for the trail. Passing on to the next season's drive, you see we
secured a little over ten per cent. of the cattle and nearly
thirty per cent. of the horse stock. Last year, or for '83,
drovers took advantage of our low rates for Red River points, and
the percentage ran up to twenty-four and a fraction, or
practically speaking, one fourth of the total drive. We are able
to offer the same low rates this year, and all arrangements are
completed with our connecting lines to give live-stock trains
carrying trail cattle a passenger schedule. Now, if you care to
look over this correspondence, you will notice that we have
inquiries which will tax our carrying capacity to its utmost.
The 'Laurel Leaf' and 'Running W' people alone have asked for a
rate on thirty thousand head."

But the drover brushed the correspondence aside, and asked for
the possible feed bills. A blanket rate had been given on the
entire shipment from that city, or any point south, to Wichita
Falls, with one rest and feed. Making a memorandum of the items,
Lovell arose from the table and came over to where Jim Flood and
I were searching for Fort Buford on a large wall map. We were
both laboring under the impression that it was in Montana, but
after our employer pointed it out to us at the mouth of the
Yellowstone in Dakota, all three of us adjourned to an ante-room.
Flood was the best posted trail foreman in Don Lovell's employ,
and taking seats at the table, we soon reduced the proposed
shipping expense to a pro-rata sum per head. The result was not
to be considered, and on returning to the main office, our
employer, as already expressed, declined the proffered rate.

Then the freight men doubled on him, asking if he had taken into