The Winter Of Our Discontent
: The OutletThe inquiry was over before noon. A lieutenant detailed a few men and
made a pretense of taking possession of Lovell. But once the special
commissioner was out of sight, the farce was turned into an ovation, and
nearly every officer in the post came forward and extended his sympathy.
Old man Don was visibly affected by the generous manifestations of the
military men in general, and after thanking each one personally, urged
of escort beyond the boundary of the reservation be countermanded. No
one present cared to suggest it, but gave assurance that it would be so
modified as not in any way to interfere with the natural movement of the
herds. Some little time would be required to outfit the forage-wagons
to accommodate the cavalry companies, during which my brother rode up,
leading Lovell's horse, permission was given to leave in advance of the
escort, and we all mounted and quietly rode away.
The sudden turn of affairs had disconcerted every man in the three
outfits. Just what the next move would be was conjecture with most
of us, though every lad present was anxious to know. But when we were
beyond the immediate grounds, Lovell turned in his saddle and
asked which one of us foremen wanted to winter in the North. No one
volunteered, and old man Don continued: "Anticipating the worst, I had
a long talk this morning with Sanders, and he assured me that our cattle
would go through any winter without serious loss. He suggested the
Little Missouri as a good range, and told me of a hay ranch below the
mouth of the Beaver. If it can be bought reasonably, we would have
forage for our horses, and the railroad is said to be not over forty
miles to the south. If the government can afford to take the risk of
wintering cattle in this climate, since there is no other choice, I
reckon I'll have to follow suit. Bob and I will take fresh horses and
ride through to the Beaver this afternoon, and you fellows follow up
leisurely with the cattle. Sanders says the winters are dry and cold,
with very little if any snowfall. Well, we're simply up against it;
there's no hope of selling this late in the season, and nothing is left
us but to face the music of a Northern winter."
As we turned in to ford the Missouri, some one called attention to a
cavalry company riding out from their quarters at the post. We halted a
moment, and as the first one entered the road, the second one swung into
view, followed by forage-wagons. From maps in our possession we knew the
southern boundary of the Fort Buford military reservation must be under
twenty miles to the south, and if necessary, we could put it behind us
that afternoon. But after crossing the river, and when the two troops
again came in view, they had dropped into a walk, passing entirely out
of sight long before we reached Forrest's camp. Orders were left with
the latter to take the lead and make a short drive that evening,
at least far enough to convince observers that we were moving. The
different outfits dropped out as their wagons were reached, and when my
remuda was sighted, old man Don ordered it brought in for a change of
horses. One of the dayherders was at camp getting dinner, and inviting
themselves to join him, my employer and my brother helped themselves
while their saddles were shifted to two of my well-rested mounts.
Inquiry had been made of all three of the outfits if any ranch had
been sighted on the Beaver while crossing that creek, but the only
recollection among the forty-odd men was that of Burl Van Vedder, who
contended that a dim trail, over which horses had passed that summer,
ran down on the south side of the stream.
With this meagre information Lovell and my brother started. A late
dinner over and the herders relieved, we all rode for the nearest
eminence which would afford us a view. The cavalry were just going into
camp below O'Brien's ranch, their forage-train in sight, while Forrest's
cattle were well bunched and heading south. Sponsilier was evidently
going to start, as his team was tied up and the saddle stock in hand,
while the herd was crossing over to the eastern side of the Yellowstone.
We dismounted and lay around for an hour or so, when the greater portion
of the boys left to help in the watering of our herd, the remainder of
us doing outpost duty. Forrest had passed out of sight, Sponsilier's
wagon and remuda crossed opposite us, going up the valley, followed by
his cattle in loose grazing order, and still we loitered on the hill.
But towards evening I rode down to where the cavalry was encamped, and
before I had conversed very long with the officers, it was clear to
me that the shorter our moves the longer it would extend their outing.
Before I left the soldier camp, Sanders arrived, and as we started away
together, I sent him back to tell the officers to let me know any time
they could use half a beef. On reaching our wagon, the boys were just
corralling the saddle stock for their night-horses, when Sanders begged
me to sell him two which had caught his fancy. I dared not offer them;
but remembering the fellow's faithful service in our behalf, and that
my employer expected to remember him, I ordered him to pick, with Don
Lovell's compliments, any horse in the remuda as a present.
