyed it immensely. PracticallyI lived alone, which was also my own wish, as it was disagreeable tohave anyone coming into my one-roomed cottage, turning things over andmaking a mess. I did my own cooking, becoming almost an expert, and haveever since continued to enjoy doing so. Of course I could have had oneof the boys to live with me; but no matter what good fellows cowboysgenerally are, their being in very close companionship is not agreeable, some of their habits being beastly. Thus it came about that my life wasa very solitary one, as it had been in India, and as it afterwardscontinued to be in New Mexico and Texas. Few visitors came to my camp insummer or winter. Now and then I was gladdened by a visit of one orother of my partners, one of whom, however, cared nothing for fishing orshooting, and the other was much of the time entirely absent from thecountry. During our short periodical round-ups of course I attended the"work" with the rest; but to spend one whole month, as I did once, without not only not conversing with, but absolutely not seeing a humanbeing, is an experience that has probably come to very few men indeed. However, as said before, life in the White Mountains of Arizona was veryenjoyable. Peaks ran up to 10, 000 feet; and the elevation of my campwas about 8000 feet. Round about were extensive open parks and meadows, delightfully clear creeks and streams; grass a foot high, vast stretchesof pine timber, deep and rocky cañons, etc. , etc. 

When we first shoved our cattle up there the whole country was a virginone, no settlements or houses, no roads of any kind, except one or twoIndian hunting trails, no cattle, sheep or horses. There were, asalready stated, elk, mountain sheep, antelope, deer, bears, panthers, porcupines, coons, any amount of wild turkey, spruce grouse, greenpigeons, quail, etc. , etc. There were virgin rivers of considerablesize, swarming with trout, many of which it was my luck to first exploreand cast a fly into. Most of this lovely country, as said before, waspart of the Apache Indian Reservation, on which no one was allowed totrespass; but the boundary line was ill-defined and it was difficult tokeep our cattle out of the forbidden territory. Indeed, we did not tryto do so. 

The Indian settlement was at Fort Apache, some thirty miles from mycamp. These people, having such an evil reputation, are worthy of a fewmore notes. Such tales of cruelty and savagery were told of them as tobe almost incredible. They were the terror of Arizona and New Mexico, yet they were not entirely to blame. Government ill-treatment ofCochise, the great chief of the Chiricaua Apaches, had set the wholetribe on the war-path for ten years. A military company, called theTombstone Toughs, was organized in Southern Arizona to wipe them out, but accomplished nothing. Finally, America's greatest Indian fighter, General Crook, was sent to campaign in Arizona in 1885. The celebratedchiefs, Geronimo and Natchez, broke out again and killed sometwenty-nine white people in New Mexico and thirty-six in Arizona beforeCrook pushed them into the Sierra Madre Mountains in Sonora, where atlast Geronimo surrendered. Victorio was an equally celebrated Apachewar-chief and was out about the same time. Fortunately these last raidswere always made on the south side of the Reservation. We were happilyon the north side, and though we had frequent scares they never gave usserious trouble. So here were my duties and my pleasures. 

The saddle horses when not in use were in my care. The cattle also, ofcourse, needed looking after. I was in the saddle all day. Frequently itwould be my delight to take a pack-horse and go off for a week or twointo the wildest parts of the Reservation, camp, and fish and shooteverything that came along, but the shooting was chiefly for the pot. Young wild turkeys are a delicacy unrivalled, and I became so expert inknowing their haunts that I could at any time go out and get a supply. One of my ponies was trained to turkey hunting. He seemed to take adelight in it. As soon as we sighted a flock, off he would go and takeme up to shooting range, then stop and let me get two barrels in, andoff again after them if more were needed. Turkeys run at a great rateand will not rise unless you press them. 

Big game shooting never appealed to me much. My last bear, through lackof cartridges to finish him, went off with a broken back, dragginghimself some miles to where I found him again next morning. It sodisgusted me as to put me off wishing to kill for killing's sake everafterwards. A wounded deer or antelope, or a young motherless fawn, is amost pitiable sight. 

There was, and perhaps still is, no better bear country in America thanthe Blue River district on the border of Arizona and New Mexico. Onthese shooting and fishing trips I was nearly always alone, and manytimes experienced ridiculous scares. Camping perhaps in a deep cañon, arapid stream rushing by, the wind blowing through the tall pines, thehorses tethered to tree stumps, a menagerie-like smell of bearsfrequently quite apparent, your bed on Mother Earth without tent orcovering, if your sleep be not very sound you will conjure up all sortsof amazing things. Perhaps the horses take fright and run on theirropes. 

[Illustration: ROPING A GRIZZLY. (By C. M. Russell. )]

You get up to soothe them and find them in a lather of sweat and scaredto a tremble. What they saw, or, like men, imagined they saw or heard inthe black darkness, you cannot tell. Still you are in an Indian countryand perhaps thirty miles from anywhere. Many a night I swore I shouldpack up and go home at daylight, but when daylight came and all againseemed serene and beautiful--how beautiful!--all fear would beforgotten; I would cook my trout or fry the breast of a young turkey, and with hot fresh bread and bacon grease, and strong coffee. --Why, packing up was unthought of!

One of my nearest neighbours was an old frontiers-man and Governmentscout. He had married an Apache squaw, been adopted into the tribe(White Mountain Apaches) and possessed some influence. He likedtrout-fishing, so once or twice I accompanied him with his party, saidparty consisting of his wife and all her relatives--indeed most of thetribe. The young bucks scouted and cut "sign" for us (another branch ofthe Apaches being then on the war-path), the women washed clothes, didthe cooking, cleaned and smoked the fish, etc. These Indians wererationed with beef by the Government, while they killed no doubt quite anumber of our cattle, and even devoured eagerly any decomposed carcassfound on the range; but they preferred the flesh of horses, mules anddonkeys, detesting pork and fish. 

In these mountains in summer a serious pest was a green-headed fly, which worried the cattle so much that about noon hour they would allcongregate in a very close herd out in the open places forself-protection. No difficulty then in rounding up; even antelope anddeer would mix with them. When off on a fishing and hunting trip it wasmy custom to set fire to a dead tree trunk, in the smoke of which myhorses would stand for hours at a time, even scorching their fetlocks. 

In these mountains, too, was a place generally called the "Boneyard, "its history being that some cattleman, stranger to the country, turnedhis herd loose there and tried to hold them during the winter. A heavysnowfall of several feet snowed the cattle in so that they could not begot out or anything be done with them. The whole herd was lost and nextspring nothing but a field of bones was visible. 

At another time and place a lot of antelope were caught in deep snow andfrozen to death. A more remarkable case was that of a bunch of horseswhich became snowed in, the snow being so deep they could not break away out. The owner with great difficulty managed to rescue them, when itwas found they had actually chawed each other's tails and manes off. 

Indian dogs have a great antipathy to white men, likewise our own dogstowards Indians, which our horses also share in. Horses also have adread of bears. Once when riding a fine and high-strung horse a bearsuddenly appeared in front. Knowing that my mount, as soon as he smeltthe bear, would become uncontrollable, I quickly shot the bear from thesaddle, and immediately the scared horse bolted. 

To preserve trout I sometimes kippered them and hung them up to dry. Quickly the wasps would attack them, and, if not prevented, would in ashort space of time leave absolutely nothing but a skeleton hanging tothe string. It was later demonstrated that cattle, too, thought them adelicacy, no doubt for the salt or sugar ingredients. Snakes also have aweakness for fish, and I have seen them approach my trout when thrown onthe river bank and drag them off for their own consumption. 

While fishing or shooting one must always be on the careful lookout forrattlesnakes. In the rough cañons and river banks the biggest rattlersare found, and you may jump, tumble or scramble on the back of one andrun great chance of being bitten. On the open prairie, where smallerrattlers are very plentiful, they always give you warning with theirunique, unmistakable rattle. Once, on stooping down to tear up by theroots a dangerous poison weed, in grasping the plant my hand alsograsped a rattlesnake. I dropped it quick enough to escape injury, butthe cold sweat fairly broke out all over me. The bite is always painful, but not always necessarily fatal. 

"Rustlers" is the common name given to cattle or horse thieves. Arizonahad her full share of them. That territory was the last resort ofoutlaws from other and more civilized states. Many of our own "hands"were such men. Few of them dare use their own proper names; havingcommitted desperate crimes in other states, such as Texas, they couldnot return there. Strange to say, the worst of these "bad" men oftenmade the best of ranch hands. Cowboys as a class, that is, the genuinecowboys of days gone by, were a splendid lot of fellows, smart, intelligent, self-reliant and resourceful, also hard and willingworkers. If they liked you, they would stay with you in any kind oftrouble and be thoroughly loyal. No such merry place on earth as the cowcamp, where humour, wit and repartee abounded. The fact of every manbeing armed, and in these far-off days probably a deadly shot, tended tokeep down rowdyism and quarrelling. If serious trouble did come up, itwas settled then and there quickly and decisively, wrongly or rightly. Let me instance a case. 

In round-up camp one day a few hot words were suddenly heard, guns beganto play, result--one man killed outright and two wounded. The case ofone of the wounded boys was rather peculiar. His wound was in the thighand amputation was necessary. Being a general favourite, we, myself andpartners, took turns nursing him, dressing his wounds and cheering himup as well as we could. He rapidly recovered, put on flesh and was inhigh spirits, and, as the doctor said, quite out of danger; but one daythis big strong young fellow took it into his foolish head that he wasgoing to die. Nothing would persuade him to the contrary, and so die hedid, and that without any waste of time. In preparing a body for burialit is the custom, a burial rite indeed, not to wrap the corpse in ashroud, but to dress it in a complete ordinary costume, a brand-new suitof black clothes, white shirt, socks, etc. , etc. --whether boots or not Iforget, but rather think so--dress him probably better than the poorfellow was ever dressed before, and in this manner he was laid in theground. The man who started the shooting was named "Windy M'Gee, "already an outlaw, but then cook for our mess wagon. Shortly afterwardshe killed a prominent lawyer in our little town, or at least wesuspected him strongly, though another man suffered for the crime; butsuch incidents as these were too common to attract world-wideattention. 

On another occasion one of our men got shot in the thigh, by whom or howI do not now remember, but he was a different sort of man from the boyjust mentioned. We knew him to be quite a brave, nervy man in action, having been in one of our fighting scrapes with rustlers; but as apatient he showed a most cowardly disposition, developing a ferocioustemper, rejecting medical advice, cursing everybody who came around, sothat he lay for months at our charge, until we really got to wish thathe would carry out his threat of self-destruction. He did not, but hewas crippled for life and did not leave a friend behind. 

[Illustration: A SHOOTING SCRAPE. (By C. M. Russell. )]

Then, too, the cowboy, in matter of accoutrements, was a very splendidfellow indeed. His saddle was gaily decorated with masses of silver, inthe shape of buttons, buckles and trimmings, etc. Likewise his bridleand bit; his spurs were works of loving art from the hands of thevillage metal-worker, and likewise heavily plated with silver. Therowels were huge but blunt-pointed, and had little metal bells attached. His boots cost him near a month's pay, always made to careful order, with enormously high and narrow heels, as high as any fashionablewoman's; his feet were generally extremely small, because of hishaving lived in the saddle from early boyhood up. He wore a heavywoollen shirt, with a gorgeous and costly silk handkerchief tied looselyround his neck. His head-covering was a very large grey felt hat, a"genuine Stetson, " which cost him from five to twenty dollars, neverless. To keep the big hat in place a thong or cord is tied around andbelow the back of the head instead of under the chin, experience havingproved it to be much more effective in that position. His six-shooterhad plates of silver on the handle, and his scabbard was covered withsilver buttons. It should be said that a saddle, such as we all used, cost from forty to sixty dollars, and weighed generally about fortypounds, not counting saddle blankets. Sometimes the saddle had only one"cinch" or girth, generally two, one of which reached well back underthe flank. Such heavy saddles were necessary for heavy work, roping bigcattle, etc. The stirrups were then generally made of wood, very big andbroad in sole and very heavy, sometimes covered with tapaderos, hugeleather caps to save the feet from thorns in heavy brush, and protectthem from cold in severe weather. 

To protect our legs we wore over the trousers heavy leather chaparejos, sometimes of bear or buffalo hide. Let it be noted that a genuinecowpuncher never rolls his shirt sleeves up, as depicted in romancingnovels. Indeed he either protects his wrists with leather wristlets, orwears long gauntlet gloves. Mounted on his favourite horse, his was agay cavalier figure, and at the "Baillie" he felt himself to beirresistible to the shy and often very pretty Mexican señoritas. Thereyou have a pretty faithful picture of the cowboy of twenty-five yearsago. 

It remains to say something of the "shooting irons. " In the days ofwhich I write there was no restriction to the bearing of arms. Every mancarried a six-shooter. We, and most of our outfit, habitually carried acarbine or rifle as well as the smaller weapon. The carbine was carriedin a scabbard, slung from the horn, under the stirrup flap, and so underthe leg. This method kept the weapon steady and left both arms free. Byraising the leg it was easily got at, and it interfered in no way withthe use of the lariat (La Riata). The hang of the six-shooter requiredmore particular consideration; when needed it would be needed _badly_, and therefore must be easily drawn, with no possible chance of a hitch. The butt of a revolver must point forwards and not backwards, as shownin the accompanying illustration, a portrait of one of our men as hehabitually appeared at work. We ourselves did not go the length ofwearing three belts of cartridges and two six-shooters; but two beltswere needed, one for the rifle and the other for the smaller weapon. Some of the boys were always getting into scrapes and seemed to enjoyprotracted fights with the Mexicans. There must be no flap to thescabbard, and the point must be tied by a leather thong around the thighto keep it in correct position; and of course it was hung on the rightside and low down on the hip, so as to be easily got at. Only whenriding fast was a small loop and silver button passed through thetrigger guard to prevent the gun from jolting out and being lost. Thechambers were always kept full and the weapons themselves in perfectworking order. Very "bad" men tied back or removed the triggeraltogether, cocking and releasing the hammer with the thumb, or"fanning" it with the left hand. This permitted of very rapid firing, sothat the "aar would be plumb full of lead. "

[Illustration: ONE OF OUR MEN. (To show the hand of six-shooter. )]

As an instance of quick shooting, two of our neighbours had threatenedto kill each other at sight: and we were all naturally interested in theresults. When the meeting did take place, quite unpremeditated, nodoubt, each man saw the other about the same instant, but one of themwas just a little the quicker, and put a bullet through his enemy'sheart. It was a mortal wound of course; but before the unlucky man fellhe was also able to "get his work in, " and both fell dead at the sameinstant. This was no duel. The first to fire had the advantage, but the"dead" man was too quick for him, and he did not escape. If I rememberright, a good riddance. 

There was one other way of "packing a gun. " It was called the Arizonaway. Legal gentlemen, some gamblers, and others who for various reasonswished to appear unarmed, simply put the pistol in the coat side pocket, and in use fired from that position through the pocket. It was not oftenso used, but I have known cases of it. In this way it was difficult toknow whether a man was "heeled" (armed) or not. Of course our usualweapon, the long Colt 45° six-shooter could not be so used, being toocumbrous. 

[Illustration: 1883 IN ARIZONA. AUTHOR AND PARTY. ]

CHAPTER III

CACTUS RANCHING IN ARIZONA--_continued_

 The Cowboy--Accoutrements and Weapons--Desert Plants--Politics and Perjury--Mavericks--Mormons--Bog Riding. 

The "rustling" of cattle was very common in Arizona in these days. By"rustling" is not meant the petty burning out of a brand, or stealing ofcalves or odd beef cattle. It was carried on on the grand scale. Bandsof rustlers operated together in large bodies. Between our range and theold Mexican border extended the Apache Reservation, a very large tractof exceedingly rough country, without roads of any description, the onlysigns of human presence being an occasional Indian trail and abandonedwickyups. Beyond the Reservation lay certain mining towns and camps, such as Clifton, Camp Thomas, Tombstone, and others; and then theMexican frontier. 

The rustlers' business was to steal cattle, butcher them in themountains, and sell the beef to the mining towns; or drive them overinto Old Mexico for disposal, and then again drive Mexican cattle orhorses back into Arizona. Some of these gangs were very powerful andterrorized the whole country, so much so that decent citizens wereafraid "to give them away. "

Our cattle ranged well into the mountains, and up to a certain period wehad no occasion to think that any "dirty" work was going on; but at lastwe "tumbled" to the fact that a gang was operating on our range. Wordwas brought us that a bunch of some 200 cattle had been "pulled"(Scotch, lifted). I was off the ranch at the time, but one of mypartners at once started on the trail with three of the men. After somedays very hard riding they caught up on the thieves at early dawn, infact when still too dark to see very well. Shooting began at once. Noneof our men were hurt. Two of the enemy were badly wounded, but managedin the darkness to scramble off into the rocks, or were carried off bytheir companions. Our party captured their saddle horses and campoutfit, but did not feel themselves strong enough to continue the chasein such a country. The cattle were found close to the camp, but sofootsore that it was impossible to move them homewards. They thenreturned to the ranch, and we at once organized a strong force of someseventeen men, well mounted and abundantly supplied with ammunition, etc. Again taking the trail we met the cattle on their way home, andgave them a push for a mile or so; and thinking them safe enough weprepared to continue south. 

On arriving at the scene of last week's fight we noticed that the bigpine trees under which the rustlers camped had gun-rests notched in thesides of them, not newly made, but showing that they had been cut a longwhile ago, probably in anticipation of just what had happened. 

That day in camp, a horseman, the most innocent-looking of individuals, appeared, took dinner with us, and gave some plausible reason for hispresence in that out-of-the-way place. It is strictly against cowboyetiquette to question a guest as to his personality, his movements orhis occupation. We, however, felt very suspicious, especially as afterhe had gone we stumbled on to a coffee-pot and frying-pan, still warm, which had evidently been thrown into the bushes in great haste. In fact, this confirmed our suspicions that our visitor was one of the gang, andwe thereafter stood careful guard round our horses every night. Thecattle we decided to leave alone to take their chances of getting home, thinking the rustlers would not have the "gall", in face of our nearpresence, to again try to get off with them; but they did! These cattlenever reached the ranch. Had they been left alone their wonderful hominginstinct would certainly have got them there just as quick as theycould travel. However, we did not realize the fact of the second raidtill on our return no sign of these cattle could be found. So wecontinued south, passing through the roughest country I ever set eyeson, the vegetation in some places being of the most extraordinarynature, cacti of all kinds forming so thick a jungle that one couldhardly dismount. Such enormous and freakish-looking growths of thisclass of plant few can have ever looked on before. The prickly pear"nopal" was the most common, and bore delicious, juicy and refreshingfruit. Indeed, being out of water and short of "chuck, " we were glad toaccept Nature's offering, but at a dreadful cost, for in a little whileour mouths and tongues were a mass of tiny, almost invisible spines, which the most careful manipulation of the fruit could not prevent. Butthe most astonishing of these growths was the pitahaya (correct namesaguarro), or gigantic columnar cactus, growing to a height of thirty tofifty feet, bearing the fruit on their crowns; a favourite fruit of thePima Indians, though by what means they pluck it it would be interestingto know. Besides an infinite variety of others of the cactus family, there were yuccas, agaves and larreas; the fouquiera and koberlinia, long and thorny leafless rods; artemisias and the algarrobbas ormesquite bean-trees, another principal food of the Indians and valuablefor cattle and horses. The yucca when in full bloom, its giganticpanicles bearing a profusion of large white bells, is one of Nature'smost enchanting sights. Besides all these were massive biznagas, cholas, bear-grass or palmilla, and the mescal, supplying the principalvegetable food of the Apaches. Never in Texas, Arizona, or even OldMexico, have I seen such a combination of varieties of such plantsgrowing in such profusion and perfection; but being no botanist, andquite incompetent to give a proper appreciation of these wonders, wewill return to the trail. 

At one place, hidden in a cañon, we ran on to a stone-built andfortified butchering establishment, but without sign of life around. Continuing, we finally came to Clifton, the copper-mining town, thenperhaps the "hardest" town in Arizona. The townspeople appeared pleasedto see us. Martial law was prevailing, and they seemed to think we werea posse deputized to assist in restoring order. Anyway, the sheriffinformed us that nearly thirty men had left the town that day for theircamp, a fortified position some ten or fifteen miles away. They were allrustlers, and somehow or other had heard of our coming. Mr Sheriff wasalso kind enough to advise us that we were not nearly strong enough totackle them; so adopting his advice, after securing supplies, we rodeoff, and by travelling all night and working round avoided the enemy's"position. " Next day we unexpectedly ran on to a large bunch of our owncattle quietly grazing on the hillside. We rounded them up, but ourbrands were so completely burned out and effaced that, when we put themin the corral at Camp Thomas and claimed ownership, the sheriff refusedto acknowledge it, and we had to draw his attention to a small jaw brandlately adopted by us but unnoticed by the thieves, and therefore not"monkeyed" with. This was proof enough, and so our long and tedious tripwas to some extent compensated for. The particular rustlers we wereafter we could hear nothing of, except one man, who was lying wounded ata certain establishment, but who was carefully removed before we got tothe place. 

On returning home there were only two possible passes through themountains. It was lucky we took the one, as the other, we afterwardslearned, had been put into a state of defence and manned by the outlaws, who in such a place could have shot us all down without danger tothemselves. 

This short narrative will give some sort of idea of the state of thecountry at that period. Thereafter it became necessary that the cattlein the mountains should be more carefully guarded and looked after, andthe duty fell to me to "cut sign. " By "cutting sign" is meant, in thisinstance, the riding round and outside of all our cattle, pushing backany that had strayed too far, and carefully looking out for fresh sign(footprints) of cattle or horses leading beyond our range limits. Suchsign was always suspicious, and the trail must be followed till thestock was found and accounted for. If horse tracks accompanied thecattle it would be a dead sure proof that something was wrong. Icontinued this work for a long time, but nothing suspicious occurred. Atlast, one day when searching the open country with my field-glasses, Iwas gratified and at the same time alarmed to see three or four mendriving a considerable herd of cattle in the direction, and on exactlythe same trail as before taken by the rustlers. Convinced that all wasnot right, and quite realizing that there was the prospect of serioustrouble for myself, I lit out for them, keeping as well under cover aspossible, till, on mounting a small tree-covered knoll, I found myselfdirectly overlooking their camp. There were the cattle, from four tofive hundred, and there the men, preparing their mid-day meal, four ofthem in all, and all strangers to me. It was necessary at all costs toknow who they were, so I was obliged to disclose myself by going intotheir camp. The number of saddle horses they had with them led me tothink that they were not real professional cattle thieves. Had theybeen indeed rustlers it would have been a risky thing to do, as theywould have had to dispose of me in some way or other. By my horse brandthey at once knew what "outfit" I belonged to. Their brands, however, were strange to me. They asked me to eat, of course; and I soon foundout that their party was headed by one Pete----, whose reputation I hadoften heard of as being of the worst. He said he had been grazing thesecattle in some outlying park, and was now taking them home to hisranches somewhere in New Mexico. That was all right; but since he hadpassed through part of our range it was necessary to inspect the herd. This he resisted by every means he could think of, asserting that theywere a "clean" bunch, with no "strays, " and that he was in a great hurryto push on. I insisted, however, on riding through them, when, not muchto my surprise, I found about twenty large unbranded calves, apparentlywithout their "mammies. " On asking Pete for an explanation: "Oh, " hesaid, "the mammies were shore in the herd" and he "warn't no cow thief, "but on my persisting he finally exclaimed, "Well, take your damned_caves_ and let's get on, " or some such words; so I started in and cutout nearly twenty big unbranded calves, which certainly did not havetheir mothers with them; which, therefore, were clearly not hisproperty; were probably ours, but whether they were or not did notmatter to me. Pete and his men pulled out home, but I caught and brandedover half of these calves before turning them loose, and it is probablewe got the rest of them at the next round-up. When a man issingle-handed and has to make his fire up as well as catch and tie downthe calves he has his hands pretty full. In this case I used only onefire and so had to drag the calves up close to it; every bit of tie ropein my pocket, thongs cut off the saddle, even my pocket-handkerchief, were all brought into service; as at one time there were as many as fourcalves tied down at once. I had only the one little branding-iron, athin bent iron rod, generally carried tied to the saddle alongside thecarbine. The branding-iron must be, if not quite red-hot, very nearlyso. Then the calf has to be ear-marked and altered. 

When the mothers are near by the bellowing of the young ones as the hotiron burns into the hide makes them wild with fear and anxiety, and themotherly instinct to charge is strained to the utmost, though theyseldom dare to do it. The calves themselves, if big and stout enough, will often charge you on being released, and perhaps knock you over witha painfully hard punch. 

This was merely an adventure which lent some excitement and interest tothe regular work. Happily no more serious raid on our cattle occurredin that direction, but one never knew when a little "pulling" might takeplace and so had to be constantly on the alert. 

About this time certain ill-disposed individuals tried "to get theirwork in on us" by asserting land frauds on our part. They tried everypossible way to give us "dirt, " that is, to put us to trouble andexpense, and even send us to the pen if they could. They succeeded inhaving me indicted for perjury by the Grand Jury at Prescott, the thencapital of Arizona. It cost us some money, but no incriminating evidencewas forthcoming and the trial was a farce. The trial jury consisted ofminers, cattlemen, saloon-keepers and others, and by mixing freely withthem, standing drinks, etc. , we managed to "correct" any bad feelingthere might have been against us. Certainly these jurymen might havemade trouble for me, but they did not. This notwithstanding that myfriend, a special land agent sent out from Washington and principalwitness against me, swore that I had assaulted him at a lonely place(and I well remember the occasion), and that he felt his life in suchdanger that he had to travel with a guard, etc. This came from politics. 

Having described summer life and occupations, and before going to wintercamp, something must be said about our headquarters ranch, situatedsome twenty miles off. Here were the grain-house, the hay stacks, wagonsheds, corrals, the kitchen, general messroom, the bunk house andprivate rooms for ourselves. There was a constant succession ofvisitors. Nearly every day some stranger or neighbour "happened" in fora meal. Everyone was welcome, or at least got free board and lodging andhorse feed. There being a paid cook made things different. 

But it was hot down here in summer-time, hot and dry and hardlyattractive. The lower part of the range was much of it sandy country. With the temperature at 110° in the shade the sand would get so hot asto be almost painful to walk on, certainly disagreeable to sit on. Andwhen one wanted to rest the only shade you could find would be in theshadow of your horse, which at noon meant your sitting right under him;and your saddle, on remounting, would be so hot as to be really veryuncomfortable. Between round-ups there was not much work to do. Beforeround-up a general shoeing of the horses had to be gone through. I shodmy own, except in cases of young ones undergoing the operation for thefirst time, when assistance was needed. Except poker every night we hadfew amusements. It was almost a daily programme, however, to get ourcarbines and six-shooters out and practise at targets, firing away boxafter box of ammunition. No wonder we were pretty expert shots, butindeed it needs much practice to become so. 

It should be said that amongst our visitors there were, no doubt, manyangels whom we entertained unawares; but also, and no doubt of this, many blackguards and desperadoes, "toughs" and horse-thieves. 

An old English sailor, who had farmed a little in the mountains, was onone occasion left alone at our headquarters to take charge of it duringour absence on the work. Two men came along and demanded something whichthe old man would not give and they deliberately shot him dead. Wecaught the miscreants, but could not convict them, their plea beingself-defence. They really should have been hung without trial. 

Lynchings of cattle and horse thieves and other criminals were not thenuncommon. I have twice come on corpses swinging in the wind, hung fromtrees or telegraph posts. But the most distressing sight witnessed wasin Denver's fair city when a man, still alive, was dragged to death allthrough the streets by a rope round his neck, followed by a howling mob!

By the way, a strange couple once surprised me at my mountain camp, viz. , two individuals dressed much alike, both wearing the hair in along pigtail, both dressed in leather "chaps, " high-heeled boots, woollen shirts, big felt hats, rifles and six-shooters, and both as"hard"-looking as they ever make them. One was a man, the other a woman!They volunteered to me nothing of their business, but I watched thehorses a little closer. And I may as well here give another littleincident that occurred in my summer camp. 

A United States cavalry officer appeared one day at my door and demandedthat I at once move the cattle off the Reservation. This was a suddenand rather big order. I told him that I was alone and could not possiblydo it at once, or for several days. "Oh, " he said, he "would help me, "he having some forty nigger troopers with him. "All right, " I said, andtook the men along with me, got back behind the cattle, spread thesenovel cowboys out and began to drive, when such a shouting and shootingof guns took place as never was heard before in these parts. We drovethe cattle, really only a thousand head or so, back to the supposedReservation border, quite unmarked and vague, and so left them, only towander back again at their leisure to where they had been. The officermade all kinds of threats that he would turn the Indians loose on them, but nothing more was then done. 

At my winter camp, some thirty-five miles below headquarters, there wasa good three-roomed frame house, a corral, etc. , and the Little ColoradoRiver flowed past near by. It was to these lower parts of the range thatmost of our cattle drifted in winter time. Two or three other largecattle-ranches marched with us there. 

A small Mormon settlement was not far off. These Mormons were a mostventuresome people and daring settlers. Certainly they are the mostsuccessful colonists and a very happy people. Living in close community, having little or no money and very little live stock to tempt Providence(rustlers), theirs is a peaceable, though possibly dull, existence. Theyhad frequent dances, but we Gentiles were not admitted to them. [1]

[Footnote 1: _See_ Appendix, Note 1. ]

In winter one lives better than in the hot weather, table supplies beingmore varied. In summer, excepting during the round-ups, we never hadbutcher meat, and in my camp butter, eggs and milk were not known; butin winter I always had lots of good beef, potatoes, butter and some eggsfrom the Mormons, but still no milk. This was varied, too, by wild duck, teal and snipe shot along the river bottom. 

Talking of snipe, it is very wonderful how a wounded bird will carefullydress and apply down and feathers to the injury, and even apply splintsand ligatures to a broken limb. 

My principal duties at this season consisted in riding the range on thelookout for unbranded calves, many calves always being missed on theround-up. This was really rather good sport. Such calves are generallybig, strong, fat, and run like jack-rabbits, and it takes a fast andkeen pony to catch them. Occasionally you would be lucky enough to finda maverick, a calf or a yearling so old as to have left its mother andbe still running loose without a brand and therefore without an owner. It was particular satisfaction to get one's rope, and therefore one'sbrand, on to such a rover, though it might really not be the progeny ofyour own cattle at all. It was no easy job either for one man alone tocatch and brand such a big and wild creature, especially if among thebrush and cedar trees. A certain stimulant to your work was the factthat you were not the only one out on a maverick hunt. There wereothers, such as your neighbours, or even independent gentlemen, expertwith the rope and branding-iron, who never bought a cow critter in theirlives, but started their herds by thus stealing all the calves theycould lay hands on. A small crooked iron rod, an iron ring, or even anold horseshoe, did duty as branding-iron on these occasions. The ringwas favoured by the latter class of men, as it could be carried in thepocket and not excite suspicion. Of course we branded, marked andaltered these calves wherever we found them. "Hair branding" was amethod resorted to by dishonest cowboys; by burning the hair alone, andnot the hide, they would apparently brand the calf with its rightfulowner's brand; but later, when the calf had grown bigger and left itsmother, they would slap on their own brand with comparative safety. Onehad to be constantly on the lookout for such tricks. 

The Mexicans, too, were fond of butchering a beef now and then, so theytoo required watching; but my busiest time came with early spring, whenthe cattle were in a poor and weak condition. The river-bed, too, wasthen in its boggiest state. Cattle went in to drink, stuck, and couldnot get out again, and thus some seasons we lost enormous numbers ofthem. Therefore I "rode bog" every day up and down the river. When Ifound an animal in the mud I had to rope it by the horns or feet anddrag it by main force to solid ground. A stout, well-trained horse wasneeded. It was hard, dirty work and exasperating, as many of those youpulled out never got up again, and if they did would invariably chargeyou. No special tackle was used; you remain in the saddle, wrap the roperound the horn and dig the spurs in. Of course, on your own beat, youdragged out all you could, no matter of what brand; but when, as oftenhappened, you failed to get them out, and they belonged to someone else, you were not allowed to shoot them; so that there the poor creatures layfor days, and perhaps even weeks, dying a lingering, but I am glad tothink and believe not a painful, death. What an awful death for areasoning, conscious man. Dumb animals, like cattle, happily seem toanticipate and hope for nothing one way or another. Once I found a marein the river in such a position under a steep bank that nothing could bedone for her. Her young colt was on the bank waiting and wondering. Veryregretfully I had to leave them and carefully avoided passing that wayfor some days to come till the tragedy had terminated. The LittleColorado River, and afterwards the Pecos River in New Mexico, I haveoften seen so thick with dead and dying cattle that a man might walk upand down the river on the bodies of these unfortunate creatures. Thestench would become horrible, till the spring flood came to sweep thecarcasses to the sea or covered them up with deposit. 

Quicksand is much more holding than mere river mud. If only the tip ofthe tail or one single foot of the animal is covered by the stuff, theneven two stout horses will not pull it out. The Pecos River isparticularly dangerous on account of its quicksandy nature, and it wasmy custom, when having to cross the mess wagon, to send across theramuda of two or three hundred saddle horses to tramp the river-bedsolid beforehand. On one occasion when crossing quite a small stream mytwo driving ponies went down to their hocks, so that I had to cut thetraces and belabour them hard to get them out. Had they not got out atonce they never would have done so. My ambulance remained in theriver-bed all night and till a Mexican with a bull-team luckily camealong next day. 

