We saw one
fourteen-ox team with four wagons, and another man with twelve
oxen and three wagons. There were also a number of mule teams,
and we noticed one of twelve mules and five wagons, and several
of ten mules and three or four wagons. With these the driver
always rode the nigh wheel animal--that is, the left-hand rear
one.
"I'm going to put a saddle on Old Blacky and ride him after
this," said Jack. "Bound to be in the fashion. Wonder how
Henderson is getting along in the mud? A mile in two hours, I
suppose. Must be impossible for him to see the head oxen through
this rain."
The downpour never stopped all day. We tried letter-writing,
but it was too cold to hold the pen; and Jack's efforts at
playing the banjo proved equally unsuccessful. We fell back on
reading, but even this did not seem to be very satisfactory. So
we finally settled down to watching the rain and listening to the
wind.
When evening came we shut down the front of the cover and
tried to warm up the cabin a little by leaving the oil-stove
burning, but it didn't seem to make much difference.
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