[Illustration: Captain William F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts. ]

CAPT. W. F. DRANNAN, CHIEF OF SCOUTS, As Pilot to Emigrant and Government Trains, Across the Plains of theWild West of Fifty Years Ago. 

AS TOLD BY HIMSELF, AS A SEQUEL TO HIS FAMOUS BOOK "THIRTY ONE YEARS ON THE PLAINS AND INTHE MOUNTAINS. "

_Copiously Illustrated by E. BERT SMITH. _

1910

PREFACE

The kindly interest with which the public has received my first book, "Thirty-one Years on the Plains and in the Mountains, " has tempted meinto writing this second little volume, in which I have tried to portraythat part of my earlier life which was spent in piloting emigrantand government trains across the Western Plains, when "Plains" meantwilderness, with nothing to encounter but wild animals, and wilder, hostile Indian tribes. When every step forward might have speltdisaster, and deadly danger was likely to lurk behind each bush orthicket that was passed. 

The tales put down here are tales of true occurrences, --not fiction. They are tales that were lived through by throbbing hearts of men andwomen, who were all bent upon the one, same purpose:--to plow onward, onward, through danger and death, till their goal, the "land of gold, "was reached, and if the kind reader will receive them and judge themas such, the purpose of this little book will be amply and generouslyfulfilled. 

W. F. D. 

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 10

CHAPTER 11

CHAPTER 12

[Illustration: The Attack Upon the Train. ]

ILLUSTRATIONS

FROM DRAWINGS BY E. BERT SMITH. 

Captain W. F. Drannan, Chief of Scouts

With the exception of Carson, we were all scared

As soon as they were gone, I took the Scalp off the dead Chief's head

The first thing we knew the whole number that we had first seen wereupon us

Waving my hat, I dashed into the midst of the band

Fishing with the girls

They raced around us in a circle

The mother bear ran up to the dead cub and pawed it with her feet

The next morning we struck the trail for Bent's Fort

I took the lead

I bent over him and spoke to him, but he did not answer

[Illustration: With the exception of Carson, we were all scared. ]

CHAPTER 1. 

At the age of fifteen I found myself in St. Louis, Mo. , probably fivehundred miles from my childhood home, with one dollar and a half inmoney in my pocket. I did not know one person in that whole city, and noone knew me. After I had wandered about the city a few days, trying tofind something to do to get a living, I chanced to meet what proved tobe the very best that could have happened to me. I met Kit Carson, theworld's most famous frontiersman, the man to whom not half the credithas been given that was his due. 

The time I met him, Kit Carson was preparing to go west on a tradingexpedition with the Indians. When I say "going west" I mean far beyondcivilization. He proposed that I join him, and I, in my eagerness foradventures in the wild, consented readily. 

When we left St. Louis, we traveled in a straight western direction, oras near west as possible. Fifty-eight years ago Missouri was a sparselysettled country, and we often traveled ten and sometimes fifteen mileswithout seeing a house or a single person. 

We left Springfield at the south of us and passed out of the State ofMissouri at Fort Scott, and by doing so we left civilization behind, forfrom Fort Scott to the Pacific coast was but very little known, and wasinhabited entirely by hostile tribes of Indians. 

A great portion of the country between Fort Scott and the RockyMountains that we traveled over on that journey was a wild, barrenwaste, and we never imagined it would be inhabited by anything but wildIndians, Buffalo, and Coyotes. 

We traveled up the Neosha river to its source, and I remember oneincident in particular. We were getting ready to camp for the nightwhen Carson saw a band of Indians coming directly towards us. They weremounted on horses and were riding very slowly and had their horsespacked with Buffalo meat. 

With the exception of Carson we were all scared, thinking the Indianswere coming to take our scalps. As they came nearer our camp Carsonsaid, "Boys, we are going to have a feast". 

On the way out Carson had taught me to call him "Uncle Kit. " So I said, "Uncle Kit, are you going to kill an Indian and cook him for supper?"

He laughed and answered, "No, Willie, not quite as bad as that. Besides, I don't think we are hungry enough to eat an Indian, if we had onecooked by a French cook; but what will be better, to my taste at least, the Indians are bringing us some Buffalo meat for our supper, " and sureenough they proved to be friendly. 