At the Meadows, my winter camp, I had to fill a contract of two or threefat steers for the town butcher every week. With a man to help me we hadto go far afield and scour the range to get suitable animals, the bestand fattest beeves being always the furthest out. After corralling, which might mean a tremendous amount of hard galloping and repeatedfailures, the most difficult part of the job was the actual killing, which I accomplished by shooting them with a six-shooter, not a carbine. Only when a big steer has its head down to charge can you plant a bulletin exactly the right spot, a very small one, too, on the forehead, whenhe will drop like a stone. It was very pretty practice, but risky, as toget them to charge you must be afoot and inside the corral. The butcherwas rather astonished when I first accomplished this trick, but itsaved time and a lot of trouble. Such were my winter duties. 

Sometimes neighbours would look in, and the weekly mail and home papershelped to pass the time. I read a great deal, and so the solitariness ofthe position was not so trying as one might suppose. Indeed, books weremore to me than the neighbours' society. 

"Incidents" occurred, of course, but I will only mention one. In winterI only kept up two saddle horses, picked ponies, favourites and almostfriends. They were fed with grain night and morning, and, to save hay, were allowed to graze out at night. They regularly returned at earlymorning for their feed, so I never had to go after them. One morning, however, they did not appear. It was quite unaccountable to me and veryawkward, as it left me afoot and unable to do anything. Not till about10 a. M. Did they come galloping in, greatly excited, their tails in theair, puffing and snorting. It did not look quite right. Someone had beenchasing them. At noon, while preparing early dinner, a man, a stranger, rode up to the house, and of course was invited to eat. He was veryreticent, in fact would hardly speak at all, and gave no hint as to whohe was or anything about himself. While eating there was suddenly arapid succession of rifle-shots heard outside. We both rushed to thedoor and saw a man riding for life straight to the house, with half adozen others shooting at him from horseback. He was not touched, onlyhis horse being killed at the door. The new-comer and my strange guestat once showed that they were very intimate indeed, so that I quicklyand easily put two and two together. The following party in the meantimehad stopped and spread out, taking positions behind the low hills andcompletely commanding the house. Only their big hats showed and I couldnot make out whether they were Mexicans or white men. My two guestswould tell me nothing, except to assert that they knew nothing of theirfollowers, or why they began shooting. Realizing that these two had meat their mercy, that they could make me do chores for them, fetch water, cook, feed and attend to the horses till nightfall, when with my own twofresh mounts they might possibly make a bolt for it, I got a bitanxious, and determined to find out who the larger party were. Sowalking out and waving my hat I caught their attention and, on advancingfurther, one of the party came out and met me. They were neighbouringcattlemen, and explained that the two men in my house were rustlers, andthey were determined to take them dead or alive. They asked me to jointheir party as they were going to "shoot up" the house if necessary. Tothis I would not consent and went back. After a deal of talk andpersuasion the two men finally agreed to give me their guns, preliminaryto meeting two of the other party, who were also asked to approachunarmed. They met, much to my relief, and when, somehow or other, thetwo men allowed themselves to be surrounded by the rest they saw thegame was up and surrendered. Then the funny thing happened and the onereason for the telling of this story. They all came down to the house, had dinner together, chatted and cracked jokes, and not a word was saidabout the immediate trouble. They were all "punchers, " had workedtogether, knew each other's affairs, etc. , etc. The one party was aboutto send the other to the penitentiary, or perhaps the gallows; but youwould have thought it was only a pleasant gathering of long-separatedfriends. The two rustlers were lodged in the county jail, quickly brokeout, and soon afterwards died in their "boots, " one at the hands of thesheriff. 

For tracking jail-breakers Indians, Navajoes or Apaches were sometimesemployed, and the marvellous skill they showed was simply astonishingand inexplicable; all done by reading the "sign" left by the escapingparty, but "sign" often quite unnoticeable to the white man. Indeed, anIndian would follow a trail by sign much as a hound will do by scent. 

Talking of scent, the homing instinct of horses and cattle is verywonderful and mysterious; but it is not generally known that a horse hasalso great power of scent. A horse will follow its mate (nearly allhorses have their chums) many miles merely by sense of smell, as my longexperience of them has amply proved to me. On one occasion I for somereason displaced the near horse of my driving team and hitched upanother. After driving a distance of fifteen miles and returninghomewards on the same road, soon in the distance could be seen said nearhorse busy with nose on the ground picking up the trail, and so absorbedin it that even when we got up quite close he did not notice us. When hedid recognize his chum and companion his evident satisfaction wasaffecting. 

CHAPTER IV

ODDS AND ENDS

 Scent and Instinct--Mules--Roping Contests--Antelopes--The Skunk--Garnets--Leave Arizona. 

This shall be a sketchy chapter of odds and ends, but more or lessinteresting according to the individual reader. 

The horse's intelligence is nothing compared to that of the mule, and asriding animal in rough country a mule should always be used. In Mexico, Central American States and the Andes mules are alone used; and whatsplendid, even handsome, reliable creatures they are on roads, or rathertrails, such as it would be hazardous to take horses over. I once sawthe unusual sight of two big strong mules (our ammunition pack animals)roll together down a very steep hillside. Happily neither mules norloads were at all damaged, but it was a steepish hill, as on ourreturning and trying to climb it we had to dismount and hang on to thehorses' tails. Another good point about mules is that they will notfounder themselves. Put an open sack of grain before a hungry mule andhe will eat what he wants, but never in excess, whereas a horse wouldgorge and founder himself at once. 

As said before, the homing instinct of horses and cattle is veryremarkable. I have known horses "shipped" by a railway train in closedcars to a distance of over 400 miles, some of which on being turnedloose found their way back to their old range. Cattle, too, may bedriven a hundred or two hundred miles through the roughest country, without roads or trails of any kind, and even after being held there forseveral weeks will at once start home and take exactly the same route asthat they were driven over, even though there be no "sign" of any kindto guide them and certainly no scent. 

On my shooting and fishing trips I rode one horse and packed another. The packed horse, on going out, had to be led, of course, unless indeedhe was my saddle-horse's chum. But on going home, after even a couple ofweeks' absence, I simply turned the pack-horse loose, hit him a lickwith the rope, and off he would go with the utmost confidence as to theroute, and follow the trail we had come out on, each time a differenttrail be it remembered, with ridiculous exactitude; yet there was novisible track or sign of any kind. Indeed, I would often find myselfpuzzled as to our whereabouts and feel quite confident we were at fault, when suddenly some familiar tree or landmark, noticed on going out, would be recognized. 

Parts of our Arizona range were covered with great beds of brokenmalpais rock, really black lava, hard as iron, with edges sharp andjagged. Over such ground we would gallop at full speed and with littlehesitation, trusting absolutely to our locally-bred ponies to see usthrough. English horses could never have done it, and probably noold-country horseman would have taken the chances. We got bad falls nowand then, but very seldom indeed considering conditions. 

The bits used then were murderous contrivances, being of the kind calledspade or ring bits. By means of them a horse could be thrown on hishaunches with slight effort, even his jaw may be broken. Luckily the bitis little used by the cowboy. His horse knows its painful character, andso obeys the slightest raising of the rider's hand. It should also beremarked that the cow-pony is guided, not by pulling either the right orleft rein, but by the rider carrying his bridle hand over to the _left_if he wants to go to the left, and vice versa. There is no pulling onthe mouth. The pony does not understand that; it is the slight pressureof the right rein on the _right_ side of the neck that turns him to the_left_. 

The reata in those days was nearly always made of plaited raw hide, andoften made by the boys themselves, though a good reata required a longtime to complete and peculiar skill in the making of it. Quirts(quadras) and horse hobbles were also made of raw hide. 

As everyone knows, the horn of the saddle is used in America to holdroped cattle with. In South America a ring fixed to the surcingle isused; while in Guatemala and Costa Rica the reata is tied to the end ofthe horse's tail!

It is a very pretty sight to see a skilled roper (the best are oftenMexicans) at work in a corral or in a herd; or better still, when aftera wild steer on the prairie. But roping is hardly ever used nowadays, one reason of the "passing" of the old-time cowboy. We used to havegreat annual roping competitions in New Mexico and Texas, when handsomeprizes were given to the men who would rope and tie down a big steer inquickest time. I once or twice went in myself to these competitions andwas lucky enough to do fairly well, being mounted on a thoroughlytrained roping horse; but it is a chancy affair, as often the best manmay unluckily get a lazy sort of steer to operate on, and it is muchmore difficult to throw down such an animal than a wild, active, fast-galloping one; for this reason, that on getting the rope over hishorns you must roll him over, or rather _flop_ him over, on to hisback by a sudden and skilful action of your horse on the rope. Ifproperly thrown, or flopped hard enough, the steer will lie dazed orstunned for about half a minute. During that short period, and onlyduring that short period, you must slip off your horse, run up to thesteer and quickly tie his front and hind feet together, so tightly andin such a way that he cannot get up. Then you throw up your hands oryour hat, and your time is taken. While you are out of your saddle yourhorse will, if well trained, himself hold the steer down by carefullyadjusting the strain on the rope which still connects the animal's hornswith the horn on the saddle. 

[Illustration: WOUND UP. (Horse tangled in rope. ) (By C. M. Russell. )]

I may here tell a wonderful story of a "buck" nigger who sometimesattended these gatherings. He was himself a cowboy, and indeed worked inmy neighbourhood and so I knew him well. He was a big, strong, huskynegro, with a neck and shoulders like a bull's. You cannot hurt a niggerany way. Well, this man's unique performance was to ride after a steer, the bigger and wilder the better, and on getting up to him to jump offhis horse, seize the steer by a horn and the muzzle, then stoop down andgrip the animal's upper lip with his teeth, turn his hands loose, and soby means of his powerful jaws and neck alone throw down and topple thesteer over. The negro took many chances, and often the huge steer wouldfall on him in such a way as would have broken the neck or ribs of anyordinary white man. In this case also the steer must be an active oneand going at a good pace, otherwise he could not be thrown properly. 

Stock-whips were never allowed. Useful as they may be at times, stillthe men are liable to ill-treat the cattle, and we got on quite wellwithout them. Dogs, too, of course, were never used and never allowed onthe range. They so nearly resemble the wolf that their presence alwaysdisturbs the cattle. 

This deprivation of canine society, as it may be imagined, was keenlyfelt by us all, perhaps more especially by myself. Had I only then hadthe companionship of certain former doggy friends life would have beenmuch better worth living. As a protection at night too, when out on longjourneys across the country, during the hunting and fishing trips, oreven at the permanent camps, the presence of a faithful watch-dog wouldprobably have saved me from many a restless night. 

The Navajo Indian's method of hunting antelope was to strew cedarbranches or other brush in the form of a very long wing to a corral, lying loose and flat on the ground. The antelope on being driven againstit will never cross an obstruction of such a nature, though it only bea foot high, but will continue to run along it and so be finally driveninto the corral. 

And antelope are such inquisitive animals! On the Staked Plains of NewMexico the Mexicans approach them by dressing themselves up in anyridiculous sort of fashion, so as least to resemble a human being. Inthis way they would not approach the antelope, but the antelope wouldapproach them, curious to find out the nature of such an unusualmonstrosity. Antelope, there, were still very plentiful, and even in myown little pasture there was a band of some 300 head. Only at certaintimes of the year did they bunch up together; at other times they, though still present, were hardly noticeable. 

I would like to make note of the curious misnaming of wild animals inNorth America. Thus, the antelope or pronghorn is not a true antelope, the buffalo is not a buffalo, the Rocky Mountain goat is not a goat, andthe elk is not an elk. By the same token the well-known "American aloe, "or century plant, is not an aloe, but an agave. 

While in Arizona I used to carry in a saddle pocket a small sketch-bookand pencil, and on finding one of the beautiful wild flowers the RockyMountains are so famous for, that is, a new kind, I would at once getdown and take a sketch of it, with notes as to colour, etc. The boyswere at first a bit surprised, and no doubt wondered how easily anapparent idiot could amuse himself. I was considerably surprised myselfonce when busy sketching on the banks of a brawling stream in themountains. A sudden grunt as of a bear at my elbow nearly scared me intothe river. On turning round, there was an armed Apache brave standingclose behind me; but he was only one of a hunting party. What sentimentthat grunt expressed I never learnt. 

It is remarkable how a range or tract of country that has beenoverstocked or over-grazed will rapidly produce an entirely new flora, of a class repugnant to the palate of cattle and horses. In this way ourmountain range in particular, when in course of a very few years itbecame eaten out, quickly decked itself in a gorgeous robe of brilliantblossoms; weeds we called them, and weeds no doubt they were, as ourcattle refused to touch them. Certain nutritious plants, natives of thesoil, such as the mescal, quite common when we first entered thecountry, were so completely killed out by the cattle that later not asingle plant of the kind could be found. 

Amongst the fauna of Arizona was, of course, the ubiquitous prairie dog;and as a corollary, so to speak, the little prairie owl (_Athenecunicularis_), which inhabits deserted dog burrows and is the same birdas occupies the Biscacha burrows in Argentina. Rattlesnakes, so commonaround dog-towns, enter the burrows to secure the young marmots. Anotheranimal frequently seen was the chaparral-cock or road-runner, really theearth cuckoo (_Geococcyx Mexicanus_), called paisano or pheasant, orCorrecamino, by the Mexicans. It is a curious creature, with a very longtail, and runs at a tremendous rate, seldom taking to flight. Reportsays that it will build round a sleeping rattlesnake an impervious ringof cactus spines. Its feathers are greatly valued by Indians as being"good medicine, " and being as efficacious as the horseshoe is with us. 

A still more curious animal, not often seen, was the well-named Gilamonster or Escorpion (_Heloderma suspectum_), the only existing animalthat fills the description of the Basilisk or Cockatrice of mediævaltimes; not the _Basilicus Americanus_, which is an innocent herbivorouslizard. This Gila monster is a comparatively small, but very hideouscreature, in appearance like a lizard, very sluggish in its movements, and rightly owning the worst of reputations. Horned toads, also hideousin appearance, and tarantulas (_Mygales_), very large centipedes andscorpions, were common, and lived on, or rather were killed because oftheir reputation, but they seldom did anyone harm. 

But the most highly appreciated, that is the most feared and detested, of wild creatures was the common skunk, found everywhere, mostly a nightwanderer and a hibernator. He is a most fearless animal, having suchabundant and well-reasoned confidence in his mounted battery, chargedwith such noxious gases as might well receive the attention of ourprojectile experts. The first time I ever saw one he came into mymountain hut. Knowing only that he was "varmint" I endeavoured to killhim quickly with a spade. Alas! the spade fell just a moment too lateand henceforth that hut was uninhabitable for a month. The only way toget one out of the house is to pour buckets of cold water on it. Thatkeeps the tail down (unlike a horse, which cannot kick when his tail isup); but when his tail goes up, then look out! The skunk is also moredreaded by the cowboy and the frontiers-man than the rattlesnake. It istheir belief that a bite from this creature will always conveyhydrophobia. Being a night prowler it frequents cow camps, and oftencrawls over the beds spread on the ground, and it certainly has a habitof biting any exposed part of the human body. When it does so, thebitten man at once starts off to Texas, where at certain places one canhire the use of a madstone. The madstone is popularly supposed to be anaccretion found somewhere in the system of a white stag. It is of aporous nature, and if applied to a fresh wound will extract and absorbthe poison serum. Texans swear that it "sticks" only if there be poisonpresent--does not stick otherwise. A fanciful suggestion! And yet, nodoubt, the skunk does sometimes convey hydrophobia through its bite. Ihave myself often had the pleasant experience of feeling and knowingthat a skunk was crawling over my carefully-covered-up body. But enoughof this very objectionable creature. 

In Texas some of the boys used to carry in their pockets a piece of"rattlesnake root, " which when scraped and swallowed after a bite washeld to be an antidote, though otherwise a virulent poison. 

In this placid land of ours, so free of pests, mosquitoes, fleas andleeches, we are also free of the true skunk; but we do have, as perhapsyou are aware, a small creature armed and protected in much the sameway. This is the bombardier-beetle, common in certain other countries, but also found in England, which if chased will discharge from its sterna puff of bluish-white smoke, accompanied by a slight detonation. It canfire many shots from its stern chasers. It is said that a highlyvolatile liquid is secreted by glands, which when it meets the airpasses into vapour so suddenly as to produce the explosion. 

The Mexicans of the United States deserve more than a passing notice. Many of them have Indian blood and are called Greasers, but the majorityare of fairly pure Spanish descent. Contact with the Americans has madethem vicious and treacherous. They have been robbed of their lands, their cattle and their horses, bullied and ill-treated in every possibleway. But even now many of them retain their character, almost universalamongst their compatriots in Old Mexico, for hospitality, unaffectedkindness, good breeding and politeness. A Mexican village in autumn ispicturesque with crimson "rastras" of Chile pepper hung on the walls ofthe adobe houses. To the Mexicans we owe, or rather through them to theAztecs, the delightfully tasty and delicious enchiladas and tamales. 

Among native animals should not be forgotten the common jacket-rabbit(hare). She affords capital coursing, and someone has said runs fasterthan an ice boat, or a note maturing at a bank, so she must indeed bespeedy. It is interesting to recall that puss in Shakespeare's time was_he_ and not _she_. Among our feathered friends the humming-bird was notuncommon. These lovely but so tiny little morsels are migrants. Indeedone of the family, and one of the tiniest and most beautiful, is knownto summer in Alaska and winter in Central America; thus accomplishing aflight twice a year of over two thousand miles. 

An interesting little note too may be made of the fact that the garnetsof Arizona are principally found on ant-heaps, being brought to thesurface by the ants and thrown aside as obstructions only fit for thewaste-basket. But they are very beautiful gems and are regularlycollected by the Indians. 

There was little or no gold mining in our part of the territory; butthere were current many tales of fabulously rich lost Claims, lostbecause of the miners having been massacred by the Indians or othercauses. In likely places I have myself used the pan with the usualenthusiasm, but luckily never with much success. 

The practice of that very curious custom, the "couvade, " seems to bestill in force among some of the Arizona Indian tribes, among whom somany other mysterious rites and customs prevail. 

The loco-weed (yerba-loco) was common in our country and ruined many ofour horses, but more about it hereafter. 

After ten years, a long period of this life in Arizona, an offer came tome which, my partners consenting, was gladly accepted, viz. , to takecharge of and operate certain cattle-ranches in New Mexico in theinterests of a Scottish Land and Mortgage Company. Things had not beengoing well with us and the future held out no prospects of improvement. Also I had been loyal to my agreement not to take or seek any share inthe management of affairs, and the natural desire came to me to assumethe responsibility and position of a boss. But dear me! had I foreseenthe nature of the work before me, and the troubles in store, myenthusiasm would not have been quite so great. 

[Illustration: WATERING A HERD. ]

CHAPTER V

RANCHING IN NEW MEXICO

 The Scottish Company--My Difficulties and Dangers--Mustang Hunting--Round-up described--Shipping Cattle--Railroad Accidents--Close out Scotch Company's Interests. 

Bidding good-bye to Arizona I travelled to Las Vegas, New Mexico, nowquite an important place. Calling on Mr L----, the manager of theMortgage Company, and the Company's lawyers, the position of affairs wasthus stated to me. The Company had loaned a large sum of money to acattleman named M----, who owned a large ranch with valuablewater-claims and a very fine though small herd of cattle. M---- had paidno interest for several years and attempted to repudiate the loan, sothe Company decided to foreclose and take possession. Well, that seemedall right; so after getting power of attorney papers, etc. , from theCompany, I started down to the ranch, some eighty miles and near FortSumner, and introduced myself to M----, who at once refused to turn overthe property to me or to anyone else, and sent me back to Las Vegas in asomewhat puzzled state of mind. Recounting my experience to Mr L----and the lawyers, after a long confab they decided that I should go downagain and _take_ possession. They refused me the services of a sheriffor a deputy to serve the papers and represent the law. No, I was to takepossession in any way my wits might suggest; they merely proposing thateverything I did I should put on paper and make affidavit to and send upto them. By this time I had learned that M---- was very much stirred upabout it, was quite determined to give nothing up, and that really hewas a dangerous man who, if pushed to extremities, might do somethingdesperate. The lawyers told me there was another, a right, usual andlegal way of taking possession, but for private reasons they did notwish to proceed in that way; and so I finally agreed to go down againand do what I could. 

Buying some horses and hiring a Mexican vaquero to show me the country, and especially to be a witness to whatever took place, we pulled out forFort Sumner. The spring round-up was about to begin, and near by I foundM----'s "outfit" wagon, "cavayad" of horses, his full force of "hands"and the foreman H----. After dining with them I pulled out my papers toshow H---- who I was and told him I had come there to take possession ofM----- 's saddle horses, the whole "ramuda" in fact of nearly a hundredhead. Oh, no! he had no instructions to give them up; he did not knowanything of the matter and he certainly would not let me touch them! Isaid I had come to carry out my orders and meant to do so; and mounting, rode out to gather up the grazing ponies. At once they came after me, not believing that anyone would dare do such a thing in their presence, and began to jostle me, with more evil intentions in their eyes. Desisting at once, and before they had gone too far, I told them thatthat was all I wanted, said good-bye in as friendly a way as possible, and went before a Justice of the Peace and made affidavit of havingattempted to take possession of the horses till resisted by force, infact, that physical violence had been used against me. This was sent toLas Vegas, and in due course the lawyers advised me that it wassatisfactory and recommended me to adopt similar methods when attemptingto get possession of the ranches, cattle, stock horses, etc. 

This was a funny position to be in! M----was a popular man; the othercattlemen would certainly side with him and resent such novel andapparently high-handed proceedings. Myself was an entire stranger in thewhole of that huge country, devoted solely to cattle interests, and ofcourse did not have a friend nor did expect to have any. In fact M----'s appellation of me as that "damned Scotsman" became disagreeablyfamiliar. The round-up was then a long way off down the river, some 100miles, working up towards Fort Sumner; so I decided to visit theranches. We rode out to one where was a house (unoccupied) and a spring, there stayed one night, and on departing left an old coffee-pot, someflour, etc. , as proof of habitation and so gave myself the right toclaim having taken possession. From there to the headquarters ranch wassome thirty-five miles. On our route we came across a number of M----'sstock horses (he claimed about four to five hundred) and, taking theopportunity, we got together some 200 head, inspected them, and in thisway, the only way open to me, claimed having taken possession. But nowwith fear and trembling we approached the ranch where M---- and hisfamily, as I knew, were residing. A hundred yards from the house was themain spring of water, to which and at which we went and camped fordinner. Somehow or other M---- heard of our presence and out he came, ashot-gun in his hand, fury in his eyes, and his wife clinging to hiscoat-tails. No doubt he meant to shoot, but I was quite ready for himand put a bold face on it. Things looked nasty indeed and I wasdetermined to fire should he once raise his gun. Perhaps this boldnessmade him think a bit, and I was very much relieved indeed when heresorted to expressive language instead of any more formidabledemonstration. Though it was necessary to tell him that I was come totake possession of the ranch, he was not on to the affidavit game, andthe result was that on returning to Fort Sumner I swore to havingattempted to take possession but had been resisted by force. Asexplained before, such an affidavit was, in the eye of the law, a strongpoint in our contention of having taken possession. At least, so ourlegal advisers affirmed. 

From Fort Sumner I then started for the round-up, taking with me a whiteman, the Mexican having got scared and quit. Having bought more horses, enough to fully mount two men, we joined the work. Fortunately M----'soutfit had gone up the river with a large herd of cattle, and was duringtheir absence represented by the foreman of another ranch. What I didwas to get all the foremen together (there were some ten wagons on thework) and explain to them who I was, that I was there to work and handlethe M---- cattle, that if they would help me I should be obliged, butthey were to understand that they would be regarded as doing it for myCompany. They only said they were going to help in the usual way togather the cattle and brand the calves; that I could work or not as Iliked; that, in fact, it was none of their business as to whose thecattle were. So after working on a bit an affidavit was sent in that Ihad "worked" the cattle and had _met no resistance_. But mine was anextremely disagreeable position. 

During this round-up I noticed that M----was carefully gathering all thesteers and bulls of any age he could find. I notified my people andasked them to send the sheriff down to help me. Things were coming to apoint as it were; it was evidently M----'s intention to drive thesteers out of the territory, knowing that once over the Texas line wecould no longer enjoin him. His whole force of men depended on this toget their wages out of these steers, as every one of them was at leastthree months in arrears, some of them six, twelve, and even eighteenmonths. Thus I knew they would make every effort to succeed in the driveand would be desperate men to interfere with. The last day of theround-up was over, and in the evening I was careful to note thedirection taken by the herd. 

In the meantime L---- had sent me a restraining paper to serve and I wasof course determined to do it; but late that night my relief was greatto see the sheriff, a Mexican, drive into camp. Here was a properrepresentative of the law at last, though I do not think he himselfliked the job overmuch, officers of his breed being habitually treatedwith contempt by the white men. We agreed to take up the trail earlynext morning, knowing that the distance to the line was forty milesstraight across the Staked Plains, no fences, no roads or trails, and nowater for thirty miles at least. So up and off before daybreak, hedriving a smart pair of horses, I with only my saddle pony, at as quicka gait as a wheeled vehicle could move; drove till his team began toplay out, when luckily we came upon a mustang-hunter's camp and weresupplied with two fresh mounts. Pushing on we at last spied in the fardistance what was unmistakably a herd of cattle. Experience told me thatthe cattle had been watered, a fact which was thankfully noted. Wateredcattle cannot be driven except at a very slow walk, and the herd wasstill seven or eight miles from the Texas line. M----'s foreman hadmade a fatal mistake! Had he not watered them they might have escapedus. They must have thought they had hoodwinked me and were probably thenrejoicing at their success. They had certainly made a noble effort, having travelled all night and on till noon next day at a speed I hadnot thought possible. (There were even bulls in the herd. ) One canimagine the feelings of the party when they at last saw us two riding attop speed directly on their trail. Cuss words must have flown freely, and no doubt the more desperate ones talked resistance. I was reallyanxious myself as to what course they would decide on, M---- not beingwith them, and they thinking of nothing but the settlement of theirwages. On coming up to them they looked about as "mad" as any men couldbe. But they decided rightly; and seeing the game was up, merely triedto get me to promise to pay their back wages. This I would not do, butsaid there was time enough to talk that over afterwards; that meantimethe herd must be driven back to its proper range, and to this theyfinally agreed. Word was brought in that M---- was lying out on theprairie, prostrated by the sun, helped no doubt by his realizing thathis little scheme had been defeated. We had him brought into camp, but Ideclined to see him and returned to Fort Sumner. Soon afterwards M----threw up the sponge, so to speak, and agreed to turn the property overto us. These M---- cattle, numbering only 2000, did not justify therunning of a mess wagon and full outfit, so I made arrangements with avery strong neighbouring ranch company to run the cattle for us, onlymyself attending the round-ups to see that our interests were properlyprotected. 

Meantime the stock horses must be looked after. Fraudulently M---- hadstarted new brands on the last two crops of colts, the pick of themgoing into his wife's brand; and her mares ranged with M----'s, nowours. The band ran apparently anywhere. They had the whole Staked Plainsof New Mexico to wander over, there being then absolutely no fences fora distance of 200 miles. Some 200 head of the gentler stock ranged nearhome; the balance, claimed to number some 300 more, were mixed up withthe mustangs and were practically wild creatures, some of them havingnever been rounded up for over two years. 

By this time some of M----'s old hands had come over to my side. Theyknew the country, knew how best to handle these horses, and byfavourable promise I got them to undertake to help in discriminating asto which colts were the Company's property and which Mrs M----'s. So Iput up an "outfit, " wagon, cook, mounts for seven or eight men, etc. , and set out on a very big undertaking indeed, and one that M----himselfhad not successfully accomplished for several years--a clean round-up ofall the stock horses in the country. These Staked Plains (LlanosEstacados) were so called because the first road or trail across themhad to be staked out with poles at more or less long intervals to showdirection, there being no visible landmarks in that immense levelcountry. They are one continuous sweep of slightly undulating, almostlevel land, well grassed, almost without living water anywhere, butdotted all over with depressions in the ground, generally circular, someof great size, some deeper than others, which we called "dry lakes, "from the fact that for most of the year they were nearly all dry, onlyhere and there, and at long distances apart, a few would hold sufficientmuddy water to carry wild horses and antelope through the dry season. But which lakes held water and which not was only known to these wildmustang bands and our mares that ran with them. We took out with us somehundred of the gentler mares, the idea being to graze these round camp, and on getting round a bunch of the outlaws to drive them into this herdand so hold them. Nearly every bunch we found had mustangs amongst them. The mustang stallions we shot whenever possible. They were the cause ofall our trouble. These stallions did not lead the bands, but fellbehind, driving the mares in front and compelling them to gallop. Whenpressed, the stud would wheel round as if to challenge his pursuers. Hepresented a fine spectacle, his eyes blazing and his front feet pawingthe ground. What a picture subject for an artist! The noble stallion, for he does look noble, no matter how physically poor a creature he maychance to be, wheeling round to challenge and threaten his pursuer, hismane and tail sweeping the ground, fury breathing from his nostrils andhis eyes flashing fire! Is he not gaining time for his mares and progenyto get out of danger? A noble object and a gallant deed! Then was thetime to shoot. But, yourself being all in a sweat and your horseexcited, straight shooting was difficult to accomplish. We worked on asystem; on finding a band, one man would do the running for six or eightmiles, then another would relieve him, and so on, the idea being to getoutside of them and so gradually round them in to the grazing herd. Wehad special horses kept and used for this purpose, fast and long-winded, as the pace had to be great and one must be utterly regardless of dogand badger holes, etc. This kind of work we kept up for a couple ofweeks, some days being successful, some days getting a run but securingnothing. We made a satisfactory gathering of all the gentler and moretractable mares, but some of the wilder ones we could not hold. At nightwe stood guard over the band, and it was amusing, and even alarming, howthe stallions would charge out and threaten any rider who approached toonear his ladies. A good deal of fighting went on too between these veryjealous gentlemen. As illustrating what the wild stallions are capableof, I may relate here how, one night when we had a small bunch of quitegentle mares and colts in a corral, a mustang stallion approached it, tore down the gate poles, took the mares out and forced them to his ownrange, some thirty miles away; and he must have driven them at a greatpace, as when we followed next morning it was quite that distance beforewe saw any sign of them. The story is told of M---- himself who one darknight saw what he supposed was one of these depredators, shot it withhis rifle, and found he had killed the only highly-bred stud hepossessed. 

At last we started homewards, meaning to separate the properties of thetwo claimants; but M---- owned the only proper horse-separating corralin the whole country, and from obstinacy and cussedness would not let ususe it. Here was a pretty go! To drive to any other corral would meantaking M----'s horses off their proper range and the law forbade usdoing so, and he knew it. So we were compelled to do what I reckon hadnever been done or attempted before--separate the horses on the openprairie! First we cut out and pushed some half a mile away all mares andyoung unbranded colts to which the Company's title could not bedisputed; also the stallions and geldings of like nature; then came thecritical and difficult part of the operation--to cut out and separatemothers from their unbranded colts, and branded colts, some even one ortwo years old, from their mothers. And not only cut them out, but holdthem separate for a full couple of hours! No one can know what thismeans but one who has tried it. I had done a fair amount of yearlingsteer-cutting; but hard as that work is, it is nothing compared with theseparating of colts from their dams. The only way was to suddenly scarethe colt out and race him as hard as you could go to the other bunch. But if by bad luck its mother gave a whinny, back the colt would comelike a shot bullet, and nothing on earth could stop him. Fortunately Ihad kept a fresh horse in reserve, a very fine fast and active cuttingpony. I rode him myself, and but for him we would never haveaccomplished what we did. When we got through our best horses were allplayed out. But it was absolutely necessary to move our own mare band tothe nearest corral at Fort Sumner, a distance of thirty miles, which wedid that evening. To night-herd them would have been impossible. Thetitle to many of these colts, branded and unbranded, was very much mixedup, and indeed still in the Courts. Nevertheless I prepared next morningto brand them for the Company. The fire was ready, the irons nearly hot, when up drove M----in a furious rage. I do not think I ever saw a manlook so angry and mean. He held a shot-gun in his hand and, presentingit at me, swore he would kill me if I dared to proceed any further. Myforeman, who knew him well, warned me to be careful; there seemed nodoubt that he meant what he said; he was too mad to dispute with, andso! well, his bluff, if it were a bluff, carried the day and I orderedthe mares to be turned loose. As it turned out afterwards it was well Idid so, as further legal complications would have resulted. But as Ibegan to think of and remember the time that had been spent and theamount of hard work in collecting these horses, I felt rather ashamed ofmy action. And yet, can one be expected to practically throw his lifeaway, not for a principle, but for a few head of young colts not evenhis own property? But, as said before, the disputed title influenced meto some extent; that, and the muzzle of the shot-gun together certainlydid. 

A word about mustangs. They were very wary, cunning animals, keen ofscent and sharp of eye. Invariably, when one first sighted them, theywould be one or two miles away, going like the wind, their tails andmanes flying behind them; and be it noted that when walking or standingthese manes as well as tails swept the ground. Few of them were of anyvalue when captured; many of them were so vicious and full of the devilgenerally that you could do nothing with them, and they never seemed tolose that character. Like the guanaco of South America, the wildstallion always dungs in one particular spot, near the watering-place, so that when hunting them we always looked out for and inspected theselittle hillocks. It may also be mentioned here that guanacos, like wildelephants and wild goats, have their dying ground, so to speak, whereimmense quantities of their bones are always found. Cattle when about todie select if possible a bush, tree or rocky place, perhaps for privacy, quietness, or some other reason unknown to us. 

The next and last time we rounded up the stock horses I left the wilderones alone, and gave a contract to some professional mustangers togather them at so much per head. These men never attempt to run themdown. They "walk" them down. A light wagon, two mules to pull it, lotsof grain, some water and supplies, are what you need. On sighting a bandyou simply walk your team after them, walk all day and day after day, never giving them a rest. Keep their attention occupied and they willneglect to feed or drink. Gradually they become accustomed to yournearer presence, and finally you can get up quite close and even drivethem into your camp, where your companions are ready with snare ropesto secure them, or at least the particular ones you want to catch. 

