KENSAL (AP) - An old-fashioned cattle drive has brought 48 Texas longhorns across the state in a 255-mile journey over three weeks.

Some people thought Daryle Beckley, of Kensal, was out of his mind when he started talking about bringing the cattle from Keene, northeast of Watford City. Even one of the volunteer cowboys who rode along for part of the trip thought it sounded a little crazy to drive the cattle so far.

"I didn't know if they were going to chase that easy," said Myron "Bug" Pryor, of Pingree.

Beckley and about 30 or more volunteer cowboys drove the longhorns on horseback. They arrived in Kensal on Friday night, headed for Beckley's farm southwest of town.

Beckley said he has been planning the cattle drive for about two years.

"Just for old times' sake, kind of," he said. "And kind of a dare, too."

The longhorns were on pasture land Beckley rents for the summer in Keene. It cost him $675 to haul the animals there in a semi trailer during the spring, he said.

Driving the animals home didn't exactly save him money. He had to hire a part-time worker to take over at the Bull Pen, the bar in Kensal he has owned for the last three years. And by Thursday, the trip had cost him about $1,000, he said.

In all, he could have saved money by paying to have the cattle hauled back to Kensal the same way they left the town.

"But I wouldn't have had a damn bit of fun," he said.

It was so much fun, Beckley is already thinking about planning another cattle drive for next fall.

Beginning Sept 6, the cattle were driven about 12 miles a day for 19 days straight, he said. Then, because they were ahead of schedule, they were pastured in Carrington for three days before continuing the journey.

Not all the cowboys were able to ride along the whole trip, Beckley said. People just came out to help when they could.

"Weekends are pretty full," he said.

The cowboys would start out the day about 9 a.m., driving the longhorns through the ditches along the highway, Beckley said. Dean Zink, who rode along part of the way, also brought his dog Allie to help keep the cattle in line.

"Back and forth, back and forth, 100 miles," Pryor said.

The modern cowboys had help from pickups following the herd. They had food and supplies in a "cook shack" pulled behind one of the pickups.

The cattle drive followed a route from Keene to Highway 23, south and then east on Highways 37 and 1804. They went south on Highway 41 to Turtle Lake and east on Highway 200 all the way to the county road that goes south into Kensal.

Often, along the way, farmers would offer a place to corral the horses and longhorns. The cowboys brought along a water tank and the cattle grazed.

Everywhere they went, they met people who were friendly and generous. Some merchants brought out doughnuts or meat and two schools brought busloads of students on field trips, Beckley said. In one town, they were invited to a birthday party and a dance.

At night, the cowboys would talk around the fire. Then they would sleep in campers, horse trailers or on cots under the stars.

Bill Bauer, of Carrington, brought his 9-year-old grandson out for one day of the drive.

"He said, 'Grandpa, you know that's the best 12 hours of my life,'" Bauer said.

"It's not for everybody," Bauer said. "But it is for a lot of us who like to be out there, listen to the coyotes howl at night."