The railroads could not keep up with the men who ventured farther and farther into the west. That meant the first cattle ranchers in these new lands had to push large herds of cattle for many miles to reach the nearest rail head. They crossed vast plains, arid deserts and even mountains. All the while hunting for most of their food, crossing rivers and fighting bands of roving Indians or gangs of bad white men. When a man ask if it had been a hard drive, you knew he had never been on one before or he would know the answer, they all were.
