On August 22, 1872, Nance registered a
livestock brand in the shape of a
pitchfork. He later partnered with his father, and on December 16, 1874, they registered a brand in the shape of a
spade. On April 15, 1877, Nance and ten cowboys
drove 2,300 north through
Fort Worth and
Dodge City, Kansas, ending at
Cheyenne, Wyoming in mid-July of the same year. In 1880, he drove a herd north via the
Great Western Cattle Trail, though ended the journey at Dodge City, as the cattle refused to drink from the salty
Brazos River. He sold a separate herd – 2,000 head large – to a ranch in
Ogallala, Nebraska, though did not participate in the droving. In 1883, Nance entered a partnership with a
Presidio County ranch. He then spent ten years with the Toyah Land and Cattle Company grazing cattle at the foothills of the
Davis Mountains. In 1885, he drove 3,000 head of cattle from
Columbus, Texas, to Presidio County. He drove 2,000 head of cattle to
Coolidge, Kansas, after using rail to first transport them to
Big Spring. Due to drought and overgrazing, he and fellow ranchers moved their cattle westward in fall 1888. In spring 1889, a cyclone passed through the ranch they had moved to, killing 152 head of cattle and injuring hundreds of others. == Personal life and death ==