in Medina over a month before. Consequently, after crossing the
San Saba, we made our first tack to the eastward.

Brady City was an outfitting point for herds on the old western
trail. On coming opposite that frontier village, Parent and I
took the wagon and went in after supplies, leaving the herd on
its course, paralleling the former route. They had instructions
to camp on Brady Creek that night. On reaching the supply point,
there was a question if we could secure the simple staples
needed. The drive that year had outstripped all calculations,
some half-dozen chuck-wagons being in waiting for the arrival of
a freight outfit which was due that morning. The nearest railroad
was nearly a hundred miles to the eastward, and all supplies must
be freighted in by mule and ox teams. While waiting for the
freight wagons, which were in sight several miles distant, I made
inquiry of the two outfitting stores if our Buford herds had
passed. If they had, no dealings had taken place on the credit of
Don Lovell, though both merchants knew him well. Before the
freight outfit arrived, some one took Abb Blocker, a trail
foreman for his brother John, to task for having an odd ox in his
wheel team. The animal was a raw, unbroken "7L" bull, surly and
chafing under the yoke, and attracted general attention. When
several friends of Blocker, noticing the brand, began joking him,
he made this explanation: "No, I don't claim him; but he came
into my herd the other night and got to hossing my steers around.
We couldn't keep him out, and I thought if he would just go
along, why we'd put him under the yoke and let him hoss that
chuck-wagon to amuse himself. One of my wheelers was getting a
little tenderfooted, anyhow."