The proposition stunned Sanders, but I insisted that if old man Don was
there, he would make him take something. He picked a good horse out of
my mount and stayed until morning, when he was compelled to return, as
the probabilities were that they would receive the other cattle some
time during the day. After breakfast, and as he was starting to return,
he said, "Well, boys, tell the old man that I don't expect ever to be
able to return his kindness, though I'd ride a thousand miles for the
chance. One thing sure, there isn't a man in Dakota who has money enough
to tempt me to part with my pelon. If you locate down on the Little
Missouri, drop me a line where you are at, and if Lovell wants four good
men, I can let him have them about the first of December. You through
lads are liable to be scared over the coming winter, and a few
acclimated ones will put backbone in his outfit. And tell the old man
that if I can ever do him a good turn just to snap his fingers and I'll
quit the government--he's a few shades whiter than it, anyhow."
The herd had already left the bed-ground, headed south. About five miles
above O'Brien's, we recrossed to the eastern side of the Yellowstone,
and for the next three days moved short distances, the military
always camped well in our rear. The fourth morning I killed a beef, a
forage-wagon came forward and took half of it back to the cavalry camp
with our greetings and farewell, and we parted company. Don Lovell met
us about noon, elated as a boy over his purchase of the hay ranch. My
brother had gone on to the railroad and thence by train to Miles City
to meet his remuda and outfit. "Boys, I have bought you a new home," was
the greeting of old man Don, as he dismounted at our noon camp. "There's
a comfortable dugout, stabling for about ten horses, and seventy-five
tons of good hay in the stack. The owner was homesick to get back to
God's country, and he'll give us possession in ten days. Bob will be in
Little Missouri to-day and order us a car of sacked corn from Omaha, and
within a month we'll be as snug as they are down in old Medina. Bob's
outfit will go home from Miles, and if he can't sell his remuda he'll
bring it up here. Two of these outfits can start back in a few days, and
afterward the camp will be reduced to ten men."
Two days later Forrest veered off and turned his cattle loose below the
junction of the Beaver with the Little Missouri. Sponsilier crossed the
former, scattering his beeves both up and down the latter, while I cut
mine into a dozen bunches and likewise freed them along the creek. The
range was about ten miles in length along the river, and a camp was
established at either end where men would be stationed until the beeves
were located. The commissaries had run low, there was a quiet rivalry as
to which outfits should go home, and we all waited with bated breath for
the final word. I had Dorg Seay secretly inform my employer that I
had given Sanders a horse without his permission, hoping that it might
displease him. But the others pointed out the fact that my outfit had
far the best remuda, and that it would require well-mounted men to
locate and hold that number of cattle through the winter. Old man Don
listened to them all, and the next morning, as all three of us foremen
were outlining certain improvements about the hay ranch with him, he
turned to me and said:
"Tom, I hear you gave Sanders a horse. Well, that was all right,
although it strikes me you were rather liberal in giving him the pick of
a choice remuda. But it may all come right in the long run, as Bob and
I have decided to leave you and your outfit to hold these cattle this
winter. So divide your men and send half of them down to Quince's camp,
and have your cook and wrangler come over to Dave's wagon to bring
back provision and the horses, as we'll start for the railroad in the
morning. I may not come back, but Bob will, and he'll see that you are
well fixed for the winter before he goes home. After he leaves, I want
you to write me every chance you have to send a letter to the railroad.
Now, I don't want any grumbling out of you or your men; you're a
disgrace to the state that raised you if you can't handle cattle
anywhere that any other man can."
I felt all along it would fall to me, the youngest of six foremen; and
my own dear brother consigning me to a winter in the North, while he
would bask in the sunshine of our own sunny South! It was hard to face;
but I remembered that the fall before it had been my lot to drive a
thousand saddle horses home to the ranch, and that I had swaggered as
a trail foreman afterward as the result. It had always been my luck to
have to earn every little advance or promotion, while others seemed to
fall into them without any effort. Bob Quirk never saw the day that he
was half the all-round cowman that I was; yet he was above me and could
advise, and I had to obey.
On the morning of the 25th of September, 1884, the two outfits started
for the railroad, leaving the remainder of us in a country, save for the
cattle, so desolate that there was no chance even to spend our wages. I
committed to memory a curtain lecture for my brother, though somehow or
other it escaped me and was never delivered. We rode lines between the
upper and lower wagons, holding the cattle loosely on a large range. A
delightful fall favored us, and before the first squall of winter came
on, the beeves had contented themselves as though they had been born on
the Little Missouri. Meanwhile Bob's wagon and remuda arrived, the car
of corn was hauled to our headquarters, extra stabling was built, and
we settled down like banished exiles. Communication had been opened with
Fort Buford, and in the latter part of October the four promised men
arrived, when Bob Quirk took part of my outfit and went home, leaving
me ten men. Parent remained as cook, the new men assimilated easily, a
fiddle was secured, and in fulfillment of the assertion of Sanders, we
picked up courage. Two grain-fed horses, carefully stabled, were allowed
to each man, the remainder of our large number of saddle stock running
free on the range.
