GO EN RODEO EN 3

joe rode into the rodeo grounds north of prescott.. his pack horse came along on a slack rope.. the pine trees that encircled the rodeo grounds kept the area cool and shaded. contestants were camped in every direction around the arena everything from wall tents to just plain old canvas covered bed rolls spread on the green grass next to a camp fire. joe didnt see any one who he knew on a first name basis.as he rode through the camp area he saw some contestants who he knew by reputation.. at the far north edge he passed a old dodge truck with wooden racks built on the back it was hooked to a home made trailer that turned out to be the very first such trailer for hauling horses. it all belonged to three brothers from safford who had traveled from the west coast to madison square garden rodeoing, calgary to prescott. joe got a hard knot in his belly as he rode by. maybe he was stepping into a world above his ability.. on into the large pines he rode until he came to a open space with a lot of grass.. here he stopped. he unsaddled his horses and led them out into the little park and hobbled them. then he returned to his camp and began putting things together for a semi permenant camp.in a short time he had a rig of rocks for a fire, a stack of wood and his panniers set up for a kitchen. he sat back on his bed roll and watched his horses graze the good green gramma grass, he would need to go scare up the rodeo office and get entered.the 4 th was just two days away. as he sat there waitting for his coffee pot to bubble he saw two of the three mcfarland brothers walk out of the trees and stand there looking and talking about his horses. they were just far enough away to not be able to hear what was being said.. they never once looked his way but concentrated their stares on his two horses.soon they turned and started to walk away but that was when they saw joe pouring a cup of coffee. the two looked at each other then came walking over to joe s camp. " can i offer you fellas a cup of coffee?"joe called out as they approached. the taller of the two shook his head" no thank you. where did you get those two horses? if you dont mind me asking?" " tucson, my cow ponys."joe didnt offer to much information. " are they for sale?"the tall man asked. "no,, i worked a good year for them two just so i would have good horses instead of the scrubbs you see around." joe was slowley getting to his feet he stuck a hand out" ime joe brown. its a honor you picked them out to ask about." the tall man shook joes hand" ime ed mcfarland and this is my brother jerry. our other brother mike will be along tomorrow.. we just lost one of our horses.. thats why we were asking.. i wouldnt sell them either" ed grinned. " are you entered here ?" "i just got here today.. no ime not entered yet. where is the office?"joe asked. " under the grand stands. theres a sighn over the door. they will open at 7 in the morning.. i would get there early, the line will be long."ed pointed over at the grand stands. " thanks ill be there."joe was likeing these two cowboys. " what events you going to enter?"jerry asked. " just the steer roping i guess.. i dont do to bad with a rope."joe told them " your not gonna rope calves? or team rope and bull dog?"jerry asked surprised. " i never done those things other that team rope. but i might try it if i can watch them before i gotta go." joe was a bit embarrased not knowing about them. " well tell the secretary that tomorrow she can set you up." ed turned to go " see you tomorrow."

GO EN RODEO EN 2

joe had left southern aeizona with plenty of time for the trip north.. if all went well he would even be there a couple days early to rest his horses and get ready. he found the trip along the san pedro river north to be worse than he expected/ the country was dry with the only stock water in the skimpy san pedro. cattle for miles along the river were useeing it for water. and they kept the grass ate down at the same time.his good horses were suffering for a good feed, but all he could do was push o as fast as he dared. when the san pedro met the gila river and then the combined streams turned west joe found a good crossing and moved to the north side of the gila. after a couple of days he found a good park along the river bank. he set up camp and decided to stay a few days and let his horses fill up. the second day a rider came into camp. after joe explained his reason for camping there the rider agreed to not say a word to his boss. at this point joe hadnt seen any sighn of cattle on this side of the river. but the next morning he packed up and set out for the western trail. he knew at some point he would need to turn north and cross the salt river. prescott was still two weeks of hard travel away and the fourth of july was almost a month away. the days were hot in the salt river valley. he no longer pushed his horses. he would start early before it got to hot. then he would shade up until late afternoon and start travelling again. he saw few people and none wanted to visit. he moved his line of travel to the south bank of the salt river. the feed for his horses there was some what better. as he neared the farming community of tempe he started seeing feilds of irrigated crops , produce, hay and such. he stopped one afternoon at a farm at the side of the road and inquired about buying some fresh produce and possibly putting his horses up for the night. the farmer was accomodating and showed him a corrall with a full hay rack for his horses and a barn beded in fresh sweet smelling hay to sleep on. all this plus a supper meal would cost one doller. he gladly paid it, this was the best night he had since he started north. the next morning he reluctantly left and started north again.he cut north of phoenix and worked his way across the deset until he found the bradshaw trail leading into prescott. there seemed to be a lot of travel along the trail by the amount of tracks. water was scarce.. but by following the trail he could water his horses where the stage horses watered along the way. occasionally he would come across a automobile . but they were rare. this reail was rough and steep in places.twice he rode along with other cowboys headed to the rodeo also. it was good to have some company. everyone who he encountered made comments on his pack horse. four white stockings and a blaze face. joe explained that the four white feet didnt hold a shoe well in the rough country thats why he used the horse as a pack animal.. what he didnt mention was the fancy soprrel was his steer roping horse.. he hoped he would be the difference between his lack of ability and the ful time rodeo contestants. he marched on toward prescott.