"A Rained-Out Roundup" - An Essay by John R. Erickson

 

I was in a nervous state all week. I had set May 24th and 25th as the dates for my spring branding. I had lined up a crew of 12 riders for each day, and had spent weeks repairing gates, fences, and wing fences.

    I had made long lists of things to do: buy groceries for the crew; buy horse feed, vaccine, and supplies; gather wood for the branding fire; turn on the windmill in the summer pasture; trim the feet of all the saddle horses; tie up the dogs so that they wouldn't ca...