Seo. 1.] HANDLING A WILD STEER. 17 



road, to greet liis planter friend with one of those hearty shakes of the hand 

 ■\vhicli alone is equal to a whole volume on the man's character. 



" "Well, captain, you see how it is. I am all ready ; the cattle are here, 

 wet, wild, and muddy, and the bank awful. I couldn't help it. It would 

 rain, and the i-iver is on the fall. I doul)t whether your men can stand on 

 the slii)pcry bank. My boys will take down some of the gentle ones, but 

 Lord helji you with two or tiirce ; we had to bring them in with the dogs." 



" So much the better, tlien, that the road is wet — tiiej' will slide the easier. 

 Ropes and men will bring them down ; don't you fret, colonel." 



" Well, well, I'll leave it to you ; I'll risk the cattle, if you will your necks. 

 Better wait for daylight, tliougli — what say?" 



" Never ! what should I do M-ith that surplus steam you say I carry ? "Wait 

 — no ; I intend to have them all aboard, and win half of them playing poker 

 with you before morning; and at daylight I am going to take in Tom 

 Kilgore's, at Rocky Landing. So bear a hand, boys. Stir up your lights, 

 and rouse 'cm out, one at a time, and often." 



In a few minutes there was a line of men and bullocks from the top of the 

 bank to the boat. The first dozen or two came down very orderly to the 

 end of the gangway, where, if they hesitated, a rope was thrown over so as 

 to encircle them behind, and two or three stout fellows at each end gave 

 iIkiii material aid about coming on board. The owner said we should see 

 fun directly, but not caring to participate in it personally, he took care to 

 iiuike himself one of the spectators, in a safe, comfortable position on board 

 the boat. Upward of half were brought down without giving ns a taste of 

 the promised amusement, though the Avliole scene was exceedingly interesting. 



At length they got hold of one of the aninnils, wliicli the colonel said M'as 

 wilder than forty deer, and vicious as an old buck in ruiming time ; and then 

 there was fun. lie was a great, long-legged, five-year-old steer, of the mouse 

 color, long taper-horned Spanish cattle, who had never before felt the wciglU 

 and streugtii of a man's hand upon his heretofore unrestrained wild-wood) 

 liberty. Round and round the yard he went, carrying or dragging through 

 the mud as many negroes, sailors, and firemen as could find horn, ear, nose, 

 or tail to hold to. Finally the}' got a rope round his horns and drew him up to 

 a stake at the edge of the bank, to wait till others were caught to lead down 

 first, thinking that he would better follow than take the front rank. He did 

 i'ollow. "When about a dozen or fifteen head were on the way down, the 

 wild one was cast off from his moorings and led up to the edge of the bank, 

 when just at that moment the engineer blowed off steam, at which the 

 frightened animal leaped forward on to the slip]iery path, lost his foothold, 

 and down he went against the next, and the next, and so on ; like a row of 

 bricks, one tumbled or slid against another, upsetting men and beast, till the 

 whole came down like an avalanche upon the end of the platform with such 

 force that tlie strain upon the mooring line of the bow drew out the stake, 

 when tlio strong current almost instantly swung her off shore so far, before 

 tlie men could get liold of the line and make fast again, that the platform 



