al rise of
the river, which they thought was due almost any minute, urged that it
be crossed here, despite the scarcity of water, and the heavy pulling
among the sand-hills on the other side.

Woodson and the more experienced traders and hunters preferred to chance
the rise, even at the cost of a few days' delay, and to cross at the
upper ford. This would give them better roads, plenty of water and
grass, a safer ford and a shorter drive across the desert-like plain
between the Arkansas and the Cimarron. Eventually he had his way and
after spending the night at the older ford the caravan went on again
along the north bank of the river, and reached The Caches in time to
camp near them. The grass-covered pits were a curiosity and the story of
how Baird and Chambers had been forced to dig them to cache their goods
twenty years before, found many interested listeners.

All this day a heavy rain had poured down, letting up only for a few
minutes in the late afternoon, and again falling all night with
increased volume. With it came one of those prairie windstorms which
have made the weather of the plains famous. Tents and wagon covers were
whipped into fringes, several of them being torn loose and blown away;
two lightly loaded wagons were overturned, and altogether the night was
the most miserable of any experienced so far. While the inexperienced
grumbled and swore, Woodson was pleased, for in spite of the delayed
crossing of the river, he knew that the dreaded Dry Route beyond
Cimarron Crossing would be a pleasant stretch in comparison to what it
usually was.

Morning found a dispirited camp, and no effort was made to get under way
until it was too late to cover the twenty miles to the Cimarron Crossing
that day, and rather than camp without water it was decided to lose a
day here. It would be necessary to wait for the river to fall again
before they would dare to attempt the crossing and the time might as
well be spent here as farther on. The rain fell again that night and all
the following day, but the wind was moderate. The river was being
watched closely and it was found that it had risen four feet since they
reached The Caches; but this was nothing unusual, for, like most prairie
streams, the Arkansas rose quickly until its low banks were overflowed,
when the loss of volume by the flooding of so much country checked it
appreciably; and its fall, once the rains ceased, would be as rapid.
High water was not the only