open arms. I was a mature man of twenty-eight at the time,
mustached, and stood six feet to a plumb-line. The family were
cognizant of my checkered past, and although never mentioning it,
it seemed as if my misfortunes had elevated me in the estimation
of my sisters, while to my mother I had become doubly dear.

During the time spent in that vicinity, I managed to reach home
at night as often as possible. Constantly using fresh horses, I
covered a wide circle of country, making one ride down the river
into Goliad County of over fifty miles, returning the next day.
Within a week I had made up my outfit, including the
horse-wrangler and cook. Some of the men were ten years my
senior, while only a few were younger, but I knew that these
latter had made the trip before and were as reliable as their
elders. The wages promised that year were fifty dollars a month,
the men to furnish only their own saddles and blankets, and at
that figure I picked two pastoral counties, every man bred to the
occupation. The trip promised six months' work with return
passage, and I urged every one employed to make his appearance at
headquarters, in Medina, on or before the 15th of the month.
There was no railroad communication through Karnes and Goliad
counties at that time, and all the boys were assured that their
private horses would have good pasturage at the home ranch while
they were away, and I advised them all to come on horseback. By
this method they would have a fresh horse awaiting them on their
return from the North with which to continue their homeward
journey. All the men engaged were unmarried, and taken as a
whole, I flattered myself on having secured a crack outfit.

I was in a hurry to get back to the ranch. There had been nothing