To that long winter on the Little Missouri a relentless memory turns in
retrospect. We dressed and lived like Eskimos. The first blizzard struck
us early in December, the thermometer dropped sixty degrees in twelve
hours, but in the absence of wind and snow the cattle did not leave
the breaks along the river. Three weeks later a second one came, and we
could not catch the lead animals until near the railroad; but the storm
drove them up the Little Missouri, and its sheltering banks helped us to
check our worst winter drift. After the first month of wintry weather,
the dread of the cold passed, and men and horses faced the work as
though it was springtime in our own loved southland. The months rolled
by scarcely noticed. During fine weather Sanders and some of his boys
twice dropped down for a few days, but we never left camp except to send
letters home.
An early spring favored us. I was able to report less than one per cent.
loss on the home range, with the possibility of but few cattle having
escaped us during the winter. The latter part of May we sold four
hundred saddle horses to some men from the upper Yellowstone. Early in
June a wagon was rigged out, extra men employed, and an outfit sent two
hundred miles up the Little Missouri to attend the round-ups. They
were gone a month and came in with less than five hundred beeves, which
represented our winter drift. Don Lovell reached the ranch during the
first week in July. One day's ride through the splendid cattle, and old
man Don lost his voice, but the smile refused to come off. Everything
was coming his way. Field, Radcliff & Co. had sued him, and the jury
awarded him one-hundred thousand dollars. His bankers had unlimited
confidence in his business ability; he had four Indian herds on the
trail and three others of younger steers, intended for the Little
Missouri ranch. Cattle prices in Texas had depreciated nearly one half
since the spring before--"a good time for every cowman to strain his
credit and enlarge his holdings," my employer assured me.
Orders were left that I was to begin shipping out the beeves early in
August. It was the intention to ship them in two and three train-load
lots, and I was expecting to run a double outfit, when a landslide came
our way. The first train-load netted sixty dollars a head at Omaha--but
they were beeves; cods like an ox's heart and waddled as they walked. We
had just returned from the railroad with the intention of shipping two
train-loads more, when the quartermaster and Sanders from Fort Buford
rode into the ranch under an escort. The government had lost forty per
cent. of the Field-Radcliff cattle during the winter just passed, and
were in the market to buy the deficiency. The quartermaster wanted a
thousand beeves on the first day of September and October each, and
double that number for the next month. Did we care to sell that amount?
A United States marshal, armed with a search-warrant, could not have
found Don Lovell in a month, but they were promptly assured that
our beef steers were for sale. It is easy to show prime cattle. The
quartermaster, Sanders, and myself rode down the river, crossed over
and came up beyond our camp, forded back and came down the Beaver, and
I knew the sale was made. I priced the beeves, delivered at Buford, at
sixty-five dollars a head, and the quartermaster took them.
Then we went to work in earnest. Sanders remained to receive the first
contingent for Buford, which would leave our range on the 25th of each
month. A single round-up and we had the beeves in hand. The next morning
after Splann left for the mouth of the Yellowstone, I started south
for the railroad with two train-loads of picked cattle. Professional
shippers took them off our hands at the station, accompanied them en
route to market, and the commission house in Omaha knew where to remit
the proceeds. The beef shipping season was on with a vengeance. Our
saddle stock had improved with a winter in the North, until one was
equal to two Southern or trail horses. Old man Don had come on in the
mean time, and was so pleased with my sale to the army post that he
returned to Little Missouri Station at once and bought two herds of
three-year-olds at Ogalalla by wire. This made sixteen thousand steer
cattle en route from the latter point for Lovell's new ranch in Dakota.
"Tom," said old man Don, enthusiastically, "this is the making of a fine
cattle ranch, and we want to get in on the flood-tide. There is always
a natural wealth in a new country, and the goldmines of this one are in
its grass. The instinct that taught the buffalo to choose this as their
summer and winter range was unerring, and they found a grass at hand
that would sustain them in any and all kinds of weather. This country
to-day is just what Texas was thirty years ago. All the early settlers
at home grew rich without any effort, but once the cream of the virgin
land is gone, look out for a change. The early cowmen of Texas flatter
themselves on being shrewd and far-seeing--just about as much as I was
last fall, when I would gladly have lost twenty-five thousand dollars
rather than winter these cattle. Now look where I will come out, all due
to the primitive wealth of the land. From sixty to sixty-five dollars a
head beats thirty-seven and a half for our time and trouble."
