Before
putting her in the stable I had her perform several tricks, and
then bow to the crowd, which by this time had grown to more than a
hundred people.
I had now lain around so long that I had become restless, as it
never did suit me to loaf about a town, so I concluded that I
would try ranching. I had enough money to buy a good ranch and
stock it, not thinking that it required any great amount of skill.
So I started up the Sacramento river to look for one. After I was
out most a month, this now being the last of February, 1867, I
found stock looking well and found a man that wanted to sell out
his stock and ranch. He had three hundred and twenty acres of land
and one hundred and fifty head of cattle, some chickens, a few
hogs, and a very few farming implements. After I had ridden around
over the ranch several days and looked at his stock, and finding
the range good, I asked his price. He wanted nine thousand
dollars. I believed that this would be a nice quiet life, and
although I did not know anything about raising stock, yet I
thought I would soon catch on as the saying goes, so I made him an
offer of eight thousand dollars, which offer he accepted. He was
to leave everything on the ranch but his bed and clothing and a
few little keep-sakes that he had about the house.
Now I started in to be an honest rancher, believing that all I
would have to do was to ride around over the range occasionally and
look after my stock, take things easy, and let my stock grow into
money, as I had heard it said that stock would while one was
asleep.
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