A RANCHMAN'S RECOLLECTIONS 



I called my wife's attention to the lines, and asked, 

 "Do you know who wrote that ?" She rephed, "Why 

 of course; don't you see Henry Ward Beecher under 

 it?" Then in my most modest way I explained how 

 it came about, but there was a funny little look in 

 her eyes, and I suppose that together we will have 

 to meet Henry to get the matter straightened out. 



Another time I was getting up a catalog for a 

 sale of Herefords to be held by Kirk B. Armour, 

 James A. Funkhouser and John Sparks in Kansas 

 City, Mr. Sparks bringing his cattle from Nevada. 

 It will be recalled that Mr. Sparks bought his basic 

 stock in Missouri, and started a registered herd at 

 Reno, Nev. The herd was in a way forgotten for 

 a long time, until stories of Herefords all over Cali- 

 fornia, Nevada, Oregon and Washington began to 

 come in. There is no doubt that John Sparks' work 

 was of major importance to improved breeding all 

 over the extreme west and northwest. I wanted to 

 convey the idea that the Missouri cattle had gone 

 forth into the wilderness, and after many years re- 

 turned to the land of their fathers. I felt sure that 

 I would find what I wanted in "Kings," because I 

 especially wanted to credit it to some book in the 

 bible by chapter and verse. I searched In vain. I 

 would not, of course, credit anything I wrote to the 

 bible, because there was some shame left in me, but 

 I conceived a brilliant idea : it was to try to produce 

 something which would have the swing of Kings 



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