THE SPIRIT OF THE HERD 131 



destruction. The handling of the herd to keep 

 this spirit sleeping is an anxious, and it may be 

 a thrilling, experience. 



Some time before my visit to P Ranch in the 

 summer of 1912, the riders had taken out a herd 

 of four thousand steers on what proved to be one 

 of the most difficult drives ever made to Winne- 

 mucca. For the first two days on the trail the 

 cattle were strange to each other, having been 

 gathered from widely different grazing grounds, 

 from Double O and the Home Ranch, and 

 were somewhat clannish and restive under the 

 driving. At the beginning of the third day signs 

 of real trouble appeared. A shortage of water 

 and the hot weather together began to tell on the 

 temper of the herd. 



It is early in the drive that the wild spirit 

 seems most liable to break out, before the drive 

 has settled to its pace and the cattle grown ac- 

 customed to the continuous and insistent author- 

 ity of the riders. If they can be carried safely 

 through the first three days, say the cattlemen, 

 there is comparatively little danger after that. 



The drive from the P Ranch was started under 

 ill conditions. The first two days were safely 



