The toughest critters to round up this spring are working cowboys.
Cowboy numbers are down.
Four years of drought cut into cattle herds and cowboy labor pools. Ranchers are rebuilding their herds, but they have less control over the supply of cowboys. In Paducah, about 120 miles north of Abilene, some former cowboys are working as prison guards or on highway department road crews. On weekends, some still work at cowboy jobs. If not for weekend cowboys, Larry Jones would have trouble getting the work done on his ranch at busy times.