in the horses; all hands were called and the day's work began -- at daylight. When a river was reached, sometimes a mile wide after heavy rains, it was a matter of swimming the herd across. Men on horseback would swim by the side of the herd guiding them to the other side. Many times something would go wrong, the herd would split, some swimming across, others swimming back. This divided the outfit, and sometimes it would take several days and nights to get it together again. It meant every man at work. Cowboys would swim hack and forth carrying food, and not a stitch of dry clothes or sleep until the work was done. The boys were stayers. Their slogan was loyalty and service, and they stuck to the finish.

Winter Work for Cowboys

At the Newman Ranch, our local trading points were Fort Sheridan, located fifteen miles north and east of where my old home town Chadron, now stands; and at Pine Ridge Agency, each being about forty miles from the ranch. The year's supplies were hauled by mule teams from Sidney, Nebraska, about 200 miles distant. The cowboys on these ranches did the riding -- spring, summer and fall. Those kept during the winter months chopped and hauled logs, corral poles, posts; built barns, houses, ice-houses, corrals, or anything the foreman ordered done. The Texas Puncher was always sighing for Spring. This winter work in snow from one to ten feet deep was not any too pleasant for this fellow.

The Dreaded Sand Hills

The section of country north and west of the Niobrara, was used for winter and summer range, up to 1878. South and east of the river was known as the sand hill desert, and was considered unsafe for man or beast to roam in. So line-riders were stationed along the edge of the sand hills to keep cattle from drifting into these hills during storms. But, in March, 1878, a terrific snowstorm drove the cattle through the lines. The line-riders could do nothing but seek shelter, and the result was that thousands of cattle made their temporary home in the then dread sandhllls. Mr. Newman had over six thousand head in this predicament. Nothing could be done just then, and of course this caused intense anxiety to the owners of the herds. Billy Irwin, our foreman, suggested to Mr. Newman that if he were allowed to select his men and horses, he would undertake to gather the cattle. The arrangement was made and my partner and I were selected as two of the twelve to invade the dreaded land. An old government trail running from North Platte, Nebraska, to the Black Hills, led through these sand hills. It ran mostly through the valleys, away from the rough hills. Traveling this trail had been the means of several people perishing who had drifted away from the trail.

Our outfit started on the 15th of April, 1878. The second day out, we encountered one of the worst blizzards I have ever seen, which lasted three days. All we could do was to keep warm as best we could. The only fuel we had was what wood could be hauled for cooking, and what cow and buffalo chips we could gather. However, when the storm was over, we gathered up the saddle horses and made another start, and sent out scouting parties. We soon began to strike cattle perfectly contented in their new home amidst the splendid grass