Aside from the pay, the reason Texas cowboys re-upped for a cattle drive was for the adventure. Although the drive might be boring at times, with weeks and sometimes months on the trail with nothing to see but dust and flat lands, natural and man-made challenges occurred occasionally. One of the most frightening challenges encountered in a drive was crossing a river. A swift river could carry a man, a horse or a cow. A slow moving river might camouflage quicksand and deep holes both of which were dangerous also.