The first of the through cattle arrived early in September. They avoided
our range for fear of fever, and dropped in about fifteen miles below
our headquarters on the Little Missouri. Dorg Seay was one of the three
foremen, Forrest and Sponsilier being the other two, having followed the
same route as our herds of the year before. But having spent a winter
in the North, we showed the through outfits a chilling contempt. I had
ribbed up Parent not even to give them a pleasant word about our wagon
or headquarters; and particularly if Bob Quirk came through with one
of the purchased herds, he was to be given the marble heart. One outfit
loose-herded the new cattle, the other two going home, and about the
middle of the month, my brother and The Rebel came trailing in with
the last two herds. I was delighted to meet my old bunkie, and had him
remain over until the last outfit went home, when we reluctantly parted
company. Not so, however, with Bob Quirk, who haughtily informed me that
he came near slapping my cook for his effrontery. "So you are another
one of these lousy through outfits that think we ought to make a fuss
over you, are you?" I retorted. "Just you wait until we do. Every one of
you except old Paul had the idea that we ought to give you a reception
and ask you to sleep in our beds. I'm glad that Parent had the gumption
to give you a mean look; he'll ride for me next year."
The month of October finished the shipping. There was a magic in that
Northern climate that wrought wonders in an animal from the South.
Little wonder that the buffalo could face the blizzard, in a country of
his own choosing, and in a climate where the frost king held high revel
five months out of the twelve. There was a tonic like the iron of wine
in the atmosphere, absorbed alike by man and beast, and its possessor
laughed at the fury of the storm. Our loss of cattle during the first
winter, traceable to season, was insignificant, while we sold out over
two hundred head more than the accounts called for, due to the presence
of strays, which went to Buford. And when the last beef was shipped, the
final delivery concluded to the army, Don Lovell was a quarter-million
dollars to the good, over and above the contract price at which he
failed to deliver the same cattle to the government the fall before.
As foreman of Lovell's beef ranch on the Little Missouri I spent five
banner years of my life. In '89 the stock, good-will, and range were
sold to a cattle syndicate, who installed a superintendent and posted
rules for the observance of its employees. I do not care to say why, but
in a stranger's hands it never seemed quite the same home to a few of us
who were present when it was transformed into a cattle range. Late that
fall, some half-dozen of us who were from Texas asked to be relieved and
returned to the South. A traveler passing through that country to-day
will hear the section about the mouth of the Beaver called only by the
syndicate name, but old-timers will always lovingly refer to it as the
Don Lovell Ranch.
More
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"Dear Friend [thus in the spring the Virginian wrote me], Yours received. It must be a poor thing to be sick. That time I was shot at Canada de Oro would have made me sick if it had been a littel lower or if I was much of a drinking man. You will ... Thunder River
FOR an instant Hare's brain reeled, and Mescal's broken murmurings were meaningless Then his faculties grew steady and acute; he held the girl as if he intended never to let her go. Mescal clung to him with a wildness that gave him anxiety for her... Thwarted
Instantly a sense of elation, tingling as an electric shock, surged over Stratton, and his grip on the Colt tightened. At last he was face to face with something definite and concrete, and in a moment all the little doubts and nagging nervous qual... To Better Acquaintance
The train had started amidst clangor of bell and the shouts of good-bye and good-luck from the crowd upon the station platform. We had rolled out through train yards occupied to the fullest by car shops, round house, piled-up freight depot, stacks... To Double For Muriel Gay
While she breakfasted unsatisfactorily upon soda crackers and a bottle of olives which happened to have been left over from a previous luncheon, Jean meditated deeply upon the proper beginning of a book. The memory of last night came to her vividly,... To Fit Her Finger
It was two rings that the Virginian wrote for when next I heard from him. After my dark sight of what the Cattle Land could be, I soon had journeyed home by way of Washakie and Rawlins. Steve and Shorty did not leave my memory, nor will they ev... To The Victors The Spoils
"Hey, boys!" Luck Lindsay shouted to Applehead and one or two of the Happy Family who were down at the chuck--wagon engaged in uneasy discussion as to what Luck would say when he found out about their intention to leave. "Come on up here--this is go... Todos Santos
