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This long and honorable record in field sports has been made possible by consistent encouragement of well-rounded teams in which all branches were carefully developed, through the extraordinary ability of Keene Fitzpatrick, perhaps the greatest athletic trainer and track coach in the country.
Fraser met with a sad accident while assisting the driver of the teams, who, accidentally, struck him with the end of the lash of his whip in the eye, and cut the lower lid in two. The poor fellow fell to the ground as if he had been shot, and really, from the report of the whip, I was at first uncertain of the nature of the accident.
I seed the teams pass our'n about noon, and I says to father, 'Them strangers are cum; I'll go and look arter them. 'Yes, says he, 'do and take the decanter along. May be they'll want one to put their whiskey in. 'I'm goin to, says I; so I cum across with it, an' here it is. But, mind don't break it 'tis the only one we have to hum; and father says 'tis so mean to drink out of green glass."
In this connection I find myself thinking about the various modes of travel resorted to in those primitive days, when roads and bridges as we have them today were still far in the future. The wagons were generally drawn by cattle teams, from two to five yokes to the wagon. The number of wagons would be all the way from one to one hundred.
Others turned around so short that they broke the wagon tongues off. Nearly all the teams got entangled in their gearing, and became wild and unruly, so that the perplexed drivers were unable to manage them. The buffaloes, the cattle, and the drivers, were soon running in every direction, and the excitement upset nearly everybody and everything. Many of the cattle broke their yokes and stampeded.
"Drop!" was the cry, and on the instant both teams tightened their holds on the rope and dropped down on the wooden cleats. "Hold them, Pepper!" "Don't let 'em haul you up, Dale!" "Glue yourself down, Jack!" "Stone foundation, Fred! Stone foundation!" So the cries ran on, as the two tug-of-war teams held on to the long rope like grim death, each team determined not to give in an inch.
'Will any of you volunteer to save the guns? cried Buller. Corporal Nurse, Gunner Young, and a few others responded. The desperate venture was led by three aides-de-camp of the Generals, Congreve, Schofield, and Roberts, the only son of the famous soldier. Two gun teams were taken down; the horses galloping frantically through an infernal fire, and each team succeeded in getting back with a gun.
Some of the wagons were turned clear around and many of the terrified oxen attempted to run to the hills with the heavy wagons attached to them. Others were turned around so short that they broke the tongues off. Nearly all the teams got entangled in their gearing and became wild and unruly, so that the perplexed drivers were unable to manage them.
In such a situation, the settler would send word to his neighbors for miles around that on a given day there would be a log-rolling at his place; and when the day arrived six, or a dozen, or perhaps a score, of sturdy men, with teams of horses and yokes of oxen, and very likely accompanied by members of their families, would arrive on the scene with merry shouts of anticipation.
At nooning our teams stood in line on the road chewing the cud and taking their breathing spell, while families lunched on the grass in restful picnic style.
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