Lesson 7:The Long Cattle Drive

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Danger in High Water It was hard to get thousands of cattle across a river. First, the cowboys tried to get one steer into the water. The steer had to be a leader. When he crossed, the other cattle would follow. The herd crossed the river in a long line. It was bad if something upset the cattle while they were in the river. The cattle would start to swim around and around in circles. The cowboys called this “a merrygo-round in high water.” In a merry-go-round, many cattle could drown. One day, the group came to Horsehead Crossing on the Pecos River. Everyone knew that this crossing was dangerous. The riverbanks were steep and muddy. The river was fast. The crossing began without any problems. The point men led the cattle into the river. The cattle bounced up and down. Their feet touched the river’s soft bottom. When the water got deeper, the cattle started swimming. James was almost all the way across the river. Then a floating log hit one of the cattle. The steer panicked. It ran into other cattle. Those cattle panicked, too. Soon the river was filled with frightened cattle. 11
James strained to keep his horse away from the cattle. He finally got across the river. But many of the cowboys were still in the river. Ben was one of them. James knew that the cattle could drown. Someone had to stop the cattle from swimming in circles. Suddenly, one cowboy got off his horse. James watched as the cowboy climbed over the backs of the cattle. The cowboy worked his way to the center. Then the cowboy grabbed the horns of a steer and turned its head toward shore. James was amazed. The cowboy’s plan worked. The steer went straight to the other side of the river. The other cattle followed. Ben came out of the water, too. He yelled at James, “Why didn’t you help us” James knew that he was not able to help. But Ben’s words hurt him anyway. 12
Page 1 and 2: the Long Cattle Drive by Holly Melt
Page 3 and 4: FOREWORD This story takes place in
Page 5 and 6: James walked over to the chuck wago
Page 7 and 8: Two “point men” followed behind
Page 9 and 10: The cowboys sit around the campfire
Page 11: James was angry. He took out his po
Page 15 and 16: 14 Danger in the Night The group co
Page 17 and 18: Suddenly, the stampede knocked one
Page 19 and 20: “Thanks,” Ben said. Ben slapped
Page 21 and 22: TARGET VOCABULARY bounding checking

Lesson 7:The Long Cattle Drive

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