And the Yeah, Welcome back everyone to 1001 classic short Classic Short Stories and Tales.

One of my favorite tasks here at 1001 Classic Short Stories

is to introduce authors you are probably not familiar with,

and to keep our selection varied. I've made no secret of my love for stories of the

American West. In fact we just finished lonesome dove over at 1,001 heroes.

This author Andy Adams liked the cowboy life and wrote about it,

using his real life experiences to create his stories.

And I think you'll enjoy this one very much.

A little bit about Andy Adams,

as a boy he helped with cattle and horses on the family farm.

During the early 1880s, he went to Texas

where he stayed for 10 years, spending much of that time

driving cattle on the Western trails. In 1890 he tried working as a

businessman but the venture failed so he tried gold mining in Colorado and Nevada.

In 1894 he settled in Colorado, where he lived until his death.

He began writing at the age of 43, publishing his most successful book, The Log of a Cowboy.

He also wrote a book called Cattle Brands in 1906 from which today's story comes.

The Chicago Herald once said, as a narrative of cowboy life, Andy Adams' book is clearly

the real thing.

It carries its own certificate of authentic first-hand

experience on every page. And now drifting north by Andy Adams.

It was a wet bad year in the Old Western Trail.

...