They were a portion of the Caw tribe, which was friendly with the whitesat that time. They had been on a hunt, and had been successful ingetting all the game they wanted. When they rode up to our camp theysurrounded Carson every one of them, trying to shake his hand first. Notbeing acquainted with the ways of the Indians, the rest of us did notunderstand what this meant, and we got our guns with the intention ofprotecting him from danger, but seeing what we were about to do, Carsonsang out to us, "Hold on, boys. These are our friends, " and as soon, asthey were done shaking hands with him Carson said something to them in alanguage I did not understand, and they came and offered their hands toshake with us. The boys and myself with the rest stood and gazed at theperformance in amazement, not knowing what to do or say. These were thefirst wild Indians we boys had ever seen. As soon as the hand shakingwas over, Carson asked me to give him my knife which I carried in mybelt. He had given the knife to me when we left St. Louis. I presumeCarson had a hundred just such knives as this one was in his pack, buthe could not take the time then to get one out. For my knife he traded ayearling Buffalo, and there was meat enough to feed his whole crew threeor four days. That was the first Indian "Pow-wow" that I had ever seenor heard of either. 

The Indians ate supper with us, and after that they danced "the PeaceDance" after smoking the Pipe of Peace with Uncle Kit. The smoking anddancing lasted perhaps an hour, and then the Indians mounted theirhorses and sped away to their own village. 

I was with Carson off and on about twelve years, but I never saw himappear to enjoy himself better than he did that night. After the Indianshad gone, Uncle Kit imitated each one of us as he said we looked whenthe Indians first appeared in sight. He had some in the act of runningand others trying to hide behind the horse, and he said that if theground had been loose we would have tried to dig a hole to crawl into. One of the party he described as sitting on his pack with his mouth wideopen, and he said he could not decide whether the man wanted to swallowan Indian or a Buffalo. 

The next morning we pulled out from there, crossing the divide betweenthis stream and the Arkansas. Just before we struck the Arkansas river, we struck the Santa-Fe trail. This trail led from St-Joe on the Missouririver to Santa-Fe, New Mexico, by the way of Bent's Fort, as it wascalled then. Bent's Fort was only a Trading Station, owned by Bent andRobedoux. These two men at that time handled all the furs that weretrapped from the head of the North Platte to the head of the Arkansas;the Santa-Fe trail, as it was then called, was the only route leading tothat part of the country. 

After traveling up the Arkansas river some distance, above what is knownas Big Bend, we struck the Buffalo Country, and I presume it was a weekthat we were never out of the sight of Buffalos. I remember we camped onthe bank of the river just above Pawne Rock that night; the next morningwe were up early and had our breakfast, as we calculated to make a bigdrive that day. Carson had been telling us how many days it would takeus to make Bent's Fort, and we wanted to get there before the Fourth ofJuly. Just as we had got our animals packed and every thing in readinessto start, a herd of Buffalo commenced crossing the river about a half amile above our camp. The reader will understand that the Buffalo alwayscross the river where it is shallow, their instinct teaching them thatwhere the water is shallow, there is a rock bottom, and in crossingthese places they avoid quicksand. This was the only crossing in fifteenmiles up or down the river. We did not get to move for twenty-fourhours. It seems unreasonable to tell the number of Buffalo that crossedthe river in those twenty-four hours. After crossing the river a half amile at the north of the ford, they struck the foot hill; and one couldsee nothing but a moving, black mass, as far as the eye could see. 

I do not remember how long we were going from there to Bent's Fort, butwe got there on the second of July, 1847, and every white man that waswithin three hundred miles was there, which were just sixteen. At thispresent time, I presume there are two or three hundred thousand withinthe same distance from Bent's Fort, and that is only fifty-eight yearsago! In view of the great change that has taken place in the last halfcentury, what will the next half century bring? The reader must rememberthat the increase must be three to one to what it was at that time. 

After staying at Bent's Fort eight days we pulled out for "Taos, "Carson's home. He remained at Taos, which is in New Mexico, until earlyin the fall, about the first of October, which is early autumn in NewMexico; then we started for our trapping ground, which was on the headof the Arkansas river, where Beaver was as numerous as rats are around awharf. 

We were very successful that winter in trapping. It was all new to me, Ihad never seen a Beaver, or a Beaver trap. Deer, Elk, and Bison, whichis a species of Buffalo, was as plentiful in that country at that timeas cattle is now on the ranch. I really believe that I have seen moredeer in one day than there is in the whole State of Colorado at thepresent time. 

