03/30/06 Two stranded cows Part II

Two Stranded Cows II Yesterday I told you about two snow stranded cows and the plan to get them home. I'm Jeff Keane; today I'll tell you plan one and plan two's story. We hauled two horses in a four-wheel drive pickup up a county road and turned off on a logging road. This was the start of the downfall of plan one. The snow on the road went from about four inches to over a foot and as the pickup changed speeds the horses lunged forward and then back and ripped the wooden stock-racks right off the truck. After that, the horses were led behind my uncle's International Scout. When we got to the same elevation as the cows, my uncle and cousin headed for them across a good-sized drainage. The wind was blowing the horse's tracks full of snow as they went out of sight. About two hours later they returned and hadn't gotten close to the cows because of snowdrifts and down timber. We gave up on plan one, but plan one hadn't finished with us yetthe International ran out of fuel and the horses had to pull it until it could be coasted down the last hills to the county road. My cousin and I rode the horses home in the dark while Dad and Uncle tied the broken racks on the truck and formulated plan two. Plan two was to haul our D-4 Caterpillar dozer to the end of the county road, plow up the logging roads, and come in from above the cows. It took another two days to go home, get a truck ready, load the D-4, and plow to the place we had first left the road with the horses; but it had snowed more and the D-4 couldn't push any farther. So much for plan twotomorrow, plan threea sure winner. I'm Jeff Keane.