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679
Panhandle country. He hired Tip Franklin, Jesse Parker, Will Heard, myself, George Owens, Jim McMahon,
Jess Pruitt and Will Pruitt ; also a negro cook and negro horse-wrangler. Jess Pruitt was boss.
On the second day of February we started out with the herd in good shape. The first night out the cattle stampeded several times and kept all hands up most of the night as well as the second night. One day about twelve o'clock a low cloud was seen in the north. Some of the boys said it was only the sand blowing on the plains, while others said it was a blizzard coming. We were then going over the long prairie near the Leon Holes and about 4 o'clock it struck us. It was a sandstorm and turned to sleeting. We were compelled to stand a midnight guard with the horses as well as the cattle. The cattle milled and ran most of the night. Could not bed them at all and we made slow progress owing to the cold. We got to the Horse Head Crossing on the Pecos River in the middle of the afternoon. The river was up and as we had good protection on that side of the river Jess stopped there for the night, but on account of the salt grass he had to double the guards again. Bob the horsewrangler was put on guard again. The next morning we had no horses nor horse wrangler, all were gone. We found where Bob had burned a rat den and after it had burned out he raked the ashes away and lay down and went to sleep. Upon waking up, Bob discovered the horses were gone and he began hunting for them and got lost himself. We found him that day about one o'clock twelve miles up the river with two of the horses. We