In Cowboy Land. 427 



cow-town, concerning which I once heard another of my 

 men remark, in reply to an inquisitive commercial traveller : 

 " How many people lives here? Eleven counting the 

 chickens when they're all in town !" 



My foreman continued : " By George, there was some- 

 thing that professor said afterwards that made me feel 

 hot. I sent word up to him by Foley's boy that seein' as 

 how it had come out we would n't charge him nothin' for 

 the rig ; and that professor he answered that he was glad 

 we were showing him some sign of consideration, for 

 he 'd begun to believe he 'd fallen into a den of sharks, 

 and that we gave him a runaway team a purpose. That 

 made me hot, calling that a runaway team. Why, there 

 was one of them horses never could have run away 

 before ; it had n't never been druv but twice ! and the 

 other horse maybe had run away a few times, but there 

 was lots of times he had rit run away. I esteemed 

 that team full as liable not to run away as it was to run 

 away," concluded my foreman, evidently deeming this as 

 good a warranty of gentleness as the most exacting could 

 require. 



The definition of good behavior on the frontier is even 

 more elastic for a saddle-horse than for a team. Last 

 spring one of the Three-Seven riders, a magnificent horse- 

 man, was killed on the round-up near Belfield, his horse 

 bucking and falling on him. " It was accounted a plumb 

 gentle horse too," said my informant, " only it sometimes 

 sulked and acted a little mean when it was cinched up 

 behind." The unfortunate rider did not know of this 

 failing of the " plumb gentle horse," and as soon as he 



