Chapter 10
The Panic of '73I have never forgotten those encouraging words of my first
employer. Friends tided my finances over, and letters passed
between my banker friend and myself, resulting in an appointment to
meet him at Fort Worth early in February. There was no direct
railroad at the time, the route being by St. Louis and Texarkana,
with a long trip by stage to the meeting point. No definite
agreement existed between us; he was simply paying me a visit, with
the view of looking into the cattle trade then existing between our
respective States. There was no obligation whatever, yet I had
hopes of interesting him sufficiently to join issues with me in
driving a herd of cattle. I wish I could describe the actual
feelings of a man who has had money and lost it. Never in my