In the autumn, just before the snow commences to fall, the deer leavethe high mountains, and seek the valleys, and also the Elk and Bison; nogame stays in the high mountains but the Mountain Sheep, and he is verypeculiar in his habits. He invariably follows the bluffs of streams. In winter and summer, his food is mostly moss, which he picks from therocks; he eats but very little grass. But there is no better meat thanthe mountain sheep. In the fall, the spring lambs will weigh fromseventy-five to a hundred pounds, and are very fat and as tender asa chicken; but this species of game is almost extinct in the UnitedStates; I have not killed one in ten years. 

We stayed in our camp at the head of the Arkansas river until sometimein April, then we pulled out for Bent's Fort to dispose of our pelts. Westaid at the Fort three days. The day we left the Fort, we met a runnerfrom Col. Freemont with a letter for Carson. Freemont wanted Carson tobring a certain amount of supplies to his camp and then to act as aguide across the mountains to Monterey, California. The particulars ofthe contract between Freemont and Carson I never knew, but I know thismuch, that when we got to Freemont's camp, we found the hardest lookingset of men that I ever saw. They had been shut up in camp all winter, and the majority of them had the scurvy, which was brought on by wantof exercise and no vegetable food. The most of the supplies we took himwere potatoes and onions, and as soon as we arrived in camp the men didnot wait to unpack the animals, but would walk up to an animal and teara hole in a sack and eat the stuff raw the same as if it was apples. 

In a few days the men commenced to improve in looks and health. UncleKit had them to exercise some every day, and in a short time we were onthe road for the Pacific Coast. We had no trouble until we crossedthe Main Divide of the Rocky Mountains. It was on a stream called the"Blue, " one of the tributaries of the Colorado river. 

We were now in the Ute Indian country, and at this time they wereconsidered one of the most hostile tribes in the west. Of course therewas no one in the company that knew what the Ute Indians were but KitCarson. When we stopped at noon that day Carson told us as we sat eatingour luncheon that we were now in the Ute country, and every one of usmust keep a look out for himself. He said, "Now, boys, don't any one ofyou get a hundred yards away from the rest of the company, for the Utesare like flees liable to jump on you at any time or place. "

That afternoon we ran on a great deal of Indian sign, from the fact thatgame was plentiful all over the country, and at this time of the yearthe Indians were on their spring hunt. When we camped for the night, wecamped on a small stream where there was but very little timber and nounderbrush at all. As soon as the company was settled for the night, Carson and I mounted our horses and took a circle of perhaps a mile ortwo around the camp. This was to ascertain whether there were any Indiansin camp near us. We saw no Indians. We returned to camp thinking we wouldhave no trouble that night, but about sundown, while we were eatingsupper, all at once their war whoop burst upon us, and fifteen or moreUtes came dashing down the hill on their horses. Every man sprang forhis gun, in order to give them as warm a reception as possible; nearlyevery man tried to reach his horse before the Indians got to us, for atthat time a man without a horse would have been in a bad fix, for therewere no extra horses in the company. 

I think this must have been the first time these Utes had ever heard agun fired, from the fact that as soon as we commenced firing at them, and that was before they could reach us with their arrows, they turnedand left as fast as they had come. Consequently we lost no men orhorses. We killed five Indians and captured three horses. 

When the Indians were out of sight, Carson laughed and said, "Boys, thatwas the easiest won battle I have ever had with the Indians, and it wasnot our good marksmanship that done it either, for if every shot wefired had taken effect, there would not have been half Indians enough togo around. It was the report of our guns that scared them away. "

It was figured up that night how many shots were fired, and theyamounted to two hundred. Carson said, "Boys, if we get into anotherfight with the Indians, for God's sake don't throw away your powder andlead in that shape again, for before you reach Monterey, powder and leadwill be worth something, as the Red skins are as thick as grass-hoppersin August. "

Of course this was the first skirmish these men had ever had with theIndians, and they were too excited to know what they were doing. 

About six years ago I met a man whose name was Labor. He was the lastsurvivor of that company, with the exception of myself, and he told mehow he felt when the yelling Red skins burst upon us. Said he, "I don'tthink I could have hit an Indian if he had been as big as the side of ahorse, for I was shaking worse than I would if I had had the third-dayAgue. Not only shaking, but I was cold all over, and I dreamed all nightof seeing all kinds of Indians. "

The next day we were traveling on the back bone of a little ridge. Therewas no timber except a few scattering Juniper trees. We were now inArizona, and water was very scarce. The reader will understand thatCarson invariably rode from fifty to one hundred yards ahead of thecommand, and I always rode at his side. 