Prince, a horse I used to ride when mustang hunting, once accidentallygave me a severe tumble. He was running at full speed when suddenly aforeleg found a deep badger hole; over he went of course, head overheels, and it is a miracle it did not break his leg off. These badgerholes, especially abandoned ones, go right down to a great depth, andthe grass grows over them so that they are hardly visible. Dog holesalways have a surrounding pile of earth carefully patted firm and trodon, no doubt to prevent entrance of rain flood-water; thus they arenearly always noticeable. Dog towns are sometimes of great extent, onein my pasture being two miles long and about a mile wide. They aregenerally far from water, many miles indeed, often on the highest anddriest parts of the plain and where the depth to water may be 500 feetor more. They must therefore depend entirely on the juices of the greengrass, though in dry seasons they cannot even have that refreshment; andthey never scrape for roots. But even the small bunnies (calledcotton-tails) are found in like places and must subsist absolutelywithout water, as they do not, or dare not, on account of wolves, etc. , get far away from their holes. 

No sooner was the M---- trouble well over than my Company saw fit toforeclose on two other cattle outfits, one of which bowed to the law atonce. The other gave us, or rather me, a lot of unnecessary trouble, andI had again "to take chances" of personal injury. All these cattle werethrown on to the M---- range, and this increased the herd so much as tojustify the running of our own wagon and outfit. 

Eastern New Mexico, the country over which our cattle ranged, was a hugestrip of territory some 250 miles by 100 miles, no fences, no settlers, occupied only by big cattle outfits owning from 8000 to 75, 000 cattleeach. The range was, however, much too heavily stocked, the rainsirregular, severe droughts frequent, and the annual losses yearlybecoming heavier; so heavy in fact that owners only waited a slightimprovement in prices to sell out or drive their cattle out of thecountry. The way the cattle were worked was thus. The spring round-upbegan in March, far down the river, and slowly worked north to ourrange. Our wagon, one of many more, would join the work some 110 milessouth of our range, but I sent individual men to much greater distances. The work continued slowly through the range, branding the spring calves, and each outfit separating its own cattle and driving its own herd. Twelve or more wagons meant some 300 riders and about 3000 saddlehorses. So the operation was done on a grand scale; thousands of cattlewere handled every day, and altogether such a big round-up was a verybusy and interesting scene. Intricate and complicated work it was, too, though not perhaps apparent to an outsider; but under a good round-upboss, who was placed over the bosses of all the wagons, it was wonderfulhow smoothly the work went on. A general round-up took a long time andwas no sooner over than another was begun at the far south border (theMexico line) and the thing repeated. Our own cattle had got into thehabit of drifting south whenever winter set in. It took us all summer toget them back again, and no sooner back than a cold sleet or rain wouldstart them south. In fact, in winter few of our own cattle were at home, the cattle on our range being then mostly those drifted from thenorthern part of the territory. Such were the conditions in a "freerange" country, and these conditions broke nearly all these big outfits, or at least compelled them to market their stuff for whatever it wouldbring. Partly on account of long-drawnout lawsuits we held on for sevenor eight years, when on a recovery of prices our Company also closed outits live-stock interests. 

During the turning-over of these, the Company's cattle, to thepurchasers, of course they had to be all branded, not with a recordedbrand, but simply with a tally brand, thus /**, on the hip. Had therebeen a convenient separate pasture to put the tallied cattle into asthey were tallied, much work would have been saved and no opportunityoffered for fraud, such as will now be suggested and explained. Themethod adopted was to begin gathering at one end of the range, tally theherd collected, and then necessarily turn them loose. But we had badstormy weather and these tallied cattle drifted and scattered all overthe country and mixed up with those still not rounded up. This at oncegave the opportunity for an evilly-inclined man to do just as was soonrumoured and reported to me. It was even positively asserted to me bycertain cowmen (this was while I was confined in bed from an accident)that the buyer had a gang of men out operating on the far end of therange, catching and tally-branding for him the still untallied cattle. Asimple operation enough, in such an immense district, where four menwith their ropes could, in a few undisturbed days' work, cheat theCompany out of enough cattle at $20 a head to be well worth some risk. Several men were positive in their assertions to me. But I knew thesegentlemen pretty well--cattle-thieves themselves and utterlyunprincipled; perhaps having a grudge against the said buyer, perhapswanting merely to annoy me, and also possibly hating to see such a fineopportunity not taken advantage of. In the end, when brought to thescratch, not one of these informers would testify under oath. Whetherafraid to, as they would undoubtedly have run strong chances of beingkilled, or whether they were just mischief-makers, as I myself havealways believed, it is impossible to know accurately. The buyer, being aman of means and having many other interests in the district, wouldcertainly hesitate long before he took such a very dangerous risk ofdiscovery. All that can be said about it is that though I employeddetectives for some time to try to get evidence bearing on the subject, no such evidence was ever obtained. The shortage in the turnover was duesimply to the usual miscalculation of the herd; the herd which neverbefore had been counted and could not, under range conditions, becounted. 

These were still "trailing" days, which means that steers sold or forsale were driven out of the country, not shipped by rail cars. One greattrail passed right through our ranch (a great nuisance too), and by itherd after herd, each counting, maybe, 2500 cattle, was continuallybeing trailed northwards, some going to Kansas or the Panhandle, most ofthem going as far north as Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. These latterherds would be on the trail continuously for two or three months. Ourown steers were always driven to the Panhandle of Texas, where, if notalready contracted to buyers, they were held till sold. 

[Illustration: HERD ON TRAIL. SHOWING LEAD STEER. ]

A herd of breeding-stock when on the trail must be accompanied by one ormore calf wagons, wagons with beds well boxed up, in which the youngestor new-born calves are carried, they being lifted out and turned over totheir mother's care at night or during stoppages. In the old days, whensuch calves had no value, they were knocked on the head or carelesslyand cruelly abandoned. 

It is a strange fact to note that when a herd is on the trail there isalways a particular steer which, day after day and week after week, occupies a self-assigned position at the head of the herd, and istherefore called the "lead steer. " I have often wondered what histhoughts might be, if any; why he so regularly placed himself at thehead of affairs and was apparently so jealous of his commandingposition. Yes, the lead steer is a mysterious creature, yet if displacedby death or some such cause, another long-legged, keen traveller will atonce take his place. It should be explained that a herd on the trailtravels naturally best in an extended form, two deep, seldom more thanthree or six, except towards the tail end, called the "drag": so that aherd of 2000 steers will form a much-attenuated line a mile in lengthfrom one end to the other. 

Which reminds me of an incident in this connection. I was moving a smalllot of steers, some 400 head in all, to pasture in the Panhandle ofTexas. The force consisted only of the wagon driver, one cowboy andmyself. But the cowboy turned out to be quite ignorant of the art ofdriving cattle, did more harm than good, and so annoyed me that Idismissed him to the rear to ride in the wagon if he so chose, andmyself alone undertook to drive, or rather not so much to drive, thatbeing hardly necessary, as to guide the herd on its course. I got themstrung out beautifully half a mile long, and they were making good time, when suddenly a confounded sheep herder and his dog met the lead steersand the procession was at once a scene of the most utter confusion. Itshould be explained here that, in the case of a small herd thus strungout, its guidance, if left to only one man, may be done from the rear bysimply riding out sharply to one side or the other and calling to thelead cattle. How I did curse that wretch and his dog. A man on foot wasbad enough; but a man on foot with a dog! Horrors! Yet, perhaps, barringthe delay in getting the cattle started again, the incident had itsuses, as it had just previously occurred to me that the line was gettinga bit too long and might soon be out of control. Such are the uses ofadversity. 

It can be understood that even a small herd of 400 lusty young steerscan keep a man, or even two or three men, busy enough, especially ifthere are any cattle on the range you are passing through. In this casethere were fortunately few. 

Amarillo, being the southern end of the Kansas railroad, was a greatcattle market. Buyers and sellers met there; and there, immediatelyaround the town, were congregated at any time in spring as many as40, 000 cattle, all under herd. Amarillo was then the greatest cattletown in the world. She was the successor of such towns as Wichita andFort Dodge, simply because she was at the western terminus of therailway. Though a pretty rowdy town her manners were an improvement onsuch places as Dodge, where in the height of her wickedness a gamblingdispute, rivalry for the smile of a woman, or the slightest discourtesy, was sufficient ground for the shedding of blood. 

My life during these eight years had its pleasures and its troubles;certainly much discomfort and a lot of disagreeable work. During theworking season, April to November, my time was mostly spent with theround-up or on the trail, with occasional visits to our head office inLas Vegas, and also to Amarillo on business matters. To cover theseimmense distances, near 300 miles (there were few or no desirablestopping-places), I used a light spring wagon or ambulance, holding mybedding, mess-box, grain for the team, some water, stake ropes, and ahundred other things. I nearly always camped out on the prairie, ofcourse cooked my own meals, was out in all kinds of weather--sun, rain, heat and drought, blizzards and frightful lightning storms. My favouriteteam was a couple of grey ponies. From being so much together we got tounderstand each other pretty thoroughly, and we had our adventures aswell. Once on going up a very steep hill the ponies lost their footing. The wagon backed and turned over, and ponies and wagon rolled over andover down the hill among the rocks till hung up on a cedar stump. I wasnot much hurt, but found the ponies half covered with stones and rocksthat had rolled on to them, the wagon upside down and camping materialscattered everywhere. Cutting the tugs and rolling the stones away theponies jumped up miraculously little injured, and even the wagon stillserviceable, but I had to walk a long way to get assistance. Then wehave fallen through rotten bridges, stuck in rivers and quicksands, andall sorts of things. 

One pony of this team, "Punch, " was really the hardiest, best-built, best-natured and most intelligent of any I have ever known. Many atime, on long trips, has the other pony played completely out andactually dropped on the road. But Punch seemed to be never tired. He wasa great pet too, and could be fondled to your heart's content. He had novice, yet was as full of mischief as he could possibly pack. Hismischief, or rather playfulness, finally cost him his life, as he oncegot to teasing a bull, the bull charged, and that was his end. 

It was with this team too that when driving in New Mexico through adistrict where white men were seldom seen, but on a road which I hadoften selected as a shorter route to my destination, I came on a Mexicanill-treating his donkey. His actions were so deliberate as to rouse myire, and I got down, took the club from him and threatened castigation. On proceeding on the road I passed another Mexican mounted on a horseand carrying a rifle. Happening by-and-by to look back much was mysurprise, or perhaps not very much, to see the gun and horse handed overto the first man, and himself mounted and galloping after me. Knowing atonce what it meant, that his game was to bushwhack me in the rough cañonimmediately in front, I put the whip to my team to such good purposethat we galloped through that cañon as it had never been gallopedthrough before. I would have had no show whatever in such a place, andso was extremely glad to find myself again in the open country. 

Another time I hitched up another team, one of which, a favouritemustang-chaser, had never been driven. We made some ten miles all righttill we came to the "jumping-off" place of the plains, a very steep, long and winding descent. Just as we started down, Prince, the horsementioned, got his tail over the lines, and the ball began. We went downthat hill at racing speed, I having absolutely no control over theterrified animals, which did not stop for many miles. Again, with thesame team I once started to Amarillo, being half a day ahead of thesteer herd. First evening I camped out at a water-hole and staked outPrince with a long heavy rope and strong iron stake pin. The other horsewas hobbled with a rope hobble. Some wolves came in to water, and I waslying on my bed looking at them when the horses suddenly stampeded, thestrong stake rope and pin not even checking Prince. They were gone and Iwas afoot! Prince ran for forty miles to the ranch. The hobbled horse wenever saw again for more than twelve months, but when found was fat andnone the worse. Next day the trail outfit came along and so I hitched upanother team. 

But the worst trouble I used to have was with a high-strung and almostintractable pair of horses, Pintos, or painted, which means piebald, avery handsome team indeed, whose former owner simply could not managethem. Every time we came to a gate through which we had to pass I, beingalone, had to get down and throw the gate open. Then after taking theteam through I had of course to go back to shut the gate again. Then wasthe opportunity apparently always watched for by these devils, and had Inot tied a long rope to the lines and trailed it behind the wagon theywould many times have succeeded in getting away. 

Yet it is only such a team that one can really care to drive forpleasure; a team that you "feel" all the time, one that will keep you"interested" every minute, as these Pintos did. How often nowadays doesone ever see a carriage pair, or fours in the park or elsewhere thatreally needs "driving"?

"Shipping" cattle means loading them into railroad cars and despatchingthem to their destination. The cattle are first penned in a corral andthen run through chutes into the cars. One year I sold the Company'ssteers, a train-load, to a Jew dealer in Kansas. They were loaded in thePanhandle and I went through with them, having a man to help me to lookafter them, our duty being to prod them up when any were found lyingdown so they would not be trodden to death. At a certain point ourengine "played out" and was obliged to leave us to get coal and water. While gone the snow (a furious blizzard was blowing) blew over the trackand blocked it so effectively that the engine could not get back. Thetemperature was about zero and the cattle suffered terribly; but therewe remained stuck for nearly two days. When we finally got through, ofcourse the buyer refused to receive them, and I turned them over to therailway company and brought suit for their value. The case was thricetried and we won each time; and oh, how some of these railroad men diddamn themselves by perjury! But it is bad business to "buck" against apowerful railway corporation. This will serve to give an idea as to whatshipping cattle means. Many hundreds of thousands, or even millions, arenow shipped every year. Trail work is abandoned, being no longerpossible on account of fences, etc. Such great towns as Chicago andKansas City will each receive and dispose of in one day as many as tento twenty thousand cattle, not counting sheep or hogs. 

It was when returning to Amarillo after this trip that I was fortunateenough to save the lives of a whole train-load of people. One night ourpassenger train came to a certain station, and the conductor went to gethis orders. Nearly all the passengers were asleep. When he returned Ihappened to hear him read his orders over to the brakeman. These orderswere to go on to a certain switch and "side track" till _three_ cattletrains had passed. At that point there was a very heavy grade and cattletrains came down it at sixty miles an hour. Two trains swung past us, and to my surprise the conductor then gave the signal to go ahead. Wedid start, when I at once ventured to remark to him that only two trainshad so far gone by. He pooh-poohed my assertion; but after a few minutesbegan to think that he himself might just possibly be wrong. Meantime Igot out on the platform and was ready to jump. The conductor mostfortunately reversed the order, and the train was backed on to thesiding again, none too soon, for just then the head-light of the thirdcattle train appeared round a curve and came tearing past us. It was adesperately narrow escape and I did not sleep again that night. Writingafterwards to the general manager of the railway company about it myletter was not even acknowledged, and of course no thanks were received. 

While on the subject of railroad accidents it has been my misfortune tohave been in many of them, caused by collisions, spreading of rails, open switches, etc. , etc. , but I will only detail one or two. Once whentravelling to Amarillo from a Convention at Fort Worth the train wasvery crowded and I occupied an upper berth in the Pullman. As Americantrains are always doing, trying to make up lost time, we were going at apretty good lick when I felt the coach begin to sway. It swayed twiceand then turned completely over and rolled down a high embankment. Outside was pitch dark and raining. There was a babel of yells andscreams and callings for help. I had practically no clothes on, noshoes, and of course could find nothing. Everything inside, mattresses, bedding, curtains, baggage, clothing, babies, women and men were mixedup in an extraordinary way. Above me I noticed a broken window, throughwhich I managed to scramble, and on finding out how things were returnedto the coach to help other passengers. Underneath me seemed to be adying man. He was in a dreadful condition and at his last gasp, etc. , and he made more row than the rest put together. Reaching down andremoving mattresses, he grasped my hand, jumped up and thanked meprofusely for _saving_ his life. He was not hurt a bit, indeed was theonly man in the lot who escaped serious injury. The men behaved muchworse than the women. However we soon had everybody out and the injuredlaid on blankets. Meantime a relief train had arrived with the doctor, etc. He examined us all, asked me if I was all right, to which I repliedthat I was, as I really felt so at the time. But in half an hour I wasmyself lying on a stretcher and unable to move, with a sprained back andbruised side, etc. , and a claim for damages against the railway company. 

Another time, when riding in the caboose (the rear car) of a longfreight train, with the conductor and brakeman, the train in going downa grade broke in three. The engine and a few cars went right on and leftus; the centre part rushed down the hill, our section followed andcrashed into it, and some seven or eight cars were completelytelescoped. I had been seated beside the stove, my arm stretched roundit, when, noticing our great speed, I drew the conductor's attention toit. He opened the side door to look out. Just then the shock came and hegot a frightful lick on the side of the head, and myself was thrown ontop of the hot stove; but none of us were seriously hurt. 

Again, once when making a trip to Kansas City and back, the wholePullman train went off the track and down the embankment; and on thereturn journey we ran into an open switch and were derailed and one mankilled. Both might have been very serious affairs. 

With the closing out of the Mortgage Company's interests of course mysalaried employment came to an end. But before closing this chapter itshould be mentioned that I had in the meantime suffered a nasty accidentby a pony falling back on me and fracturing one leg. It occurred at theround-up, and I was driven some thirty miles, the leg not even splintedor put in a box, to my ranch. I sent off a mounted man to Las Vegas, 130miles, for a surgeon, but it was a week before he got down to me and theleg was then in a pretty bad shape. He hinted at removing it, butfinally decided to set it and put it in plaster, which he did. He thenleft me. The leg gave me little trouble, but unfortunately peritonitisset in. The agony then suffered will not soon be forgotten. There was aparticularly ignorant woman, my foreman's wife, in the house; but I hadpractically no nursing, no medicine of any kind, and the diet was hardlysuited for a patient. The pain became so great that I was not able toopen my mouth, dared not move a muscle, and was reduced to a mereskeleton. Then it occurred to my "guardians" to send once more for thedoctor. Another week went by, and when he came I had just succeeded inpassing the critical stage and was on the mend. In after years thisattack led to serious complications and a most interesting operation, which left me, in my doctor's words, "practically without a stomach";and without a stomach I have jogged on comfortably for nearly ten years. How a little thing may lead to serious consequences! I had previously, and have since, had more or less serious physical troubles, but a goodsound constitution has always pulled me through safely. Among minorinjuries may be mentioned a broken rib, a knee-cap damaged at polo, andanother slightly-fractured leg, caused again by a pony just purchased, and being tried, falling back on me; not to mention the _sigillumdiavoli_ (don't be alarmed or shocked) which occasionally develops, andalways at the same spot. 

While the round-up and turnover of the Company's cattle was proceeding, I thought it well to keep lots of whisky on hand to show hospitality(the only way) to whomsoever it was due. On receiving a large keg of itI put it in my buggy and drove out of camp seven or eight miles to somerough ground, and having, in Baden-Powell way, made myself sure no onewas in view and no one spying on my movements I placed it amongst somerocks and brush in such a way that no ordinary wanderer could possiblysee it. From this store it was my intention to fill a bottle every otherday and so always have a stock on hand. But Kronje or De Wett was too"slim" for me; a few days afterwards on my going there, like a thief inthe night--and indeed it was at night--I found the keg gone. Someonemust have loaded up on it, someone who had deliberately watched me, andhis joy can be easily pictured. So someone was greatly comforted, butnot a hint ever came to me as to who the culprit was. 

My intercourse with M---- provided some of the closest "calls" I everhad (a call means a position of danger); still not so close as on acertain occasion, at my summer camp in Arizona, when one of the men andmyself were playing cards together. We were alone. The man was our best"hand, " and a capital fellow, though a fugitive from justice, like someof the others. It became apparent to me that he was cheating, and I wasrash enough to let him understand that I knew it, without howeverabsolutely accusing him of it. At once he pulled out his gun, leantover, and pointed it at me. What can one do in such a case? He had the"drop" on me; and demanded that I should take back what I had said. Well, I wriggled out of it somehow, told him he was very foolish to makesuch a "break" as that, and talked to him till he cooled down. It was ananxious few minutes, and I am very proud to think he did not "phase" mevery much, as he afterwards admitted. Peace was secured with honour. 

I was lucky to be able to leave the West and the cattle business with ahide free from perforations and punctures of any kind. 

CHAPTER VI

ODDS AND ENDS

 Summer Round-up Notes--Night Guarding--Stampedes--Bronco Busting--Cattle Branding, etc. 

Round-up and trail work had many agreeable aspects, and though it was attimes very hard work, still I look back to it all with fond memories. The hours were long--breakfast was already cooked and "chuck" calledlong before sunrise; horses were changed, the night horses turned looseand a fresh mount for the morning's work caught out of the ramuda. Bythe time breakfast was over it was generally just light enough to seedimly the features of the country. The boss then gave his orders to theriders as to where to go and what country to round-up, also the round-upplace at noon. He started the day-herd off grazing towards the sameplace, and finally saw the wagon with its four mules loaded up anddespatched. There was generally a "circus" every morning on the menstarting out to their work. On a cold morning a cow-horse does not liketo be very tightly cinched or girthed up. He resents it by at oncebeginning to buck furiously as soon as his rider gets into his saddle. 

[Illustration: CHANGING HORSES. ]

Even staid old horses will do it on a very cold morning. But the "younguns, " the broncos, are then perfect fiends. Thus there is nearly alwayssome sport to begin the day with. By noon the round-up has beencompleted and a large herd of cattle collected. Separating begins atonce, first cows and calves, then steers and "dry" cattle, the propertyof the different owners represented. Dinner is ready by twelve, horseschanged again and the day-herd is watered, and then the branding of thecalves begins. But wait. _Such_ a dinner! With few appliances it isreally wonderful how a mess-wagon cook feeds the crowd so well. His fuelis "chips" (_bois des vaches_); with a spade he excavates a sunkenfireplace, and over this erects an iron rod on which to hang pots, etc. He will make the loveliest fresh bread and rolls at least once a day, often twice; make most excellent coffee (and what a huge coffee-pot isneeded for twenty or thirty thirsty cowpunchers), serve potatoes, stewedor fried meat, baked beans and stewed dried fruit, etc. Everything wasgood, so cleanly served and served so quickly. True, any kind of a messtastes well to the hungry man, but I think that even a dyspeptic'sappetite would become keen when he approached the cattleman's chuckwagon. Dinner over the wagon is again loaded up, the twenty or more bedsthrown in, the team hitched and started for the night camping-ground, some place where there is lots of good grass for the cattle and saddlehorses, and at the same time far enough away from all the other herds. The saddle horses in charge of the horse "wrangler" accompany the wagon. The men are either grazing and drifting the day-herd towards the camp, or branding morning calves, not in a corral but on the open prairie. Thecalves, and probably some grown cattle to be branded, must be caughtwith the rope, and here is where the roper's skill is shown to mostadvantage. At sundown all the men have got together again, night horsesare selected, supper disposed of, beds prepared and a quiet smokeenjoyed. 

If a horse-hair rope be laid on the ground around one's bed no snakewill ever cross it. But during work the beds are seldom made down tillafter sunset, by which time rattlesnakes have all retired into holes oramongst brush, and so there is little danger from them. 

First "guard" goes out to take charge of the herd. The herd has alreadybeen "bedded" down carefully at convenient distance from the wagon. Bedding down means bunching them together very closely, just leavingthem enough room to lie down comfortably. They, if they have been wellgrazed and watered, will soon all be lying resting, chewing their cudsand at peace with the world. Each night-guard consists of two to fourmen according to the size of the herd, and "stands" two to four hours. The horse herd is also guarded by "reliefs. " In fine weather it is nogreat hardship to be called out at any hour of the night, but if itshould be late in autumn and snow falling, or, what is worse still, ifthere be a cold rain and a bitter wind it is very trying to be compelledto leave your warm bed at twelve or three in the morning, get on to yourpoor shivering horse and stand guard for three hours. 

It should be explained that "standing" means not absolute inaction butslowly riding round and round the herd. Yes, it is trying, especially inbad weather and after working hard all day long from before sun-up. Howwell one gets to know the stars and their positions! The poornight-herders know that a certain star will set or be in such and such aposition at the time for the next relief. Often when dead tired, sleepyand cold, how eagerly have I watched my own star's apparently very slowmovement. The standard watch is at the wagon, and must not be "monkeyed"with, a trick sometimes played on tenderfeet. Immediately time forrelief is up the next is called, and woe betide them if they delaycomplying with the summons. Of course the owner or manager does nothave to take part in night-herding, but the boys think more of him if hedoes, and certainly the man he relieves appreciates it. 

In continued wet and cold weather such as we were liable to have late inOctober or November, when it might rain and drizzle for a week or two ata time, our beds would get very wet and there would be no sun to drythem. 

Consequently we practically slept in wet, not damp, blankets for days ata time; and to return from your guard about two in the morning and getinto such an uninviting couch was trying to one's temper, of course. Even one's "goose haar piller, " as the boys called their feather pillow, might be sodden. To make your bed in snow or be snowed over is notnearly so bad. 

No tents were ever seen on the round-up. Everyone slept on the open bareground. But for use during my long drives across country I got to usinga small Sibley tent, nine feet by nine feet, which had a canvas floorattached to the walls, and could be closed up at night so as toeffectually prevent the entrance of skunks and other vermin. This tenthad no centre pole whatever. You simply drove in the four cornerstake-pins, raised the two light rods over it triangularwise, and by apulley and rope hoist up the peak. The two rods were very thin, lightand jointed; and in taking the tent down you simply loosed the rope, knocked out the stake-pins, and that was all. 

During these long guarding spells you practically just sit in yoursaddle for four hours at a stretch. You cannot take exercise and youdare not get down to walk or you will stampede the cattle. But, yes, youmay gallop to camp if you know the direction, and drink a cup of hotstrong coffee, which in bad weather is kept on the fire all night, re-light your pipe and return to "sing" to the cattle. 

Then the quiet of these huge animals is impressive. About midnight theywill get a bit restless, many will get on their feet, have a stretch anda yawn, puff, cough and blow and in other ways relieve themselves, andif allowed will start out grazing; but they are easily driven back andwill soon be once more resting quietly. 

The stampeding of the herd on such a night is almost a relief. It atonce effectually wakes you up, gets you warm, and keeps you interestedfor the rest of your spell, even if it does not keep you out for therest of the night. 

I should explain that "singing" to the cattle refers to the habitcowboys have, while on night-guard, of singing (generally a sing-songrefrain) as they slowly ride round the herd. It relieves the monotony, keeps the cattle quiet and seems to give them confidence, for theycertainly appear to rest quieter while they know that men are guardingthem, and are not so liable to stampede. 

Stampeding is indeed a very remarkable bovine characteristic. Suppose aherd of cattle, say 2000 steers, to be quietly and peacefully lying downunder night-guard. The air is calm and clear. It may be brightmoonlight, or it may be quite dark; nothing else is moving. Apparentlythere is nothing whatever to frighten them or even disturb them; most ofthem are probably sound asleep, when suddenly like a shot they, thewhole herd, are on their feet and gone--gone off at a more or lessfurious gallop. All go together. The guard are of course at once allaction; the men asleep in camp are waked by the loud drumming of thethousands of hoofs on the hard ground and at once rush for their horsesto assist. The stampede must be stopped and there is only one way to doit--to get up to the lead animals and try to swing them round with theobject of getting them to move in a circle, to "mill" as we called it. But the poor beasts meantime are frantic with fear and excitement andyou must ride hard at your level best, and look out you don't getknocked over and perhaps fatally trampled on. You must know yourbusiness and work on one plan with your fellow-herders. On a pitch darknight in a rough country it is very dangerous indeed. The cattle mayrun only a short distance or they may run ten miles, and after beingquieted again may once more stampede. Indeed, I took a herd once toAmarillo and they stampeded the first night on the trail and kept it uppretty near every night during the drive. But, as said before, theremarkable part of the performance is the instantaneous nature of theshock or whatever it is that goes through the slumbering herd, and thequickness of their getting off the bed-ground. Cow and calf herds arenot so liable to stampede, but horses are distinctly bad and will runfor miles at terrific speed. Then you must just try and stay with themand bring them back when they stop, as you can hardly expect to outrunthem. Still, I do not think that stampeded horses are quite so crazy ascattle, and they get over their fright quicker. 

Let me try to illustrate a little better an actual stampede. The nightwas calm, clear, but very dark--no moon, and the stars dimmed by fleecycloud strata. The herd of some 2000 steers was bedded down, and had sofar given no trouble. Supper was over and the first guard on duty, therest of the men lying on their beds chatting and smoking. Each man whilenot on duty has his saddled horse staked close by. Soon everyone hasturned in for the night. A couple of hours later the first guard comein, their spell being over, and the second relief takes their place. The cattle are quiet; not a sound breaks the silence except the lowcrooning of some of the boys on duty. But suddenly, what is thatnoise?--like the distant rumbling of guns on the march, or of a heavytrain crossing a wooden bridge! To one with his head on the ground theearth seems almost to tremble. Oh, we know it well! It is the beating of8000 hoofs on the hard ground. The cowboy recognizes the dreaded soundinstantly: it wakens him quicker than anything else. The boss is alreadyin his saddle, has summoned the other men, and is off at full gallop. The cook gets up, re-trims his lamp, and hangs it as high on the wagontop as he can, to be visible as far as possible. It is good two milesbefore we catch up on the stampeded herd, still going at a mad gallop. The men are on flank trying to swing them round. But someone seems to bein front, as we soon can hear pistol-shots fired in a desperateendeavour to stop the lead steers. But even that is no avail, and indeedis liable to split the herd in two and so double the work. So thethundering race continues, and it is only after many miles have beencovered that the cattle have run themselves out and we finally get themquietened down and turned homewards. Someone is sent out scouting roundto try to get a view of the cook's lantern and so know our whereabouts. But have we got all the cattle? The men are questioned. Where's Pete?and where's Red? There must be cattle gone and these two men are stayingwith them. Well, we'll take the herd on anyway, bed them down again, getfresh horses, and then hunt up the missing bunch. So, the cattle oncemore "bedded, " and every spare hand left with them, as they are liableto run again, two of us start out to find if possible the missing men. We first take a careful note of the position of any stars that may bevisible, then start out at an easy lope or canter. It is so dark that itseems a hopeless task to find them. Good luck alone may guide us right;and good luck serves us well, for after having come some eight or ninemiles we hear a man "hollering" to us. He had heard our horses' tread, and was no doubt mightily relieved at our coming, as of course he wascompletely lost in the darkness and had wisely not made any attempt tofind his way. But there he was, good fellow, Red! with his little bunchof 200 steers. Yes, the herd had split, that's how it was. But where isPete? Oh! he doesn't know; last saw him heading the stampede; never sawhim since. Can he be lost and still wandering round? That is not likely, and we begin to suspect trouble. The small herd is directed campwards, and some of us again scout round, halloing and shouting, but keeping oureyes well "skinned" for anything on the ground. At last, by the merestchance, we come on something; no doubt what it is--the body of a man. "Hallo, Pete! What's the matter?" He stirs. "Are you badly hurt?""Dog-gone it, fellows, glad to see you! My horse fell and some cattleran over me. No! I ain't badly hurt; but I guess you'll have to carry mehome. " The poor fellow had several ribs broken, was dreadfully bruised, and his left cheek was nearly sliced off. There we had to leave him tillmorning, one of us staying by. Happily Pete got all right again. 

Breaking young colts was a somewhat crude process. Not being of the samevalue as better bred stock they were rather roughly treated. If you havea number to break you will hire a professional "bronco-buster"; for somefive dollars a head he will turn them back to you in a remarkably shorttime, bridle-wise, accustomed to the saddle and fairly gentle. But hedoes not guarantee against pitching. Some colts never pitch at allduring the process, do not seem to know how; but the majority do know, and know well! The colt is roped in a corral by the forefeet, jerkeddown, and his head held till bridled; or he is roped round the neck, snubbed to a post and so held till he chokes himself by straining on therunning loop. As soon as he falls a man jumps on to his head and holdsit firmly in such a way that he cannot get up, and someone slips on theHackamore bridle. Thus you will see that a horse lying on its siderequires his muzzle as a lever to get him on his feet. Then he isallowed to rise and to find, though he may not then realize it, that hiswild freedom is gone from him for ever. He is trembling with fright andexcitement, and sweating from every pore. To get the saddle on him he isnext blindfolded. A strong man grasps the left ear and another manslowly approaches and, after quietly and kindly rubbing and patting him, gently puts the saddle blanket in place; then the huge and heavy saddlewith all its loose strings and straps is carefully hoisted and adjusted, and the cinch drawn up. In placing the blanket and the saddle there willlikely be several failures. He will be a poor-spirited horse that doesnot resent it. Now take off the blinders and let him pitch till he istired. Then comes the mounting. He is blinded again, again seized by theear, the cinch pulled very tight, and the rider mounts into the saddle. It may be best first to lead him outside the corral, so that he can runright off with his man if he wants to. But he won't run far, as he soonexhausts himself in his rage and with his tremendous efforts to dismounthis rider. A real bad one will squeal like a pig, fall back, roll over, kick and apparently tie himself into knots. If mastered the first timeit is a great advantage gained. But should he throw his rider once, twice or several times he never forgets that the thing is at leastpossible, and so he may repeat his capers for a long time to come. Allcow-horses have ever afterwards a holy dread of the rope, neverforgetting its power and effect experienced during the breaking process. Thus, in roping a broken horse on the open or in a corral, if your ropesimply lies _over_ his neck, and yet not be round it, he will probablystop running and resign himself to capture. Even the commonly-usedsingle rope corral, held up by men at the corners, they will not try tobreak through. Bronco-busters only last a few years, the hard jarringaffects their lungs and other organs so disastrously. 

