of logs and matted brush, placed there by the daredevil settlers who had mapped out the route.  It was too high for any horse to be put at.  With pale cheek and clinched teeth Alfred touched the spurs to Roger and then threw himself forward.  The gallant beast responded nobly.  Up, up, up he rose, clearing all but the topmost branches.  Alfred turned again and saw the giant roan make the leap without touching a twig.  The next instant Roger went splash into a swamp.  He sank to his knees in the soft black soil.  He could move but one foot at a time, and Alfred saw at a glance he had won the race.  The great weight of the roan handicapped him here.  When Alfred reached the other side of the bog, where the bottle was swinging from a branch of a tree, his rival’s horse was floundering hopelessly in the middle of the treacherous mire.  The remaining three horsemen, who had come up by this time, seeing that it would be useless to attempt further efforts, had drawn up on the bank.  With friendly shouts to Clarke, they acknowledged themselves beaten.  There were no judges required for this race, because the man who reached the bottle first won it.

The five men returned to the starting point, where the victor was greeted by loud whoops.  The groom got the first drink from the bottle, then came the attendants, and others in order, after which the bottle was put away to be kept as a memento of the occasion.

The party now repaired to the village and marched to the home of the bride.  The hour for the observance of the marriage rites was just before the midday meal.  When the groom reached the bride’s home he found her in readiness.  Sweet and pretty Alice looked in her gray linsey gown, perfectly plain and simple though it was, without an ornament or a ribbon.  Proud indeed looked her lover as he took her hand and led her up to the waiting minister.  When the whisperings had ceased the minister asked who gave this woman to be married.  Alice’s father answered.

“Will you take this woman to be your wedded wife, to love, cherish and protect her all the days of her life?” asked the minister.

“I will,” answered a deep bass voice.

“Will you take this man to be your wedded husband, to love, honor and obey him all the days of your life?”

“I will,” said Alice, in a low tone.

“I pronounce you man and wife.  Those whom God has joined together let no man put asunder.”

There was a brief prayer and the ceremony ended.  Then followed the congratulations of relatives and friends.  The felicitations were apt to be trying to the nerves of even the best tempered groom.  The hand shakes, the heavy slaps on the back, and the pommeling he received at the hands of his intimate friends were as nothing compared to the anguish of mind he endured while they were kissing his wife.  The young bucks would not have considered it a real wedding had they been prevented from kissing the bride, and for that matter, every girl within reach.  So fast as the burly young settlers could push themselves through the densely packed rooms they kissed the bride, and then the first girl they came to.