I presume it was between two and three o'clock in the afternoon whenCol. Freemont called out to Carson, "How far are you going tonight?"

Carson studied a minute and answered, "I think, in seven or eight mileswe will find good water and a plenty of grass. "

A few minutes after this Freemont said, "Say, Carson, why not go to thatlake there and camp? There is plenty of grass and water, " at the sametime pointing to the south. Carson raised his head and looked at thepoint indicated. Then he said, "Col. There is no water or grass there. "Freemont replied, "Damn it, look. Can't you see it?" at the same timepointing in the direction of what he supposed to be the lake. Carsonchecked his horse until Freemont came up near him and then said, "Col. , spot this place by these little Juniper trees, and we will come backhere tomorrow morning, and if you can see a lake there then I will admitthat I don't know anything about this country. "

Freemont was out of humor all the evening. He had nothing to say to anyperson. 

The next morning after breakfast was over and the herder had driven inthe horses Carson said, "Now Colonel, let's go and see that lake. "

Under the circumstances Freemont could not say "no. " I think five of usbesides Carson and Freemont went back. When we came to the place wherethe little Juniper trees were, Freemont's face showed that he was badlywhipped, for sure enough there was no lake there; he had seen what iscalled a mirage. 

I have seen almost everything in mirage form, but what causesthis Atmospheric optical illusion has never been explained to mysatisfaction. Some men say it is imagination, but I do not think it isso. 

On our way back to camp a man by name of Cummings was riding by my side. He made the remark in an undertone, "I am sorry this thing happened. "I asked him, "Why?" In reply he said, "Colonel Freemont won't get overthis in many a day, for Carson has shown him that he can be mistaken. "

We laid over at this camp until the next day as this was good water andexceptionally good grass. Nothing interfered with us until we struck theColorado river. Here we met quite a band of Umer Indians. Without anyexception they were the worst-looking human beings that I have ever seenin my life. A large majority of them were as naked as they were whenthey were born. Their hair in many instances looked as if it never hadbeen straightened out. They lived mostly on pine nuts. The nuts grow ona low, scrubby tree, a species of Pine, and in gathering the nuts theycovered their hands with gum which is as sticky as tar and rubbed it ontheir bodies and in their hair. The reader may imagine the effect; I amsatisfied that many of these Indians had never seen a white man beforethey saw us. Very few of them had bows and arrows; they caught fish. Howthey caught them I never knew, but I often saw the squaws carrying fish. 

When we reached the Colorado river we stayed two days making rafts tocross the river on. The last day we were there, laying on the bank ofthe river, I presume there came five hundred of these Indians withinfifty yards of our camp. Most of them laid down under the trees. One ofour men shot a bird that was in a tree close by, and I never heard suchshouting or saw such running as these Indians did when the gun cracked. This convinced me that we were the first white men they had ever seen, and this the first time they had heard the report of a gun. Thisincident occurred in forty-eight, which was fifty-eight years ago. Ihave seen more or less of these Indians from that time until now, andthese Indians as a tribe have made less progress than any other Indiansin the west. Even after the railroad was put through that part of thecountry, they had to be forced to cover themselves with clothes. 

After crossing the Colorado river we came into the Ute country, but wetraveled several days without seeing any of this tribe. About fivedays after we crossed the Colorado river, we came on to a big band ofSighewash Indians. The tribe was just coming together, after a winter'strapping and hunting. At this time the Sigh washes were a powerfultribe, but not hostile to the whites. 

We camped near their village that night. After supper Carson and I wentover to this village, at the same time taking a lot of butcher knivesand cheap jewelry with us that he had brought along to trade with theIndians. When we got into their camp, Carson inquired where the chief'swigwam, was. The Indians could all speak Spanish; therefore we had notrouble in finding the chief. When we went into the chief's wigwam, after shaking hands with the old chief and his squaw, Carson pulled someof the jewelry out of his pocket and told the chief that he wanted totrade for furs. The old chief stepped to the entrance of the wigwamand made a peculiar noise between a whistle and a hollo, and in a fewminutes there were hundreds of Indians there, both bucks and squaws. 

