The Great Florida Cattle Drive, Jan, 26-31 re-enacts part of a cattle drive from the novel “A Land Remembered.” On the first day of the drive, the participants got up before daylight to break camp, pack up their gear and be ready to ride at 6:30 a.m.

Daylight is precious on a cattle drive.

The riders are divided into “circles” who take turns riding with the herd while the rest of the drive participants follow along behind.

Heading out as the sun rose, the drive made a good pace across wide stretches of prairie and palmetto, The lunch stop was a “drive through” where they picked up bagged lunches to eat in the saddle.

And then, as often happened on historic cattle drives, the skies darkened and a heavy rain began to fall. The riders made good use of the yellow rain slickers they keep packed behind their saddles. And when the winds sent torrents of rain at them sideways, the horses knew what do to. They turned their tails to the wind.

Horses always turn their tails into the wind, one cow hunter explained, because their ears are very sensitive and facing the wind would dry the cold rain into the ears.

While the riders following the drive followed their horses’ instincts during the heaviest part of the storm, the cattle kept going, pushed along by the Florida cow hunters.

The heavy rain lasted about an hour, leaving the ground muddy and horses soaked. Then the skies cleared and the riders and animals were warmed and dried by the Florida sun.

The cattle used in the Great Florida Cattle Drive this year are Florida Cracker Cattle, the descendants of the wild cattle that settlers like those described in “A Land Remembered” gathered up to take to market. The breed is kept alive by ranchers who honor the state’s history.

While Cracker Cattle are smaller than most cattle raised for beef, they are well adapted to survive the extreme’s of Florida’s climate and thrive on the native vegetation. Cracker Cattle can live on air, joked on cow hunters.

During the drive, each day Florida school children are interacting online with those on the Great Florida Cattle Drive. For links, check the Great Florida Cattle Drive Facebook page.