What was life like for cowhands during a cattle drive?

Life was tough for cowhands during a drive. The weather might be horrible with storms and pouring rain. The cattle might stampede and kill one or more cowboys who couldn't get out of the way in time. Driving cattle was hard work - you were in the saddle from sunup to sundown with just a short break for meals, and you might even have to get up in the middle of the night to watch the cattle during the darkness (when they were more likely to get spooked and stampede). If you rode drag, that meant you had to ride behind the herd and make any slow-poke cows catch up. You were riding in the dust kicked up by the cows, which included cow poop dust! It was a tough life.