<P> After driving a herd of cattle to the rail head in Deadwood, Dakota Territory, he entered a rodeo on the 4th of July in 1876, enticed by the $200 prize money . He won the rope, throw, tie, bridle, saddle, and bronco riding contests . It was at this rodeo that he claims friends and fans gave him the nickname "Deadwood Dick", a reference to a literary character created by Edward Lytton Wheeler, a dime novelist of the day . </P> <P> In October 1877, Love writes that he was captured by a band of Pima Indians while rounding up stray cattle near the Gila River in Arizona . Although he claimed to have received over 14 bullet wounds in his career (with' several' received in his fight with the Indians while trying to avoid capture), Love wrote that his life was spared because the Indians respected his heritage, a large portion of the band themselves being of mixed blood . The band of Native Americans nursed him back to health, wishing to adopt him into the tribe . Eventually, Love writes, he stole a pony and escaped into west Texas . </P> <P> Love decided he needed to leave the cowboy life . He married his wife Alice in 1889 and settled down, initially in Denver, taking a job in 1890 as a Pullman porter overseeing sleeping cars of the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad . While working for the railroad, he and his family resided in several western states, before finally moving to southern California . </P> <P> In 1907, Love published his autobiography entitled Life and Adventures of Nat Love, Better Known in the Cattle Country as' Deadwood Dick,' by Himself, which greatly enhanced his legacy . Love spent the latter part of his life as a courier and guard for a Los Angeles securities company . Love died there in 1921, at the age of 67 . </P>

What jobs did nat love hold in his life