Horses and wagons circled sluggishly, wheels and traces creaking, riders and drivers shouting roughly as they wrestled provisions and weapons into place.

So there we were, slightly northeast of North East, with the wagons circled for the night, and a big communal barbecue thing just starting to happen in the center- ever have a barbecue in the dead of winter?

Above the stanchion level a circular wagon drive allowed hay to be unloaded into the central mow as the wagon circled the perimeter.

That day we made eighteen miles, and by the time the wagons circled there was talk.

The finale came when a wagon with cowboys on it circled the tent with the pseudo-Indians in pursuit, and the cowboys shot off their blanks and the white redmen hollered and ran for their lives.

They camped just before noon, when Steve Morgan rode back to confer with Pop Wilkins; the wagons circling with the ease of long practice.

Defenses had to be prepared; marching orders given; wagons circled.

They set their camp that night, wagons circled, nervous horses brought right into the center, with a ring of torches all around the tight perimeter.

Fifty wagons circled the court square, and banners proclaiming 'Ewing Day' were hung everywhere.

And then, with the industrial contractions of the 1980's, unions circled the wagons, negotiating good pensions for retirees and protection from layoffs.