Sexton, Ella M. / 2008-11-10 00:00:00
"All we bought from the Gringos was paid for with hides and tallow,
so it was well, you see, children, that my father owned ten thousand
cattle; for counting relatives and Indian servants, we always had more
than thirty people on our ranch to feed and clothe. We raised grain
and corn and beans enough for the family, but had to buy sugar,
coffee, and such things.
"Did we have many horses, you say? Yes, droves of them, and we almost
lived on horseback, for no one walked if he could help it, and there
were almost no carriages or roads. Neither were there any barns or
stables, for the mustangs, or tough little ponies, fed on the wild
grass and took care of themselves. Every morning a horse was caught,
saddled and bridled, and tied by the door ready to use. All the ladies
rode, too, and I often used to ride twenty miles to a dance with Juan,
my young husband, and back again in a day or so.
"Sometimes we went to the rodeo, where once a year the great herds of
cattle were driven into corrals, and each ranchero or farmer picked
out his own stock. Then those young calves or yearlings not already
marked were branded with their owner's stamp by a red-hot iron that
burnt the mark into the skin.
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