The old chief made a little talk to them that I did not understand; hethen turned to Carson and said, "Indian heap like white man. "

Carson then spoke out loud so they could all hear him, at the same timeholding up some jewelry in one hand and a butcher knife in the other, telling them that he wanted to trade these things for their furs. 

The Indians answered, it seemed to me by the hundreds, saying, "Iyahoyah iyah, " which means "All right. " Carson then told them to bringtheir furs over to his camp the next morning, and he would then tradewith them. He was speaking in Spanish all this time. On our way back toour camp Carson said to me, "Now Willie, if I trade for those furs inthe morning I want you and the other two boys to take the furs and goback to Taos; I know that you will have a long and lonesome trip, but Iwill try and get three or four of these Indians to go with you back tothe head of the Blue, and be very careful, and when you make a campalways put out all of your fire as soon as you get your meal cooked. Then the Indians can not see your camp. "

The next morning we were up and had an early breakfast. By that time thesquaws had commenced coming in with their furs. Uncle Kit took a pack ofjewelry and knives and got off to one side where the Indians could getall around him. In a very short time I think there must have been ahundred squaws there with their furs. 

They brought from one to a dozen Beaver skins each, and then the Bucksbegan coming in and then the trading began. Carson would hold up afinger ring or a knife and call out in Spanish, "I'll give this for somany Beaver skins!"

It really was amusing to see the Indians run over each other to see whoshould get the ring or knife first. 

This trading did not last over half an hour because Carson's stock ofgoods was exhausted. Carson then said to the Indians, "No more trade nomore knives, no more rings, all gone. "

Of course a great many of the Indians were disappointed, but they soonleft us. As soon as they were gone Freemont came to Carson and said, "What in the name of common sense are you going to do with all thosefurs?"

Uncle Kit said, "Col. , I'm going to send them to Taos, and later on theywill go to Bent's Fort. " The Col. Said, "Yes, but by whom will you sendthem to Taos?" Carson replied, "By Willie, John and the Mexican boy. "

The Col. Said, "Don't you think you are taking a great many chances?""Oh, no, not at all. Willie here is getting to be quite a mountaineer. Besides, I am going to get some of these Indians to go with the boysas far as the head of the Blue, and when they get there they are, comparatively speaking, out of danger. "

He then said, "Colonel, we will lay over here today, and that will giveme a chance to pack my furs and get the boys ready to start in themorning. "

We then went to work baling the hides; by noon we had them all baled. After dinner Carson and I went over to the Indian camp. We went directlyto the Chief's wigwam. When the Indians saw us coming they all rushedup to us. I presume they thought we had come to trade with them again. Uncle Kit then told the Chief that he wanted eight Indian men to go withus boys to the head of the Blue River. At the same time he sat downand marked on the ground each stream and mountain that he wanted usto travel over. He told them that he would give each one of them onebutcher knife and two rings, and said they must not camp with the Utes. 

I think there were at least twenty Indians that wanted to go. Carsonthen turned to the Chief and told him in Spanish to pick out eight goodIndians to go with us, and told him just what time we wanted to startin the morning. We then went back to our camp and commenced makingarrangements for our journey to Taos. 

Carson and I were sitting down talking that afternoon when Col. Freemontcame and sat beside us and said to Uncle Kit, "Say, Kit, ain't youtaking desperate chances with these boys?"

This surprised me, for I had never heard him address Carson as Kitbefore in all the time I had known him. 

Carson laughed and answered, "Not in the least; for they have got a goodescort to go with them. " Then he explained to Freemont that he had hiredsome Indians to go with us through the entire hostile country, tellinghim that the boys were just as safe with those Indians as they would bewith the command, and more safe, for the Indians would protect them, thinking they would get his trade by so doing. Uncle Kit then explainedto him that the Sighewashes were known to all the tribes on the coastand were on good terms with them all, and therefore there was no dangerwhatever in sending the boys through the Indian country. The Col. Answered, "Of course, you know best; I admit that you know the natureof the Indian thoroughly, but I must say that I shall be uneasy until Ihear from the boys again. "

Uncle Kit said, "Wait until tomorrow morning, and I will convince youthat I am right. "

The next morning we were up early and had breakfast, and before we hadour animals half packed the old chief and hundreds of the Indians werethere. Those that the chief had selected to accompany us were on horseback, and the others had come to bid us farewell, and that was one ofthe times I was tired shaking hands. 

