it held in its iron grasp the horns and a portion of the skull of the
dying beef. Several of us rode out to the victim, whose brain lay
bare, still throbbing and twitching with life. Rather than allow his
remains to pollute the river, we made a last pull at an angle, and the
dead beef was removed.

We bade Horsehead Crossing farewell that afternoon and camped for the
night above Dagger Bend. Our route now lay to the northwest, or up
the Pecos River. We were then out twenty-one days from Belknap,
and although only half way to our destination, the worst of it was
considered over. There was some travel up and down the Pecos valley,
the route was even then known as the Chisum trail, and afterward
extended as far north as Fort Logan in Colorado and other government
posts in Wyoming. This cattle trace should never be confounded with
the Chisholm trail, first opened by a half-breed named Jesse Chisholm,
which ran from Red River Station on the northern boundary of Texas to
various points in Kansas. In cutting across the bends of the Rio Pecos
we secured water each day for the herd, although we were frequently
under the necessity of sloping down the banks with mattocks to let the
cattle into the river. By this method it often took us three or four
hours to water the herd. Until we neared Fort Sumner precaution never
relaxed against an Indian surprise. Their sign was seen almost daily,
but as there were weaker outfits than ours passing through we escaped
any further molestation.

The methods of handling such a herd were a constant surprise to me, as
well as the schooling of these plainsmen drovers. Goodnight had come
to the plains when a boy of ten, and was a thorough master of their
secrets. On one occasion, about midway between Horsehead Crossing and
our destination, difficulty was encountered in finding an entrance to