One of our men, with the kindest consideration, much appreciated, confidentially showed me a simple method of tying up a bronco's headwith a piece of thin rope, adjusted in a particular way, which madepitching or bucking almost, but not always, an impossibility. He wasperhaps a little shamefaced in doing so, but such sensibility was notfor me; anything to save one from the horrible shaking up and jarring ofa pitching horse! And yet there was always the inclination to fix thestring surreptitiously. Much better that the boys should _not_ see it. 

[Illustration: A REAL BAD ONE. ]

It may be said here that a horse has a lightning knowledge as towhether his rider be afraid of him or not, and acts accordingly. Inbranding my method was to simply tie up one forefoot and blindfold thecolt, when a small and properly-hot stamp-iron can be quickly andeffectively applied before he quite knows what is hurting him. 

In early days we used only Spanish Mexican broncos for cow-ponies. Theywere broken bridle-wise, and perhaps had been ridden a few times. Bandsof them were driven north to our country, and for about fifteen dollarsapiece you might make a selection of the number wanted, say twenty tofifty head. Some of these ponies would turn out very well, some oflittle use. You took your chances, and in distributing them amongst themen very critical eyes were cast over them, you may be sure, as the boyshad to ride them no matter what their natures might turn out to be. Suchponies were hardy, intelligent, active, and stood a tremendous amount ofwork. Later a larger stamp of cow-horse came into use, even horses withperhaps a distant and minute drop of Diomede's blood in them--Diomede, who won the first Derby stakes, run for in the Isle of Man by the way, and who was sold to America to become the father of United Statesthoroughbreds and progenitor of the great Lexington. But such "improved"horses could never do the cow work so well as the old original Spanishcayuse. 

In a properly-organized cattle country all cattle brands must berecorded at the County seat. Because of the prodigious number andvariety of brands of almost every conceivable pattern and device it isdifficult to adopt a quite new and safe one that does not conflict insome way with others. This for the honest man; the crooked man, thethief, the brand-burner is not so troubled. _He_ will select a brandsuch as others already in use may be easily changed into. To give a veryfew instances. If his own brand be 96 and another's 91 the conversion iseasy. If it be [**#] and another's [**-II-] it is equally easy; or if itbe [**3--E], as was one of our own brands, the conversion of it into[**d--B] is too temptingly simple. It was only after much considerationthat I adopted for my own personal brand [**U]--a mule shoe on the lefthip and jaw. It was small and did not damage the hide too much, waseasily stamped on, looked well and was pretty safe. Among brands I haveseen was HELL in large letters covering the animal's whole side. 

With a band of horses a bell-mare (madrina) is sometimes used. The mareis gentle, helps to keep the lot together, and the bell lets you know ona dark night where they are. With a lot of mules a madrina is alwaysused, as her charges will never leave her. 

All the grooming cow-ponies get is self-administered. After a long ride, on pulling the saddle off, the pony is turned loose, when he at onceproceeds to roll himself from one side to another, finishing up with a"shake" before he goes off grazing. If he has been overridden he may notsucceed in rolling completely over. This is regarded as a sure sign thathe has been overridden, and you know that he will take some days, oreven maybe weeks, to recover from it. I have seen horses brought inabsolutely staggering and trembling and so turned loose. A favouritemount is seldom so mistreated; and if the boss is present the riderknows he will take a note of it. One can imagine how delightful andrefreshing this roll and shake must be, quite as refreshing as a coldbath (would be) to the tired and perspiring rider. Alas! cold or hotbaths are not obtainable by the cattleman for possibly months at a time. The face and hands alone can receive attention. The new and modern ideaof bodily self-cleansing is here effectually put in force and apparentlywith good health results. The rivers when in flood are extremely muddy;when not they are very shallow, and the water is usually alkaline andundrinkable, as well as quite useless for bathing purposes. 

Cow-ponies generally have sound feet and durable hoofs, but in verysandy countries the hoofs will spread out in a most astonishing way andneed constant trimming. 

In droughty countries like Arizona and New Mexico we were frequentlyreduced to serious straits to find decent drinking-water. On manyoccasions I have drunk, and drunk with relief and satisfaction, suchfilthy, slimy, greenish-looking stuff as would disgust a frog and givethe _Lancet_ a fit, though that discriminating journal would probablycall it soup. Sometimes even water, and I well remember the places, thatwas absolutely a struggling mass of small red creatures that yet reallytasted not at all badly. Anyway it was better than the green slime. Thirst is a sensation that must be satisfied at any cost. Once whentravelling in the South Arizona country, we being all strung out inIndian file, over a dozen of us, the lead man came on a mostenticing-looking pool of pure water. Of course he at once jumped off, took a hearty draught, spat it out and probably made a face, but sayingnothing rode quietly on. The next man did the same, and so it went ontill our predecessors had each and all the satisfaction of knowing thathe was not the only man fooled. The water was so hot, though showing nosign of it, that it was quite undrinkable--a very hot spring. 

In the alkali district on the Pecos River the dust raised at a round-upis so dense that the herd cannot even be seen at 200 yards distance. This dust is most irritating to the eyes; and many of the men, includingmyself, were sometimes so badly affected that they had to stop work forweeks at a time. 

In circuses and Wild-West shows one frequently sees cowgirls on thebill. Of course, on actual work on the range there is no such thing as acowgirl. At least I never saw one. 

CHAPTER VII

ON MY OWN RANCH

 Locating--Plans--Prairie Fires and Guards--Bulls--Trading--Successful Methods--Loco-weed--Sale of Ranch. 

A year before selling out the Company's cattle I had started a smallranch for myself. Seeing that it was quite hopeless to run cattleprofitably on the open-range system, and having longing eyes on acertain part of the plains which was covered with very fine grass andalready fenced on one side by the Texas line--knowing also quite wellthat fencing of public land in New Mexico was strictly against the law(land in the territories is the property of the Federal Government, which will neither lease it nor sell it, but holds it forhome-steading)--I yet went to work, bought a lot of wire and posts, gavea contract to a fence-builder and boldly ran a line over thirty mileslong enclosing something like 100, 000 acres. The location was part ofthe country where our stock horses used to run with the mustangs, and soI knew every foot of it pretty well. There was practically no limit tothe acreage I might have enclosed; and I had then the choice of allsorts of country--country with lots of natural shelter for cattle, andeven country where water in abundance could be got close to the surface. In my selected territory I knew quite well that it was very deep towater and that it would cost a lot of money in the shape of deep wellsand powerful windmills to get it out; yet it was for this very reasonthat I so selected it. Would not the country in a few years swarm withsettlers ("nesters" as we called small farmers), and would they not ofcourse first select the land where water was shallow? They could notafford to put in expensive wells and windmills. Thus I argued, and thusit turned out exactly as anticipated. The rest of the country becamesettled up by these nesters, but I was left alone for some eight yearsabsolutely undisturbed and in complete control of this considerableblock of land. More than that the County Assessor and collector actuallymissed me for two years, not even knowing of my existence; and for thewhole period of eight years I never paid one cent for rent. On mywindmill locations I put "Scrip" in blocks of forty acres. Otherwise Iowned or rented not a foot. 

Just a line or two here. I happen to have known the man who inventedbarbed wire and who had his abundant reward. Blessings on him! thoughone is sometimes inclined to add cursings too. It is dangerous stuff tohandle. Heavy gloves should always be worn. The flesh is so torn by theragged barb that the wound is most irritating and hard to heal. When myfence was first erected it was a common thing to find antelope hung upin it, tangled in it, and cut to pieces. Once we found a mustang horsewith its head practically cut completely off. The poor brutes had a hardexperience in learning the nature of this strange, almost invisible, death-trap stretched across what was before their own free, open andboundless territory. And what frightful wounds some of the ponies wouldoccasionally suffer by perhaps trying to jump over such a fence or evenforce their way through it; ponies from the far south, equally ignorantwith the antelope of the dangers of the innocent-looking slender wire. In another way these fences were sometimes the cause of loss of beastlife, as for instance when some of my cattle drifted against the fenceduring a thunder and rain storm and a dozen of them were killed by onestroke of lightning. 

Into this preserve my cattle-breeding stock were put: very few in numberto begin with, yet as many as my means afforded. My Company job andsalary would soon be a thing of the past and my future must dependentirely on the success of this undertaking. Once before I had boldly, perhaps rashly, taken a lease of a celebrated steer pasture in CarsonCounty, Texas, and gone to Europe to try and float a company, theproposition being to use the pasture, then, and still, the very best inTexas, for wintering yearling steers. No sounder proposition or morepromising one could have been put forward. But all my efforts to get thecapital needed failed and it was fortunate for me that at the end of oneyear I succeeded in getting a cancellation of the lease. On firstsecuring the lease the season was well advanced and it became an anxietyto me as to where I should get cattle to put in the pasture, if onlyenough to pay the year's rent--some 7000 dollars. One man, a cannyScotsman, had been holding and grazing a large herd of 4000 two-year-oldsteers, all in one straight brand, on the free range just outside. Heknew I wanted cattle and I knew he wanted grass, as he could not find abuyer and the season was late. We both played "coon, " but I must say Ibegan to feel a bit uncomfortable. At last greatly to my relief and joy, he approached me, and after a few minutes' dickering I had thesatisfaction of counting into pasture this immense herd of 4000 cattle. Meantime, I had also been corresponding with another party and very soonafterwards closed a deal with him for some 3700 more two-year-oldsteers. Thus with 7700 head the pasture was nearly fully stocked, therent for the first year was assured, and I prepared to go to the OldCountry to form the company before mentioned. But before going I foundit necessary to throw in a hundred or so old cows to keep the steersquiet. The steers had persisted in walking the fences, travelling ingreat strings round and round the pasture. They had lots of grass, waterand salt, but something else was evidently lacking. Immediately the cowswere turned loose all the uneasiness and dissatisfaction ceased. No morefence walking and no more danger (for me) of them breaking out. Thefamily life seemed complete. The suddenness of the effect was veryremarkable. This pasture has ever since been used solely for my proposedpurpose and every year has been a tremendous success. 

First of all a word about my house and home. Built on what may be calledthe Spanish plan, of adobes (sun-dried bricks), the walls were 2-1/2feet thick, and there was a courtyard in the centre. Particularattention was paid to the roof, which was first boarded over, then onthe boards three inches of mud, and over that sheets of corrugated iron. The whole idea of the adobes and the mud being to secure a cooltemperature in summer and warmth in winter. No other materials are soeffective. 

As explained before, there were no trees or shrubs of any kind within aradius of many miles. So to adorn this country seat I cut and threwinto my buggy one day a young shoot of cotton-wood tree, hauled itfifty miles to the ranch, and stuck it in the centre of the court. Waterwas never too plentiful; so why not make use of the soap-suddy washingswhich the boys and all of us habitually threw out there? When the treedid grow up, and it thrived amazingly, its shade became the recognizedlounging-place. With a few flowering shrubs added the patio assumedquite a pretty aspect. Another feature of the house was that thefoundations were laid so deep, and of rock, that skunks could not burrowunderneath, which is quite a consideration. Under my winter cottage atthe Meadows Ranch in Arizona skunks always denned and lay up during thecold weather, selecting a point immediately under the warm hearthstone. There, as one sat reading over the fire, these delightful animals, within a foot of you, would carry on their family wrangles and in theirexcitement give evidence of their own nature; but happily the offencewas generally a very mild one and evidently not maliciously intended. 

Around the house was planted a small orchard and attempts were made atvegetable-growing. But water was too scarce to do the plants justice. Everything must be sacrificed to the cattle. One lesson it taught me, however, and that is that no matter how much water you irrigate with, one good downpour from Nature's fertilizing watering-can is worth morethan weeks of irrigation. Rain water has a quality of its own which wellor tank water cannot supply. Plants respond to it at once by adopting acheery, healthy aspect. It had another equally valuable character inthat it destroyed the overwhelming bugs. How it destroyed them I don'tknow: perhaps it drowned them; anyway they disappeared at once. 

In my own pasture in New Mexico I for various reasons decided to"breed, " instead of simply handle steers. Steers were certainly saferand surer, and the life was an easy one. But there appeared to megreater possibilities in breeding if the cows were handled right andtaken proper care of. It will be seen by-and-by that my anticipationswere more than justified, so that the success of this little ranch hasbeen a source of pride to me. 

The ranch was called "Running Water, " because situated on Running WaterDraw, a creek that never to my knowledge "ran" except after a very heavyrain. Prairie fires were the greatest danger in this level rangecountry, there being no rivers, cañons, or even roads to check theiradvance. Lightning might set the grass afire; a match carelessly droppedby the cigarette-smoker; a camp fire not properly put out; or anymischievously-inclined individual might set the whole country ablaze. Indeed, the greatest prairie fire I have record of was maliciouslystarted to windward of my ranch by an ill-disposed neighbour (one of themen whose cattle the Scotch Company had closed out and who ever afterhad a grudge against me) purposely to burn me out. He did not quitesucceed, as by hard fighting all night we managed to save half thegrass; but the fire extended 130 miles into Texas, burning out a stripfrom thirty to sixty miles wide. On account of a very high wind blowingthat fire jumped my "guard, " a term which needs explanation. All roundmy pasture, on the outside of the fence, for a distance of over fortymiles was ploughed a fire-guard thus: two or three ploughed furrows and, 100 feet apart, other two or three ploughed furrows, there being thus astrip of land forty miles long and 100 feet wide. Between these furrowswe burnt the grass, an operation that required great care and yet mustbe done as expeditiously as possible to save time, labour and expense. Acertain amount of wind must be blowing so as to insure a clean and rapidburn; but a high gusty wind is most dangerous, as the flames are prettysure to jump the furrows, enter the pasture, and get away from you. Theexcitement at such a critical time is of course very great. In suchcases it was at first our practice to catch and kill a yearling, splitit open and hitch ropes to the hind feet, when two of us mounted menwould drag the entire carcass over the line of fire. It was effectivebut an expensive and cumbrous method. Later I adopted a device called a"drag, " composed of iron chains, in the nature of a harrow, covered by araw hide for smothering purposes. This could be dragged quite rapidlyand sometimes had to be used over miles and miles of encroaching fire. The horses might get badly burnt, and in very rank grass where thefierce flames were six to eight feet high it was useless. Sometimes weworked all night, and no doubt it formed a picturesque spectacle and ascene worthy of an artist's brush. Across the centre of the pasture forfurther safety, as also around the bull and horse pasture, was a similarfire-guard, so that I had in all some fifty-five miles of guard toplough and burn. It is such critical and dangerous, yet necessary, workthat I always took care to be present myself and personally boss theoperation. Without such a fire-guard one is never free from anxiety. Many other ranchers who were careless in this matter paid dearly for it. These fires were dangerous in other ways. A dear old friend of mine wascaught by and burnt to death in one. Another man, a near neighbour, whendriving a team of mules, got caught likewise, and very nearly lost hislife. He was badly burnt and lost his team. 

Hitherto it had been the universal custom of cattlemen to use "grade"bulls, many of them, alas! mere "scrubs" of no breeding at all. No oneused pure-bred registered bulls except to raise "grade" bulls with. Idetermined to use "registered" pure-bred bulls alone, and no others, toraise _steers_ with, and was the first man to my knowledge to do so. Neighbours ridiculed the idea, saying that they would not get manycalves, that they could not or would not "rustle"--that is, they wouldnot get about with the cows--that they would need nursing and feedingand would not stand the climate. Well, I went east, selected and boughtat very reasonable figures the number needed, all very high bred, indeedsome of them fashionably so, and took them to the ranch. By the way, bulls were not called bulls in "polite" society: you must call them"males. " Very shortly afterwards there was a rise in value of cattle, astrong demand for such bulls, and prices went "out of sight. " Thus thebulls that cost me some 100 dollars apiece in a little while were worth200 or even 300 dollars. The young bulls "rustled" splendidly, and asnext spring came along there was much interest felt as to results. To mygreat delight almost every cow had a calf, and nearly every calf wasalike red body and white face, etc. (Hereford). I kept and used thesesame bulls six or seven seasons; every year got the highest calf-brandor crop amongst all my neighbours; and soon, with prudent culling of thecows, my small herd (some 2000) was the best in the country; and myyoung steers topped the market, beating even the crack herds that hadbeen established for twenty years and had great reputations. 

To give an instance: my principle was to work with little or no borrowedmoney. Thus my position was such that I did not always _have_ to marketmy steers to pay running expenses; and as I hate trading and dickering, as it is called, my independence gave me a strong position. Well, oncewhen travelling to the ranch I met on the train two "feeders" from thenorth, who told me they wanted to buy two or three hundred choicetwo-year-old, high-bred, even, well-coloured and well-shaped steers. Having by chance some photos in my pocket of my steers (as yearlingstaken the year before) I produced them. They seemed pleased with themand asked the price, which I told them; but they said no ranch cattlewere worth that money and ridiculed the idea of my asking it. "Oh, " Isaid, "it is nothing to me; that is the price of the cattle, " but Icarefully also told them how to get to my place and invited them to comeand see me. Oh, no! they said it was too ridiculous! We travelled on toAmarillo and I at once went out to Running Water. Only two daysafterwards, on coming in to dinner, I found my two gentlemen seated onthe porch waiting for me. After dinner we saddled up and went out to seethe steers. The dealers were evidently surprised and made a long andcareful inspection. Evidently they were well pleased, and on returningto the house it was also evident that they were going to adopt the usualtactics of whittling a small piece of wood (a seemingly necessaryaccompaniment to a trade) and "dickering"; so I again told them myterms, same as before, and hinted that they might take or leave them asthey liked. The deal was closed without further ado, some money put up, and next day I started for England, leaving to the foreman the duty andresponsibility of delivering the steers at the date specified. Thesemen, like most other operators, were dealing with borrowed money gotfrom commission houses in Kansas City. I learnt afterwards that theirKansas City friends, on hearing of the trade, refused to supply thefunds till they had sent a man out specially to see the two-year-oldsteers that could possibly be worth so much money. He came out, sawthem, and reported them to be well worth the price; and they wereacknowledged to be the finest small bunch of steers ever shipped out ofthe south-west country. This was very gratifying indeed. 

Another revolution in ranch practice was the keeping up of my bulls inwinter-time and not putting them out with the cows till the middle ofJuly. This also met with the ridicule of all the "old-timers"; but itwas entirely successful! The calf crop was not only a very large one butthe calves were dropped all about the same time, were thus of an evenage (an important matter for dealers), and they "came" when theirmothers were strong and had lots of milk. 

Young cows and heifers having their first calves had to be watched veryclosely, and we had often to help them in delivery. It may also bementioned here that the sight of a green, freshly-skinned hide, or afreshly-skinned carcass, will frequently cause cows to "slink" theircalves. The smell of blood too creates a tremendous commotion amongstthe cattle generally; why, is not quite known. 

I also made a practice in early spring of taking up weak or poor cowsthat looked like needing it, putting them in a separate pasture andfeeding them on just two pounds of cotton-seed meal once a day; no hay, only the dry, wild grass in the small pasture. The good effect of evensuch a pittance of meal was simply astounding. Thereafter I do not thinkI ever lost a single cow from poverty or weakness. This use of meal ona range ranch was in its way also a novelty. Afterwards it becamegeneral and prices of cotton-seed and cotton-seed meal doubled and more. 

When a very large number of range cattle, say 2000 or so, requiredfeeding on account of poverty, hay in our country not being obtainable, cotton-seed (whole) would be fed to them by the simple and effectivemethod of loading a large wagon with it, driving it over the pasture, and scattering thinly, not dumping, the seed on to the grass sod. Thecattle would soon get so fond of it that they would come running as soonas the wagon appeared and follow it up in a long string, the strongestand greediest closest to the wagon, the poor emaciated, poverty-strickenones tailing off in the rear. But not one single seed was wasted, everyone being gleaned and picked up in a very short time. It is thebest, easiest and most effective way: indeed, the only possible way withsuch a large number of claimants. And as said before, the recuperatingeffect of this cotton-seed is simply astonishing. It may be noted, however, that if fed in bulk and to excess the animals will sometimes goblind, which must be guarded against. 

In the matter of salt it had become the common practice to use sackedstuff (pulverized) for cattle. There was a strong prejudice againstrock salt; so much so that when I decided to buy a carload or two it hadto be specially ordered. Another laugh was raised at my proposed use ofit. The cattle would get sore tongues, or they would spend so long atime licking it they would have no time to graze, etc. , etc. Meantime Ihad lost some cows by their too quick lapping of the pulverized stuff. Thereafter I never lost one from such a cause and the cattle throvesplendidly. Besides, the rock salt was much easier handled andconsiderably more economical. 

My wells were deep, none less than 250 feet, the iron casing 10-inchdiameter, the pipe 6-inch or 8-inch, and the mill-wheels 20 feet indiameter; this huge wind power being necessary to pump up from such adepth a sufficiency of water. The water was pumped directly into verylarge shallow drinking wooden tubs, thence into big reserve earthentanks (fenced in), and thence again led by pipe to other largedrinking-tubs outside and below the tanks, supplied with floatingstop-valves. This arrangement, arrived at after much deliberation, worked very well indeed; no water was wasted, and it was always clean;and in very cold weather the cattle always got warm, freshly-pumped wellwater in the upper tub, an important matter and one reason why my cattlealways did so well. But oh, dear! the trouble and work we often hadwith these wells! Perhaps in zero temperature something would go wrongwith the pump valve or the piston leather would wear out, or in a newwell the quicksand would work in. Neither myself, foreman nor boy was anexpert or had any mechanical knowledge; though continued troubles, muchhard work, accompanied by, alas! harder language, was a capitalapprenticeship. In bitter cold freezing weather I well remember we oncehad to pull out the rods and the piping three times in succession beforewe got the damned thing into shape, and then we did not know what hadbeen the matter. To pull up first 250 feet of heavy rod, disjoint it, and lay it carefully aside; then pull up 250 feet of 6-inch or 8-inchiron piping, in 20-feet lengths, clamp and disjoint it, and put itcarefully aside; then to use the sand-bucket to get the sand out of thewell if necessary; repair and put into proper shape the valve andcylinder, etc. ; then (and these are all parts of one operation), re-lower and connect the 250 feet of heavy piping, the equally longrods, and attach to the mill itself--oh, what anxiety to know if it wasgoing to work or not! On this particular occasion, as stated, we--self, foreman and one boy--actually had to go through this tedious anddangerous performance three times in succession! To pull out the pipinggreat power is needed, and we at first used a capstan made on the ranchand worked by hand. But it was slow work, very slow, and very hard worktoo; afterwards we used a stout, steady team of horses, with doubletackle, and found it to work much more expeditiously. But there wasalways a great and ever-present danger of the pipe slipping, or a clamp, a bolt, or a hook, or even the rope breaking with disastrous results. 

These wells and mills afforded any disgruntled cowhand or "friendly"neighbour a simple and convenient opportunity of "getting even, " as asingle small nail dropped down a pipe at once clogged the valve andrendered the tedious operation necessary. I had altogether five of suchwells. 

A little more "brag, " if it may be called so, and I shall have done. Butit will need some telling, and perhaps credulity on the reader's part. Acertain wild plant called "loco" grows profusely in many parts of theWestern States; but nowhere more profusely than it did in my pasture. Indeed it looked like this particular spot must have been its place oforigin and its stronghold in time of adversity. Certainly, although itwas common all over the plains, I never saw in any place such a denseand vigorous growth of it, covering like an alfalfa field solid blocksof hundreds of acres. This is no exaggeration. It had killed a few ofour cattle in Arizona and ruined some of our best horses. The ScotchCompany lost many hundreds of cattle by it, and also some horses. Theplant seems to flourish in cycles of about seven years; that is, thoughsome of it may be present every year it only comes in abundance, overwhelming abundance, once in the period stated. The peculiarity aboutit, too, is that it grows in the winter months and has flowered andseeded and died down by midsummer. Thus it is the only green andsucculent-looking plant to be seen in winter-time on the brown plains. It is very conspicuous and in appearance much resembles clover oralfalfa. Cattle as a rule will avoid it, but for some unknown reason thetime comes when you hear the expression the "cattle are eating loco. " Ifso they will continue to eat it, to eat nothing else, till it is allgone; and those eating it will set the example to others, and all thathave eaten it will go stark staring mad and the majority of them die. Horses are even more liable to take to it, and are affected exactly inthe same way; they go quite crazy, refuse to drink water, cannot be led, and have a dazed, stupid appearance and a tottering gait, till finallythey decline and die for want of nourishment. I have seen locoed horsestaken up and fed on grain, when some of them recovered and quite gotover the habit even of eating the weed; but these were exceptions. Mostlocoed horses remained too stupid to do anything with and were never ofmuch value. There is one strange fact, however, about them; saddlehorses, slightly locoed, just so bad that they cannot be led, andtherefore useless as saddlers, do, when hitched up to a wagon or buggy, though never driven before, make splendid work horses. They go likeautomatons; will trot if allowed till they fall down, and never balk. The worst outlaw horse we ever had, one that had thrown all the greatriders of the country and had never been mastered, this absolutedevilish beast got a pretty bad dose of the weed; and, to experiment, wehitched him up in a wagon, when lo! he went off like any old steady teamhorse. This is all very interesting; but that is enough as to its effecton live stock. 

At the request of the Department of Agriculture I sent to Washingtonsome specimens of a grub which, when the plant reaches its greatestexuberance and abundance, infests it, eating out its heart and sokilling it. It destroys the plant, but alas! generally too late toprevent the seed maturing and falling to earth. The plant itself hasbeen several times carefully examined, its juices tested andexperimentally administered to various animals. But no absolutelysatisfactory explanation of its effects has been given out; andcertainly no antidote or cure of its effects suggested. 

Well, in a certain year the seven years' cycle came round; faithfullythe loco plant cropped up all over the plains, the seed that had laindormant for many years germinated and developed everywhere. As winterapproached (in October) my fall round-up was due. Calves had to bebranded, some old cows sold, and some steers delivered. I had soldnothing that year. On rounding-up the horses many of them showed signsof the weed. The neighbours flocked in and the work began. Only oneround-up was made, when the idea seized me that if these cattle were"worked" in the usual way--that is, jammed round, chased about and"milled" for several hours--they would get tired and hungry, and onbeing turned loose would be inclined to eat whatever was nearest tothem--probably the loco plant. It seemed so reasonable a fear, and I wasso anxious about the cattle, that I ordered the foreman there and thento turn the herd quietly loose, explained to the neighbours my reasonsfor doing so, but allowed them to cut out what few cattle they had inthe herd: and the year's work was thus at once abandoned. All thatwinter was a very anxious time. Reports came in from neighbouringranches that their cattle were dying in hundreds. On driving throughtheir pastures the loco appeared eaten to the ground; all the cattlewere after it, and poor, staggering, crazy animals were met on the roadwithout sense enough to get out of your way. By the end of next springsome of my neighbours had few cattle left to round-up. One neighbour, the largest cattle-ranch in the world, owning some 200, 000 head, wasestimated to have lost at least 20, 000. And meantime how were affairsgoing in my little place? It will seem incredible, but what is herewritten is absolute truth. The loco was belly high; the self-weanedcalves could be seen wading through it; but ne'er a nibbled or eatenplant could be found. I often searched carefully for such dreaded signsbut happily always failed: and I did not lose a single cow, calf orsteer, nor were any found showing the slightest signs of being affected. 

Many reasons were advanced for the miraculous escape of these cattle;people from a hundred miles away came to see and learn the reason. Nosatisfactory explanation was suggested, and finally they were compelledto accept my own one, and agree that leaving the cattle undisturbed byabandoning the fall round-up was the real solution of the problem. Theonly work my men did that winter was to keep the fences up and in goodshape, and whenever they saw stray cattle in my pasture to turn them outat once, fearing the danger of bad example. Next winter, the loco beingstill very bad, the same tactics were adopted and only one solitaryyearling of mine was affected. So ended the worst loco visitationprobably ever experienced in the West; not perhaps that the plant wasmore abundant than at some other periods, though I think it was, but forsome unknown reason the cattle ate it more freely. 

The temperature on these plains sometimes went so low as 20° below zero, with wind blowing. There was no natural shelter, literally nothing asbig as your hat in the pasture, and several men advised the building ofsheds, wind-breaks, etc. But experience told me just the opposite. I hadseen cattle (well fed and carefully tended) freeze to death inside shedsand barns. Also I had seen whole bunches of cattle standing shiveringbehind open sheds and wind-breaks till they practically froze to deathor became so emaciated as to eventually die of poverty. If you givecattle shelter they will be always hanging around it. So I built nosheds or anything else. When a blizzard came my cattle had to travel, and the continued travelling backwards and forwards kept the blood incirculation. There were a few cases of horns, feet, ears and mammæfrozen off, but I never had a cow frozen to death and never lost anydirectly from the severity of the weather. More than that, I never fed apound of hay. 

Our name for calves that had lost their mothers, and therefore thenourishment obtained from milk, was "dogies. " These dogies were everafterwards unmistakable in appearance, and remained stunted, "runty"little animals of no value. Yet, if taken up early enough and fed onnourishing diet, they would develop into as large and well-grown cattleas their more fortunate fellows. [2]

[Footnote 2: Appendix, Note III. ]

My foreman was an ordinary cowboy, but he was a thorough cattleman, hadalready been in my employ for seven years, and his "littlepeculiarities" were pretty well known to me. He became desperatelyjealous of his position (as foreman), resenting interference. It is agood characteristic, this desire for independence, if also accompaniedby no fear of responsibility; and on these lines my ranch was run. Iallowed him great independence, never interfered so long as he carriedout general orders and "ran straight"; but I also put on him fullresponsibility. More than that, I allowed him to run his own small bunchof cattle, some hundred head, in my pasture, and gave him the use of mybulls; his grass, salt and water cost him nothing. This was a veryunusual policy to adopt. But the idea was that it would thus be as muchhis interest as mine to see the fences kept up and in good repair, tosee that the windmills and wells were kept in order, that the cattlehad salt, were not stolen, etc. , and prairie fires guarded against. Well, it all turned out right. My presence at the ranch during a yearwould not perhaps amount to a month of days; I could live in Denver, SanFrancisco or Mexico, and only come to the place at round-ups andbranding-times. I do not think that a calf was ever stolen from me. Thefact was I knew cattle in general and my own cattle in particular sowell (and he knew it) that he had no opportunity, and perhaps was afraidto take advantage of me. 

It must be here mentioned that on selling out, and in tallying my cattleover to the buyer, the count was disappointingly short; not nearly soshort as the Scotch Company's cattle, it is true, but still, consideringthat my cattle were inside a good fence, were well looked after, thehuge calf crop and apparently small death loss, there was a shortage. Then there is no wonder at the greater shortage of the Company's cattle, where almost no care could be taken of them, where the calf tallies werein the hands of, and returned by, the foremen of other outfits, wherethe range was overstocked, the boggy rivers a death-trap, where wolvesand thieves had free range, and where blackleg, mismothering of calvesand loco made a big hole in the number of yearlings. In my pasture werealso wolves and blackleg; and the loss in calves by these, difficult todetect, is invariably greater than suspected. 

Only one case of cattle-thieving occurred at my own ranch and I lostnothing by it. Two men stopped in for supper one day; they werestrangers, but of course received every attention. They rode onafterwards, coolly picked up some thirty head of my cattle, drove themall night into Texas and sold them to a farmer there. Of course theywere not missed out of so many cattle; but someone in Texas had seenthem at their new home, noticed my brand and sent word to me. On goingafter them I found they had been sold to an innocent man who had paidcash for them and taken no bill of sale. It was not a pleasant duty todemand the cattle back from such a man, but he ought to have knownbetter. 

Some rustlers in Arizona once detached from a train at a small station acouple of carloads of beef cattle, ran them back down the track to thecorral, there unloaded the cattle and drove them off. This very smarttrick of course was done during the night and while the crew were atsupper. 

For all these reasons it will be seen why my small ranch was such asuccess and such a profitable and money-making institution. But alas! itwas to be short-lived! As explained before, I was paying no rent and myfences were illegal. "Kind" friends, and I had lots of them, reportedthe fences to Washington; a special agent was sent out to inspect, ordered the fence down and went away again. I disregarded the order. Totake the fence down meant my getting out of the business or the ruin ofthe herd. Next year another agent came out, said my fence was anenclosure and must come down. Seeing still some daylight I took downsome few miles of it, so that it could not be defined as an enclosure, but only a drift-fence. During the winter, however, I could not resistclosing the gap again. Next season once more appeared a Governmentagent, who in a rage ordered the fence down under pains and penaltieswhich could not well be longer disregarded. Cattle were up in price; aneighbour had long been anxious to buy me out; he was somewhat of a"smart Alick" and thought _he_ could keep the fence up; he knew all thecircumstances; so I went over and saw him, made a proposition, and in afew minutes the ranch, cattle, fences and mills were his. Poor man! insix months his fence was down and the cattle scattered all over thecountry. He eventually lost heavily by the deal; but being a man ofsubstance I got my money all right. So closed my cattle-ranchingexperiences some eight years ago (1902). 

It may be noted that experience showed that polled black bulls were nogood for ranch purposes. They get few calves, are lazy, and have notthe "rustling" spirit. Durhams or Shorthorns also compared poorly inthese respects with Herefords, and besides are not nearly so hardy. Thewhite face is therefore king of the range. And bulls with red ringsround the eyes by preference, as they can stand the bright glare ofthese hot, dry countries better. It used to be my keen delight to attendthe annual cattle shows and auction sales of pure-bred bulls, and Iwould feel their hides and criticize their points till I almost began toimagine myself as competent as the ring judges. 

The ranch was in the heart of the great buffalo range. (Indeed theComanche Indians, and even some white men, used to believe firmly thatthe buffaloes each spring came up out of the ground like ants somewhereon these Staked Plains, and from thence made their annual pilgrimagenorth. ) It seems these animals were not loco eaters. 

