ore their own free, open and
boundless territory. And what frightful wounds some of the ponies would
occasionally suffer by perhaps trying to jump over such a fence or even
force their way through it; ponies from the far south, equally ignorant
with the antelope of the dangers of the innocent-looking slender wire.
In another way these fences were sometimes the cause of loss of beast
life, as for instance when some of my cattle drifted against the fence
during a thunder and rain storm and a dozen of them were killed by one
stroke of lightning.

Into this preserve my cattle-breeding stock were put: very few in number
to begin with, yet as many as my means afforded. My Company job and
salary would soon be a thing of the past and my future must depend
entirely on the success of this undertaking. Once before I had boldly,
perhaps rashly, taken a lease of a celebrated steer pasture in Carson
County, Texas, and gone to Europe to try and float a company, the
proposition being to use the pasture, then, and still, the very best in
Texas, for wintering yearling steers. No sounder proposition or more
promising one could have been put forward. But all my efforts to get the
capital needed failed and it was fortunate for me that at the end of one
year I succeeded in getting a cancellation of the lease. On first
securing the lease the season was well advanced and it became an anxiety
to me as to where I should get cattle to put in the pasture, if only
enough to pay the year's rent--some 7000 dollars. One man, a canny
Scotsman, had been holding and grazing a large herd of 4000 two-year-old
steers, all in one straight brand, on the free range just outside. He
knew I wanted cattle and I knew he wanted grass, as he could not find a
buyer and the season was late. We both played "coon," but I must say I
began to feel a bit uncomfortable. At last greatly to my relief and joy,
he approached me, and after a few minutes' dickering I had the
satisfaction of counting into pasture this immense herd of 4000 cattle.
Meantime, I had also been corresponding with another party and very soon
afterwards closed a deal with him for some 3700 more two-year-old
steers. Thus with 7700 head the pasture was nearly fully stocked, the
rent for the first year was assured, and I prepared to go to the Old
Country to form the company before mentioned. But before going I found
it necessary to throw in a hundred or so old cows to keep the steers
quiet. The steers had pe