Book excerpt: Ride the Great Western Trail from Texas to Montana with the Lovell Herd of 3100 prime Mexican cattle. Forced to leave Georgia following the Civil War, a Rebel soldier packs up his family and heads west. The youngest boy, Tom, leaves home in 1882 and hires on to one of the Lovell outfits about to receive a herd of Mexican cattle near Brownsville, Texas. Tom's "log" of the journey describes the carefully orchestrated process of forming a herd, outfitting for the trail and the importance of the chuck wagon, remuda and the selection the best available horses for special tasks. The Western Trail went from San Antonio to Dodge but this drive continued all the way to Montana as a special delivery to the Army at the Crow Reservation. Stampedes, drought, flooded rivers, hostile Indians and incredible horsemanship are all present and dealt with in the matter of fact manner expected of Texas cowboys. Indeed, this narrative is so authentic that many believe it is an autobiographical account of author, Andy Adams, and his days as a Texas cowboy.