A Texas Cow Boy Part 26

Before taking the train for Texas I bought mother a trunk full of clothes, knowing that she would be in need of them after having "roughed it" for nearly eight years.

I stopped in Houston one day looking for Aunt Mary, but learnt finally that she had moved to the country.

I then took in Galveston and spent two days visiting Uncle Nick and Aunt Julia. From there I went to Indianola on a Morgan Steams.h.i.+p and became sea sick; Oh, Lord! I concluded I would prefer the hurricane deck of a Spanish pony to that of a s.h.i.+p, every time.

In the town of Indianola I met a lot of my old Peninsula playmates, who were there from Matagorda, in their sail boats, with freight.

There being no boats down from Tresspalacious, I left my trunk to be s.h.i.+pped up the first chance and went to Matagorda with the two Williams'

boys, Johnny and Jimmy. Nearly all the Peninsula folks lived in the vicinity of Matagorda now since the great storm of 1875, washed everything they had out into the Gulf, besides drowning about half of their number. Hence me going to Matagorda to visit them.

There were three Tresspalacious boys in Matagorda, and one of them, Jim Keller, loaned me his horse and saddle to ride home on.

Mother was happy when I told her to get ready and go to Kansas with me.

There was only one thing she hated to leave behind, and that was her wood pile. She had spent the past two years lugging wood from along the creek and piling it up against her old shanty for "old age," she said. I suppose her idea in piling it against the house, on all sides, was to keep it from blowing over, should some kind of an animal accidently blow its breath against it.

After spending about a week, visiting friends and waiting for my trunk to arrive from Indianola, I struck out with mother for the enterprising State of Kansas.

I hired a neighbor, Mr. Cornelious, to take us to the Railroad, fifty miles north. He hauled us in an old go cart--one that had been sent from Germany in 1712--drawn by two brindle oxen.

We arrived in Caldwell a few days before Christmas and after getting mother established in her new house, I went to work for the "L. X."

company again.

I had secured a winter's job from Mr. Beals before leaving therefore it was all ready for me to take charge of on my return. The job was feeding and taking care of about two hundred head of horses, at the company's ranch on the Territory line, near Caldwell.

Having lots of fat ponies to ride, I used to take a dash up town nearly every night to see how mother was getting along and to see my sweethearts. Thus the winter pa.s.sed off pleasantly.

About the first of March I received orders from Mr. Beals, who was then at his home in Boston, Ma.s.s. to get everything in shape to start for the Panhandle at a moment's notice.

That very night, after those orders were received, I fell head over heels in love with a pretty little fifteen-year old, black-eyed miss, whom I accidently met. It was a genuine case of love at first sight. I wanted her, and wanted her badly, therefore I went to work with a brave heart and my face lined with bra.s.s. It required lots of bra.s.s too, as I had to do considerable figuring with the old gent, she being his only daughter.

Just three days after meeting we were engaged and at the end of the next three days we were made one. And three days later I was on my way to the Panhandle with an outfit of twenty-five men, one hundred horses and six wagons.

An eighteen day's drive, southwest, brought us to the "L. X." ranch.

After laying there about a week, resting up, Hollicott sent me and my outfit south to attend the round ups in the Red River country.

We arrived back at the ranch about July the first, with three thousand head of "L. X." cattle which had drifted south during the past winter.

As I was anxious to get back to Kansas to see my wife and mother, Hollicott immediately gathered eight hundred fat s.h.i.+pping steers and started me.

I arrived in Caldwell September the first, and after s.h.i.+pping the herd, Mr. Beals ordered me to take the outfit back to the Panhandle and get another drove. This of course didn't suit, as I had only been at home a few days. But then what could I do? I hated to give up a good job, with no prospects of making a living by remaining in town.

I finally concluded to obey orders, so started the men and horses up the Territory line, while I and Sprague went to town with the wagon to load it with chuck. Mr. Beals had taken the train the day before to be absent quite a while. After getting the wagon loaded and ready to start, I suddenly swore off cow-punching and turned everything over to Mr.

Sprague, who bossed the outfit back to the Panhandle.

The next day I rented a vacant room on Main street and, rolling up my sleeves and putting on a pair of suspenders, the first I had ever worn, started out as a merchant--on a six-bit scale. Thus one cow-puncher takes a sensible tumble and drops out of the ranks.

Now, dear reader in bidding you adieu, will say: should you not be pleased with the substance of this _book_, I've got nothing to say in defence, as I gave you the best I had in my little shop, but before you criticise it from a literary standpoint, bear in mind that the writer had fits until he was ten years of age, and hasn't fully recovered from the effects.

FINISH.