Inthosedaysonacowranchthemenwereapttobeawayonthevariousround-upsatleasthalfthetime。Itwasinterestingandexcitingwork，andexceptforthelackofsleeponthespringandsummerround-upsitwasnotexhaustingwork；comparedtolumberingorminingorblacksmithing，tositinthesaddleisaneasyformoflabor。Theponieswereofcoursegrass-fedandunshod。Eachmanhadhisownstringofnineorten。Oneponywouldbeusedforthemorningwork，onefortheafternoon，andneitherwouldagainbeusedforthenextthreedays。Aseparateponywaskeptfornightriding。
Thespringandearlysummerround-upswereespeciallyforthebrandingofcalves。Therewasmuchhardworkandsomeriskonaround-up，butalsomuchfun。Themeeting-placewasappointedweeksbeforehand，andalltheranchmenoftheterritorytobecoveredbytheround-upsenttheirrepresentatives。TherewerenofencesintheWestthatIknew，andtheirplacewastakenbythecowboyandthebranding-iron。Thecattlewanderedfree。Eachcalfwasbrandedwiththebrandofthecowitwasfollowing。Sometimesinwintertherewaswhatwecalledlineriding；thatis，campswereestablishedandthelineriderstraveledadefinitebeatacrossthedesolatewastesofsnow，toandfrofromonecamptoanother，topreventthecattlefromdrifting。Butasarulenothingwasdonetokeepthecattleinanyoneplace。Inthespringtherewasageneralround-upineachlocality。Eachoutfittookpartinitsownround-up，andalltheoutfitsofagivenregioncombinedtosendrepresentativestothetwoorthreeround-upsthatcoveredtheneighborhoodsnearbyintowhichtheircattlemightdrift。Forexample，ourLittleMissouriround-upgenerallyworkeddowntheriverfromadistanceofsomefiftyorsixtymilesabovemyranchtowardtheKildeerMountains，aboutthesamedistancebelow。InadditionwewouldusuallysendrepresentativestotheYellowstoneround-up，andtotheround-upalongtheupperLittleMissouri；and，moreover，ifweheardthatcattlehaddrifted，perhapstowardtheIndianreservationsoutheastofus，wewouldsendawagonandriderafterthem。
Atthemeeting-point，whichmightbeinthevalleyofahalf-drystream，orinsomebroadbottomoftheriveritself，orperchancebyacoupleofpondsundersomequeerlyshapedbuttethatwasalandmarkfortheregionroundabout，wewouldallgatherontheappointedday。
Thechuck-wagons，containingthebeddingandfood，eachdrawnbyfourhorsesanddrivenbytheteamstercook，wouldcomejoltingandrattlingovertheunevensward。Accompanyingeachwagonwereeightortenriders，thecow-punchers，whiletheirhorses，abandofahundredorso，weredrivenbythetwoherders，oneofwhomwasknownasthedaywranglerandoneasthenightwrangler。Themenwerelean，sinewyfellows，accustomedtoridinghalf-brokenhorsesatanyspeedoveranycountrybydayorbynight。Theyworeflannelshirts，withloosehandkerchiefsknottedroundtheirnecks，broadhats，high-heeledbootswithjinglingspurs，andsometimesleathershaps，althoughoftentheymerelyhadtheirtrouserstuckedintothetopsoftheirhighboots。
Therewasagooddealofroughhorse-play，and，aswithanyothergatheringofmenorboysofhighanimalspirits，thehorse-playsometimesbecameveryroughindeed；andasthemenusuallycarriedrevolvers，andastherewereoccasionallyoneortwonotedgun-