Passing successively Cottonwood Creek, Big and Little Turkey Creeks, Little Arkansas, Jarvis Creek, Big and Little Cow Creeks, we reached Big Bend, the point where the Santa Fé trail, going westward, first strikes the Arkansas River. Before reaching Big Bend we noticed with uneasiness that the tires on our fore wheels were becoming loose. At Council Grove, where we had had the tires of the hind wheels shrunk and reset, those of the fore wheels had seemed tight enough; but since leaving there the woodwork of the fore wheels had been shrinking more and more each day, until now something must be done to tighten them or we would soon have a broken-down wagon. We had hoped to reach Fort Larned before having to reset these tires, but from Big Bend it was nearly two days' drive to the fort. Seeing old Tom examining the wheels, I asked: "Well, Tom, what are we going to do about it? Hadn't we better take them fore wheels off and throw them into the river overnight?" "No," replied the old man, "that would only help us for a day and by to-morrow night they'd be dry as ever. We'll just give 'em a plainsman's shrinking, an' that's pretty nigh as good as to have a blacksmith cut an' weld an' reset 'em. We'll swell the felloes by puttin' canvas between them an' the tires. The first thing is to unload the wagon." It was quite a job, but Jack and I soon had the stuff all out and stacked up on the ground. "Now, prop up the front ex an' take off the wheels." This was soon accomplished. "Now, while I knock off the tires you an' Jack can get out your gunny sacks an' carry up a whole lot of buffalo-chips an' pile 'em handy." By the time we had done this Tom had taken off the tires and laid them down, one on top of the other, raised a couple of inches off the ground by stones placed here and there under them. "Now pile your chips all round over the tires, 'bout a foot deep, an' then set 'em afire, an' the breeze'll keep the fire a-boomin'; an' while the tires is a-heating bring the wheels up here close by; get that piece of old canvas out o' the wagon; cut some strips from it long as you can git 'em, jist the width of the felloes; get some of the tacks out of the till of the mess-chest; put the canvas strips on the outside of the felloes, draw 'em tight, an' tack 'em here an' there as you go round the wheel until you get about four thicknesses of canvas on; then give the outside layer of canvas a little wettin' so's it won't burn out afore we can git the tire cooled off. Then lay the wheels down handy to the fire, with a rock here an' there under the rims to make 'em lay solid." When this had all been done: "Now get the shovel an' scoop out a little, long hole in the ground close by an' keep it filled with water. Bring the pick an' shovel an' spade an' axe an' hatchet an' lay 'em handy. Then fill all the buckets with water an' set 'em close by."