ble in the water, Flood concluded to swim them
loose. We lashed the wagon box securely to the gearing with ropes,
arranged our bedding in the wagon where it would be on top, and ran
the wagon by hand into the water as far as we dared without flooding
the wagon box. Two men, with guy ropes fore and aft, were then left to
swim with the wagon in order to keep it from toppling over, while the
remainder of us recrossed to the farther side of the swimming channel,
and fastened our lariats to two long ropes from the end of the tongue.
We took a wrap on the pommels of our saddles with the loose end, and
when the word was given our eight horses furnished abundant motive
power, and the wagon floated across, landing high and dry amid the
shoutings of the outfit.

CHAPTER IX

DOAN'S CROSSING

It was a nice open country between the Wichita and Pease rivers. On
reaching the latter, we found an easy stage of water for crossing,
though there was every evidence that the river had been on a recent
rise, the debris of a late freshet littering the cutbank, while
high-water mark could be easily noticed on the trees along the river
bottom. Summer had advanced until the June freshets were to be
expected, and for the next month we should be fortunate if our advance
was not checked by floods and falling weather. The fortunate stage of
the Pease encouraged us, however, to hope that possibly Red River, two
days' drive ahead, would be fordable. The day on which we expected to
reach it, Flood set out early to look up the ford which had then been
in use but a few years, and which in later days was known as Doan's
Crossing on Red River. Our foreman returned before noon and reported a
favorable stage of water for the herd, and a new ferry that had been
established for wagons. With this good news, we were determined to put
that river behind us in as few hours as possible, for it was a common
occurrence that a river which was fordable at night was the reverse by
daybreak. McCann was sent ahead with the wagon, but we held the saddle
horses with us to serve as leaders in taking the water at the ford.

The cattle were strung out in trailing manner nearly a mile, and on
reaching the river near the middle of the afternoon, we took the water
without a halt or even a change of horses. This boundary river on the
northern border of Texas was a terror to trail drovers, but on our
reaching it, it had shallowed down, the flow of water following
several sma