aveling along on the level, hard, but narrow way, the
towpath. All went well that day.

We were not so fortunate the next day, however, when a boat with three
men, two women, and three long-eared mules was squarely met, the mules
being on the towpath. The mules took fright, got into a regular mixup,
broke the harness, and went up the towpath at a two-forty gait.

As I had walked into Oneida the night before, I did not see the sight or
hear the war of words that followed. The men ordered Marden to "take
that outfit off the towpath." His answer was that he could not do it
without upsetting the wagon. The men said if he couldn't they would do
it quick enough. They started toward the wagon, evidently intent upon
executing their threat, meanwhile swearing at the top of their voices
while the women scolded in chorus, one of them fairly shrieking.

My old muzzle-loading rifle that we had carried across the Plains lay
handy. When the men started toward him, Marden picked up the rifle to
show fight and called on the dog Jim to take hold of the men. As he
raised the gun to use it as a club, one of the boatmen threw up his
hands, bawling at the top of his voice, "Don't shoot! Don't shoot!" He
forgot to mix in oaths and slunk out of sight behind the wagon. The
others also drew back. Jim showed his teeth, and a truce followed. With
but little inconvenience the mules were taken off the path, and the ox
team was driven past.

The fun of it was that the gun that had spread such consternation hadn't
been loaded for more than twenty-five years. The sight of it alone was
enough for the three stalwart braves of the canal.

It took New York to cap the climax--to bring me all sorts of
experiences, sometimes with the police, sometimes with the gaping
crowds, and sometimes at the City Hall.

[Illustration: _Brown Bros._

In the great automobile factory near Cleveland, Ohio, the old prairie
schooner came into vivid contrast with the new means of following the
trail.]

Mayor McClellan was not in the city when I arrived; but the acting mayor
said that while he could not grant me a permit to come in, he would have
the police commissioner instruct his men not to molest me. Either the
instructions were not general enough, or else the men paid no attention;
for when I got down as far as 161st Street on Amsterdam Avenue, a
policeman interfered and ordered my driver to take the team to the
police station, which he very properly refused to do.