Of course we branded, marked and altered these calves wherever we found them.

"Hair branding" was a method resorted to by dishonest cowboys; by burning the hair alone, and not the hide, they would apparently brand the calf with its rightful owner's brand; but later, when the calf had grown bigger and left its mother, they would slap on their own brand with comparative safety.

One had to be constantly on the lookout for such tricks.
The Mexicans, too, were fond of butchering a beef now and then, so they too required watching; but my busiest time came with early spring, when the cattle were in a poor and weak condition.

The river-bed, too, was then in its boggiest state.

Cattle went in to drink, stuck, and could not get out again, and thus some seasons we lost enormous numbers of them.