having already tied the lariats to the heavy corral rope from the
animal's horns. When the word was given, we took a good swinging
start, and unless something gave way there was one steer less in the
hog. After we had landed the animal high and dry on the bank, it was
but a minute's work to free the rope and untie the hobbles. Then it
was advisable to get into the saddle with little loss of time and give
him a wide berth, for he generally arose angry and sullen.

It was dark before we got the last of the bogged cattle out and
retraced our way to camp from the first river on the trip that had
turned us. But we were not the least discouraged, for we felt certain
there was a ford that had a bottom somewhere within a few miles, and
we could hunt it up on the morrow. The next one, however, we would try
before we put the cattle in. There was no question that the
treacherous condition of the river was due to the recent freshet,
which had brought down new deposits of sediment and had agitated the
old, even to changing the channel of the river, so that it had not as
yet had sufficient time to settle and solidify.

The next morning after breakfast, Flood and two or three of the boys
set out up the river, while an equal number of us started, under the
leadership of The Rebel, down the river on a similar errand,--to
prospect for a crossing. Our party scouted for about five miles, and
the only safe footing we could find was a swift, narrow channel
between the bank and an island in the river, while beyond the island
was a much wider channel with water deep enough in several places to
swim our saddle horses. The footing seemed quite secure to our horses,
but the cattle were much heavier; and if an animal ever bogged in the
river, there was water enough to drown him before help could be
rendered. We stopped our horses a number of times, however, to try the