CATTLE HERDING. 879 



quent. 1870 was the prosperous year for this city on the 

 plains. But her glory and prosperity as a cattle market at- 

 tracted the attention of other towns, and they became rivals for 

 the trade the coming year. Newton, Wichita, Great Bend, 

 Caldwell, Hunnewell, Ellsworth, and Dodge City, all came in for 

 a share. Below we give the drive from the State of Texas to 

 the States and Territories north of it, commencing with the 

 close of the war, up to the present date : 



1866 . . . 260,000 1876. . . 321,998 



1867 . . . 35,000 1878 . . . 265,649 



1868 . . . 75,000 1879. . . 257,927 



1869 . . . 350,000 1880 . . . 394,784 



1870 . . . 300,000 1881. . . 250,000 



1871 . . . 600,000 1882 . . . 250,000 



1872 . . . 350,000 1883. . . 275,000 



1873 . . . 405,000 



1874 . . . 166,000 Total, . 4,707,976 



1875 . . . 151,618 



In the following pages I shall try to impart a little knowl- 

 edge gained by experience and by mingling with stockmen, that 

 will, I trust, be of value to the novice, at least. Let no one im- 

 agine that to be a herder he must be a ruffian, a desperado, or 

 a boor, for none of these qualities are essential; but, on the 

 contrary, he may be a gentleman, a scholar, and a Christian, and 

 the more of the Christian virtues found in his composition the 

 greater will be his chances of success ; for, in such a case, he 

 will be an honest, kindly-disposed, merciful man, who will care 

 for the dumb creatures committed to his care to the very best 

 of his ability, and be ever watchful and on his guard against 

 any and every foe of the herd. He will see to it that they 

 have the best food, water, and shelter possible, and as a result 

 of this care and attention his herd will be a thriving, healthy 

 one, and success will crown his efforts. He may make some 

 mistakes that will entail loss, but experience, though a hard and 

 exacting teacher, is a good one. To be forewarned is to be 

 placed on a vantage ground, for which reason I shall tell you 

 how and why I and others failed, and suffered loss. 



All are aware how often we have what we call hard winters, 

 when the mercury falls below zero twenty or thirty degrees, 



