Story Reminds of Cattle Drive

HELLO FOLKS — The worst thing about laziness is that there is no cure for it and it doesn't kill.

The trouble with most meetings is that they start at 8 o'clock sharp and close at 10 o'clock dull.

—o—

WHILE MY mind is still fresh with thinking about the 65 mile cattle drive of Don Hight; might I relate the experience of one of my last cattle drives?

This was in the summer of '34. In the month of June my brother Clarence and I were supposed to deliver a heard of cows with their calves to the Hatchet ranch on the Big White River between the towns of Presho and Winner.

The cows had come from that ranch nearly two years earlier; most of them as heifers. They had been brought to the 'Rosebud' with a heard of three of four hundred, to be wintered there because of a feed shortage at the Hatchet. Now the feed was short at home and they were to return.

We got them sorted out and started in good shape. We had about 45 miles to go. There were some new born calves in the heard and one that had been 'dropped' in February. This particular one had gotten it's feet frozen and lost it's hoofs. Consequently it had a hard time to keep up with the rest of the herd.

We had intended to take three days for the trip but the older cows, when we got well along on the trail, realized that they were heading back to familiar grounds. Therefore they were no problem to drive. We covered 25 miles the first day.

The only problems were the new born calves and the one without hoofs. The new born calves were taken care of pretty well by their mothers but the oldest calf just couldn't keep up with the rest.

I felt sorry for him and put him in the saddle for a while. He didn't like that and fought so much I finally had to let him down.

We decided that we couldn't keep fighting him so we let him follow behind. He would lie down awhile and then move awhile. Usually when we rested he would catch up and get a good feed.

The second day we decided that if he couldn't keep up we would have Andy Halvorsgard come and get him in the truck when we got to the ranch. It was a short day's drive and we got to the ranch about 4 or 4:30. Before we could get things squared around and go after the calf we could see him coming down the road. That calf surely had the grit. Towards the last he would go just a few feet and lie down, then get up and go again, but he made it.

We spent the weekend on the Big White, then Clarence when home and I stayed a week or so and worked there. The ride home was just a nice day's ride. Clarence had Tony and got home in fine shape. But the day I went home was the hottest day of the year and I had a green horse that nearly gave out on me. I rested on the way and finished the last of the ride after the sun cooled off a bit.