It was evident that the two strangers represented some exalted military and ecclesiastical authority. This was shown in their dress--a long-forgotten, half mediaeval costume, that to the imaginative spectator was perfectly in keeping with their my... Todos Santos Solves The Mystery
Notwithstanding his promise, and the summons of the Council, Father Esteban, on parting with the Excelsior prisoners in the San Antonio Road, did not proceed immediately to the presence of the Comandante. Partly anxious to inform himself more thor... Tolleston Butts In
Morning dawned on a scene of pastoral grandeur. The valley of the North Platte was dotted with cattle from hill and plain. The river, well confined within its low banks, divided an unsurveyed domain of green-swarded meadows like a boundary line betw... Tom Connor's Scare
When Long John Butterfield (it was Yetmore himself who told us all this long afterwards) when Long John, returning from his day's prospecting up among the foot-hills of Mount Lincoln, had related to his employer the result of his labors, two concl... Tom's Second Window
Mrs. Appleby never did quite understand how her barrel of oil had been recovered for her. All she knew for certain was that her good friend, Mr. Connor, had somehow procured it from Yetmore, and that Yetmore was, as Mr. Connor said, "agreeable." ... Tommy And Thomas
IT was while Harry Lossing was at the High School that Mrs. Carriswood first saw Tommy Fitzmaurice. He was not much to see, a long lad of sixteen who had outgrown his jackets and was not yet grown to his ears. At this period Mrs. Fitzmaurice was h... Too Late For Love
"Honor is the thing that makes humans different from dogs--some dogs! When women have it, it is mingled always with tenderness." MUSINGS OF THE ELEPHANT. Jim jumped to his feet and took... Tort Salvation
She must have fallen asleep there, for when she opened her eyes it was day. Underneath her was a lot of bedding he had found in the cabin, and tucked about her were the automobile rugs. For a moment her brain, still sodden with sleep, struggled help... Toy
Bruce paused in the blithesome task of packing six by eights to look at the machinery which lay like a pile of junk on the river bank. Each time he passed he looked at it and always he felt the same hot impatience and burning sense of irritation. ... Trails End
At the last camp, just north of the Platte, Bud's two black sheep balked. Bud himself, worn by sleepless nights and long hours in the saddle, turned furiously when Jerry announced that he guessed he and Ed wouldn't go any farther. "Well, damn you... Trapped
When Wade first opened his eyes, after he had been stricken senseless, he was first conscious of his throbbing head, and on seeking the reason of the pain, was amazed to find his fingers stained with the blood which matted his hair. With an exclam... Trapped!
Black MacQueen rolled a cigarette and sauntered toward the other outlaw. "I reckon you better saddle up and take a look over the Flattops, Dunc. The way I figure it Lee's posse must be somewhere over there. Swing around toward the Elkhorns and g... Travennes' Discomfiture
When Mr. Travennes looked over the corral fence he was much chagrined to see a man and a Colt both paying strict attention to his nose. "Mornin', Duke," said the man with the gun. "Lose anything?" Mr. Travennes looked back at his friends and... Treachery
Overjoyed at the prospect of a peaceful solution of the problem which confronted him, Wade walked rapidly toward the hotel, happy, too, in the thought of meeting Helen Rexhill. Whether he loved her with the single-hearted devotion which a man sh... Treed By Wolves
The disappearance of Tom Fish caused both boys considerable uneasiness. They at first thought that he might return during the evening, though the fact that the fire had gone out, indicated that he had left the cabin early in the day. As they crept... Trials Of The Convalescent
The days at the ranch passed in irritating idleness for those who had obstructed the flight of hostile lead, and worse than any of the patients was Hopalong, who fretted and fumed at his helplessness, which retarded his recovery. But at last the ... Truth Crushed To Earth Etc
Andy, only half awake, tried to obey both instinct and habit and reach up to pull his hat down over his eyes, so that the sun could not shine upon his lids so hotly; when he discovered that he could do no more than wiggle his fingers, he came back w... Tucumcari's Hand
Jack Hardy was annoyed. He had planned carefully, expecting to have no difficulty in wiping out the hated McCays and those who sympathized with them. His plans had only partially succeeded. The elder McCay was dead, but Tip and some of the othe... Turning The Tables
"Keep away from me, you common cow-hands," said Sponsilier, as a group of us waited for him at the foot of the court-house stairs. But Dave's gravity soon turned to a smile as he continued: "Did you fellows notice The Rebel and me sitting inside the...