Dust kicked up by plodding hooves sprays the air with a sandy haze. The cowboy, a young man with curly hair and oversized cowboy hat, chokes as the brisk wind blows the dust his way. He is riding swing on a herd of cattle moving slowly up the trail toward the watering pond. Pushing the cows through this hot, dry land is the worst part of the roundup, but it will be over soon, and then he can breathe freely again. A Western tradition. Is this a scene from the Old West, around 1884? No, it's 1984. The American tradition of a cattle drive still happens in some areas every spring and fall. When it's roundup time, some people in the West still saddle up their horses before the morning sun appears.
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