Open Range Dead Cattle

In the backyard of Utah's Lake Powell, where the rich people go to play with their water toys and big houseboats, I traveled down a lonely dirt road that isn't on my road atlas map. I saw many signs reading "Open Range". And once in a while I would pass cattle droppings along the way. At first, they showed a slight moisture content, but that was misleading: I stopped along the roadside to check out one of those cow patties and it was as hard as a rock, having been baked dry by the hot summer sun.

The surroundings were dry and very hot, with temperatures reaching over 110 degrees during that day.
I saw many short cedar trees and a plain of gravel and dead grass. And under a cedar tree lay the carcasses of 4 dead cattle. All their normal watering holes had dried up. They had probably traveled by the memory of where they had drank before, only to arrive at disappointment and no water. Finding shade to shelter each of them must have been hard. The leader that led this group must have seen this tree from a distance and they followed him here. And no water in sight. And no human masters to get them out of this dry Canyon.
They laid in the shade of this small cedar tree and waited for death.
It may have come quickly, from coyotes or cougars or other predators.
But we'll never know, will we?
Because we weren't there when the Open Range Cattle died.
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