Roll on, roll on, Roll on little dogies roll on, roll on; Roll on, roll on, Roll on little dogies roll on. 2 The road to that bright mystic region Is narrow and dim, so they say, But the trail that leads down to perdition Is staked and is blazed all the way. 3 They say that there'll be a big round-up Where the cowboys like dogies will stand, To be cut by those riders from Heaven Who are posted and know every brand. 4 I wonder was there ever a cowboy Prepared for that great judgment day Who could say to the boss of the riders, "I'm all ready to be driven away." 5 For they're all like the cows from the "Jimpsons" That get scart at the sight of a hand, And have to be dragged to the round-up, Or get put in some crooked man's brand. 6 For they tell of another big owner Who is ne'er overstocked, so they say, But who always makes room for the sinner Who strays from that bright, narrow way. 7 And they say He will never forget you, That He notes every action and look. So for safety, you'd better get branded, And have your name in His big tally book. As we rode back to camp we both agreed that the very first clap of thunder near at hand would send the whole herd flying, and if it rained it would be very hard to hold them. He told all hands not to picket their night horses, but to tie them up to the wagon (much to the cook's disgust), all ready for instant use. Perhaps I should explain a little about this business, so that my readers may understand what a "bed ground" is, and how the cowboy stands guard. At sunset the day herders work the herd up toward camp slowly, and as the leaders feed along to about three or four hundred yards from camp, one of the boys rides out in front and stops them until the whole herd gradually draws together into a compact body. If they have been well grazed and watered that day they will soon begin to lie down, and in an hour probably nine-tenths of them will be lying quietly and chewing their cuds. All this time the boys are slowly riding around them, each man riding alone, and in opposite directions; so they meet twice in each circuit. If any adventurous steer should attempt to graze off, he is sure to be seen, headed quickly, and sent back into the herd. The place where the cattle are held at night is called the "bed ground," and it is the duty of the day herders, who have cared for them all day, to have them onto the bed ground and bedded down before dark, when the first guard comes out and takes them off their hands. Well, as I said at the beginning, it was dark, and although it was not raining when they left camp, the boys had put on their slickers, or oilskin coats, well knowing that they'd have no time to do it when the rain began to fall.