man, had been there as a witness at court. The brother was dead
now, but if he was living and present, it was quite possible that
he would remember the distance. The best information was that it
was a very long ways off. I rode it in the mud in less than two
hours; just about ten miles.

"But that wasn't a circumstance to other experiences. We had
driven about three hundred horses and mules, and after disposing
of over two thirds of them, my employer was compelled to return
home, leaving me to dispose of the remainder. I was a fair
salesman, and rather than carry the remnant of the herd with me,
made headquarters with a man who owned a large cane-brake
pasture. It was a convenient stopping-place, and the stock did
well on the young cane. Every week I would drive to some distant
town eighteen or twenty head, or as many as I could handle alone.
Sometimes I would sell out in a few days, and then again it would
take me longer. But when possible I always made it a rule to get
back to my headquarters to spend Sunday. The owner of the
cane-brake and his wife were a simple couple, and just a shade or
two above the Arcadians. But they had a daughter who could pass
muster, and she took quite a shine to the 'Texas-Hoss-Man,' as
they called me. I reckon you understand now why I made that
headquarters?--there were other reasons besides the good
pasturage.

"Well, the girl and her mother both could read, but I have some
doubt about the old man on that score. They took no papers, and
the nearest approach to a book in the house was an almanac three
years old. The women folks were ravenous for something to read,
and each time on my return after selling out, I'd bring them a