y when we overtook
them. Uncle Lance was with us and in the height of his glory, in one
breath bragging on Enrique and Pasquale, and admonishing and cautioning
Theodore and myself in the next.

On nearing Shepherd's, Uncle Lance preceded us, to hunt up the committee
and enter a man from Las Palomas for each of the contests. The ground
had been well chosen,--a large open bottom on the north side of the
river and about a mile above the ferry. The lancing course was laid off;
temporary corrals had been built, to hold about thirty range cattle
for the roping, and an equal number of outlaw horses for the riding
contests; at the upper end of the valley a half-mile circular racecourse
had been staked off. Throwing our outlaws into the corral, and leaving
the _remuda_ in charge of two vaqueros, we galloped into Shepherd's with
the gathering crowd. From all indications this would be a red-letter day
at the ferry, for the attendance drained a section of country fully a
hundred miles in diameter. On the north from Campbellton on the Atascosa
to San Patricio on the home river to the south, and from the Blanco on
the east to well up the Frio and San Miguel on the west, horsemen were
flocking by platoons. I did not know one man in twenty, but Deweese
greeted them all as if they were near neighbors. Later in the morning,
conveyances began to arrive from Oakville and near-by points, and the
presence of women lent variety to the scene.

Under the rules, all entries were to be made before ten o'clock. The
contests were due to begin half an hour later, and each contestant was
expected to be ready to compete in the order of his application. There
were eight entries in the relay race all told, mine being the seventh,
which gave me a good opportunity to study the riding of those who
preceded me. There were ten or twelve entries each in the roping and
riding contests, while the knights of the lance numbered an even thirty.
On account of the large number of entries the contests would require a
full day, running the three classes simultaneously, allowing a slight
intermission for lunch. The selection of disinterested judges for each
class slightly delayed the commencement. After changing horses on
reaching the field, the contests with the lance opened with a lad from
Ramirena, who galloped over the course and got but a single ring. From
the lateness of our entries, none of us would be called until afternoon,
and we wandered at will from one se