When each cowboy had seven horses in his string

In 1933, at the age of 19, Eddie Dvarishkis started cowboying for the Antlers Ranch, headquartered on the Wood River southwest of Meeteetse, Wyoming, earning $35 a month plus room and board. In 1937, he was promoted to the position of Cow Foreman. The Antlers Ranch encompassed 40,000 acres - 27,000 deeded acres in addition to state, Forest Service, and BLM leases. As a cowboy on the early-day Antlers Ranch, Eddie's duties included moving cattle, building and repairing fences, and "riding line" on the yearlings on Cottonwood Creek to keep them within a designated area. "In those days, you could ride from Cottonwood to Thermopolis without running into a fence," Eddie says. Each cowboy was issued 7 head of horses in his string. With 1,200 cows and calves, plus yearlings and bulls to tend, and 40,000 acres to cover, a cowboy could easily wear out a horse in a day or less. The men worked 7 days a week, only getting time off on the Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas...Marketing cattle in the 1930s and '40s meant a roundup that could take several days, before trailing the cattle three or four days from Wood River to the railroad at Cody. After rounding up cattle on one ranch, the cowboys moved on to the next ranch, until all the ranches had finished their roundups. Ranchers trailed their herds over the designated stock trail on government land, allowing the cattle to graze on the three- or four-day drive to Cody...Echo Renner in Western Ag Reporter