Further Work in Kansas Chalk 107 



to the man who guaranteed it, he gave us another 

 even more unreliable than the first. It is a mystery 

 to me how manufacturers can play such miserable 

 tricks on their customers. 



We were much inconvenienced also by the ill- 

 ness of one of our horses. He often gave out on 

 the open prairie, in one case, I remember, three 

 miles from water. The only vessel we had in which 

 to bring it to camp was a gallon jug, and it kept one 

 person busy getting enough for our use. We were 

 finally obliged to get another horse in place of the 

 sick one; and our bad luck persisting, hit upon one 

 which had evidently been trained to the wheel 

 of a coach, for as soon as the last trace had been 

 hitched, he was off like a shot. Fortunately, his 

 mate could not run as fast, so that they simply 

 went round in a circle, and the boys, watching 

 their chance, caught hold of the wagon and got 

 aboard. 



This horse was continually giving us trouble. 

 One day when we were about to cross Hackberry 

 Creek I went ahead with my pick and struck the 

 dry, cracked clay of the bed, to see whether it would 

 hold. As I could not break through, I concluded 

 that we could cross safely, and beckoned to Will 

 Brouse to come on. Whereupon that miserable mus- 

 tang, taking his bit between his teeth, came down 

 the hill with the load at full speed, and, dashing 



