I remember that I spent several hours gathering in squashes
and covering up potatoes; and when I returned to the house at 3 p. M.
every leaf on the trees and every flower in the garden was frozen
stiff, pointing straight out to the southeast. It was the only time I
ever saw a frozen flower garden in full bloom. It sleeted nearly all
night, and the Texas cattle, frightened and chilled by wind and sleet,
were so wild that father and all the boys had to herd them all night
to keep them from stampeding. Their clothes were wet and frozen, for
they were not very warmly dressed, and George said he never suffered
so much with the cold in his life as he did that night.
It was a hard and stormy winter, and the Ohio boys, unused to such a
life, suffered badly, many of them freezing their hands and feet. When
they reached Denver the cattle were taken to the valleys, and father
traded his own cattle for mules. Loading his two wagons with hides, so
as to make money both ways, he and the two boys who had driven his
teams started for home.
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