o River opposite some Indian mounds.
On reaching the divide between this and the next water, we sighted two
dust-clouds to the westward. They were ten to fifteen miles distant, but
I was anxious to hear any word of Sponsilier or Forrest, and sent Jake
Blair to make a social call. He did not return until the next day, and
reported the first herd as from the mouth of the Pecos, and the more
distant one as belonging to Jesse Presnall. Blair had stayed all night
with the latter, and while its foreman was able to locate at least a
dozen trail herds in close proximity, our two from Uvalde had neither
been seen nor heard of. Baffled again, necessity compelled us to turn
within touch of some outfitting point. The staples of life were running
low in our commissary, no opportunity having presented itself to obtain
a new supply since we left the ranch in Medina over a month before.
Consequently, after crossing the San Saba, we made our first tack to the
eastward.

Brady City was an outfitting point for herds on the old western trail.
On coming opposite that frontier village, Parent and I took the wagon
and went in after supplies, leaving the herd on its course, paralleling
the former route. They had instructions to camp on Brady Creek that
night. On reaching the supply point, there was a question if we could
secure the simple staples needed. The drive that year had outstripped
all calculations, some half-dozen chuck-wagons being in waiting for
the arrival of a freight outfit which was due that morning. The nearest
railroad was nearly a hundred miles to the eastward, and all supplies
must be freighted in by mule and ox teams. While waiting for the freight
wagons, which were in sight several miles distant, I made inquiry of the
two outfitting stores if our Buford herds had passed. If they had,
no dealings had taken place on the credit of Don Lovell, though both
merchants knew him well. Before the freight outfit arrived, some one
took Abb Blocker, a trail foreman for his brother John, to task for
having an odd ox in his wheel team. The animal was a raw, unbroken "7L"
bull, surly and chafing under the yoke, and attracted general attention.
When several friends of Blocker, noticing the brand, began joking him,
he made this explanation: "No, I don't claim him; but he came into my
herd the other night and got to hossing my steers around. We couldn't
keep him out, and I thought if he would just go along, why we'd put him
under the yoke an