Chapter 4

With the birthing season of the cattle complete, with the exception of a few late comers. The time had come to ride North as they had so many times before. The timing was perfect, given that their duties to the birthing calves was complete and that the new born mustang fowls would have had some time to develop, giving them a very good idea of which was the strongest stock with the best form. The journey North would take them into Oklahoma and sometimes as far as Colorado, they could easily be gone for a few weeks or more depending how far they traveled. Given the time away from home they would have to take the “chuck” wagon as to carry their provisions and the assorted items required to setup their mobile campsites as they traveled. But they could only store non perishables, rice, beans, sugar and coffee and maybe salted pork chunks for soup. Heavily salted pork was hard to eat alone, hard on the stomach and the last thing they wanted was an upset stomach on the trail. They would have to hunt for meat along the way, deer, bison and rabbit mostly. The trip was generally long and hard with many hours in the saddle traveling nonstop. It was inherently different, than herding cattle, as the herding of cattle typically took more time to travel, in that they would have to stop to graze the cattle not to mention the herding aspect, which made travel slower. While they were enabled to travel at a good clip, it would still take them many days even weeks to find the herds of wild roaming horses.

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There was no way of knowing where they would be, all they could do was follow the ancient trails and search the age old watering holes, for signs of life and mustang tracks. Once they found the signs of recent activity, locating them was just a matter of time. John had become quite knowledgeable as a tracker, thanks to his Native American friends back in Texas. When the work was done and offered some leisure time for personal pursuits, John would trade with them and he frequently would hunt with them when he had the chance. This not only allowed him to strengthen their bond, but he also learned much about the ways and wisdom of the natives. He even learned how to hunt with a bow and arrow, which was an excellent means to hunt. Unlike a gun, the animals were far less spooked if you missed a shot. While John was excellent with a gun, regardless he was grateful to learn their customs, wisdom and ways. He actually got quite good with a bow and arrow, through much experience and time spent with his native friends. Often they would travel north with some of the natives, when they encountered them en route. The logic was simple, they all needed horses and herding the majestic and powerful mustang, was easier with larger numbers to contain the herd. A mustang could run flat out for many a mile and with so much open space, they frequently did. Many a herd have gotten away, in the pursuit of the men trying to round them up. But the natives also shared much wisdom about stalking and surrounding prey before just rushing in like fools, only to end up on a wild goose chase. The Indians taught them how to use the features of the land like the ravines to their advantage when they could and to encircle them or send men around and ahead whenever possible.