On my first coming to New Mexico there were still some buffaloes on theplain, the last remnant of the uncountable, inconceivable numbers thatnot long before had swarmed over the country. Even when the firstrailroads were built trains were sometimes held up for hours to let theherds pass. As late as 1871 Colonel Dodge relates that he rode fortwenty-five miles directly through an immense herd, the whole countryaround him and in view being like a solid mass of buffaloes, all movingnorth. In fact, during these years the migrating herd was declared tohave a front of thirty to forty miles wide, while the length or depthwas unknown. An old buffalo hunter loves nothing better than to talk ofthe wonderful old times. One of the oldest living ranchmen still has aprivate herd near Amarillo and has made many experiments in breeding thebulls to domestic Galloway cows. The progeny, which he calls cattalo, make excellent beef, and he gets a very big price for the hides asrobes. 

CHAPTER VIII

ODDS AND ENDS

 The "Staked Plains"--High Winds--Lobo Wolves--Branding--Cows--Black Jack--Lightning and Hail--Classing Cattle--Conventions--"Cutting" versus Polo--Bull-Fight--Prize-Fights--River and Sea Fishing--Sharks. 

More odds and ends! and more apologies for the disconnected character ofthis chapter. It must be remembered that these notes are only jotteddown as they have occurred to me. Of their irrelativeness one to anotherI am quite conscious, but the art of bringing them together in moreproper order is beyond my capacity. Possibly it might not be advisableanyway. 

In my pasture of some 100, 000 acres there was not a tree, a bush, or ashrub, or object of any nature bigger than a jack-rabbit; yet no sightwas so gladsome to the eyes, no scenery (save the mark!) so beautiful asthe range when clothed in green, the grass heading out, the lakes filledwith water and the cattle fat, sleek and contented. Yet in after years, when passing through this same country by the newly-built railway inwinter-time, it came as a wonder to me how one could have possiblypassed so many years of his life in such a dreary, desolate, uninteresting-looking region. To-day the whole district, even my own oldand familiar ranch, is desecrated (in the cattleman's eyes) by littlenesters' (settlers) cottages, and fences so thick and close together asto resemble a Boer entanglement. I had done a bit of farming and someyears raised good crops of Milo maize, Kafir corn, sorghum, rye, andeven Indian corn. But severe droughts come on, when, as a nester oncetold me, for two years nothing was raised, not even umbrellas!

These plains are, it may be safely said, the windiest place on earth, especially in early spring, when the measured velocity sometimes showseighty miles per hour. When the big circular tumble weeds are boundingover the plains then is the time to look out for prairie fires; and woebetide the man caught in a blizzard in these lonely regions. 

Once when driving from a certain ranch to another, a distance of fiftymiles, my directions were to "follow the main road. " Fifty miles was nogreat distance and my team was a good one. I knew there were no housesbetween the two points. After driving what long experience told me wasmore than fifty miles, and still no ranch, I became a bit anxious; butthere was nothing for it but to keep going. Black clouds in the northwarned me of danger. I pushed the team along till they were wet withsweat; some snow fell; it grew dark as night; and a regular blizzard setin and I was in despair. I had a good bed in the buggy, so would myselfprobably have got through the night all right, but my horses were boundto freeze to death if staked out or tied up. As a last resource I threwthe reins down and left it to the team to go wherever they pleased. Forsome time they kept on the road, but soon the jolting told me that theyhad left it and we began to go down a hill; in a little while great wasmy joy to see a light and to find ourselves soon in the hospitableshelter of a Mexican sheep-herder's hut. The Mexican unhitched the teamand put them in a warm shed. For myself, he soon had hot coffee andtortillas on the table. I never felt so thankful in my life for suchaccommodation and such humble fare. The horses had never been in thatpart of the country before, that I knew; it was pitch dark, and yet theymust have known in some mysterious way that in that direction wasshelter and safety, as when I threw the lines down they even thencontinued to face the storm. 

It may be noted here that buffaloes always face the storm and travelagainst it; cattle and horses never. 

Before entirely leaving the cattle business a few more notes may be ofinterest. 

Plagues of grasshoppers and locusts sometimes did awful damage to therange. 

When visiting at a neighbour's one must not dismount till invited to doso; also in saluting anyone the gloves must be removed before shakinghands. This is cowboy etiquette and must be duly regarded. 

At public or semi-private dances there is always a master of ceremonies, who is also prompter and calls out all the movements. He will announce a"quardreele, " or maybe a "shorteesche, " and keeps the company going withhis "Get your partners!" "Balance all!" "Swing your partners!" "Handsacross!" "How do you do?" and "How are you?" "Swing somewhere, " and"Don't forget the bronco-buster, " etc. Etc. , as someone has describedit. The Mexicans are always most graceful dancers; cowboys, with theirenormously high heels, and probably spurs, are a bit clumsy. At purelyMexican dances (Bailies) the two sexes do not speak, each retiring atthe end of a dance to its own side of the room. 

Most cowboys have the peculiar faculty of "humming, " produced by shapingthe mouth and tongue in a certain way. The "hum" can be made to exactlyrepresent the bagpipes; no one else did I ever hear do it butcowpunchers. I have tried for hours but never quite succeeded in theart. 

Besides coyotes, which are everywhere common, the plains were infestedby lobo wolves, a very large and powerful species; they denned in thebreaks of the plains and it was then easiest to destroy them. They didsuch enormous damage amongst cattle that a reward of as high as thirtydollars per scalp was frequently offered for them, something less forthe pups. The finding of a nest with a litter of perhaps six to eightyoung ones meant considerable money to the scalp-hunter. The wolves wereplentiful and hunted in packs; and I have seen the interesting sight ofa small bunch of mixed cattle rounded up and surrounded by a dozen ofthem, sitting coolly on their haunches till some unwary yearling leftthe protecting horns of its elders. Every time, when riding the range, that we spotted a lobo ropes were down at once and a more or less longchase ensued, the result depending much whether Mr Wolf had dined latelyor not. But they were more addicted to horse and donkey flesh ifobtainable. For purposes of poisoning them I used to buy donkeys at adollar apiece and cut them up for bait. With hounds they gave good sportin a suitable country. But it is expensive work, as many dogs getkilled, and no dog of any breed, unless maybe the greyhound, can orwill singly and twice tackle a lobo wolf. 

In the springtime, when the calves are dropping pretty thick, it isexceedingly interesting to note the protective habits of the mothercows. For instance, when riding you will frequently come on a two orthree days' old baby snugly hidden in a bunch of long grass while themother has gone to water. When calves get a little older you may find atmid-day, out on the prairie, some mile or two from water, a bunch ofmaybe forty calves. Their mammies have gone to drink; but not all ofthem! No, never all of them at the same time. One cow is always left toguard the helpless calves, and carries out her trust faithfully untilrelieved. This was and is still a complete mystery to me. Does thisindividual cow select and appoint herself to the office; or is sheballoted for, or how otherwise is the selection made?

This might be another picture subject--the gallant cow on the defensive, even threatening and aggressive, and the many small helpless calvesgathering hastily around her for protection. Her! The self-appointedmother of the brood. 

When branding calves, suppose you have 400 cows and calves in thecorral. First all calves are separated into a smaller pen. Then thebranding begins. But what an uproar of bellows and "baas" takes place!My calves were all so very like one another in colour and markings thatone was hardly distinguishable from another. The mothers can onlyrecognize their hopeful offspring by their scent and by their "baa, "although amongst 400 it must be rather a nice art to do so--400different and distinct scents and 400 differently-pitched baas. 

Among these notes I should not forget to mention a brush plant thatgrows on the southern plains. It is well named the "wait-a-bit" thorn. Its hooks or claws are sharper than a cat's, very strong and recurve onthe stems: so that a man afoot cannot possibly advance through it, andeven on a horse it will tear the trousers off you in a very few minutes. Is the name not appropriate?

Nothing so far has been said on the subject of "hold-ups. " Railway trainhold-ups were a frequent occurrence, and were only undertaken by themost desperate of men. One celebrated gang, headed by the famous outlaw, Black Jack, operated mostly on a railway to the north of us and anotherrailway to the south, the distance between being about 400 miles. Theirline of travel between these two points was through Fort Sumner; and inour immediate neighbourhood they sometimes rested for a week or two, hiding out as it were, resting horses and laying plans. No doubt theycost us some calves for beef, though they were not the worst offenders. What annoyed me most was that Black Jack himself, when evading pursuit, raided my horse pasture one night, caught up the very best horse I everowned, rode him fifty miles, and cut his throat. 

In New Mexico, where at first it seemed everybody's hand was against me, I was gratified to find that I had got a reputation as a fist-fighter, and as I never practised boxing in my life, never had the gloves on, never had a very serious fist fight with anyone, the idea of having sucha reputation was too funny; but why should one voluntarily repudiate it?It was useful. The men had also somehow heard that I could hold asix-shooter pretty straight. Such a reputation was even more useful. Iwas not surprised therefore that a plan should be hatched to test mypowers in that line. It came at the round-up dinner-hour on theCompany's range (New Mexico). A small piece of board was nailed to afence post and the boys began shooting at it. In a casual way someoneasked me to try my hand. Knowing how much depended on it I got out myfaithful old 45° six-shooter that I had carried for fifteen years, andtaking quick aim, as much to my own surprise as to others', actually hitthe centre of the mark! It was an extraordinarily good shot (could notdo it again perhaps in twenty trials) but it saved my reputation. Ofcourse no pressure could have persuaded me to fire again. That remindsme of another such occasion. 

Once when camped alone on the Reservation in Arizona, a party ofofficers from Camp Apache turned up. They had a bite to eat with me andthe subject of shooting came up. Someone stuck an empty can in a tree ata considerable distance from us and they began shooting at it withcarbines. When my turn came I pulled out the old 45° pistol and by luckychance knocked the bottom out at the first shot. My visitors were amazedthat a six-shooter had such power and could be used with such accuracyat that distance. In this case it was also a lucky shot; but constantpractice at rabbits, prairie dogs and targets had made me fairlyproficient. In New Mexico I had a cowboy working for me who was aperfect marvel, a "born" marksman such as now and then appears in theWest. With a carbine he could keep a tin can rolling along the ground byhitting, never the can, but just immediately behind and under it withthe greatest accuracy. If one tossed nickel pieces (size of a shilling)in succession in front of him he would hit almost without fail every oneof them with his carbine--a bullet not shot! He left me to giveexhibition shooting at the Chicago Exposition. 

On my ranch, at Running Water Draw, was unearthed during dammingoperations, a vast quantity of bones of prehistoric age; which calls forthe remark that not only the horse but also the camel was at one timeindigenous to North America. 

Nothing has been said yet about hail or lightning storms. Some of thelatter were indescribably grand, when at night the whole firmament wouldbe absolutely ablaze with flashes, sheets and waves so continuous as tobe without interval. Once when lying on my bed on the open prairie sucha storm came on. It opened with loud thunder and some brilliant flashes, then the rain came down and deluged us, the water running two inchesdeep over the grass; and when the rain ceased the wonderful electricstorm as described continued for an hour longer. The danger was over;but the sight was awe-inspiring in the extreme. Night-herding too duringsuch a storm was a strange experience. No difficulty to see the cattle;the whole herd stood with tails to the wind; the men lined out in front, each well covered by his oilskin slicker, and his horse's tail likewiseturned to the storm; the whole outfit in review order so to speak, thesole object of the riders being to prevent the cattle from "drifting. "This book contains no fiction or exaggeration; yet it will be hardlybelieved when I state that hail actually riddled the corrugated ironroof of my ranch house--new iron, not old or rusty stuff. The roof wasafterwards absolutely useless as a protection against rain. 

Mirages in the hot dry weather were a daily occurrence. We did not seeimaginary castles and cities turned upside down and all that sort ofthing, but apparent lakes of water were often seen, so deceptive as topuzzle even the oldest plainsman. Cattle appeared as big as houses andmounted men as tall as church steeples. 

In all the vicious little cow-towns scattered about the country, whoseattractions were gambling and "tarantula juice, " there was always to befound a Jew trader running the chief and probably only store in theplace. I have known such a man arrive in the country with a pack on hisback who in comparatively few years would own half the county. 

What a remarkable people the Jews are! We find them all over the world(barring Scotland) successful in almost everything they undertake, aprolific race, and good citizens, yet carrying with them in very manycases the characteristics of selfishness, greed and ostentation. 

Something should be said about "classing" cattle. "Classing" meansseparating or counting the steers or she cattle of a herd into theirages as yearlings, "twos, " "threes, " etc. It used to be done in olddays by simply stringing the herd out on the open plain and calling outand counting each animal as it passed a certain point. But later itbecame the custom to corral the herd and run them through a chute, whereeach individual could be carefully inspected and its age agreed on byboth parties. Even that might not prove quite satisfactory, as will beshown in the following instance. I had sold to a certain gentleman (aScotchman again), manager for two large cattle companies, a string ofsome 1000 steers, one, two and three years old. I drove them to hisranch, some 300 miles, and we began classing them on the prairie, cutting each class separately. It is difficult in many cases to judge arange steer's age. Generally it is or should be a case of give-and-take. But my gentleman was not satisfied and expressed his dissatisfaction innot very polite language. So to satisfy him I agreed to put them throughthe chute and "tooth" them, the teeth being an infallible test (or atleast the accepted test) of an animal's age. To my surprise this man, the confident, trusted manager of long years' experience, could not tella yearling from a "two" or a "two" from a "three, " but sat on the fenceand cussed, and allowed his foreman to do the classing for him. 

The Texas Cattlemen's Annual Convention was a most important event inour lives. It was held sometimes in El Paso, sometimes in San Antonio, but oftenest in Fort Worth, and was attended by ranchmen from all overthe State, as well as by many from New Mexico, and by buyers fromWyoming, Montana, Nebraska, Kansas and elsewhere. Being held early inspring the sales then made generally set the prices for the year. Muchdickering was gone through and many deals made, some of enormous extent. Individual sales of 2000, 5000 or even 10, 000 steers were effected, andindividual purchases of numbers up to 20, 000 head; even whole herds of30, 000 to 50, 000 cattle were sometimes disposed of. It was a meetingwhere old friends and comrades, cattle kings and cowboys, their wives, children and sweethearts, met and had a glorious old time. It brought animmense amount of money into the place, and hence the strenuous effortsmade by different towns (the saloons) "to get the Convention. "

Among the celebrities to be met there might be Buffalo Jones, a typicalplainsman of the type of Buffalo Bill (Cody). Jones some years ago wentfar north to secure some young musk oxen. None had ever before beencaptured. He and his men endured great hardships and privations, butfinally, by roping, secured about a dozen yearlings. The Indians sworethat he should not take them out of their territory. On returning hehad got as far as the very edge of the Indian country and was a veryproud and well-pleased man. But that last fatal morning he woke up tofind all the animals with their throats cut. Only last year Jones, withtwo New Mexican cowboys and a skilled photographer, formed the daringand apparently mad plan of going to Africa and roping and so capturingany wild animal they might come across, barring, of course, theelephant. His object was to secure for show purposes cinematographpictures. He took some New Mexican cow-ponies out with him, and he andhis men succeeded in all they undertook to do, capturing not only theless dangerous animals, such as antelope, buck and giraffe, but also alioness and a rhinoceros, surely a very notable feat. 

Amarillo in the Panhandle was then purely a cattleman's town. It was agreat shipping point--at one time the greatest in the world--and wasbecoming a railroad centre. I was there a good deal, and for amusementduring the slack season went to work to fix up a polo ground. No one inthe town had ever even seen the game played, so the work and expense allfell on myself. I was lucky to find a capital piece of ground close tothe town, absolutely level and well grassed. After measuring and layingoff, with a plough I ran furrows for boundary lines, stuck in thegoalposts, filled up the dog-holes, etc. , and there we were. At firstonly three or four men came forward, out of mere curiosity perhaps. After expounding the game and the rules, etc. , as well as possible westarted in to play. The game soon "caught on, " and in a little while anumber more joined, nearly all cattlemen and cowpunchers. They becamekeen and enthusiastic, too keen sometimes, for in their excitement theydisregarded the rules. The horses, being cow-ponies, were of course askeen and as green as the players, and the game became a most dangerousone to take part in. Still we kept on, no one was very badly hurt, andwe had lots of glorious gallops--fast games in fact. 

The word "polo" is derived from Tibetan pulu, meaning a knot of willowwood. In Cachar, and also at Amarillo, we used bamboo-root balls. Thegame originated in Persia, passed to Tibet, and thence to theMunipoories, and from the Munipoories the English learnt it. The firstpolo club ever organized was the Cachar Kangjai Club, founded in 1863. It may be remarked here that, hard as the riding is in polo, in myopinion it does not demand nearly such good riding as does the "cutting"of young steers. In polo your own eye is on the ball, and when anotherplayer or yourself hits it you know where to look for it, and rule yourhorse accordingly. In "cutting, " on the other hand, your horse, if agood one, does nearly all the work; just show it the animal you want totake out and he will keep his eye on it and get it out of the herdwithout much guidance. But there is this great difference: you never cantell what a steer is going to do! You may be racing or "jumping" him outof the herd when he will suddenly flash round before you have time tothink and break back again. Herein your horse is quicker than yourself, knowing apparently instinctively the intention of the rollickyyoungster, so that both steer and your mount have wheeled before you areprepared for it. You must therefore try to be always prepared, sit verytight, and profit by past experiences. It is very hard work and, as saidbefore, needs better horsemanship than polo. To watch, or better stillto ride, a first-class cutting horse is a treat indeed. 

During these last few years of ranch life my leisure gave me time tomake odd excursions here and there. Good shooting was to be had nearAmarillo--any amount of bobwhite quail, quantities of prairie-chickens, plovers, etc. And, by-the-bye, at Fort Sumner I had all to myself thefinest kind of sport. There was a broad avenue of large cotton-woodtrees some miles in length. In the evening the doves, excellent eating, and, perhaps for that reason, tremendously fast fliers, would flash byin twos or threes up or down this avenue, going at railroad speed. Butmy pleasure was marred by having no companion to share the sport. 

Then I made many trips to the Rocky Mountains to fish for rainbow troutin such noble streams as the Rio Grande del Norte, the Gunnison, thePlatte and others. In the early days these rivers were almost virginstreams, hotching with trout of all sizes up to twelve and even fifteenpounds. The monsters could seldom be tempted except with spoon or livebait, but trout up to six or seven pounds were common prizes. Out of asmall, a ridiculously small, tributary of the Gunnison River I one daytook more fish than I could carry home, each two to three pounds inweight. But that was murdering--mere massacre and not sport. 

During a cattle convention held at El Paso I first attended a bull-fightin Juarez and I have since seen others in the city of Mexico andelsewhere. The killing of the poor blindfolded horses is a loathsome, disgusting sight, and so affected me that I almost prayed that thegallant, handsome matadors would be killed. Indeed, at Mexico City, Iafterwards saw Bombita, a celebrated Spanish matador, tossed and goredto death. The true ring-bull of fighting breed is a splendid animal;when enraged he does not seem to suffer much from the insertion ofbanderillas, etc. , and his death stab is generally instantaneouslyfatal. Certainly the enthusiasm of the ring, the presence of Mexicanbelles and their cavalleros, the picturesqueness and novelty of thewhole show are worth experiencing. 

It should be remembered that the red cloth waved in front of him is themain cause of Toro's irritation. Why it should so irritate him we don'tknow. When a picador and his horse are down they are absolutely at themercy of the bull; and the onlooker naturally thinks that he willproceed to gore man and horse till they are absolutely destroyed. Butthe cloth being at once flaunted near him he immediately attacks itinstead and is thus decoyed to another part of the ring. Thus, too, theapparent danger to the swordsman who delivers the _coup de grâce_ is notreally very great if he show the necessary agility and watchfulness. When a bull charges he charges not his real enemy, but that exasperatingred cloth; and the man has only to step a little to the side, but _stillhold the cloth in front_ of the bull, to escape all danger. Without thisprotecting cloth no matador would dare to enter the ring. Thebanderilleros, too, thus escape danger because they do their work whilethe bull's whole attention is on the red cloth operated by another manin front. The man I saw gored, tossed and killed must have made somelittle miscalculation, or been careless, and stood not quite out of thebull's way, so that the terrible sharp horns caught him, as one may say, _by mistake_. 

The Mexicans, too, like my coolies in India, were great cock-fighters. It is a national sport and also a cruel one. 

Matadors are paid princely sums. The most efficient, the great stars, come from Spain. Many of them are extremely handsome men and theircostume a handsome and picturesque one. As a mark of their professionthey wear a small pigtail, not artificial but of their own growing hair. I travelled with one once but did not know it till he removed his hat. 

Denver and San Francisco were great centres of prize-fighting. In bothplaces I saw many of the great ring men of the day, in fact never missedan opportunity of attending such meetings. It was mostly, however, "goes" between the "coming" men, such as Jim Corbett and otheraspirants. A real champion fight between heavyweights I was never luckyenough to witness. 

Base-ball games always appealed to me, and to witness a first-classmatch only a very great distance would prevent my attendance. Toappreciate the game one must thoroughly understand its thousand finepoints. It absorbs the onlooker's interest as no other game can do. Every player must be constantly on the alert and must act on his ownjudgment. The winning or losing of the match may at any moment lie withhim. The game only lasts some two hours; but for the onlookers everymoment of these two hours is pregnant with interest and probably intenseexcitement. Here is no sleeping and dozing on the stands for hours at atime as witnessed at popular cricket matches. Time is too valuable inAmerica for that, and men's brains are too restless. At a ball-game thesight of a man slumbering on the benches is inconceivable. 

Sea-fishing also attracted me very much. On the California coast, aroundCatalina and other islands, great sport is to be had among theyellow-tails, running up to 50 lbs. Weight. They are a truly game fishand put up a capital fight. Jew-fish up to 400 lbs. Are frequentlycaught with rod and line, but are distinctly not a game fish. Albacorescan be taken in boat-loads; they are game enough but really too common. The tuna is _par excellence_ the game fish of the coast. At one time youmight reasonably expect to get a fish (nothing under 100 lbs. Counted), but lately, and while I was there, a capture was so rare as to make thegame not worth the candle. A steam or motor launch is needed and thatcosts money. I hired such a boat once or twice; but the experience ofsome friends who had fished every day for two months and not got onesingle blessed tuna damped my ambition. Tunas there run up to 300 lbs. , big enough, and yet tiny compared with the monsters of theMediterranean, the Morocco coast and the Japanese seas; there they runup to 2000 lbs. The tuna is called the "leaping" tuna because he playsand hunts his prey on the surface of the water; but he never "leaps" asdoes the tarpon. Once hooked he goes off to sea and will tow your boatmaybe fifteen miles; that is to say, he partly tows the boat, but theheavy motor launch must also use its power to keep up or the line willat once be snapped. The tuna belongs to the mackerel family, is builtlike a white-head torpedo, and for gameness, speed and endurance is hardto beat. Only the pala of the South Pacific Seas, also a mackerel, may, according to Louis Becke, be his rival. Becke indeed claims it to be thegamest of all fish. But its manoeuvres are different from a tuna's andsimilar to those of the tarpon. What is finer sport, I think, andperhaps not quite so killing to the angler, is tarpon-fishing. Most ofour ambitious tarpon fishers go to Florida, where each fish capturedwill probably cost you some fifty dollars. My tarpon ground was atAransas Pass, on the Gulf Coast of Texas. There in September the fishseem to congregate preparatory to their migration south. I have seenthem there in bunches of fifty to seventy, swimming about in shallow, clear water, their great dorsal fins sticking out, for all the worldlike a lot of sharks. My first experience on approaching in a small rowboat such an accumulation of fish muscle, grit and power will never beforgotten. It was one of _the_ events of my chequered life. The boatmanassured me I should get a "strike" of a certainty as soon as the baitwas towed within sight of them. My state of excitement was so great thatreally all nerve force was gone. My muscles, instead of being tense andstrong, seemed to be relaxed and feeble; my whole body was in a tremble. To see these monster fish of 150 to 200 lbs. Swimming near by, and toknow that next moment a tremendous rush and fight would begin, was tothe novice almost a painful sensation. Not quite understanding themechanism of the powerful reel and breaks, and being warned that thumbsor fingers had sometimes been almost torn off the hand, I grasped therod very gingerly. But I need not say what my first fish or anyparticular fish did or what happened. I will only say that I got all Iwanted--enough to wear me out physically till quite ready to be gaffedmyself. It is tremendously hard work. To rest myself and vary the sportI would leave the tarpon and tackle the red-fish, an equally game andfighting fish, but much smaller, scaling about 15 to 20 lbs. There was ashoal of them visible, or at least a bunch of about 100, swimming righton the edge of the big breaking surf. Like the tarpon they thus keepclose company on account of the sharks (supposition). It was dangerousand difficult to get the boat near enough to them; but when you didsucceed there was invariably a rush for your bait and a game fight tofollow. They are splendid chaps. Then I would return to the tarpon andhave another battle royal; and so it went on. But sometimes you wouldhook a jack fish (game, and up to 25 lbs. ), and sometimes get into ashark of very big proportions. Indeed, the sharks are a nuisance, andwill sometimes cut your tarpon in two close to your boat, and theyeagerly await the time when you land your fish and unhook him to turnhim loose. 

Another noble fish, of which I was lucky enough to get several, was theking-fish, long, pike-shaped and silvery, a most beautiful creature, andprobably the fastest fish that swims. I had not realized just how quickany fish could swim till I hooked one of these. He acts much as thetarpon does. But I have not yet told how the latter, the king of theherring race, does act. On being hooked he makes a powerful rush for ahundred yards or so; then he springs straight up high out of the water, as much as six to ten feet, shakes his head exactly as a terrier doeswith a rat, falls back to make another rush and another noble spring. Hewill make many springs before you dare take liberties and approach thelanding shore. But the peculiarity of this fish is that his runs are notall in one direction. His second run may take quite a different line;and at any time he may run and spring into or over your boat. When twoanglers have fish on at the same time, and in close neighbourhood, theexcitement and fun are great. The tarpon's whole mouth, palate and jawshave not a suspicion of muscle or cartilage about them; all is solidbone, with only a few angles and corners where it is possible for thehook to take good hold. Unless the hook finds such a fold in the bonesyou are pretty sure to lose your fish--three out of four times. Probablyby letting him gorge the bait you will get him all right, but it wouldentail killing him to get the hook out. In winter the tarpons go south, and perhaps the best place to fish them is at Tempico in Mexico. But letme strongly recommend Aransas Pass in September. There is goodquail-shooting, rabbits, and thousands of water-fowl of everydescription; also a very fair little hotel where I happened to be almostthe only visitor. At Catalina Islands, by the way, whose climate isabsolutely delightful, where there are good hotels, and where thevisitors pass the whole day in the water or on land in theirbathing-suits, one can hire glass-bottom boats, whereby to view thewonderful and exquisitely beautiful flora of the sea, and watch themovements of the many brilliantly-coloured fish and other creatures thatinhabit it. The extraordinary clearness of the water there isparticularly favourable for the inspection of these fairy bowers. Oneday I determined to try for a Jew-fish, just to see how such a huge, ungainly monster would act. Anchoring, we threw the bait over, and in ashort time I pulled in a rock cod of nearly 7 lbs. Weight. My boatmancoolly threw the still hooked fish overboard again, telling me it wouldbe excellent bait for the big ones we were after. Well, I did not getthe larger fish; but the sight on looking overboard into the depths wasso astonishing as to be an ample reward for any other disappointment. Onthe surface was a dense shoal of small mullet or other fish; below them, six or eight feet, another shoal of an entirely different kind; belowthese another shoal of another kind, and so on as far down as the eyecould penetrate. It was a most marvellous sight indeed, and showed whata teeming life these waters maintain. It seemed that a large fish hadonly to lie still with its huge mouth open, and close it every now andthen when he felt hungry, to get a dinner or a luncheon fit for anyfishy alderman. It must be a fine field for the naturalist, theichthyologist, probably as fine as that round Bermudas' coral shores, asillustrated by the new aquarium at Hamilton. But I can hardly think thatthe fish of any other climate can compare for brilliancy of colouringand fantastic variety of shape with those captured on the Hawaiian coastand well displayed in the aquarium at Honolulu. 

I must not forget to mention that at Aransas Pass one may sometimes seevery large whip or sting-rays. They may easily be harpooned, but thewonderful stories told me of their huge size (I really dare not give thedimensions), their power and ferocity, quite scared me off tryingconclusions with them. There one may also capture blue-fish, white-fish, sheepheads and pompanos; all delicious, the pompanos being the mosthighly-prized and esteemed, and most expensive, of America's many finetable fishes. Order a pompano the first opportunity. 

Having already mentioned sharks, it may be stated here that one capturedin a net on the California coast four years ago was authoritativelyclaimed to be the largest ever taken, yet his length was only some 36feet; although it is true that the _Challenger_ Expedition dredged upshark teeth so large that it was judged that the owner must have been80 to 90 feet long. The Greynurse shark of the South Seas is the mostdreaded of all its tribe; it fears nothing but the Killer, a savagelittle whale which will attack and whip any shark living, and will nothesitate to tackle even a sperm whale. Shark stories are common andevery traveller has many horrible ones to recount. Yet the greatest andbest authorities assert that sharks are mere scavengers (as they are, and most useful ones) and will never attack an active man, or any man, unless he be in extremities--that is, dead, wounded or disabled; though, as among tigers, there probably are some man-eaters. A largestill-standing reward has been offered for a fully-certified case of ashark voluntarily attacking a man, other than exceptions as above noted, and that reward has not yet been claimed. Whenever I hear a thrillingshark story I ask if the teller is prepared to swear to having himselfwitnessed the event; invariably the experience is passed on to someoneelse and the responsibility for the tale is laid on other shoulders. Ona quite recent voyage a talkative passenger confidently stated havingseen a shark 70 feet long. I ventured to measure out that distance onthe ship's deck, and asked him and his credulous listeners to regard andconsider it. It gained me an enemy for life. 

One of the most famous and historical sharks was San José Joe, whohaunted the harbour of Corinto, a small coast town in Salvador. Everyship that entered the harbour was sure to have some bloodthirsty fiendon board to empty his cartridges into this unfortunate creature. His carcass was reckoned to be as full of lead as a carefulhousewife's pin-cushion of pins. But all this battering had no effecton him. Finally, and after my own visit to that chief of allyellow-fever-stricken dens, a British gun-boat put a shell into Joe andblew him into smithereens. In many shark-infested waters, such as aroundOcean Island, the natives swim fearlessly among them. This ocean island, by the way, is probably the most intrinsically valuable spot of land onearth, consisting of a solid mass of coral and phosphate. "PelorusJack, " who gave so much interest to the Cook Channel in New Zealand, wasnot a shark. 

CHAPTER IX

IN AMARILLO

 Purchase of Lots--Building--Boosting a Town. 

Enough of odds and ends. To return to purely personal affairs. Afterselling the cattle and ranch the question at once came up--What now? Ihad enough to live on, but not enough to allow me to live quite as Iwished, though never ambitious of great wealth. What had been lookedforward to for many years was to have means enough to permit me totravel over the world; and at the same time to have my small capitalinvested in such a way as would secure not only as big a per cent. Interest as possible, with due security, but also a large probability ofunearned increment, so to speak; and above all to require littlepersonal attention. Dozens of schemes presented themselves, many withmost rosy outlooks. I was several times on the very verge of decision, and how easily and differently one's whole future may be affected!Perhaps by now a millionaire!--perhaps a pauper! At one time I was onthe point of buying a cotton plantation in the South. The only obstaclewas the shortage of convict labour! A convict negro _must_ work; thefree negro won't. Finally I bought some city lots in the town ofAmarillo--the most valuable lots I could find, right at the city'spulse, the centre of business; in my judgment they would in allprobability always be at the centre, and that as the city grew so wouldtheir value grow, and thus the unearned increment would be secured. Ibought these lots by sheer pressure; the owner did not want to sell, butI made him name his own price, and closed the deal, to his astonishment. It was a record price and secured me some ridicule. But the funniestpart has to come. In a little while I became dissatisfied with my deal, and actually approached the seller and asked him if he would cancel it. He too had regretted parting with the property, and to my reliefassented. Once more I spent nearly a year ranging about the wholewestern country, looking into different propositions, and again I cameback to Amarillo, again was impressed with the desirability of the samelots, and actually demanded of the still more astonished owner if hewould sell them to me. No! no! he did not want to part with them; and Iknew he spoke the truth. Again I forced him, and so hard that at last heput on what he considered a prohibitory price, a much higher one thanbefore asked, but I snapped him up at once. The news soon got all overtown, it could not be kept quiet. Once more the supposed knowing onesand "cute" business men eyed me askance, and no doubt thought me afool, or worse. Only one man approved of my action, but I valued hisopinion more than that of all the rest. This deal again made a stiramongst the Real Estate offices, and lot values went soaring; and when Ihad erected a handsome business block on the property a regular "boom"set in. It gave the little town a lift and the people confidence. Oneman was good enough to tell me that I had more "nerve" than anyone hehad ever met. Did he mean rashness? Well, my nerve simply came fromrealizing what a fine outlook lay before the town. It seemed to me to bebound to be a great distributing centre, also a railroad centre; thatthe illimitable acreage of plains-lands was bound in time to be settledon, and that thus the population would rapidly increase; whichanticipations have happily come true. My whole capital, and more, wasnow sunk and disposed of. My mind at least in that respect was at rest;and it certainly looked as if the long-nursed scheme was about to berealized. In a few years the unearned increment was at least 100 percent. ; rents also went up surprisingly, and also, alas! the taxes. Unfortunately, within a year after completion of the building, and whileI was in Caracas, Venezuela, an incendiary, a drunken gambler who hadbeen running a "game" illicitly in one of the rooms, and who had beentherefore turned out, deliberately used kerosene oil and set fire to thebuilding. Result, a three-quarters' loss! Luckily I was well insured;even in the rentals, to the surprise of many people who had never heardof rental insurance before. The insurance settlement and payment waseffected between myself and the agent in less than half an hour, andjust as soon as I could get at it an architect was working on plans fora new structure. With the three months' loss on account of my absence, it was more than a year before the new building was ready for occupancy. It was, and is, a better-arranged and handsomer one than the old block, and its total rental is much greater. The town has grown very much andseems to be permanently established. The building, and my affairs, areentirely in the hands of a responsible agent; and I am free to go whereinclination calls. Nothing shall be said about the worries, the delays, the wage disputes, the lawsuits, etc. , seemingly always in attendance onthe erection of any building. Well, it is over now, and too sickening tothink about! Nor shall much be said about the frequent calls on theproperty-owner to subscribe, to "put up, " for any bonus the city mayhave decided to offer to secure the placing in "oor toon" of a StateMethodist College, a State Hospital, a State Federal Building; or toinduce a new railroad to build in; not to mention the securing for yourown particular district of the town the site of a new court-house, anew post-office, etc. Etc. The enmity caused by this latter contest isalways bitter. But always anything to boost the town! This little townactually last year paid a large sum to the champion motor-car racer ofAmerica to give an exhibition in Amarillo. Even a flying-machine meetingwas consummated, one of the first in the whole West. 

