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Frank Bates was friendly with all of us, but did not enjoy camping out. He liked to be with when we were cutting out beeves. On one occasion he hitched Bob and Dirk, his favorite horses, to his top buggy an drove out where we were at work. He motioned to me, "Don't you think I could drive Bob and Dirk into the herd and pick out a beef just as good as you?"

 

"Frank you know what would happen if you made a dash at a steer with the team and buggy; you'd have a stampede!" I replied.

Frank Bates was friendly with all of us, but did not enjoy camping out. He liked to be with when we were cutting out beeves. On one occasion he hitched Bob and Dirk, his favorite horses, to his top buggy an drove out where we were at work. He motioned to me, "Don't you think I could drive Bob and Dirk into the herd and pick out a beef just as good as you?"

"Frank you know what would happen if you made a dash at a steer with the team and buggy; you'd have a stampede!" I replied.

Th second example is especially interesting because the diarist uses the term beeves and the term cattle in slightly different ways: He uses cattle (twice) when referring generically to the herd being driven or the portion of it that the cowboys need to hunt after they stampede. But beeves seems to refer to countable animals that are intended to be sold for slaughter at the end of the drive.

BEEF, n. 1. An animal of the bovine genus, whether ox, bull, or cow ; but used of those which are full grown or nearly so. In this, which is the original sense, the word has a plural, beeves. 2. The flesh of an ox, bull, or cow, or of bovine animals generally, when killed. In popular language, the word is often applied to the live animal, as, an ox is good beef ; that is, well fattened. In this sense, the word has no plural.

The second example is especially interesting because the diarist uses the term beeves and the term cattle in slightly different ways: He uses cattle (twice) when referring generically to the herd being driven or the portion of it that the cowboys need to hunt after they stampede. But beeves seems to refer to countable animals that are intended to be sold for slaughter at the end of the drive.

BEEF, n. 1. An animal of the bovine genus, whether ox, bull, or cow ; but used of those which are full grown or nearly so. In this, which is the original sense, the word has a plural, beeves. 2. The flesh of an ox, bull, or cow, or of bovine animals generally, when killed. In popular language, the word is often applied to the live animal, as, an ox is good beef ; that is, well fattened. In this sense, the word has no plural.

Another notable thing about both excerpts is that, despite multiple mentions of beeves, they never use the term beef (singular) to mean a live cow or ox. That does happen, however, in Laban S. Records, Cherokee Outlet Cowboy (1937):

"Frank you know what would happen f you made a dash at a steer with the team and buggy; you'd have a stampede!" I replied.

Another notable thing about both excerpts is that, despite multiple mentions of beeves, they never use the term beef (singular) to mean a live cow or ox. That does happen, however, in Laban S. Records, Cherokee Outlet Cowboy (1937):

"Frank you know what would happen if you made a dash at a steer with the team and buggy; you'd have a stampede!" I replied.