JACKS, JENNETS AND MULES 43 



I made several other trips into different states — 

 Alabama, Georgia, East Tennessee, West Tennessee, 

 Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Texas. I traded in 

 Texas before any railroad depot was established at 

 Fort Worth. When trading in any adjoining states, 

 I usually had a light two-horse wagon and a tent, 

 and bought our feed by the wholesale for our stock, 

 and when the weather was favorable, we camped out, 

 and avoided heavy hotel and stable bills. 



I made it a point when I found a man that wanted 

 any of my stock, and could not pay me all cash, to 

 barter with him, he to pay me some money, and I would 

 take young mules, good fillies, young cattle, or take 

 cotton in the bale, or anything that I could soon con- 

 vert into money. Have traded for fat hogs and shipped 

 them home on the cars. The cotton I could place 

 in the hands of a merchant at nearest depot, and let 

 him sell it for me. After disposing of my jacks I 

 would concentrate the cattle, fillies and mules, and 

 ship on the cars, provided the distance was too great 

 to drive through by land to my home. I want to 

 state right here, that cattle shipped from the Southern 

 states, north several degrees, appear to do well them- 

 selves, but the native cattle that graze on the same 

 pasture with the Southern cattle frequently die of a 

 disease similar to murrain. On the other hand, when 

 matured cattle are shipped from Tennessee, several 

 degrees south, they are apt to die soon. It is much 

 safer to select calves to ship to a southern climate, to 

 avoid cattle fever, and the best season to ship is late 

 in the fall, when the weather becomes cool. I have 

 had a good deal of experience in this line of business. 

 I remember when trading in Arkansas, camping out 