In this plains country, such as surrounds Amarillo, during the landboom, immense tracts were bought by speculators, who then proceeded todispose of it to farmers and small settlers. They do this on amethodical and grand scale. One such man chartered special trains tobring out from the middle States his proposed clients or victims. Tomeet the trains he owned as many as twenty-five motor-cars, in which atonce on arrival these people were driven all over the property to maketheir selection. 

The first breaking of this prairie country is done with huge steamploughs, having each twelve shares, so that the breaking is done veryrapidly, the depth cultivated being only some two inches or threeinches. The thick close sod folds over most beautifully and exactly, andit was always a fascinating sight, if a sad one, to watch thisoperation--the first opening up of this soil that had lain uncultivatedfor so many æons of time. The seed may be simply scattered on the sodbefore the breaking, and often a splendid crop is thus obtained. Simplicity of culture, truly!

[Illustration: BREAKING THE PRAIRIE. ]

[Illustration: FIRST CROP--MILO MAIZE. ]

Before leaving the United States of America a few notes about thatcountry. Though as a rule physically unpicturesque, it has some greatwonder-places and beauty spots, such as the Yosemite Valley, the GrandCañon of the Colorado, the Yellowstone Park, the Falls of Niagara, andthe big trees of California, which trees it may be now remarked areconifers (Sequoia gigantea and Sequoia sempervirens), which attain aheight of 400 feet. Sempervirens is so called because young treesdevelop from the roots of a destroyed parent. 

If the reader has never seen these enormous trees he cannot wellappreciate their immense altitude and dimensions. Remember that our owntallest and noblest trees in England do not attain more than 100 feet orso in height; then try to imagine those having four times that heightand stems or trunks proportionately huge. It is like comparing ourfive-storey buildings with the forty-storey buildings of New York, eighttimes their altitude. 

Yet these big trees are not so big as the gums of Australia; theYellowstone Geysers are, or were, inferior to the like in New Zealand;and Niagara is surpassed by the Zambesi Falls, still more so by thewaterfall in Paraguay, and infinitely so by the recently-discoveredfalls in British Guiana. The Guayra Falls, on the Paraná River, inParaguay, though not so high in one leap as Niagara, have twice as greata bulk of water, which rushes through a gorge only 200 feet wide. 

Its cities, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St Louis, New Orleans andothers, are not as a rule beautiful; even Washington, the capital, was atremendous disappointment to my expectant gaze; though my judgment mightpossibly be affected by the following incident. While standing at theentrance of the extremely beautiful New Union Railway Station a cabdrove up, out of which a woman stepped, followed by a man. He hurriedafter her, and right in front of me drew a pistol and shot her dead, andeven again fired twice into her body as she lay on the ground. Then hequickly but coolly put the gun to his own head and killed himself. 

This city seems badly planned and some of its great federal buildingsare monstrous. The Pennsylvania Avenue is an eyesore and a disgrace tothe nation. Boston, I believe, is all that it should be. Denver is adelightful town. New York, incomparable for its fabulous wealth, itsunequalled shops, its magnificently and boldly-conceived officebuildings and apartment blocks, its palatial and perfectly-appointedhotels, its dirty and ill-paved streets, is the marvel of the age and isevery year becoming more so. Its growth continues phenomenal. If notnow it will soon be the pulse of the world. 

There is never occasion in American hotels, as there is in English, inmy own experience, to order your table waiter to go and change hisgreasy, filthy coat or to clean his finger-nails! No, in the smallestcountry hotel in the United States the proprietor knows that his guestsactually prefer a table servant to have clean hands, a clean coat, etc. , and waiters in restaurants are obliged to wear thin, light and noiselessboots or shoes, not clodhoppers. 

That phenomenon and much-criticized individual, the American child, isblessed with such bright intelligence that at the age of ten he or sheis as companionable to the "grown-up" as the youth of twenty of othercountries, and much more interesting. 

English people are inclined to think Americans brusque and even not verypolite. Let me assure them that they are the politest of people, thoughhappily not effusive. They are also the most sympathetic and, strange asit may appear, the most sentimental. Their sympathy I have tested andexperienced. Their brusqueness may arise from the fact that they have notime to give to formalities. But a civil question will always be civillyanswered, and answered intelligently. Nor are Americans toadies orsnobs; they are independent, self-reliant and self-respecting people. 

CHAPTER X

FIRST TOUR ABROAD

 Mexico--Guatemala--Salvador--Panama--Colombia--Venezuela--Jamaica --Cuba--Fire in Amarillo--Rebuilding. 

Among the many long trips leisure has permitted, the first was a tourthrough Mexico, Guatemala and Salvador to Panama; thence throughColombia and Venezuela; Jamaica and Cuba; needless to say a mostinteresting tour. 

Mexico has a most delightful climate at any time of the year, except onthe Gulf Coast, the Tierra Caliente, where the heat in summer istropical and oppressive. She has many interesting and beautiful towns. The city itself is rapidly becoming a handsome one, indeed an imperialone. Accommodation for visitors, however, leaves much to be desired. Thecountry's history is of course absorbingly interesting, and the manyremains of Aztec and older origin appeal much to one's curiosity. Thereis a capital golf-course, a great bull-ring, and a pelota court. Thereis much wealth, and every evening a fine display of carriages andhorses. The little dogs called Perros Chinos of Mexico, also "Pelon" orhairless, have absolutely no hair on the body. They are handsome, well-built little creatures, about the size of a small terrier. They aresaid to be identical with one of the Chinese edible dogs. Cortez foundthem in Mexico and Pizarro in Peru. How did they get there?Popocatepetl, a magnificent conical volcano, overlooks the city andplain. I tried to ascend it but a damaged ankle failed me. A trip toOaxaca to see wonderful Mitla should not be missed. There also is thetree of Tuli, a cypress, said to measure 154 feet round its trunk. Alsoa trip to Orizaba city is equally interesting, if only for the view ofthe magnificent Pico de Orizaba, a gigantic and most beautiful cone18, 000 feet high; but also for the beautiful scenery displayed in thedescent from the high plateau of Mexico, a very sudden descent ofseveral thousand feet in fifteen miles, with a railroad grade of one infourteen, from a temperate climate at once into a tropical one. Morethan that, it leads you to the justly-celebrated little Hotel de Francein Orizaba, the only good hotel in all Mexico. 

The imposing grandeur of a mountain peak depends of course greatly onits elevation above its base; for instance, Pike's peak, to the top ofwhich I have been, is some 15, 000 feet above sea-level, but only 8000above its base. The great peaks of the Andes likewise suffer, such asVolcan Misti at Arequipa, nearly 20, 000 feet above the sea, but from itsbase only 12, 000 feet. Then imagine Orizaba peak at once soaring 16, 000feet above the city, not one of a chain or range, but proudly standingalone in her radiant beauty. From Orizaba I went on to Cordova, where itis the custom of the citizens of all ranks and ages to assemble in theevenings in the plaza to engage in the game of keeno or lotto. Manytables are laid out for the purpose. The prizes are small, butapparently enough to amuse the people. Of course I joined in the game, happened to be very successful, and as my winnings were turned over tosome small boys, beautiful little black-eyed rascals, my seat was soonsurrounded by a merry crowd and great was the fun. How beautiful andcaptivating are these Spanish and even Mestizo children, the boys evenmore so than their sisters. From this point I took train, over theworst-built and coggliest railroad track I ever travelled on, to theIsthmus of Tehuantepec, to see the famous Eads Route, over which heproposed to transport bodily, without breaking cargo, ocean-goingsailing ships and steamers from the Gulf to the Pacific Ocean. Also tovisit the Tehuana tribe of Indians, whose women have the reputation ofbeing the finest-looking of native races in the Western world. They weara most extraordinary and unique combined headdress and shawl. In themarkets could certainly be seen wonderfully beautiful faces, quitebeautiful enough to justify the claim mentioned. At Rincon is thestarting-point of the projected and begun Pan-American railroad, whichwill eventually reach to Buenos Ayres. At Salina Cruz, the Pacific endof the isthmus, and I should think one of the windiest places on earth, perhaps beating even Amarillo, I met a young American millionaire, acharming man who had large interests in Guatemala. We sailed togetherfrom Salina Cruz on a small coasting steamer bound for Panama. Exceptonly at Salina Cruz, where a terrific wind blows most of the year, theweather was calm, but the heat very great. Not even bed-sheets wereprovided, nor were they needed. Sailing by night we made some port andstopping-place every day. The view of the coast is most interesting. Youare practically never out of sight of volcanoes, some of them of greatheight and many of them active. One particularly, Santa Maria, attractedour attention because of its erupting regularly at intervals of half anhour; regularly as your watch marked the stated period a great explosionoccurred and a cloud of smoke, steam and dust was vomited out andfloated away slowly landwards. In the clear calm air it was amagnificent spectacle and I never tired watching it. Another volcanicpeak had recently been absolutely shattered, one whole side as it wereblown off it. On arriving at San José, the port of Guatemala city, wehad a great reception, my friend being the owner of the railroad--theonly railroad in this State. A special train took us up to the capital, splendidly-horsed carriages were put at our disposal, and we werebanqueted and entertained at the Opera, my friend insisting that Ishould share in all this hospitality. The American minister joined ourparty and made himself agreeable and useful. Guatemala city was once theParis of America, was rich, gay and prosperous; to-day it is--different, but still very interesting. You are there in a bygone world, an age ofthe past. Revolutions and inter-State wars have driven capital from thecountry; progress is at a standstill; confidence in anybody does notexist. As in the Central American States, "Ote toi de la que m'y mette"is on the standard of every ambitious general, colonel or politician. Itis the direct cause of all the revolutions. At Corinto a lady, whom webecame intimate with, landed for the professed purpose of "revoluting. "Yet the country is a naturally rich one, having on the highlands asplendid temperate climate, and everywhere great mineral andagricultural resources. We were fortunate to see a parade of some of theState troops; and such a comical picture of military imbecility andinefficiency could surely not be found elsewhere. The officers swaggeredin the gayest of uniforms; the men were shoeless, dirty and slovenly. Onapproaching the city one passes near by the famous volcanoes Fuego, Aqua and Picaya (14, 000 feet), and mysterious Lake Anatitlan. 

A shooting-trip had been arranged for us: a steam launch on the lake, Indians as carriers, mules, etc. Etc. , but my friend declined for wantof time. Among the fauna of the country are common and black jaguars, tapirs, manatees, peccaries, boas, cougars or pumas, and alligators. Also the quetzal, the imperial bird of the great Indian Quiche race, andthe Trogan resplendens. Poinciana regia and P. Pulcherrima are commongarden shrubs or trees, but the finest Poinciana I ever saw was inHonolulu. Vampire bats are more common in Nicaragua, but also exist inGuatemala. They have very sharp incisors and bite cattle and horses onthe back or withers, men on the toes if exposed, and roosters on thecomb. They live in caves, and not as the large fruit bats of India, which repose head downwards, hanging from trees in great colonies. Vampires live on blood, having no teeth suitable for mastication. 

It is a strange fact that Germans, who now have the great bulk of thetrade throughout Central America, are very unpopular. Nor are theAmericans popular. "Los Americanos son Bestias, " "Esos Hombres sonDemonios" express the feeling. 

I was told that in Guatemala there exists a tribe of Indians which doesnot permit the use of alcoholic drink and actually pays the Statecompensation instead. 

Among other places we called at were Esquintla, Acajutla, and LaLibertad, from which point we got a magnificent view of the Atatlanvolcano in full activity; also at San Juan del Sur. From Leon, inNicaragua, some fourteen active volcanoes can be seen. In Salvador onlytwo of the eleven great volcanoes of the State are now "_vivo_, " viz. , San Miguel and Izalco. The latter is called the Lighthouse of Salvador, because it explodes regularly every twenty minutes. The lesser livingvents are called infernillos--little hells. Altogether it looks likeCentral America, as a whole, with its revolutions and its physical andpolitical instability, must be a very big hell. 

Salvador, though the smallest of the Central American States, is themost prosperous, enterprising and densely-populated. She was the firstto become independent and the first to defy the Church of Rome. 

It had been my intention to sail through Lake Nicaragua and down theriver San Juan to San Juan del Norte. But accommodation at that port andsteamer communication with Colon was so bad and irregular that the tripwas regretfully abandoned, and I went on to Panama with my friend. Thisgentleman possessed a personal letter from President Rooseveltaddressed to the canal officials, ordering (not begging) them to permita full inspection of the works, and to tell the "truth and the wholetruth. " Consequently we saw the works under unusual and most favourableconditions. The Americans have made remarkable progress, assisted bytheir wonderful labour-saving appliances, chief among which are the100-ton shovels, the Lidgerwood car-unloaders, and the track-shifters. But chiefly, of course, by their sanitary methods, the protectionafforded the employees against mosquitoes, and the abolition of mosquitoconditions. The natives and negroes are immune to yellow fever, but notto malaria. As most of us know, Major Ross of the I. M. S. , in 1896, proved the connection of malaria with the anopheles mosquito; and in1902 Mr Reed of the U. S. Health Commission tracked the yellow fever tothe stegomyia mosquito. Yellow fever requires six days to develop. Itshould be noted that the stegomyia insect is common in India, butluckily has not yet been infected with the germ of yellow fever. And itmay also be here mentioned that the connection between bubonic plagueand rats, and the fleas that infest them, was discovered by the Japanesescientist, Kitasato. 

The history of the canal may be touched on, if only to show the Americanmethod of securing a desired object, certainly a quick, effective and, after all, the only practical method. The Panama railway was built byAmericans in 1855 to meet the rush to California gold-fields. The DeLesseps Company bought the road for an enormous figure, and started thecanal works, to be abandoned later on, but again taken up by a newFrench Company. In 1901 Uncle Sam got his "fine work" in when he bluffedthe new French Panama Company into selling it to him for 40, 000, 000dollars, simply by threatening to adopt the Nicaragua route. Yet theCompany's property was well worth the 100, 000, 000 dollars asked for it. To carry out the bluff, the Isthmian Canal Commission (U. S. ) actuallyreported to Congress that the Nicaragua route was the most "practicaland feasible" one, when it was well known to the Commission that theroute was so impracticable as not to be worthy of consideration. Atleast common report had it so. In 1903 Colombia refused the UnitedStates offer to purchase the enlarged canal zone. At once Panamaprovince seceded from the State, and sold the desired zone to the UnitedStates for 10, 000, 000 dollars, conditionally on the United Statesrecognizing and guaranteeing the young Republic. The deal was cleverlyarranged, and was again perhaps the only effective method to obtainpossession. 

The tide at Panama measures 20 feet, at Colon only 2 feet. In 1905 theInternational Board of Consulting Engineers, summoned by PresidentRoosevelt, recommended, by eight to five, a sea-level canal (two locks). But Congress adopted the minority's 85-feet-level plan (6 locks), withan immense dam at Gatun, which dam will not be founded on rock, but havea central puddled core extending 40 feet below the bottom of the lake, and sheet piling some 40 feet still deeper. At least that is as I thenunderstood it. 

De Lesseps was not an engineer and knew little of science. His Company'sfailure was directly due to his ignorance and disregard of the advice ofcompetent men. 

Manual labour on the canal has been done mostly by Jamaica negroes. Assaid before, they are immune to yellow fever; and, speaking of thenegro, it may be said here that his susceptibility to pain, compared tothat of the white man, is as one to three, but the effect of a faireducation is to increase it by one-third. What then is that of themonkey, the bird, the reptile or the fish? May I dare the statement, though most of us perhaps know it, that the sensitiveness of woman tothat of man is as fifty-three to sixty-four. Even the woman's sense oftouch, as in the finger-tips, being twice as obtuse as man's. TheBouquet D'Afrique, of course, is perceptible to us and offensive, but itis said that to the Indians of South America both black and white menare in this respect offensive. The "Foetor Judaiicus" must be noticeablealso to have deserved the term. 

But this is sad wandering from the subject in hand and not exactly"reminiscences. " I only hope that this and other departures, necessaryfor stuffing purposes, may be excused, especially as they are probablythe most entertaining part of the book. 

To return to the town of Panama. In the bay and amongst the islands werequite a number of whales and flocks of pelicans. More curious to observewas an enormous number of small reddish-brown-coloured snakes, swimmingfreely on the surface of the sea, yet not seemingly heading in anyparticular direction. I could get no information regarding them. Thefamous Pearl Islands lie forty miles off Panama. The pearls are largeand lustrous. 

On reaching harbour the health officials came on board, and to mysurprise selected me alone among the passengers for quarantine. Theexplanation was that I had gone ashore at Corinto. So I was ordered totake up my abode during the period of incubation in the detention house, a building in an isolated position; there I was instructed, much to myrelief, that I might go to town or anywhere else during daylight, butmust, under severe penalty, be back and inside the protecting screensbefore the mosquitoes got to work. The object was that no mosquito afterbiting me should be able to bite anyone else. We had been some two and ahalf days out of Corinto, so my period of detention was not of longduration. I also got infinitely better messing than any hotel in Panamaafforded. 

The seas on either side of Darien Isthmus were at one time the scene ofthe many brave but often cruel deeds of the great adventurers andexplorers like Drake, buccaneers like Morgan, pirates like Kidd andWallace. Morgan, a Welshman, sacked and destroyed old Panama, a rich andpalatial city, in 1670. He also captured the strong fortress town, PortoBello. Drake captured the rich and important Cartagena. Captain Kidd, native of Greenock, was commissioned by George III. To stamp out piracy, but turned pirate himself and became the greatest of them all. 

It had been my intention to sail from Panama to Guayaquil, cross theAndes, and take canoe and steamer down the Amazon to Para. But thereports of yellow fever at Guayaquil, the unfinished state of the Quitorailroad, and the disturbed state of the Trans-Andean Indians, throughwhose country there would be a week's mule ride, decided me to alter myplans once more. So, bidding good-bye to my very kind New York friend, who went home direct, I myself took steamer for a Colombian port andthence trained to Baranquillo, a considerable town on the MagdalenaRiver. It was a novel experience to there find oneself a real livemillionaire! The Colombian paper dollar (no coin used) was worth justthe hundredth part of a gold dollar; so that a penny street car ridecost the alarming sum of five dollars, and dinner a perfectly fabulousamount. By Royal Mail steamer the next move was to La Guayra, theseaport of Caracas, a most romantic-looking place, where the mountains, some 9000 feet high, descend almost precipitously to the sea. There wesaw the castle where Kingsley's Rose of Devon was imprisoned. At thattime President Castro was so defying France that war and a French fleetwere expected every day. Consequently his orders were that no onewhomsoever should be allowed to enter the country. All the passengers ofcourse, and for that very reason perhaps, were hoping to be allowed toland, if only to make the short run up to the capital and back. AtColon, assisted by my American friend and the United States consul, we"worked" the Venezuela Consul into giving me a passport (how it was donedoes not matter), which at La Guayra I, of course, produced. Of noavail! No one must land. But just when the steamer was about to sail aboat full of officials appeared at the steamer's side, called out myname, and lo! to the wonder of the other passengers, I was allowed to goashore. This was satisfactory, and I at once took train to the capital, climbing or soaring as in a flying-machine the steep graded butexcellent road (most picturesque) to Caracas. There I found that theMardi Gras Carnival was just beginning. In my hotel was the warcorrespondent of the _New York Herald_, just convalescing from an attackof yellow fever and still incapable of active work. He was good enoughto ask me to fill his place should hostilities ensue. No othercorrespondent was in the country and he himself had to put up a 10, 000dollar bond. I willingly agreed, and so stayed nearly two weeks inCaracas awaiting eventualities. During this time, owing to the Carnival, the town was "wide open"; every night some twenty thousand people dancedin the Plaza Bolivar, a huge square beautifully paved with tiling. Thedancers were so crowded together that waltzing simply meant revolvingtop-wise. A really splendid band provided the music. What a gay, merrypeople they are! And how beautiful these Venezuela women, and howhandsome the men! In the streets presents of great value were tossedfrom the carriages to the signoras on the balconies. At a ball the men, the fashionables, wore blue velvet coats, not because of the season, butbecause it is the customary male festive attire. Caracas was delightfuland extraordinarily interesting. What splendid saddle mules one heresees! Castro every day appeared with his staff all mounted on mules. Allthe traffic of the country is done with them, there being no feasiblewagon roads. Castro had a most evil reputation. The people hated butfeared him. His whole army consisted of Andean Indians, and he himselfhad Indian blood in his veins. The climate at Caracas is delightful. After two weeks and nothing developing, and not feeling quite well, Ireturned to La Guayra and took steamer back to Colon. Feeling worse onthe steamer I called in the doctor, and was greatly alarmed when hepronounced yellow fever. On arriving at Colon, of course, I was notpermitted to land so had to continue on the ship to Jamaica. The attackmust have been a very mild one, as when we reached Jamaica I was nearlyall right again. 

Jamaica is a beautiful island with a delightful winter climate. Alsovery good roads. Among other places visited was Constant Spring Hotel, once the plantation residence and property of one of my uncles. At PortAntonio, on the north side of the island, is a very fine up-to-dateAmerican hotel, which of course was greatly appreciated after the vilecaravanserais of Central America. Thence on to Cuba, the steamer passingthrough the famous narrows leading to Santiago. A pleasant daylightrailroad run through the whole island brought me to the great city ofHavana, not, as it appeared to me, a handsome or attractive city, butpossessing a good climate and a polite and agreeable population. Theprincipal shopping street in Havana is so narrow that awnings can be, and are, stretched completely across it. In the centre of the harbourwas visible the wreck of the United States battleship _Maine_. Here inHavana, on calling at the Consulate for letters, or rather forcablegrams, as I had instructed my Amarillo agent not to write but tocable, and only in the case of urgent consequence, I found a messageawaiting me. No need to open it therefore to know the contents! Yes, mybuilding had been burnt to the ground two months ago. A cable to Caracashad not been delivered to me. So, back to Amarillo to view the ruins. Inthe United States of America one cannot insure for the full value of abuilding; or at least only three-quarters can be recovered. So my lossamounted to 8000 or 10, 000 dollars. But no need of repining, and time ismoney, especially in such a case. So a new building was at once started, rushed and completed, in almost record time. 

CHAPTER XI

SECOND TOUR ABROAD

 Bermudas--Switzerland--Italy--Monte Carlo--Algiers--Morocco--Spain--Biarritz and Pau. 

In November 1907 I again left Amarillo bound for Panama and the Andes. But the only steamer offering from New Orleans was so small, and themessing arrangements so primitive, that I abandoned the idea, railed toNew York, saw a steamer starting for the Bermudas and joined her. Forhoneymoon and other trips the Bermudas are a favourite resort of NewYorkers. Fourteen honeymoon couples were reckoned to be on board. Theclimate of these islands is very delightful. The hotels are quite good;English society pretty much confined to the Army and Navy; twogolf-courses; the best of bathing, boating and sea-fishing. The MarineAquarium is most interesting. The roads are good and not a motor-car inthe land!

The islands are composed solely of coralline limestone. It can bequarried almost anywhere. Blasting is not necessary, the stone being sosoft that it can be sawn out in blocks of any size to meet thearchitect's needs. It is beautifully white and hardens after exposure. 

After staying two weeks I returned to New York and took passage toCherbourg, crossed France to Lausanne, saw some friends and then went onto St Moritz, which we all know is so famous for its wonderful winterclimate, intensely cold but clear skies and bright sunshine. Curling, hockey, skiing, tobogganing and bobbing were in full swing; the splendidhotels crowded; dinners and dances every day. A very jolly place indeed. After ten days' stay a sledge took me over the mountains to Chiavenna, thence steamer over the lake to Como, and train to Milan. It was verycold and foggy there, but the city is a handsome one; I saw theCathedral, the arcade, etc. , and visited the famous Scala Opera Houseand its wonderful ballet. Thence to Genoa--very cold--and on to MonteCarlo, at once entering a balmy, delicious climate. The season was justbeginning, but the play-rooms were pretty full. With its splendid shops, fine hotels, gardens, Casino, pigeon-shooting, etc. Etc. , Monte Carlo isunrivalled. It is distinctly a place to wear "clothes, " and the women'scostumes in the play-rooms and Casino are enough to make the marryingman think twice. 

After visiting Monaco, Nice and Cannes, at Marseilles I took steamer toAlgiers. Barring its agreeable winter climate there is not muchattraction there. Here I was told that the marriageable Jewess is keptin a dark room, fed on rich foods and allowed no exercise; treated, infact, as a goose for a fat liver. 

So I went on to Blida, where is a French Army Remount Depot. A largenumber of beautiful Arab horses were being inspected and shown by theirpicturesque owners. They were not the type for cow-ponies and seemed abit light for cavalry purposes. From Blida I went by train to Oran, aconsiderable port in Algiers. There was nothing particular to see or doexcept visit a certain Morocco chief who had started the late troublesat Fez and was here in durance vile (chains). Among the few tourists Imet a Hungarian and his English wife and we became fairly intimate. Hiswife told me he was the dread of her life, being scorching mad onmotor-cars. It happened there was one and only one car in the town forhire, and the Baron must needs hire it and invite me, with his wife, toa trip up a certain hill or mountain overlooking the city. A holy man, or marabout, denned on the top and we must pay our respects. The roadproved to be exceedingly steep, and zigzagged in a remarkable way, withvery sharp, angular turns. No car had ever been up it, and fewcarriages. We reached the top in due time, saluted the old man andstarted back. My friend was at the wheel and did a few turns all right, till we came to a straight shoot, very narrow, a ditch on one side, trees on the other, and just here the brake refused to work. Reachingover I touched his shoulder and suggested that he should go slower. Noreply; he was speechless, and we knew at once that he had lost control, and realized our horrible position. On we rushed, he guiding it straightall right, till we approached the bend, the worst on the road, and quiteimpossible to manipulate at great speed. Right in front was an unguardedcliff, with a drop of 500 feet over practically a precipice. But--well, there was no "terrible accident" to be reported. Most fortunately a pileof rocks had been accumulated for the purpose of building a parapetwall, and on to the top of this pile the car jumped and lodged, withouteven turning over. The jar and shock were bad enough, but no one wasmuch hurt. It reminded me of another occasion when I got a jar of adifferent kind. Once, after playing golf with a man in America, heoffered to drive me to town in his motor-car. Knowing him to be ascorcher I excused myself by saying that I was not ready to go. Hestarted; very soon afterwards word came back that he had run into atelegraph post and killed himself and his driver. Such things tend tocool one's motor ambition. 

At Oran I boarded a small French steamer for Mellilla, in SpanishMorocco, a Spanish convict station and a considerable military post. This was just before Spain's recent Riff Campaign. The table fare onthe steamer was not British! Cuttle-fish soup or stew was prominent onthe bill; a huge dish of snails was always much in demand, and the otherdelicacies were not tempting, to me at least. Eggs, always eggs! Howoften in one's travels does one have to resort to them. In Mellillaitself there was no hotel. We messed at the strangest restaurant it wasever my ill-luck to enter. The troops reminded me somewhat of those ofGuatemala, slovenly, slouching, and poorly dressed. Their officers weresplendid in gold braid, feathers and gaudy uniforms. Around the townwere circular block-houses, beyond which even then no one was allowed togo. Indeed, mounted tribesmen could be seen sometimes riding up to theline and flourishing their guns in apparent defiance. Curiosity made meventure forward till warned back by the guard. These Riffians werecertainly picturesque-looking rascals. Mellilla was then not on thetourist's track, so was all the more interesting and novel. 

From there by steamer to Gibraltar, stopping at Ceuta on the way. AtGibraltar a friend, Capt. B----, took me all over the rock, thegalleries, and certain fortifications. A meeting of hounds nearAlgeciras was attended. Thence by train to Granada to visit themarvellously lovely Alhambra, and of course to meet the King of theGipsies; Ronda, romantic and picturesque; Cordova and its immensemosque and old Roman bridge; and so on to Madrid by a most comfortableand fast train; but the temperature all through Central Spain isextremely cold in winter. The country is inhospitable-looking, and thenatives seem to have abandoned their picturesque national dress. Onemust now go to Mexico to see the cavalier in his gay and handsomecostume. In Madrid I of course visited the splendid Armoury; also theNational Art Gallery with its Velasquezs and Murillos. From Madrid toSan Sebastian, the season not yet begun, and Biarritz. Here I spent amost enjoyable month: dry, bracing climate, good golf-course, goodhotels, etc. It was the English season; the Spanish season being insummer. On King Edward's arrival with his entourage and fashionablefollowers golf became impossible, so I went on to Pau and played there. From Pau a short run took me to Lourdes, with its grotto, chapel, etc. From Pau to Bordeaux, a handsome, busy town. Then Paris and home. 

CHAPTER XII

THIRD TOUR ABROAD

 Salt Lake City--Canada--Vancouver--Hawaii--Fiji--Australia--New Zealand--Tasmania--Summer at Home. 

The fall of 1908 saw me off on a tour which finally took me round theworld. Space will only permit of its itinerary and a few of myimpressions and experiences. From Amarillo I trained north to Salt LakeCity, passing through the wonderful gorge of the Arkansas River and thecañon of the Grand; scenery extremely wild and impressive. At Salt Lakefound a large, busy, up-to-date city. Visited the tabernacle, and heardthe great organ, the largest in the world; and a very fine choir. Theacoustics of this immense and peculiarly-shaped building are mostperfect. The Temple Gentiles are not allowed to enter. Outside theirrigation limits the country has a most desolate, desert, hopelessaspect. What nerve the Mormons had to penetrate to such a spot. [3]

[Footnote 3: _See_ Appendix. ]

It may be noted here that one Sidney Rigdon was the compiling genius ofMormonism; and it was he who concocted the Mormon Bible, not Joe Smith. And what a concoction! No greater fraud was ever perpetrated. 

Hence by Butte, Montana, the great copper-mining city, to Great Falls, where we crossed the Missouri River, there 4000 miles from the sea, yettwice as large as the Thames at Windsor. On entering Canadian territorya remarkable change in the character of the people, the towns and thePress was at once noticeable. From Calgary by the C. P. R. The tripthrough the Selkirk range to Vancouver was one of continuous wonder anddelight--noble peaks, dense pine forests, rushing rivers and peacefullakes. Arrived at Vancouver city, a city of illimitable ambition andbright prospects. I there met in the lobby of the hotel two very oldfriends whom I had not seen for many years. They dined with me, orrather wined and dined, and we afterwards spent a probably uproariousevening. I say probably, because the end was never evident to me till Iwoke up in my bed, whither someone had carried me, with my stockingedfoot burning in a candle; another such illuminant had been lighted andplaced at my head. My waking (and I was "waked" in two senses)endangered, and at the same time prevented, the probable burning down ofthe building. Next morning I was taken suddenly ill, but not due to theevening's carousal, so went across the bay to Victoria and hunted up adoctor, who immediately ordered me into hospital (the Victoria Jubilee)and operated on me the very same day. The operation was the most painfulthat I have ever undergone but was entirely successful, though itdetained me in the hospital for over a month. 

From Victoria I trained to San Francisco, passing through lovelyWashington and Oregon States, and Northern California; and from SanFrancisco took steamer to Honolulu. San Francisco was rising from itsashes, but still presented a terrible aspect, and gave a good idea ofhow appalling the catastrophe must have been. At Honolulu I spent a mostenjoyable two weeks, golfing a little, surf riding, etc. The climate isideal, hotels are good, parts of the islands lovely. They are allvolcanic, and indeed some are nothing but an agglomeration of defunctcraters. 

On one of the islands, Maui, is the largest crater on earth (unlessperhaps a certain one in Japan), its dimensions being 2000 feet indepth, eight miles wide, and situated on the top of a mountain, Haleakala, 10, 000 feet high. Its surface, seen from the rock-rim, exactly resembles that of the moon. I of course also visited the largestisland of the group--Hawaii--passing _en route_ Molokai, the lepersettlement. Hawaii has two very high volcanic mountains, Mauna Kea andMauna Loa, some 13, 000 feet. The land is very prolific, the soilconsisting of pulverized lava and volcanic dust, whose extremefertility is due to a triple proportion of phosphates and nitrogen. Onthe slope of Mauna Loa is the crater of Kilauea, and in its centre the"pit, " called Haleamaumau, the most awe-inspiring and in other ways themost remarkable volcano in the world. Landing at Hilo, by train andstage we went to see it. My visit was made at night when theillumination is greatest. Traversing the huge crater, four miles indiameter, the surface devoid of all vegetation, seamed and cracked, andin places steam issuing from great fissures, we suddenly arrived at thebrink of the famous pit, and what an astonishing sight met our gaze! Thesheer walls of the circular pit were some 200 feet deep: the diameter ofthe pit one quarter of a mile: the contents a mass of (not boiling, forwhat could the temperature be!) restless, seething, molten, red-hotlava, rising from the centre and spreading to the sides, where its wavesbroke against the walls like ocean billows, being a most brilliant redin colour! Flames and yet not flames. Now and then geysers of fire wouldburst through the surface, shoot into the air and fall back again. Thesight was to some people too awful for prolonged contemplation, myselffeeling relieved as from a threat when returning to the hotel, but stillwith a desire to go back and again gaze into that awful maelstrom. Thesurface of the pit is not stationary, at one time being, as then, sunk200 feet; another time flush with the brim and threatening destruction;and again almost disappearing out of sight. At any time and in whatevercondition it is an appalling spectacle and one never to be forgotten. 

