to his love affairs. At my time of life, now nearing my alloted span,
I have little sympathy with the great mass of fiction which exploits
the world-old passion. In no sense of the word am I a well-read man,
yet I am conscious of the fact that during my younger days the love
story interested me; but when compared with the real thing, the
transcript is usually a poor one. My wife and I have now walked up
and down the paths of life for over thirty-five years, and, if memory
serves me right, neither one of us has ever mentioned the idea of
getting a divorce. In youth we shared our crust together; children
soon blessed and brightened our humble home, and to-day, surrounded by
every comfort that riches can bestow, no achievement in life has given
me such great pleasure, I know no music so sweet, as the prattle of my
own grandchildren. Therefore that feature of my life is sacred, and
will not be disclosed in these pages.

I would omit entirely mention of the Indian contract, were it not that
old friends may read this, my biography, and wonder at the omission. I
have no apologies to offer for my connection with the transaction, as
its true nature was concealed from me in the beginning, and a scandal
would have resulted had I betrayed friends. Then again, before general
amnesty was proclaimed I was debarred from bidding on the many
rich government contracts for cattle because I had served in the
Confederate army. Smarting under this injustice at the time the Indian
contract was awarded, I question if I was thoroughly _reconstructed._
Before our disabilities were removed, we ex-Confederates could do all
the work, run all the risk, turn in all the cattle in filling the
outstanding contracts, but the middleman got the profits. The contract
in question was a blanket one, requiring about fifty thousand cows for
delivery at some twenty Indian agencies. The use of my name was all
that was required of me, as I was the only cowman in the entire ring.