"Well," said Hugh, "it's good economy for a cattleman to have the best cow horses he can get, and practically all the horses that they used down in that prairie country came up over the trail from Texas. Why on the Cody and North ranch they used to buy forty or fifty horses every year; the poorest ones were culled out and sold and then the next year another lot bought. It always seemed odd to me that so few Mexicans came up over the trail with all those cattle that came. The country down there was full of Texas cowboys, but mighty few of 'em were Mexicans. I suppose the fact that a good many of 'em could not speak English had something to do with it, and possibly in some places people did not like 'em; though I never saw anything like that except where a man was mean or had something bad about him. Pretty much all the Mexicans that I've had to do with were as loyal and faithful as white men--good workers. We've got a couple with us now and we all know what they are." "Yes," assented McIntyre, "they make the best kind of hands; but we don't see very many of 'em in this country. I'd like it if we saw more." For a little time nothing was said. "Was the cattle business new in this northern country when you were down in Nebraska, Hugh?" Jack asked presently. "It wasn't what you could call new, son, but on the other hand it hadn't been going very long. The country wasn't overstocked, and the cow men were careful and worked hard. They made lots of money." "Do you know when it was, Hugh, that cattle first came into the country north of the Platte?" "Well, it's hard to tell. I believe that there were cattle north of the Platte in 1867. I guess likely they were Keith's cattle, but I'm not sure. They were Texas cattle." "And in those days," asked Donald, "was there much game in that Nebraska country?" "Yes," said Hugh, "a good deal. Lots of antelope and deer, a good many elk and a few buffalo. I never happened to see any buffalo just there, but I saw signs of 'em more than once." "Why, when I was working down there," said Joe, "there were still quite a lot of elk. I remember once seeing Buck Taylor come in to the CN ranch dragging a big cow elk after him. I don't remember where they caught her, but I do remember how she looked when she came. Buck was snaking her along by the neck, and somebody had put a rope on one of her hind feet, and she was dragging that. I remember, too, hearing that one of the Oliffes roped an elk one time, but somehow or other he couldn't handle him, and I believe he had to shoot him to get the rope off him." "Yes," repeated Hugh, "there was plenty of game there then, and quite a little fur. Old Jim Carson used to make a living by trapping. Then in those days there were still a few wild horses in the country. I don't mean strays that had got away, but real wild horses, such as we used to have in old times, thirty or forty years ago." "Is it possible!" exclaimed Donald. "I'd like to see them."