sleep and drown."

[Illustrations: Hats]

It is rather doubtful, however, about even Blacky's ability
to have swum the river, since it was a half-mile wide, and with a
rather swift current. In the afternoon we walked back to Yankton
and bought the biggest felt hats we could find, with wide and
heavy leather bands. We knew that we should now soon be out in
the stock-growing country, and that, as Jack said, "the cowboys
wouldn't have any respect for us unless we were top-heavy with
hat."

We were camped on the high bank of the river, opposite a
farm-house. It was getting dusk when we got back to the wagon,
with our heads aching from our new hats, which seemed to weigh
several pounds apiece. Jack, as cook, announced that there was no
milk on hand, and sent Ollie over to the neighboring house to see
if he could get some. Ollie returned, and reported that the man
was away from home, but that the woman said we could have some if
we were willing to go out to the barn-yard and milk one of the
cows. The others decided that it was my duty to milk, but I asked
so many foolish questions about the operation that Jack became
convinced that I didn't know how, and said he would do it
himself. We all went over to the house, borrowed a tin pail from
the woman, and went out to the yard.

We found about a dozen cows inside, of various sizes, but all
long-legged and long-horned.

"Must be this man belongs to the National Trotting-Cow
Association," said Jack, as he crawled under the barbed-wire
fence into the yard. "That red beast over there in the corner
ought to be able to trot a mile in less than three minutes."

He cautiously went up to a spotted cow which seemed to be
rather tamer than the rest, holding out one hand, and saying,
"So, bossy," in oily tones, as if he thought she was the finest
cow he had ever seen. When he was almost to her she looked at him
quickly, kicked her nearest hind-foot at him savagely, and walked
off, switching her tail, and shaking her head so that Ollie was
afraid it would come off and be lost.

"Can't fool that cow, can I?" said Jack, as he turned to
another. But he had no better luck this time, and after trying
three or four more he paused and said:

"These must be the same kind of cows Horace Greeley found
down in Texas before the war. When he came back he said the way
they milked down there was to throw a cow on her back, have a
nigger hold each leg, and extract the milk with a clo