cordelling

Forty odd of us 'cordelling' our stubborn mules, - who the more you want them to go, the more they won't - into camp, with oaths and curses, not only loud, but deep - it was wicked, but, poor fellows they couldn't help it!

Life in the Rocky Mountains 1844

The jankships that moved slowly upriver by the ponderous processes of poling, sailing, and cordelling went downriver a great deal faster.

Shaman's Crossing Hobb, Robin 2005

Once in the Ohio, there was no surcease from hard work -- poling, paddling, or cordelling, sometimes all three together, to climb the rushing stream.

The Rose of Old St. Louis Mary Dillon

Impossible to proceed without power, except by cordelling -- which we did, walking waist-deep in the water much of the time.

The River and I John G. Neihardt 1927

We had little heart for cordelling, and no paddling could make headway against that gale.

The River and I John G. Neihardt 1927

The Catholics located on the rivers of the state often drifted to New Orleans on barges to have their marriages blessed and their children baptized, and come back cordelling their boats.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 10: Mass Music-Newman 1840-1916 1913

The work of rowing and cordelling was hard, but they carried light and hopeful hearts.

The Hoosier School-boy Edward Eggleston 1869

They bade him good-bye at last, and started home, now rowing against the current and now cordelling along the river shore, when they grew tired of rowing.

The Hoosier School-boy Edward Eggleston 1869

In cordelling, one sits in the skiff and steers, while the other walks on the shore, drawing the boat by a rope over the shoulders.

The Hoosier School-boy Edward Eggleston 1869

Sublette went up in two keel boats, cordelling and sailing up the river.

A Narrative of Colonel Robert Campbell's Experiences in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade from 1825 to 1835. 1835