128 WHERE ROLLS THE OREGON 



promptly into the wild state ; for the spirit of the 

 herd is essentially wild. 



Our Western cattle are none of them native. 

 There is no wild native stock except the bison. 

 Our cattle are all European, and represent centu- 

 ries of careful breeding. I have never tried to 

 trace their several lines back to the aurochs, the 

 European bison, if they can be traced, but 

 the wild blood of that anarch old must have 

 ceased running in their veins long, long ago. Not 

 so his spirit in them. A herd of heavy, bald-faced 

 Herefords, just beneath their corn-fed coats, may 

 be found as wild and dangerous as a herd of 

 these wild buffalo. 



We were trailing the "riders" of P Ranch 

 across the plains to a hollow in the hills called 

 the " Troughs," where they were to round up a 

 lot of cattle for a branding. On the way we fell 

 in behind a bunch of some fifty cows and year- 

 lings which one of the riders had picked up, and, 

 while he dashed off across the desert for a "stray," 

 we tenderfeet drove on the herd. It was hot, and 

 the cattle lagged, so we urged them on. All at 

 once I noticed that the whole herd was moving 

 with a swinging, warping gate, with switching 



