When I developed Double Rafter
Cattle Drives, I purchased a chuck wagon which we
moved from camp to camp on a flatbed trailer. When
guests asked the whereabouts of our team, we
suggested they were suffering from strangles, but
were expected to be under harness the next year; an
excuse which only works for one year. Between
seasons I acquired a mule team.
Amos and Andy were a mid-sized, black team and the
$2400 package deal included two running-age mules,
harnesses complete with sleigh bells, and a 45
minute crash-course in harnessing, hitching and
driving…crash-course being an incredibly descriptive
term. In my early years of mule skinning, my
learning curve was nearly vertical and just when I
thought I had seen it all, I saw something new;
eventually deciding rough stock rodeo events are
pony rides compared to the thrill of a wagon
run-away. The old adage, “the empty wagon makes the
most noise” is unbelievably true as wooden wagon
wheels rocketing down a gravel road behind a
run-away team make an incredible racket. In spite of
all my harrowing run-aways, had it not been for my
cattle drive endeavor, this important piece of my
western heritage could have been lost. As with mule
skinning, the art of driving an ox team is also
disappearing, which is sad because it too played a
critical role in our nation’s history. Here is how.
America would not be all she is today, had it not
been for an ox drover named Henry. Previously
tempered by the Battle of Bunker Hill, Henry left
his day job as a book clerk to serve in General
George Washington’s Continental Army; a relationship
which matured into a lifelong friendship. It was the
winter of 1776 and the siege of Boston found General
Howe and the British forces confined to Boston
Harbor while General Washington controlled
Dorchester Heights, the high ground above the
harbor. After securing His Excellency’s permission,
Henry organized a small group of volunteers and
trekked 150 miles north to Fort Ticonderoga, a
formerly British stronghold now held by American
patriots. Using ox sleds, Henry and company lugged
50 British cannons and nearly 60 tons of ammunition
the 150 miles over the snow covered countryside back
to General Washington. Re-read that sentence because
it brings me to my point.
The magnitude of Henry’s accomplishment is
noteworthy not because of the distance or conditions
under which he drove his ox sleds, but because he
was a volunteer commanding a volunteer force. Our
war for independence could have collapsed even
before we declared our independence, had it not been
for patriots like Henry Knox. Colonel Knox and his
artillery played key roles in nearly every battle
from 1776 to the final surrender of Cornwallis at
Yorktown in 1781, and he was just a book clerk from
Boston who had a passion for liberty. Our nation was
founded by ordinary Americans doing extraordinary
things and she will be restored to her greatness by
the same. As 2015 begins, resolve to be this
generation’s Henry Knox. Be the patriot who goes
above and beyond the call of duty to restore our
great republic.
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