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“Well, if I’m the man you were aiming to see, come on in the barn and talk while I tend to our mounts.”
“I can tend to my own. No reason to hand more work off to you when what I need is your expertise.”
Conrad wasn’t one for jawing, never had been, so Kent didn’t correct him and instead led him into the barn, indicating a stall where he could lead his horse if he planned to stay more than a few minutes.
Kent went back to applying ointment over the horse’s legs, careful to keep the sticky paste thin so the bandaging wouldn’t be damp and attract flies. There weren’t usually many flies there, but with all the rain of the last few years, the population had increased, making them a nuisance.
“I’m listening.” Kent decided if Conrad could be gruff, so could he.
“I’ve been doing this a long time, Kent. Lots of years. But I’ve seen nothing like this.” He shifted his weight and leaned against the wall. “Dr. Spight says you’re the man to talk to about sick cattle.”
Kent’s heart ratcheted up to racing speed, and he clenched his fist and slowly raised to standing. He’d told Doc Spight that he was willing to help with animal ailments, but he wasn’t about to open a practice in Belle Fourche when he wasn’t sure of his future or his father’s. But a cattle sickness? That could mean disaster for the Douglas herd. “Sick cattle? What’s happening?”
Conrad pursed his lips and took a deep breath. “They get winded. Weak. Tired. And everything I do to try to help them seems to only make matters worse. I haven’t lost any yet, but it only seems a matter of time.”
Dread pooled in his chest. “When did this start?”
Conrad tipped his head back, shifted his hat to the side and scratched his head. “Near as I can tell, about a month ago. They may have had trouble before that, but this came on slowly and got worse slowly.”
His brain thought about all the various things he’d learned when in training and nothing fit exactly. Not yet, anyway. “Anything else? Any new pastures? Did you purchase any new stock recently that might have brought a parasite to your herd?” Parasites could act slowly and often made an animal sick without killing it. Killing the host would mean death for the parasite.
“None. We’ve been trying to maintain our herd. With the losses from the flooding, there’s been no extra money to buy more and, as you know, stock has been expensive because it’s scarce.”
He’d advised Armstrong to sell a few promising heifers to make up their own losses, but interest was low with the cost. No one had extra money when they’d funneled everything to feeding the stock they still had and their families. “I understand, but I had to ask.”
Conrad nodded, eyeing the horse behind Kent. “What’s the matter with his legs?”
Kent patted the horse’s flank. “The grass is choked out by the thistle from last fall in some areas. Our riders have leathers to protect them. The horses don’t.” Though he wished he could fashion some type of protection. The horses didn’t enjoy being wrapped.
“Our land is different from yours. No river. Just wells, but it’s been mighty wet in areas from the river. I’ll be glad when the summer brings an average amount of rain and not a deluge.” He chuckled mirthlessly.
“Are you having trouble finding good pastureland?” Kent motioned for him to follow him back outside and leaned against the paddock railing.
Conrad draped his arms over the top, his eyes landing on a few of their choice horses. “Been mighty hard. Like I said, our land is different. I expect it hit us less hard than you because we didn’t have a river on our property. But there was still plenty of water to kill the grass. I’ve had to buy hay. That cut into what we’d saved, but I had to.”
Kent nodded his agreement. They hadn’t had to yet, but the time was coming fast. He’d even considered sending Armstrong right away, to avoid waiting until none could be had.
“I talked to Marshal, the new owner of the feed and seed. He says he’s having trouble meeting the demand. You’re not the only one who has needed to make changes.”
“I just hope it’s not something I have to keep doing. I’ve never seen flooding year after year like the last few. It’s been bad almost since you left.”
Kent ducked his head. He’d been far away from the flooding, but that hadn’t stopped him from reading about it. He’d wanted to be well away from home, but also couldn’t quell his curiosity about the only place he’d ever felt welcome, even if that welcome came with stipulations.
“I heard that. I hope it’s done now. This spring has seemed dry.” He glanced over the grass, still green but starting to brown in areas. “We could actually use an inch or so.”
Conrad nodded but didn’t put a voice to his agreement. “Will you stop by and look at a few of my cows that I’ve kept in the barn? In case it is something that will spread, I wanted them apart from the rest of the herd.”
With his agreement to help Dr. Spight, he had to agree to helping anyone who needed him. This would also give him a head start on protecting his own cattle. Or Armstrong’s rather, since he was no longer a part of the family, according to Pa. “Of course. When should I come out?”
Conrad frowned and shifted his foot on the bottom rail. “As soon as you can, I expect. I don’t mean to cause alarm, whatever this is, attacks slowly, but I can’t afford to lose a single cow.”
Poor weather, sickness, loss after birthing a calf, there were so many things that could take the life of a cow, and that loss spiraled when they took the future into consideration. “As soon as I’m finished here, I’ll ride over and take a look. I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to tell you what it is right away. But I won’t stop until I’ve exhausted my options.”
Unfortunately, a lot of things could infect a herd, especially now with the railroad delivering cattle all over to supply food across the nation. One sick cow stuck in a cattle car with the others could spell disaster.
“I appreciate that. Do I send payment to you or to Doc Spight?”
The question seemed ignorant until Kent thought about it for a moment. Praise the Lord he hadn’t answered off the cuff. If the doc had given Kent’s name to Conrad, he probably assumed they were working together. “You and I can discuss payment after I do all I can to save your herd.” He hated the idea of taking money if nothing could be done, even if it cost him time. That was something he had in great plenty at the moment.