Sugar and pineapples are the main products of the islands; but oneshould not miss visiting the aquarium at Honolulu to see the collectionof beautiful and even comical-looking native fishes; some of extravagantcolouring, brilliant as humming-birds, gay as butterflies; of shapesunsuspected, and in some cases indescribable, having neither length norbreadth, depth nor thickness; hard to distinguish head from tail, upsidefrom underside; speed being apparently the least desirable ofcharacteristics. Do they depend for protection and safety on theirgrotesque appearance? or do their gaudy robes disarm and enchant theirferocious and cannibalistic brethren?

One of the funniest sights I ever saw was a base-ball game played herebetween Chinese and Japanese youngsters. What a commanding positionthese islands occupy in ocean navigation, as a coaling or naval station, or as a distributing point. America was quick to realize this; and nowsplendid harbours and docks are being constructed, and the placestrongly fortified so as to rival Gibraltar. 

In January 1909 I joined the new and delightful New Zealand SteamshipCompany's steamer _Makura_ bound for Sydney. On board was, amongst avery agreeable company, a gentleman bound for New Zealand on afishing-trip, who told me such marvellous tales of his fishing prowessin Scotland that I put him down for one of the biggest liars on earth. More of him afterwards. Also on board was a young English peer, EarlS----, a very agreeable man, whose company I continued to enjoy for thegreater part of this tour. We had a delightful passage, marred for me, however, by a severe attack of neuritis, which continued for three solidmonths, the best doctors in Sydney and Melbourne failing to give relief. Our ship first called at Fanning Island, a cable station (deliveringfour months' mail), a mere coral atoll with its central lagoon, fringeof cocoanut trees and reef. The heavy swell breaking on the reef, andthe wonderful blue of the water, the peaceful lagoon, the bright, clearsky, and the cocoanut trees, formed a picture never to be forgotten. Apicture typical of all the many thousands of such Pacific islets. Afterpassing the Union and Wallace groups we crossed the 180° meridian, andso lost a day, Sunday being no Sunday but Monday. Then arrived at Suva, Fiji Islands. The rainy season having just begun it was very hot anddisagreeable. The Fijians are Papuans, but tall and not bad-looking. Maoris, Hawaiians and Samoans are Polynesians, a much handsomer race. The Fijians were remarkable for their quick conversion to devoutChristianity. So late as 1870 cannibalism was general. Prisoners weredeliberately fattened to kill. The dead were even dug up when in such acondition that only puddings could be made of them. Limbs were cut offliving victims and cooked in their presence; and even more horrible actswere committed. The islands are volcanic, mountainous, and covered byforests. 

Our visit was about the time of the Balolo worm season. The Balolo wormappears on the coast punctually twice a year, once in October (theLittle Balolo) and once about the 20th November (the Great Balolo). Theyrise to the sea surface in writhing masses, only stay twelve hours andare gone. The natives make a great feast of them. The worm measures 2ins. To 2 ft. Long, is thin as vermicelli and has many legs. Never is asingle worm seen at any other time. 

Leaving Fiji, we passed the Isle of Pines, called at Brisbane, andarrived at Sydney on the 25th November. Of the beauties and advantagesof Sydney Harbour we have all heard, and I can only endorse the glowingdescriptions of other writers. Hotels in Australia and New Zealand arevery poor, barring perhaps one in Sydney and a small one in Melbourne. Agreat cricket match was "on"--Victoria versus New South Wales--so I mustneeds go to see, not so much the game itself as the very famous clubground, said to be the finest in the world. In the Botanical Gardens, near a certain tree, the familiar, and I thought the unmistakable, odourof a skunk was most perceptible. Hailing a gardener and drawing hisattention to it, he replied that the smell came from the tree ("malotus"he called it), but the crushed leaves, the bark and the blossomcertainly gave no sign of it and I remained mystified. Fruit of manykinds is cheap, abundant and good. Sydney is not a prohibition town! Farfrom it. Drink conditions are as bad as in Scotland. Many of the people, especially from the country, have a pure Cockney accent and drop theirh's freely; indeed I met boys and girls born in the colony, and neverout of it, whose Cockney pronunciation was quite comical. It struck methat Australians and New Zealanders are certainly not noted forstrenuousness. 

Of course the tourist must see the Blue Mountains, and my trip there wasenjoyable enough, I being greatly impressed with the Leura and otherwaterfalls (not as falls) and the wonderful and beautiful caves ofJanolan. Wild wallabies were plentiful round about, and the "laughingjackass" first made himself known to me. 

February 2nd. --S---- and myself took passage to New Zealand, thefish-story man being again a fellow-traveller. During the crossingnumerous albatrosses were seen. In New Zealand we visited all the greattowns, Wellington, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and others, all ofthem pleasant, agreeable places, Christchurch being especiallyattractive. What a grand, healthy, well-fed and physically fit-lookingpeople the New Zealanders are. Scotch blood predominates, and reallythere is a great similarity between the two peoples. At Rotorua we metthe Premier and other celebrities, S---- being very interested inColonial politics. Rotorua is a very charming place; I did some fishingin the lake, where trout were so numerous that it was not much sportcatching them. Illness unfortunately prevented my going further afieldand fishing for larger trout in the rivers. A Colonel M---- and sisterwho were in New Zealand at that time claimed to have beaten the record, their catch averaging over 20 lbs. Per fish (rainbows), as they told meon again meeting them in the Hebrides. We did the Wanganui River ofcourse; and the geysers at Whakarewarewa, under the charge of Maggie, the Maori guide. 

As you no doubt are aware, the Maori fashion of salutation is to rubnoses together. As long as they are pretty noses there cannot be muchobjection; but some of the Maori girls are themselves so pretty thatmere rubbing is apt to degenerate and one's nose is liable to slip outof place. Maggie, the Maori guide, a very pretty woman and now atShepherd's Bush, can tell all about it and even give a demonstration. 

Here in Whakarewarewa one is impressed with the fact that this littlesettlement is built on what is a mere shallow crust, under which, at thedepth of only a few feet, is a vast region of boiling mud and water. Everywhere around are bubbling and spluttering mud-wells, some in theform of miniature geysers; steam is issuing everywhere from clefts andcrannies in the ground; and one almost expects a general upheaval orsinking of the whole surface. The principal geyser was not and had notbeen for some weeks in action. It can be forced into action, however, bythe singular method of dropping a bar of soap down the orifice, when atremendous rush of steam and water is vomited out with terrific force. Sir Joseph Ward, the Premier, is the only person authorized to permitthis operation: but though he was at our hotel, and we were personallyintimate with him, he declined to favour us with the permission, itbeing explained that the too-frequent dosing of the geyser had seemed tohave a relaxing effect on the activity. 

At Dunedin S---- left me to visit Milford Sound. Too unwell to accompanyhim, I continued on to the Bluff and then took steamer to Hobart, Tasmania. New Zealand has a great whale-fishery and it was my hope tosee something of it by a short trip on one of the ships employed; butthe opportunity did not present itself. 

May I here offer a few notes picked up on the subject of whales, etc. The sperm or cachalot whale is a dangerous and bold fighter and isperhaps the most interesting of all cetaceans. His skin, like that ofthe porpoise, is as thin as gold-beaters' leaf. Underneath it is acoating of fine hair or fur, not attached to the skin, and then theblubber. He has enormous teeth or tushes in the lower jaw, but has nobaleen. He devours very large fish, even sharks, but his principal foodseems to be cuttle-fish and squids, some of them of as great bulk ashimself. These cuttle-fish's tentacle discs are as big as soup-plates, and surrounded by hooks as large and sharp as tiger claws; while theirmouths are armed with a parrot-like beak capable of rending anythingheld to them by the tentacles. These disc hooks are often found inambergris, an excretion of the sperm whale. The sperm whale spoutsdiagonally, other whales upwards. So-called porpoise leather is made ofthe skin of the white whale. The porpoise is the true dolphin, thesailor's dolphin being a fish with vertical tail, scales and gills. Bonitoes are a species of mackerel, but warm-blooded and havingbeef-like flesh. 

Near Hobart I saw the famous fruit and hop lands on the Derwent River. It was midsummer here and extremely hot, hotter than in Melbourne oranywhere else on this trip. From Hobart I railed to Launceston andthence steamer to Melbourne. 

Melbourne is a very handsome city as we all know. It was my hope tocontinue on with S---- north by the Barrier Reef, or rather between thereef and the mainland, and so on to China, Japan, Corea, and home bySiberia; but my doctor advised me not to attempt it, so I booked passagefor Colombo instead, and S---- and myself necessarily parted. But it waswith much regret that I missed this wonderful coasting trip, long lookedforward to and now probably never to be accomplished. On my way home Ivisited beautiful Adelaide, and the younger city, Perth, which remindedme much of the West American mining towns. Colombo needs no call fornotice. At Messina we saw the ruined city, the devastation seeming tohave been very terrible; but it presented no such awful spectacle ofabsolutely overwhelming destruction as did San Francisco. Etna wassmoking; Stromboli also. Then Marseilles, Paris, and home. 

During that summer at home I was fortunate enough to see the polo testmatches between Hurlingham and Meadowbrook teams, otherwise Englandversus America. It was a disheartening spectacle. The English couldneither drive a ball with accuracy nor distance; they "dwelt" at themost critical time, were slow in getting off, overran the ball, and infact were beaten with ease, as they deserved to be. 

An even more interesting experience was a visit to the aviation meetingat Rheims, the first ever held in the world, and a most successful one. Yet the British Empire was hardly represented even by visitors. Suchgreat filers as Curtis, Lefevre, Latham, Paulhan, Bleriot and Farmanwere all present. 

In the autumn I had a week's salmon-fishing at Garynahine in the Lews. The weather was not favourable and the sport poor considering the place. Close by is the Grimersta river and lodge, perhaps the finest rod salmonfishery in Scotland. A young East Indian whom I happened to know had arod there, and was then at the lodge. On asking him about fishing, etc. , he told me, and showed me by the lodge books, that the record for thisriver was fifty-four salmon in one day to one rod, all caught by thefly! The fortunate fisherman's name? Mr Naylor! the very man I hadtravelled with to New Zealand! I have vainly tried for three seasons nowto get a rod on this river, if only for a week, and at £30 a week thatwould be long enough for me. I also this autumn had a rod on the Dee, but only fished twice; no fish and no water. During this summer I golfedvery determinedly, buoyed up by the vain hope of becoming a first-classplayer--a "scratch" man. Alas! alas! but it is all vanity anyway! Whatdoes the angler care for catching a large basket of trout if there be noone by to show them to? And what does the golfer care about his game ifhe have not an opponent or a crowd to witness his prowess? At MuirfieldI enjoyed the amateur championship--R. Maxwell's year. 

CHAPTER XIII

FOURTH TOUR ABROAD

 Yucatan--Honduras--Costa Rica--Panama--Equador--Peru--Chile--Argentina--Brazil--Teneriffe. 

October 1909 saw me on board the steamer _Lusitania_, bound for New Yorkand another long trip somewhere. What a leviathan! What luxury! Think ofthe Spanish dons who crossed the same ocean in mere cobble boats offifty tons, and our equally intrepid discoverers and explorers. Whatmethods did they adopt to counteract the discomfort of _mal de mer_?Which reminds me that on this same _Lusitania_ was the Viscomte D----, Portuguese Ambassador or Minister to the United States of America, whoconfidentially told me that he at one time was the worst of sailors, butsince adopting a certain belt which supports the diaphragm the idea ofsea-sickness never even suggests itself to him. For the public benefitit may be said that this belt is manufactured by the Anti Mal de MerBelt Co. , National Drug and Chemical Co. , St Gabriel Street, Montreal, Canada. Bad sailors take note! On this steamer were also, as honouredguests, Jim Jeffries, the redoubtable, going to his doom; "Tay Pay"O'Connor; and Kessler, the "freak" Savoy Hotel dinner-giver; also, bythe way, a certain London Jew financier, who gave me a commission to goto and report on the Quito railroad. 

When travelling west from New York in the fall one is filled withadmiration for the wonderful colour of the maple and other trees. Europehas nothing at all comparable. This wonderful display is alone worthcrossing the Atlantic to see. 

I found that the past summer had been a record hot one for Texas. Thethermometer went to 115° in the shade. Eggs were cooked (fried, it is tobe supposed) on the side-walk, and popcorn popped in the stalks. InNovember I sailed from New Orleans for Yucatan to visit at Merida aMexican friend, who turned out to be the King of Yucatan, as he waspopularly called, he being an immense landed proprietor and practicallymonopolist of the henequin industry. Henequin, or Sisal hemp, is thefibre of _Agave Sisalensis_, a plant very like the _Agave Americana_, from which pulque is extracted. Thence round the corner, so to speak, toBritish Honduras, where we called in at Belize, whose trade is inmahogany and chicklee gum, combined with a deal of quiet smuggling donewith the Central American States. Quite near Belize, among theinnumerable islands and reefs, was the stronghold of the celebratedpirate Wallace (Scotchman). Many man-o'-war birds and pelicans were inthe harbour. From Belize to Porto Barrios, the eastern terminus of theGuatemala railway. Here we are close to the scene of that wonderful andmysterious Central American prehistoric civilization, which has left forour antiquarians and learned men a life-work to decipher the still dumbsymbols carved on its stupendous ruins. In Guatemala, and near thisrailway, are Copan and Quiriguá, and probably other still undiscovereddead cities. Some of these Guatemala structures show a quiteextraordinary resemblance to those at Angkor in Cambodia. Mitla andPalenque are in Mexico and are equally remarkable. The latter is stilldifficult to get to. Here again (Palenque) the temple shows a strangesimilarity to that at Boro Budoer in Java. Was it Stamford Raffles whosaid that, as far as the expenditure of human labour and skill goes, thepyramids of Egypt sink into insignificance when compared with thissculptured temple of Boro Budoer. Chichen-Itza, Labna, Sayil and Uxmalare all in Yucatan and approached from Merida. How many more of suchvery wonderful ruins are still hidden in the dense jungle of thesecountries it will be many years yet before we may know. Some I have seenmyself, and it is still my hope very soon to visit others. 

Among the wild animals of Yucatan and Honduras are the jaguar (_Felisonça_) with spots, ocellated or eyed; and the panther (_Felisconcolor_) called puma in Arizona; the vaca de aqua or manatee, shapedlike a small whale but with two paddles; the howling monkey, largest inAmerica, and the spider monkey; the iguana, largest land lizard known tohistory, and alligators. Alligators are confined to the WesternHemisphere; crocodiles were supposed to be peculiar to the East, butlately a true crocodile (_Crocodilus Americanus_) has been identified inFlorida. The alligator covers its eggs with a heap of rubbish for warmthand so leaves them; the African crocodile, on the contrary, buries themin the sand and then sits over them. The cardinal bird and the ocellatedturkey must not be forgotten. Here may be found the leaf-cutting ants, which store the leaf particles in order to grow a fungus on, and whichthey are very particular shall be neither too damp nor too dry. Alsoanother ant, the _Polyergus Rufescens_, a pure slave-hunter, absolutelydependent on its slaves for all the comforts of life and being even fedby them. 

In Honduras there are many Caribs, still a strong race of Indians, having a strict and severe criminal law of their own. They are employedmostly as mahogany cutters, and are energetic, intelligent andthoroughly reliable workmen. Puerto Cortez in Honduras has the finestharbour on the whole Atlantic coast of Central America. 

Note. --St Thomas is supposed to have visited and civilized the CentralAmerican Indians, as Quetzalcohuatl did in Mexico. 

On leaving New Orleans it had been my intention to enter Nicaragua andreport to a certain New Orleans newspaper on the conditions in that mostdistressful country; said paper having commissioned me to do so. Entrance to the State could only be made from Guatemala, but thatcountry's consul in New Orleans refused to issue the necessary passport. Had I gone as an Englishman, and not as an American, there might havebeen no difficulty. As said before, Central American States have a dreadand suspicion of Yankees. This was at the time that two Yankeerevolutionists had been shot by the President of Nicaragua. 

The next place of call was Limon, the port of Costa Rica. Every foot ofland on these coasts, suitable for the growth of bananas, has beenbought up by the great American Fruit Co. , a company of enormousresources and great enterprise. Limon is a delightful little town fromwhence the railway runs to San José, the capital, which stands some 4000feet above sea-level. Costa Rica is a peace-loving little state, prosperous, and enjoying a delightful climate. Much coffee and cocoa isgrown, shaded by the Bois immortel or madre de Cacao. The live-stockindustry is also a large one, and the animals seen on the high grassyplains are well grown and apparently well bred enough. I visitedCartago, a city which soon afterwards was destroyed by an earthquake. 

On the railroad trip up to and back from the capital we passed throughlovely and romantic scenery, high hills, deep ravines and virgintropical forest. The rainy season was at its height, and how it rained!The river was a raging torrent, and from the railway "cut" alongsidecontinuous land-slides of loose gravelly soil were threatening the trackwith demolition. Indeed, at some points this had actually occurred, andthe train several times had to be stopped to allow the gangs of workmento clear the way. A bad slide, had it hit the train, would have pushedthe whole thing into the deep and turbulent river. All the passengerswere much alarmed, and I stood on the car platform ready to jump, thoughthe jump would necessarily have been into the seething water. 

November 27th. --Colon once more! Went on to Panama. The Chagres Riverwas in the highest state of flood known in twenty years. 

November 30th. --Sailed on steamship _Chile_ with about thirtypassengers, all Spanish Americans, bound for Equador, Peru or Chile. 

December 3rd. --Reached the Equator, and I donned warmer clothes. We sawwhales, sharks, porpoises, rays and thrashers. Entered the GuayaquilRiver. Here was where Pizarro first landed and obtained a footing. Thesteamer anchored in quarantine a mile below the city. Yellow fever wasraging as usual, and the Quito railroad was blocked by therevolutionists, so my projected visit again for the second time fellthrough. Guayaquil has the highest permanent death-rate of all cities. The state produces much cocoa and mangrove wood. The town is the centreof the Panama hat trade, which hats are made of the sheaths of theunexpanded leaves of the jaraca palm, or of the long sheaths protectingthe flower-cone of the hat palm (_taquilla_); and they can only be madein a favourable damp atmosphere. Here on the mangrove roots andsubmerged branches enormous quantities of oysters may be found. Oysterson trees at last! Belonging to Equador State are the Galapagos Islands, 500 miles westward. Of course we did not visit them, but they areremarkable for their giant tortoises and their wild cattle, donkeys anddogs. It is said that these dogs do not bark, having forgotten how to;but they develop the power after contact with domestic ones. TheGuayaquil River swarms with alligators, but luckily the alligator neverattacks man. 

We sailed south down the coast, calling at many ports. From Guayaquilsouth to Valparaiso, a distance of 2000 miles, we enjoyed bright, clearweather, a pleasant, sometimes an even too low temperature, andpeaceful seas, a condition which the captain assured me was constant, the low temperature being due to the South Polar or Humboldt current. The absolute barren condition of this whole coast is also indirectly dueto this current, the temperature of the sea being so much below that ofthe land that evaporation and condensation do not take place. Afterpassing some guano islands on December 9th we landed at Callao, the portof Lima. Went on to Lima, a city founded by Pizarro, and once a verygay, luxurious and licentious capital. It is celebrated for its handsomechurches. Its streets are narrow and the whole population seeminglydevoted to peddling lottery tickets. There are many Chinamen amongst its150, 000 inhabitants. The Roman Catholics control the country, which isabsolutely priest-ridden, Reformed or other churches not being permittedin Peru. A revolution was attempted only a few days ago, the Presidenthaving been seized and dragged out of his office to be shot. Themilitary, however, rescued him and the revolution was over intwenty-four hours. Peru's resources, outside of the very rich miningdistricts, will eventually be found in the Montaña country, on the lowereastern slopes of the Andes. Her people are backward, and, at least inCuzco and Arequipa, I should say the dirtiest in the world. There is asyet little or no tourist traffic on this coast; and there will not bemuch till better steamers are put on and hotels improved. In Lima, however, the Hotel Maury is quite good, though purely Spanish. It neverrains on this coast, yet Lima is foggy and cold. 

I took a trip up to Oroya over the wonderful Meiggs railway. M. Meiggswas an American, who had to leave his country on account of certainirregularities. We reached a height of 16, 000 feet, the country beingabsolutely barren and devoid of vegetation, but very grand and imposing. 

December 16th. --Sailed from Callao for Mollendo, calling at Pisco. Here, close to the harbour, are wonderful guano islands, on two of which weredense solid masses of birds covering what seemed to be hundreds of acresof ground. How many millions or billions must there have been! And yet, it being the evening, millions more were flighting home to the islands. With glasses they could be seen in continuous files coming from alldirections. These birds are principally cormorants and pelicans. Thereare also very many seals, and we saw some whales. These islandspresented one of the most marvellous sights I ever saw. And whatenormous, still undeveloped, fisheries there must be here to supportthis bird-life. To-day we also passed a field of "Red Sea, " confervæ orinfusoria. We were favoured for once with a grand view of the Andeanpeaks, which are seldom well seen from the coast, being wrapped inhaze and clouds. 

[Illustration: LLAMAS AS PACK ANIMALS. ]

[Illustration: DRIFTING SAND DUNE. (One of thousands. )]

Arrived at Mollendo, port of Arequipa and Bolivia, I at once took trainand rose rapidly to an elevation of 8000 feet, arriving in the eveningat Arequipa. The whole country is desolate in the extreme. On the highplains we passed through an immense field of moving sand-hills, all ofcrescent shape, the sand being white and of a very fine grain. Onapproaching Arequipa the sunset effect on the bright and vari-hued rockstrata and scoriæ, backed by the grand Volcan Misti, 19, 000 feet high, made a marvellously beautiful picture, the most beautiful of its kindever seen by me, and showing how wonderfully coloured landscapes may bewithout the presence of vegetation of any kind. Hotels in Arequipa arevery primitive, and after a glance at the market and its filthy peopleyou will confine your table fare to eggs and English biscuits as I did. Arequipa has been thrice destroyed by earthquakes and is indeedconsidered the quakiest spot on earth. Priests, monks, ragged soldiersand churches almost compose the town; yet it has a very beautiful Plazade Armas, where in the evenings Arequipa fashion promenades to the musicof a quite good band. I seemed to be the only tourist here. 

On the 20th I took train to Juliaca, rising to 15, 000 feet; thence twodays to Cuzco, the celebrated southern capital of the Incas, whosehistory I will not here touch on. Not only are there abandoned Incaremains, but also in high Peru and Bolivia remains of structureserected, as it is now supposed, 5000 years ago. The pottery recentlyfound would suggest this, it being as gracefully moulded and decoratedas that of Egypt of the same period; authority even declaring it to beundistinguishable from the latter, and they also testify to evidence ofan extremely high and cultivated civilization, not barbaric in anysense, in these remote periods. Indeed, the civilization of the countryat that far-off time must have been quite as advanced as in the NileValley. Cyclopean walls and other remains show a marvellous skill inconstruction; individual blocks of granite-stone, measuring as much asfifteen to twenty feet in diameter, being placed in these walls withsuch skill that even to-day a pen-knife blade cannot be inserted betweenthem. No mortar was used, but the blocks are keyed together in apeculiar way. How this stone was so skilfully cut and transported wecannot imagine; even with iron and all our modern appliances it isdoubtful if we could produce such exactitude. 

[Illustration: PERUVIAN RUINS. (Note dimensions of stones and locking system)]

At Puna one gets a good view of Lake Titicaca, still a large lake, butonce of much greater dimensions. Sailing over and among the high peaksit was here my good fortune to view for the first time that majesticbird, the condor, which, it is declared, has never been seen to flap itswings. Thus in the South Seas I had been privileged to see thealbatross, and here the condor. Lucky, indeed, to have viewed thesemonarchs of the air, free in their proper element, in all their pride, grace and beauty. How often, as a boy, or even as a man, has oneanticipated "some day" seeing these noble birds in their native haunts!Also many llamas and alpacas, the former very handsome animals. Thevicuñas and guanacos are the wild representatives of this family, andare also very abundant. In Arequipa I suffered somewhat from "nevada, "due to electric conditions, and distinct from "saroche. " Saroche neveraffected me. 

December 27th. --Sailed for Valparaiso, calling at Iquique, Antofagastaand Coquimbo. The coast country is so desolate and arid that at some ofthese purely nitrate towns school-children's knowledge of trees andother plants is derived solely from painted representations on boardingserected for the purpose. This may seem libellous, but is not so. 

We arrived at Valparaiso on New Year's Day. The city showed few signs ofits late disaster. The harbour is poor, and the place has fewattractions. Society was attending a race meeting at Viño del Mar. Wenton to Santiago, the capital, 1500 feet elevation, population claimed300, 000; our route lying through rich, well-cultivated valleys. Theclimate and general appearance of the country are much like those ofCalifornia, the temperature being quite hot at mid-day but cool alwaysin the shade, the nights being chilly. This was midsummer. Santiago hassome handsome buildings and a very attractive Plaza Mayor; the hotelsare poor. The Chilians are an active, intelligent, wide-awake people;are great fighters and free from the religious trammels of Peru. Fromhere I took train to Los Andes; then by narrow gauge line, the gradebeing 7 per cent. On the cog track, through barren rough gorges to theCumbre, or summit, 13, 000 feet high. The most commanding peak that wesaw was Aconcagua, over 23, 000 feet high, and the highest mountain inthe Western Hemisphere. At Lago del Inca, at the entrance to theincompleted tunnel, we left the train and took mules or carts to thesummit, where is an immense, surprising and commanding figure of theChrist. On the Argentina side we again took train to Mendoza, animportant town and centre of the fruit and wine country. Thence astraight run over the immense level pampas, now pastures grazed byinnumerable cattle, sheep and horses, to Buenos Ayres. Many rheas(ostriches) were seen from the train. These birds, the hens, lay in eachother's nests, and the male incubates--perhaps to save the time of thehens; which reminds one of the cuckoo, who mates often, and whose stayis so limited that she has no time to incubate. Yet she does not lay innests, but on the ground, and the eggs are deposited by the male in thenests of birds whose eggs they most resemble, and only one in each. 

By-the-by, whilst in Santiago a quite severe quake occurred, but therewere few casualties, only two people being killed. It was at night, andmy bedroom being on the third floor of the only three-storey building intown, I continued to lie in bed, not indeed knowing what to do, andresigning myself to fate. I distinctly do not want to live in quakingcountries!

The sensation produced on one by an earthquake is peculiar and differentfrom all others. One is not so much alarmed as overawed; one feels sohelpless, so insignificant; you know you can do nothing. What may happennext at any moment is beyond your ken; only when you realize that thedisturbance has actually shaken these immense mountain masses and theseboundless plains do you appreciate the forces that have caused it. TheKrakatoa outbreak raised the water in our Thames four inches. A greatPeruvian earthquake sent a tidal wave into the Red Sea. 

Buenos Ayres is a city of some 1, 200, 000 people, half Italians (theworking and go-ahead half) and half Spanish Americans. But there isalso a very mixed population. There are many fine buildings and palatialresidences, but the business streets are ridiculously narrow, save andexcept the Avenida de Mayo, which is one of the handsomest streets inthe world. The new boulevards, the parks and race-tracks all deserveadmiration. The hotels are not quite good enough--not even the palatial"Plaza. " Prices, and indeed the cost of living, are quite as great as inNew York. It was too hot to remain long, so I crossed to Montevideo, went all over the town; but beyond seeing (not meeting, alas!) one ofthe most beautiful girls I ever saw in my life, there was not much tointerest. So, on the White Star Liner _Athenic_, I hastened to England. It may be remarked here that though Buenos Ayres and Santiago claim, andoffer, wonderful displays of horsed carriages in their parks, if onewatches them critically he will seldom see a really smart turn-out. Thecoachman's badly-made boots, or a strap out of place, or a bucklewanting, or blacking needed, all detract from the desirable Londonstandard. 

January 24th. --We entered beautiful Rio harbour. In the town thetemperature was unbearable. The city is in the same transformationcondition as Buenos Ayres; the streets are narrow, except the veryhandsome new Avenida Central. The esplanade on the bay is quiteunequalled anywhere else. Surely a great future awaits Rio! A trip upCorcovada, a needle-like peak, some 2000 feet high, overlooking the bay, should not be missed. We sailed again for Teneriffe to coal, which gaveus an opportunity to admire the grand peak and get some idea of thenature of the country. Thence home. 

Perhaps a short note on the great historical personages of Central andSouth America may be of interest. Among these the greatest was SimonBolivar, who with Miranda, the Apostle of Liberty, freed the NorthernStates of South America from Spanish dominion. It was Bolivar who in1826 summoned the first International Peace Congress at Panama. SanMartin, an equally great man, born in Argentina, freed the southern halfof the Continent. Lopez, president in 1862 of Paraguay, has securednotoriety for having had the worst character in all American history. Petion, almost a pure negro, deserves also a prominent place. He wasborn in 1770, was a great, good and able man, and freed Haiti; he alsoassisted and advised Bolivar. May I also remind you here that Peru isthe home of the Peruvian bark tree (cinchona) and the equally valuablecoca plant, which gives us cocaine. Paraguay is the country of theyerba-mate, universally drunk there, supplanting tea, coffee, cocoa andcoca. Like coca it has very stimulating qualities. El Dorado, themuch-sought-for and fabulous, was vouched for by Juan Martinez, thechief of liars, who located it somewhere up the Orinoco River. 

The Spaniards, and also the Portuguese, were wonderful colonizers andadministrators. Just think what enormous territories their civilizationinfluenced, and influenced for good. Certainly the torch of theInquisition accompanied them; but even under that dreadful blight theircolonies prospered and the conquered races became Iberianized, such wastheir masters' power of impressing their language, religion and mannerson even barbarous tribes. 

CHAPTER XIV

FIFTH TOUR ABROAD

 California--Honolulu--Japan--China--Singapore--Burmah --India--Ceylon--The End. 

I hope these hasty notes, so hurriedly and scantily given, may haveinterested my readers enough to secure their company for one moreglobe-trot, which shall be rushed through in order to bring thesereminiscences to a close. 

A momentous event of 1910 was the death of King Edward VII. , which threweverybody into deep mourning; and it seemed to me Englishwomen neverlooked so well as when dressed in black. 

In the autumn I started for New York and Amarillo. Never before was I soimpressed with the growth and improvement and possibilities of New Yorkcity, soon to be the most populous, wealthiest and greatest city theworld has ever seen. The incomparable beauty of the American woods andforests in the fall again attracted me and afforded much pleasure. 

From Amarillo I went on to San Francisco, stopping off to have yet onemore sight of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado River. San Francisco wasnow almost completely restored, and much on the old plan. Her Knob-hillpalaces are gone, but her hotels are better and more palatial than ever. 

November 22nd. --Sailed on a Japanese steamer for Yokohama, via Honolulu. These Japanese steamers are first-class, and noted for cleanliness andthe politeness of the entire ship's company. We coaled at Honolulu andthen proceeded. On approaching Yokohama we got a fine view of Fuji-San, the great national volcano, as it may be called, its perfect cone risingsheer from the low plain to a height of 12, 700 feet. Fuji is at presentquiescent; but Japan has some active volcanoes, and earthquakes are veryfrequent. My visit was at the least favourable time of the year, viz. , in winter. The country should be seen in spring, during thecherry-blossom season, or in the autumn, when the tree foliage is almostmore beautiful. 

From Yokohama I went on to Tokio, formerly Jeddo, and now the capital. It is a large and busy city with some fine Government modern buildings. The palace, parks and temples form the sights. In the city proper as inall Japanese towns, the streets are very narrow and crowded withrickshaws, the only means of passenger conveyance. At the Anglo-Japanesedinner, given at my hotel, I had an opportunity of seeing Japanese menand women in full-dress attire, and to notice the extreme formalities oftheir greetings. A Japanese gentleman bows once, then again, and, as ifhe had forgotten something, after a short interval a third time. FromTokio I went to Kioto, formerly the residence of the Mikado, now purelya native city, with no modern buildings and still narrower streets; butit is the centre of the cloisonné, damascening and embroideryindustries. Hotels in Japan are everywhere quite good. Here I visitedthe fencing and jiu-jitsu schools, which are attended by a large numberof pupils, women as well as men. Also the geisha school, and saw girlstaught dancing, music and tea ceremony. What perfectly delightful andcharming little ladies Japanese girls of apparently all classes are. Thesmile of the geisha girl may be professional, but is very seductive andpenetrating; so that the mere European man is soon a willing worshipper. The plump little waitresses in hotels and tea-houses, charminglycostumed, smiling as only they can smile, are incomparable. TheJapanese, too, are the cleanest of all nations; the Chinese and Koreansamong the dirtiest. They are extremely courteous as well as polite. Adrunken man is hardly ever seen in Japan, a woman never. An angry wordis hardly ever heard; indeed, the language has no "swear" words. All thepeople are artistic, even æsthetic. Arthur Diosy in his book declaresthat the Japanese are the most cheerful, peaceable, law-abiding andkindliest of all peoples. Up till the "Great Change, " 1871, trade wasconsidered unsuitable for, and degrading to, a gentleman. Women here, by-the-by, shave or have shaven the whole face, including the nose andears, though not the eyebrows. How these Japs worship the beauties ofNature! Few of us might see much beauty in a purple cabbage; yet in myhotel purple cabbages were put in prominent places to decorate thedining-hall, and were really quite effective. 

