o thick for safety at night. The sun was hardly an hour high when
the last herd came up to cross. The oxen were put in the lead, as with
ours, and all four of the oxen took the bridge, but when the cattle
reached the bridge, they made a decided balk and refused to follow the
oxen. Not a hoof of the herd would even set foot on the bridge. The
oxen were brought back several times, but in spite of all coaxing and
nursing, and our best endeavors and devices, they would not risk it.
We worked with them until dusk, when all three of the foremen decided
it was useless to try longer, but both Slaughter and Flood promised to
bring back part of their outfits in the morning and make another
effort.

McCann's camp-fire piloted us to our wagon, at least three miles from
the bridge, for he had laid in a good supply of wood during the day;
and on our arrival our night horses were tied up, and everything made
ready for the night. The next morning we started the herd, but Flood
took four of us with him and went back to Big Boggy. The Millet herd
was nearly two miles back from the bridge, where we found Slaughter at
Jacklin's wagon; and several more of his men were, we learned, coming
over with the oxen at about ten o'clock. That hour was considered soon
enough by the bosses, as the heat of the day would be on the herd by
that time, which would make them lazy. When the oxen arrived at the
bridge, we rode out twenty strong and lined the cattle up for another
trial. They had grazed until they were full and sleepy, but the memory
of some of them was too vivid of the hours they had spent in the slimy
ooze of Big Boggy once on a time, and they began milling on sight of
the stream. We took them back and brought them up a second time with
the same results. We then brought them around in a circle a mile in
diameter, and as the rear end of the herd was passing, we turned the
last hundred, and throwing the oxen into their lead, started them for
the bridge; but they too sulked and would have none of it. It was now
high noon, so we turned the herd and allowed them to graze back while
we went to dinner. Millet's foreman was rather discouraged with the
outlook, but Slaughter said they must be crossed if he had to lay over
a week and help. After dinner, Jacklin asked us if we wanted a change
of horses, and as we could see a twenty mile ride ahead of us in
overtaking our herd, Flood accepted.

When all was ready to start, Slaughter made a suggestion. "