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841
We had been on the road four months. While traveling through the wilderness some of the boys roped and killed a few young buffaloes, and we found it very exciting sport.
At Ellsworth, Kansas, Mr. Campbell gave my brother a compass and a map of Nebraska and told him to take the herd to the North Platte, so we started on our way. Just before we left Ellsworth a man by the name of Crump, who was searching all of the herds for road cattle belonging to Captain King, found a few steers in our herd, and through the advice of our friend, Kilgore, who was there with a herd, we turned back. After leaving Ellsworth we had difficulty in getting enough water for the cattle until we reached the Solomon River. Here we were met by a crowd of about twenty armed men who told us we had crossed the deadline, and could not water the cattle there, and that we would have to go up the river some twenty miles where we could cross on the public lands. They permitted us to water our horses, and gave us orders to move on. Our cattle had not had any water for three days and some were almost perishing. The twenty men left us before dark, and a little while after they were gone there appeared a lonely " short horn," riding a big horse, barefooted and with a small cap on his head. We hailed him and asked if he owned land near there. He said he owned a section about half a mile away, where he lived, but said his neighbors did not want anybody to take cattle across the river for fear of the Texas fever. We told him if he would allow us to water our cattle on his property we would give him two cows and calves or $100 in money, and remove our cattle as soon as they had been watered. When they had slaked their thirst we gave him two cows and calves and got him to accompany us twenty miles up the river, where we crossed to the other .side. This was near a place called Republican City. We traveled due north for several days and saw many buffaloes. One day about