The Wild Ride Down Palo Alto Canyon: A Memoir of Chuck Wagons, Horse Herding, and Lasting Lessons

At that time they had three wagons there, they had a chuck wagon. We pulled four big horses. The cook would drive that four horse hook up and the hoodlum would drive that hoodlum wagon and whatever old kid was on the bottom of the pole drive that bed wagon. On moving days just throw your saddle on top of them beds and. And that was me at that time. And we was going right down the bottom of the Palo Alto Canyon. We crossed the river five or six times and they had to remove them in front of us. And they drive 175 saddle horses. We’d cross right behind them with them wagons cause it packed it. Yes sir. We’re bottom at quicksand, see. And I was setting up on top of them thing back there. I’m behind going along and I was trying to roll a Bullderm cigarettes and dropped one of them lines and bold scar and high brown left there. And they come by that chuck wagon and running wide open and that cook hollered to jump off son, jump off! And I did. They turned that thing over and pulled it upside down in the water down there. Got the beds wet, tore the harness up. I, I figured did fire me, you know. I hadn’t been there but about two weeks. That’s about two weeks since that day they come across the river and got me. But that, that guy knew. I really Wanted to be there, you know, that boy running wagon. And he was pretty good about it. We got everything loaded up and went on. But. And I. I tell people when I tell that I don’t smoke now, so. Last cigarette ever.