314 CRUISINGS IN THE CASCADES 



employers and employes. Much odium has attached 

 to the fraternity by such conduct, and much more 

 by reason of crimes committed by others and 

 charged to this class, so that the cowboy is in 

 much worse repute among Eastern people than he 

 would be if better known by them. And notwith- 

 standing all the hard things with which these men 

 have been charged, I had much rather take my 

 chances, as to safety of life and personal property, 

 in a country inhabited only by them than in any 



ON THE TRAIL. 



Eastern town or city with all their police ' ' protec- 

 tion." AVhen sojourning in cattle countries, I have 

 left my camp day after day and night after night, 

 with valuable property of various kinds lying in and 

 about it, without any attempt at concealment. I 

 have left my horses and mules to graze, wholly 

 unguarded, several days and nights together, and 

 though on my return T may have seen that my camp 

 had been visited, probably by several men, not a 

 thing had been disturbed, except that perchance 

 some of them had been hungry and had eaten a meal 



