182 THE ITINERANT HORSE PHYSICIAN 



eyed young lad from Kansas; no tenderfoot by 

 any means. That made some difference with me, 

 too; I sized the whole proposition up that way 

 and sent in my resignation, leaving for the north 

 the same day. 



Had the inspector whom I was to relieve there 

 been a "tenderfoot" I might have given those 

 "hill-billies" down there a whirl for their money; 

 as I said, and as it was, he was a clear-eyed lad 

 from Kansas, and cold feet didn't trouble him 

 much. 



An interesting state of affairs seems to exist in 

 the Bureau service as regards the value placed 

 upon their positions by the various grades of 

 employes. I found this state of affairs in exist- 

 ence among the inspectors every time I was in 

 the service, and that is that the young veteri- 

 narians are all waiting for an opportunity to get 

 "into something else," usually general practice or 

 the manufacture of anti-hog-cholera serum. 

 Only on very rare occasions did I meet young 

 inspectors who intended to remain in the service. 

 Practically the only ones possessed of the idea 

 that they are holding a life berth are the "old 

 timers" who have been given charge of some sta- 

 tion or are being paid more than the average 

 inspector. 



One reason, and to my mind the chief reason, 

 for this state of affairs is the fact that the new 

 appointee or the inspector in the ranks receives 

 little or no consideration in matters that affect his 

 personal comfort, especially as regards his 

 geographical preferences. 



