get the animals over
rather than to take the time to seek another pass, which might take a
week of time. We men all went down to the foot of the fall, and threw
out all the large rocks, then piled up all the sand we could scrape
together with the shovel, till we had quite a pile of material that
would tend to break a fall. We arranged everything possible for a forced
passage in the morning, and the animals found a few willows to browse
and a few bunches of grass here and there, which gave them a little
food, while the spring supplied them with enough water to keep them from
suffering with thirst.

Early in the morning we took our soup hastily and with ropes lowered our
luggage over the small precipice, then the children, and finally all the
ropes were combined to make a single strong one about thirty feet long.
They urged one of the oxen up to the edge of the falls, put the rope
around his horns, and threw down the end to me, whom they had stationed
below. I was told to pull hard when he started so that he might not
light on his head and break his neck. We felt this was a desperate
undertaking, and we fully expected to lose some of our animals, but our
case was critical and we must take some chances. Bennett stood on one
side of the ox, and Arcane on the other, while big Rogers was placed in
the rear to give a regular Tennessee boost when the word was given. "Now
for it," said Bennett, and as I braced out on the rope those above gave
a push and the ox came over, sprawling, but landed safely, cut only a
little by some angular stones in the sand pile. "Good enough," said some
one and I threw the rope back for another ox. "We'll get 'em all over
safely" said Arcane, "if Lewis down there, will keep them from getting
their necks broken." Lewis pulled hard every time, and not a neck was
broken. The sand pile was renewed every time and made as high and soft
as possible, and very soon all our animals were below the falls. The
little mule gave a jump when they pushed her and lighted squarely on her
feet all right. With the exception of one or two slight cuts, which bled
some, the oxen were all right and we began loading them at once.

Bennett and Arcane assisted their wives down along the little narrow
ledge which we used in getting up, keeping their faces toward the rocky
wall, and feeling carefully for every footstep. Thus they worked along
and landed safely by the time we had the animals ready for a march. We
had passed with