From Kioto I went to Nara, once the capital of the Empire, a prettyplace with large park and interesting museum. A great religious festivalwas on, including a procession of men in ancient armour and costumes. There was also some horse-racing, which was quite comical. Apparently noEuropean but myself was present. On travelling to Nara I passed throughthe tea district of Oji. The gardens are very beautiful and carefullytended. It was a great treat to me this first opportunity to seesomething of Japanese peasant life, and to admire the intensive andthorough cultivation. Not a foot of productive soil is wasted. Thelandscape of rice-fields, succeeded by tea-gardens, bamboo groves, up tothe forest or brush-clad hills, and the very picturesque villages andfarmhouses and rustic temples, form many a delightful picture. In thegrowing season the whole country must be very beautiful. Excellent troutand salmon fishing may then be had. The adopted national game foryouths seems to be base-ball, and not cricket as in China. 

Next I went to Kobe, via Osaka, the great manufacturing centre of theEmpire. At Kobe took another Japanese steamer for Shanghai, calling atMoji, Shimonoseki and Nagasaki, and traversing the wonderfully beautifulinland Sea of Japan, a magnified, and quite as beautiful, Loch Lomond. This sea was dotted with innumerable fishing-boats. Indeed, Japan'ssea-fisheries must be one of her most valuable assets. Moji harbour is abeautiful one, has an inlet and an outlet, but appears land-locked. Onthe mainland side is Shimonoseki, where Li Hung Chang signed the PeaceTreaty with Japan, and where he was later wounded by an assassin. Nagasaki has also a fine harbour. From here I took a rickshaw ride overthe hills to a lovely little summer coast-resort, passing through a mostpicturesque country. 

Japan has, among many others, one particular curiosity in the shape of adomestic cock, possessing a tail as much as fifteen feet in length, andwhich tail receives its owner's, or rather its owner's owner's, mostcareful consideration. The unfortunate bird is kept in a very smallwicker cage, so small that he can't turn round, the long tail feathersescaping through an aperture and drooping to the ground. Once a day thebird is taken out and allowed to exercise for a short time on aspotlessly clean floor-mat. 

While in Japan I was told that her modern cultured men are satisfiedwith a simple work-a-day system of Ethics, priestly guidance beingunnecessary, and they regard religion as being for the ignorant, superstitious or thoughtless. Thus they "emancipate their consciencesfrom the conventional bonds of traditional religions. "

It has been remarked that the Japanese will probably never again be suchheroes, or at least will never be such reckless, fanatical fighters asthey were in the late war, as civilization and property rights will makelife more worth living and therefore preserving. The same might apply tothe Fuzzy Wuzzies, to Cromwell's Ironsides, and to some extent our ownHighlanders and others of a like fanatical tendency. 

It had been my intention and hope to visit Korea, Port Arthur, Mukdenand Peking; but was advised very strongly, on account of the extremecold and almost Arctic conditions said to be prevailing in North China, not to go there. But at Shanghai I had better information, contradictingthese reports and describing the weather as delightful at the capital. Shanghai has an immense river and ocean trade, and in the waterway areswung river gun-boats of all nations, as well as queer-looking Chinesearmed junks, used in putting down piracy. I visited the city club, thecountry club, and the racecourse, and took a stroll at night throughSoochow Road, among the native tea-houses, theatres, etc. Someoneadvised me to visit a town up the river on a certain day to witness theexecution of some dozen river pirates and other criminals, a commonoccurrence; but such an attraction did not appeal to me. 

In China, as in Japan and other countries, the German, often gross, selfish and vulgar, is ever present. But he is resourceful anddetermined, and threatens to push the placid Englishman to the wall. 

Though the practice is not now permitted, Chinese women's bound anddeformed feet are still to the stranger a constant source of wonder. Itis said the custom arose in the desire of Court ladies to emulate thevery tiny feet of a certain royal princess; but it is also suggestedthat the custom was instituted to stop the female gadding-aboutpropensity!

Here in Shanghai I first observed edible swallow-nests in the market forsale. They did not look nice, but why should they not be so, knowing aswe do that the young of swallows, unlike those of other birds, venttheir ordure over the sides, so that the nests are not in any waydefiled. Here I also learned that Pidgin, as in the expression "Pidgin"English, is John's attempt to pronounce "business. "

From Shanghai to Soochow city, a typical Chinese walled town, stillquite unmodernized, and no doubt the same as it was 2000 years ago. Tourists seldom enter it, and no European dwells within its walls, inside of which are crowded and jammed 500, 000 souls. The main streetwas not more than six to eight _feet_ wide, and so filled with such ajostling, busy crowd of people as surely could not be seen anywhere elseon earth. Even rickshaws are not allowed to enter, there being no roomfor them. Progress can only be made on a donkey, and then with muchshouting and discomfort. What a busy people the Chinese are! Some daythey may people the earth. They seem to be even more intelligent thanthe Japanese, more honest and more industrious; and have an almostlovable disposition. And what giants they are compared to theirneighbours!--the men from the north being especially so. I also went bynarrow and vile-smelling streets to visit a celebrated leaning pagodanear Soochow, and on returning took the opportunity offered ofinspecting with much interest a mandarin's rock-garden, purely Chineseand entirely different from Japanese similar retreats. In Shanghai Ivisited the original tea-house depicted on the well-known willow-patternchina ware. 

January 1st. --Arrived at Hong-Kong and admired its splendid harbour andsurroundings. This is one of the greatest seaports in the world, with anenormous trade. The whole island belongs to Great Britain; unlikeShanghai, where different nationalities merely have concessions. In thefamous Happy Valley I had several days' golfing with a naval friend, andwe played very badly. A trip up the river to Canton, the southerncapital of China, an immense city with 2, 000, 000 population, was full ofinterest. Half the population seemingly live in boats. 

What indefatigable workers the Chinese are. They seem to work all nightand they seem to work all day. They are busy as ants. If one cannot findemployment otherwise he will make it! Barring the beggars, there are nounemployed and no unemployables. What a mighty force they must become inthe world's economy. We estimate China's population by millions, butforget to properly scale their energy and industry. What is the futureof such a people to be! Yet they seem to be incapable of any generalnational movement: each is absorbed in his immediate work and contentedto be so; so unlike the Japanese, with equal energy and industry, plusboundless ambition and patriotism. [4]

[Footnote 4: Appendix, Note I. ]

The Chinaman's pigtail calls for explanation. The Manchus, on conqueringChina in 1644, decreed that all Chinese should shave the rest of thehead but wear the pigtail. The Chinese would not submit to this; so thepolitic Manchu emperor further decreed that only loyal subjects mightadopt the custom, criminals to be debarred. This ruse was so successfulthat now the Chinaman is even proud of his adornment, and littleadvantage is being taken of a recent relaxation of the decree. 

Sailing for Singapore I was blessed with a cabin all to myself, and whata blessing it is! In all my travels I have been singularly fortunate insecuring privacy in this way. 

There is not much to interest in Singapore. It is one of the hottestplaces on earth, the same in winter and summer, purely tropical. It has, however, fine parks, streets and open places. The principal hotel is the"Raffles, " which I should imagine is also the worst. The most notablefeature of Singapore is the variety of "natives" domiciledthere--Ceylonese, Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, Siamese, Hindoos andMalays. After leaving Singapore we looked in at Penang, where we hadtime to inspect a famous Chinese temple. An American Army General, D----, and his wife were among the passengers, and I found much pleasurein their company; indeed, we travelled thereafter much together inBurmah and India. 

Rangoon, where we arrived next, is a large, well-laid-out city, ascosmopolitan as Singapore. The bazaars are well worth visiting, and theworking of elephants in the great teak yards is one of the tourist'sprincipal sights. But the great Shwe Dagon pagoda is of course thecentre of interest, and indeed it is one of the most astonishing placesof worship it has been my fortune to visit. The pagoda itself is of thetypical bell shape, solidly built of brick, gilded from base to summit, and crowned with a golden Ti. The shrines, too, which surround andjostle it, hold the attention and wonder of the visitor. There are verymany of these, mostly of graceful design, with delicate and intricatewood carvings and other decorations. The pagoda is the most venerated ofall Buddhist places of worship, containing as it does not only the eightsacred hairs of Gautama, but also relics of the three Buddhas whopreceded him. It is also from its great height, 370 feet (higher than StPaul's Cathedral), and graceful shape, extremely imposing and sublime. 

From Rangoon I trained to Mandalay, on the Irawadi River, not a largetown, but rich in historical associations, and famous for its Buddhistpagodas, such as The Incomparable and the Arakan; also the Queen'sGolden Monastery. King Theebaw's palace remains much as it was, and wellworth examination. The population here is almost purely Burmese; in factyou see the Burmese at their best, and the impression is alwaysfavourable. What brilliant but beautiful colours they affect in theirhead-clothes, jackets and silken gowns. They are a cheerful, light-hearted and good-natured people, lazy perhaps, but all apparentlywell enough to do. The boys and the young men play the national game offootball, the ball, made simply of lightly-plaited bamboo strips, beingkicked and tossed into the air with wonderful skill and activity, neverbeing allowed to touch the ground. The way they can "take" the ball frombehind, and with the heel or side of the foot toss it upwards andforwards, would be a revelation even to the Newcastle United. The womenand girls have utmost freedom and are to be seen everywhere, oftensmoking enormous cigarettes: merry and careless, but always well, andoften charmingly, dressed. 

A fine view, and good idea, of the great Irawadi River may be obtainedfrom Mandalay; but time was pressing, so I railed back to Rangooninstead of making the river trip, which my friends, the D----s, did. 

The steamer to Calcutta was unusually crowded, but I was again fortunateenough to secure the use of the pilot's cabin all to myself. The HugliRiver was familiar even after thirty-four years' absence, and inCalcutta I noticed little change. The hotels, including the Grand andContinental, are quite unworthy of the city, only the very old andwell-known Great Eastern approaching the first-class character. Calcuttawas getting hot, so I at once went on to Darjeeling, hoping to get aview of what my eyes had ever longed to see--the glorious high peaks ofthe Himalayas, and the roof of the world. After a few hours' run throughthe celebrated Terai jungle, the haunt, and probably final sanctuary, ofthe big game of India, the track ascends rapidly and picturesquelythrough the tea district of Kangra, and arrives at Darjeeling, elevation7500 feet, the summer home of the Bengal Government and the merchantprinces of Calcutta and elsewhere. I had been forewarned that thechances of seeing the high peaks at this time of the year were extremelyslim; but my experience and disappointment in connection with Korea andPeking taught me to disregard such warnings; and, as it turned out, Iwas rewarded with a perfect day and magnificent views of MountsKinchinjunga and Everest, and all the other majestic heights; seen, too, in all their phases of cloud and mist, of perfectly clear blue sky, andof sunrise and sunset effects. It was indeed a most satisfying andabsorbing twenty-four hours' visit, as I had also time, under theguidance of an official friend, to visit the picturesque weekly marketor bazaar, where natives from Sikkim, Nepal, Butan and Tibet may be seenin all their dirt and strangeness. Also the quite beautiful BotanicGardens, the Club House, the prayer-wheels, etc. More than that, I wasprivileged to pay my respects to the Dalai Lama, who had but recentlyleft his kingdom and taken refuge here. The acknowledged spiritual headof the Buddhists of Mongolia and China is a young man with a dreamy, absorbed expression of countenance, perhaps not of much intellectuality, but who is approachable even to the merely curious. My friend and kindcicerone was Commissioner of the Bengal police, and was extremely busylaying guards along the railroad and taking all other necessaryprecautions for the safety of the German Imperial Crown Prince duringhis projected visit to Darjeeling, a visit ultimately abandoned. I canimagine his chagrin at the waste of all his labours, expense to theIndian Government, etc. Etc. , due to the caprice of this apparentlyfrivolous and not quite courteous young hopeful. Indeed, the CrownPrince, though a popular young fellow enough, was the source of troubleand tribulation to his hosts, breaking conventions and scandalizingSociety by his disregard of its usages. 

Returning to Calcutta I thence took train to Agra via Allahabad, purposely, on account of the great discomfort and poor hotelaccommodation due to the large tourist traffic, avoiding Lucknow, Benares and Cawnpore. At Allahabad the Aga Khan, temporal head of theMohammedans of India, and a man of great authority and influence, joinedour train, and part of the way I was lucky enough to be in his companyand had an opportunity of speaking with him. In appearance he is aTurk, quite European in dress, and seems capable, energetic, sociableand agreeable. At every stopping-place he received an ovation, crowds ofhis Mussulman supporters and friends, among them apparently being chiefsand rajahs and other men of high degree, greeting him with muchenthusiasm, which enthusiasm I learned was aroused by His Highness'endeavour towards the raising of the status of the Mohammedan College ofAligarh to that of a university. 

I should say here that, on Indian railways, the first-class carriagesare divided into compartments, containing each four beds, but in whichit is customary to put only two passengers, at least during sleepinghours, and unless an unusual crowd requires otherwise. 

It was also on this train I made the acquaintance of a gentleman on hisway to visit the Maharaja of Gwalior, and who was kind enough to ask meto accompany him. I told him that if he would secure me an invitationfrom the Maharaja I would be only too pleased to do so. Gwalior was aplace on my itinerary anyway; to go there as a guest would secure memany advantages not attainable by the ordinary tourist. My friend saidhe would see the Maharaja at once and have my visit arranged for. A fewdays afterwards I received advice that it had been done, so on arrivalat Gwalior I was met by one of the State carriages and conveyed to theGuest House, formerly the zenana, close to the palace, a very beautifuland handsome building, where an excellent staff of servants, capitalmeals, choice liquors and cigars, were at our free disposal. HisHighness does not eat with his guests, but they are all put up in thisbuilding; and during big shoots, durbars, or festive occasions, thehouse is always full. At the time of my visit the few guests includedtwo Scotch manufacturers, who had just effected large sales of machineryto the Maharaja, the one securing from him an order worth £60, 000 forsteam-breaking ploughs, the other an order of some £20, 000 for pumpingappliances. The Maharaja is a thoroughly progressive man, has anenormous revenue, and devotes a large part of it to the bringing intocultivation tracts of hitherto unbroken and unoccupied land, which nodoubt will eventually increase his revenue and provide homesteads forhis people. Sindia, as his name is, is a keen soldier, a keen sportsman, and most loyal to the British Raj. He moves about freely, wearing arough tweed suit, is busy and occupied all day long, and though he hasministers and officials of all degrees, and keeps great state onoccasion, his army numbering some 5000 men, he finds time to superintendthe various departments of his Government, and to administer his Statewith a thoroughness uncommon among Indian potentates. The new palace isvery beautiful and furnished in European manner, apparently quiteregardless of expense. The crystal chandeliers in the reception-roomsare magnificent, and must alone represent fabulous sums. Near by thepalace are a number of lions, now kept in proper cages, but I must sayfrom the smell and filth not under very sanitary conditions. These lionshe had imported from abroad and turned loose to furnish sport to hisshooting friends; but they killed so many of the peasantry that they hadto be recaptured and confined. The town of Lashkar, the State capitalcity, being reported full of plague, I was naturally careful in passingthrough. Nothing in it calls for comment, however. Gwalior Fort, on ahigh rocky plateau, has much historic interest. In it are the ancientpalaces, still in fair condition but long ago abandoned, certain Jaintemples covered with bas-relief carvings, tanks and many old ruins. Theentrance is handsome and impressive. My friend and myself were suppliedwith an elephant, so we rode all over the immense fort, now almostsilent, having only a small guard and a few other occupants. AltogetherI enjoyed the visit very much, and after three or four days' stayreturned to Agra. Everyone knows Agra, with its heavenly Taj-Mahal, itsgreat fortress, its pearl mosque, its beautiful halls of audience andits palaces. It is truly sad to know that one of our formerGovernor-Generals actually proposed to tear down the Taj-Mahal so thathe could use the marble for other purposes! Among these delights ofarchitecture one could wander for days, ever with an unquenched greedfor the charm of their beauties. One sees marbled trellis-work ofexquisite design and execution, and inlaid flower wreaths and scrolls ofred cornelian and precious stone, as beautiful in colour as graceful inform. Agra's cantonment avenues and parks are kept in excellent order. The temperature at the time of my visit was delightfully cool, and thehotel the best I had yet found in India. Fatepur Sikri, a royal citybuilt by Akbar, only to be abandoned by him again, is near Agra, andpossesses enough deserted palaces, mosques and other beautiful buildingsto make it well worth a visit. 

There is, for instance, the great mosque, rival to the Taj-Mahal, theinside of which is entirely overlaid with mother-of-pearl. 

From Agra I went to Delhi, India's imperial city. In and around it areinnumerable palaces, mosques, tombs and forts, each and all worthy ofcareful inspection; but I will only mention the Jama Musjid; inside thefort the Diwan-i-Am, wherein formerly stood the famous peacock throne;and the Diwan-i-Kas, at either end of which, over the outer arches, isthe famous Persian inscription, "If Heaven can be on the face of theearth it is this! Oh, it is this! Oh, it is this!" In the city itself isthe famous street called Chandni Chauk. North of the city is a districtwhere the principal incidents of the siege took place, and there also isthe plain devoted to imperial durbars and assemblages. South of the cityare many celebrated tombs, such as those of Emperor Humayun, and ofTughlak; and the majestic Kutab Minar. Mutiny recollections of courseenormously add to one's interest in Delhi, and many days may beagreeably passed in company with her other historic, tragic and romanticassociations. At the time of my visit preparations were alreadybeginning for the great Coronation Durbar to be held next winter. Mosthotels and private houses have already been leased. What the generalpublic will do for accommodation I do not know. One will almostnecessarily, like the King, have to go under canvas. The Circuit Housewill only be used by His Majesty should bad weather prevail. The nativerulers of every grade are going to make such a display of Orientalmagnificence as was never seen before. To many it will be their ruin, orat least a serious crippling of their resources; but it is a chance fordisplay that does not often occur and they seem determined to make themost of it. 

Here at Delhi the General and myself again joined forces, he and hiswife having visited Lucknow and Cawnpore. We took train direct toPeshawar, via Rawal Pindi and Lahore. I never knew anyone who enjoyedforeign travel so much as my American friend. He was in a constant stateof delight, finding interest and pleasure in small matters that nevereven attracted my attention, though as a rule my faculty for observationis by no means obtuse. In Burmah the bright-hued cupras of the nativesfilled him with intense joy, and the presence of some closely-screenednative ladies on a ferryboat so held his gaze that his wife (and Isuspect they were not long married) must have felt pangs of jealousy. But he was a keen soldier, and had frequently represented his country atthe German and other manoeuvres, and had been Adjutant-General at theinauguration of President Roosevelt, a very honourable position indeed. So he was intensely interested in old forts and battlefields, and hisenthusiasm while in Peshawar and the Khaiber Pass was boundless. Morethan that he was a strong Anglo-Phile, and amused me by his disparagingcriticism on how his own Government did things in the Philippines andelsewhere, compared with what he saw in India and other Britishpossessions. Peshawar is a very delightful place, or so at least itappeared to me. We lodged in a capital though small hotel. The climatewas then very agreeable; the cantonment gardens and avenues are aparadise of beauty, at least compared with the surrounding dry andsemi-barren country. In the native city one mixed with new races ofpeople, Afghans and Asians, and picturesque and fierce-looking tribesmenfrom the hills. Also an immense number of camels, the only means oftraffic communication with western and northern native states. 

But before arriving at Peshawar one must not forget to mention themagnificent view obtained from the car windows of the glorious range ofCashmere Snowy Mountains, showing peaks of 20, 000 to 25, 000 feetelevation; nor the crossing by a fortified railway bridge of thehistoric Indus River, near Attock, at the very spot where the GreekAlexander entered India on his campaign of conquest A mile above thispoint the Kabul River joins the Indus. Here too is a romantic-lookingtown and fortress built by the Emperor Akbar, still unimpaired and inoccupation by British troops. The approaches to the bridge and fort arestrongly guarded, emplacements for guns being noticeable at everyvantage point on the surrounding hills, while ancient round towers andother fortifications tell of the troublous times and martial deeds thisimportant position has been witness to. 

For our visit to the Khaiber Pass General Nixon, Commandant at Peshawar, put a carriage at our disposal, in which we drove as far as Jamrud, theisolated fort so often pictured in our illustrated papers, where weexchanged into tongas, in which to complete the journey through the passas far as Ali Musjid. The pass is now patrolled by the Afridi Rifles, acorps composed of Afridi tribesmen commanded by British officers. Atfrequent intervals along the route these Afridi sentinels can be seenstanding on silent guard on all commanding points of the hills. One seesnumerous Afridi hamlets, though what the occupants find to supportthemselves with it is difficult to understand. A good carriage roadcontinues all the way, in places steep enough and tortuous, as the roughbroken nature of the country necessitates. By another road or trail, paralleling our own, a continuous string of camel caravans proceeds insingle file at a leisurely gait, the animals loaded with merchandise forthe Kabul market and others in Central Asia. It is a rough, desolate anduninteresting country, yet grand and beautiful in its way, and one is atonce struck with the difficulties to be encountered by troopsendeavouring to force their way through, commanded as the pass is atevery turn by positions so admirably suited for guerrilla warfare anddelightful possibilities for an enemy with sniping propensities. At AliMusjid the camel and carriage tracks come together. Here at this littlemosque was the point beyond which we were not allowed to proceed; soafter a most interesting visit we returned to Peshawar. We were mostfortunate in the weather, as the strong wind which always blows down thepass is in winter time generally excessively cold. At Peshawar I badegood-bye to my most agreeable American friends, the General being keenon visiting Quetta; whither, had it not been so much out of my ownproposed line of travel, I would gladly have accompanied him. So my nextmove was back to Delhi, and thence by train via Jeypore to Udaipur, oneof the most delightfully picturesque and interesting of all Indiannative capitals. There is a tiny little hotel at Udaipur, outside thewalls, showing that visiting tourists are few and far between. TheMaharana holds by his old and established customs, and has none of themodern spirit shown by such princes as Sindia, the Nizam, and certainother native chiefs. He has, however, gone so far as to furnish his newpalace in a most gorgeous manner, the chairs, tables, mirror frames, bedsteads seen in the State apartments being composed of crystal glass. The show attraction of the palace, in the eyes of the attendants, whowere ever at one's beck and call, was a Teddy dog with wagging head, which miracle of miracles one seemed to be expected to properly marvelat. The old palace, adjoining the new, is a much finer building, beingmostly of marble, and is purely Oriental in its stairways, doorways, closets, balconies and delightful roof-gardens, as one's preconceivednotions expect an Eastern potentate's palace to be. The new palaceshowed no sign of occupancy, and I imagined the Maharana, then absent, really favours the older building, and small blame to him! Around invarious places the State elephants are stabled, or rather chained, inthe open air, and looked after by their numerous attendants. In thegrand court in front were several of these animals, and a myriad ofpigeons, protected by their sanctity, flew about in clouds, or perchedon the projections of the palace walls. From a boat on the large andlovely lake, on whose very edge the commanding palace stands, abeautiful view is obtained. On islands in the lake two delightful littlesummer palaces are built, of white marble and luxuriously furnishedwithin. Elephants were bathing themselves at the water's edge, and theroar of caged lions was heard from the neighbouring royal garden. Pea-fowl perched on the marble colonnade, and pigeons were circling andsailing in the glorious sunshine. What a sight! especially when eveningdrew in, and the setting sun lighted up the graceful cupolas and domes, and threw shadows round the towers and battlements, the whole reflectedin the glassy surface of the water. At one place near by the wild pigsapproached to be fed and some grand old fellows may be seen amongstthem. 

[Illustration: PALACE OF MAJARANA OF UDAIPUR. ]

It is still the custom of nearly all men here above the rank of coolieto carry swords or other weapons. For are these Rajputs not of a proudand warlike race, as may be seen by their bearing; and is not theirMaharana of the longest lineage in India, and the highest in rank of allthe Rajput princes? A few miles from the capital is Chitorgarh. Here Isaw the wonderful old fortress, with its noble entrance gate, and theancient town of Chitor, once the capital of Mewar. Also the two imposingtowers of Fame and Victory. Throughout the state one is struck by thegreat number of wild pea-fowl picking their way through the stubble justas pheasants do. The flesh of pea-fowl, which I have tasted, isexcellent eating, surpassing that of the pheasant. One also sees numbersof a large grey, long-tailed monkey, which seem to preferably attachthemselves to old and ruined temples or tombs. From here, Chitorgarh, Inext took train to Bombay, passing through Rutlam, a greatpoppy-producing centre. At Baroda I received into my compartment thebrother of the late Gaikwar (uncle of the present?). It had oftenoccurred to me before to wonder how the high-class natives travel on therailways. Never had I yet seen a native enter a first-class compartmentwhere there happened to be any Europeans. In this instance, at Baroda, I had noticed a man, apparently of consequence, judging by hisattendants, evidently wanting to travel by this train. Soon one of theparty approached, and almost humbly, it seemed more than politely, askedif I would have no objection to the company of the brother of theGaikwar. Of course I said I could have no objection, and so we travelledtogether to Bombay. But what is the feeling between the two races thatkeeps them thus apart?

Bombay surprised me more by the delightfully cold breeze then blowingthan by anything else. I took a drive over Malabar Hill and saw theParsee Towers of Silence, as they are popularly called. The immense TajHotel, where I stayed one night, by no means justifies its pretensions. Indeed, it is one of the poorest or worst in all India. Next day Istarted out for Hyderabad, and had a long, hot, slow twenty-four hours'journey; the principal crop noticed being to me the familiar Kafir corn. Yes, it was very hot and dusty. As usual, the train was packed withnatives, but myself seemed to be the only European on board. Arrived atHyderabad, I at once drove over to Secunderabad, a very large Britishcantonment and station. From here, missing the friends I had come tosee, and there being nothing to specially interest otherwise, I againtook train to Madras. A letter of introduction in my pocket to theNizam's Prime Minister might have been useful in seeing the city had Ipresented it, but pressure of time induced me to push on; nor did I stopin Madras longer than to allow of a drive round the city, the heat beingvery great. Indeed, I was getting very tired of such hurried travel andsight-seeing, and was longing for a week's rest and quietude in the cooland pleasant highlands of Ceylon. My health also was now giving me someconcern; so on again to Madura, _en route_ to Tuticorin, from whence asteamer would take me across to the land of spicy breezes. Madura has awonderful old temple of immense size, surrounded by gopuras of pyramidalform, in whose construction huge stones of enormous dimensions wereutilized; the temple also has much fine carving, etc. The old palace isof great beauty and interest. 

Colombo was, as usual, uncomfortably warm; only on the seashore at GalleFace could one get relief, and Galle Face with its excellent hotel iscertainly a very delightful place. I did not stay in Colombo, but atonce took train to visit Anauradapura and the dead cities of Ceylon. Here was the heart of a district ten miles in diameter, practicallycovered by the site and remains of the ancient city, which in its prime, about the beginning of the Christian era, ranked with Babylon andNineveh in its dimensions, population and magnificence. Its wallsincluded an area of 260 square miles. Among its ruins the most notableare the dagobas (pagodas), some of such enormous size that the number ofbricks used in their construction baffles conception. One of the dagobashas a diameter of 327 feet and a height of 270. It is solidly built ofbricks, and contains material enough to build a complete modern town of50, 000 people. These Buddhist dagobas of Ceylon have the bell-shapeform, and serve the same purpose as the Shwe Dagon in Rangoon, viz. , toshelter relics of the Buddhas. Close by, within the walls of a Buddhisttemple, or monastery, still grows the famous Bo or Pipal tree, theoldest living historical tree in the world, brought here 250B. C. From Buddh Gaya in India. Only a fragment of the originalmain trunk now exists, the various offshoots growing vigorously in thesurrounding compound, all still guarded and attended by the priests aslovingly as when done 2200 years ago. At Anauradapura is a quitecharming little Rest House, shaded and surrounded by beautiful tropicaltrees of great variety. 

From here I went to Kandy, the former capital of the native kings ofthat name. In the fourteenth century a temple was erected here tocontain a tooth of Buddha and other relics. Later, the temple was sackedand the sacred tooth destroyed, but another to which was given similarattributes was put in its place. Kandy is a pretty spot, with a goodhotel and agreeable climate, its elevation being 1800 feet abovesea-level. Near by is Paradenia and the beautiful Botanical Gardens, inwhich it is a perfect delight to wander. 

We had already passed through a most lovely and picturesque country; butthe grandest and most impressive scenery of Ceylon lies between Kandyand Newara Elia. Tea-gardens extend everywhere, and the cosy, neat-looking bungalows of the planters have a most attractiveappearance. Newara Elia stands very high, some 7000 feet. Its vegetationis that of a temperate climate, and in the winter months the climateitself is ideal. The bracing atmosphere suggests golf and all otherkinds of sport, and golfing there is of the very best kind. There is anexcellent hotel, though I myself put up at the Hill Club. All Ceylon isbeautiful, the roads are good, and many delightful excursions can bemade. I do not think I ever saw a more beautiful country. But thesailing date draws near, so I must hurry down again to Colombo, and thuspractically complete my second tour round the world. A P. & O. Steamerbrought us to Aden, the canal, Messina and Marseilles. We enjoyed lovelycool and calm weather all the way till near the end, when off the"balmy" coast of the Riviera we encountered bitter cold winds and stormyseas. And so through France to England, to the best country of them all, even though it be the land of coined currency bearing no testimony toits value; where registered letters may be receipted for by others thanthe addressee; and where butcher meat is freely exposed in the shops, and even outside, to all the filth that flies--my last fling at the dearold country. 

Someone has asked me which was the most beautiful place I had ever seen?It was impossible to answer. The whole world is beautiful! The barrendesert, the boundless ocean, the mountain region and the flat country, even these monotonous Staked Plains of New Mexico, under storm orsunshine, all equally compel us to admiration and wonderment. 

In closing this somewhat higgledy-piggledy narrative, let me once moreexpress my hope that readers will have found in it some entertainment, perhaps instruction, and possibly amusement. 

APPENDIX

_Note I. _--An outcry against Mormonism has been raised lately in thiscountry. It is its polygamous character that has been attacked. But doespolygamy deserve all that is said about it? It is not immoral and shouldnot be criminal. Compare it with the very vicious modern custom ofrestricted families, which is immoral and should be criminal. Where isour population going to come from? The Chinese, Japanese, Indians andnegroes are swarming all over the earth; while our race is almoststagnant, yet owning and claiming continents and islands practicallyunpeopled. Some day, possibly, polygamy will have to be permitted, evenby the most civilized of nations. 

_Note II. _--In this present year there is much writing and much talkingabout arbitration treaties and preferential tariffs. A generalarbitration on _all_ matters between the United States and Great Britainis probably quite impracticable. Preferential tariff within the Empirewould be highly advantageous to the Mother Country. If so, let us go forit while the opportunity offers. But it does seem to me there is amuch-mistaken idea prevalent at home as to the loyalty of the Coloniesand Dominions. One travels for information and should be allowed to givehis conclusions. What holds these offshoots to the mother stem? Loyalty?I think not. Simply the realization that they are not (not yet) strongenough to stand alone: and it is the opinion of many that, as soon asthey are, loyalty will be thrown to the winds; and naturally! (Sincethe above was written has it not been abundantly verified?) There isalso even a belief (the wish being father to the thought) that theUnited States of America have a sentimental feeling for the Old Country;and one frequently hears the platform or banquet stock phrase, "Blood isthicker than water. " It would be well if our people were enlightenedwith the truth. After twenty-five years' residence in the United StatesI will dare to say that the two nations are entirely foreign andantagonistic one to another. And it is a fortunate thing that betweenthem few "Questions" remain to be arbitrated either by pen or sword. Thetwo peoples do not understand one another, and do not try to. Theordinary English traveller does not meet or mix with the real Americanpeople, who are rapidly developing a civilization entirely their own, insocial customs, in civil government, and even in fashions of dress. 

_Note III. _--Might a just comparison not be drawn between these "dogies"and the type of men we now recruit for our standing Army? Are they notdogies? Is it not a fact that many of them never had a square meal intheir lives! At least they look like it. But when taken up, if not whileyet babies at least when they are still at a critical age ofdevelopment, say eighteen years, and fed substantially and satisfyingly, as is now done in the Army, what an almost miraculous physical changetakes place! And not only physical, but mental and moral, due to theinfluence of discipline and athletic exercises. If such be the effect onour few annual recruits, why not submit the whole young manhood of thenation to such beneficial conditions by the introduction of compulsorynational military service? And not only that! Is not the private soldierof this country, alone of all others, refused admission to certainplaces of entertainment open to the public? Why? Because he is ahireling. Because no man of character or independence will adopt such acalling. He would degrade himself by doing so. But make the servicecompulsory to all men, and at once the calling becomes an honourableone. Can it be imagined for a moment that any of our raw recruits enterthe service from a love for King and country? No; they sell theirbirthright for a red coat and a pittance, renounce their independenceand stultify the natural ambition that should stimulate every man worthyof the name. 

Though our men do not have the initiative and self-resource of theAmericans, still they are the smartest and best-set-up troops in theworld. Many of them are of splendid physique and look like they could goanywhere and do anything. The whole world _was_ open to them; yet herethey still are in the ranks, dummies and automatons, devoid of ambitionand self-assertiveness. 

Only national service will rid us of the army of unemployables. It willdevelop them physically and mentally, and make men of them such as ourColonies will be glad and proud to admit to citizenship. 

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