When we were about ready to mount our horses and had shaken hands withUncle Kit and the balance of the company, the Indians made a rush forus. Both bucks and squaws shouted, "Ideose, ideose, " which means, "goodbye, good bye, " and every one trying to shake our hands at once, and ofall the noise I ever heard, this was the worst. After this racket hadbeen going on some fifteen or twenty minutes, I turned and saw Uncle Kitand Col. Freemont standing on a big log laughing like they would splittheir sides. Finally Uncle Kit motioned for me to mount my horse. Imounted and the other boys followed suit, and when we started of all thenoise that ever was made this beat any I ever heard in all my life. Atthe same time the Indians were waving their hands at us. 

As soon as we left the crowd of Indians Uncle Kit and Col. Freemontjoined us. The Col. Said to me, "Willie, this is one of the times youhave had your hand well shaken, I really felt sorry for you, but Ididn't see how I could assist you, and I am in hopes you will not getsuch a shaking up in a good while. Now, my boy, be very careful, and tryand get through safe and sound, and when we come along back next fall, we will all go to St. Louis together. "

Uncle Kit told me to not let the Indians turn back until we crossed thedivide at the head of Blue river. He said, "Then you will be out of theUte country, and all danger to you will be over, but do not put too muchconfidence in these Indians although I think they are reliable and willdo just as I have told them to do. But I want you to be on the lookoutall the time yourself. I know there will be no danger in the daytime, and when night comes be sure and put your fire out before it gets dark, and when you get to Taos rest up a few days, and then hunt up JimBridger or Jim Beckwith, and they will advise you what to do. It maybe that I will get home myself, in which case you will not need theiradvice. "

We now bid them "good bye" and started on what would be called now along, tedious and dangerous journey, but at that time we thought nothingof it. 

How long a time it took us to make this trip I do not remember. TheIndians traveled in the lead the most of the time. When near the middleof the afternoon, I would ask them in Spanish how far they were goingtonight, and they would tell me the number of hours it would take to gobut seemed not to understand the distance by miles. The Indians showedmore judgment in selecting the camping ground than I expected theywould. 

In a few days we were in the Ute country, and we saw plenty of Indiansign every day. I think it was on one of the tributaries of the Greenriver we were traveling along one afternoon, we came in sight of a bandof Ute Indians. They were in camp. We were in about a half a mile ofthem when we first saw them; they were directly to the north of us, and they discovered us at the same time we saw them. As soon as theSighewashes saw the Utes they stopped, and two of the Sighewashes rodeback to us and said in Spanish, "We go see Utes, " and they rode over tothe Ute camp. Probably they were gone a half hour or more, when theyreturned, and we surely watched every move the Utes made till theSighewashes came back to us. When they came back they were laughing andsaid to us, "Utes heap good. " Then I was satisfied that we were in nodanger. 

We traveled on some five or six miles when we came to a nice littlestream of water where there was fine grass. I said to the boys, "We'llcamp here. Now you boys unpack the animals and take them out to grass, and I will go and kill some meat for supper. "

I picked up my gun and started; I didn't go over a quarter of a miletill I saw four Bison cows, and they all had calves with them. I crawledup in shooting distance and killed one of the calves. At the crack of mygun the cows ran away. I commenced dressing the calf and here came fourof my Sighewash Indians running to me, and when they saw what I hadkilled, I believe they were the happiest mortals that I ever saw. 

As soon as I got the insides out I told them to pick up the calf and wewould go to camp. Some of them picked up the carcass and others pickedup the entrails. I told them we did not want the entrails. One of theIndians spoke up and said, "Heap good, all same good meat". I finallypersuaded them to leave the insides alone. 

When we got back to camp, the boys had a good fire, and it was not longbefore we had plenty of meat around the fire, and I never saw Indianseat as they did that night. After they had been eating about an hour, Jonnie West said to me, "Will, you will have to go and kill more meat, or we won't have any for breakfast. "

We soon turned in for the night and left the Indians still cooking. Inthe morning we were surprised to see the amount of meat they had gotaway with. What they ate that night would have been plenty for the samenumber of white men three or four days. The nature of the Indian is toeat when he has the chance and when he hasn't he goes without and nevercomplains. 

For the next three days we traveled through a country well suppliedwith game, especially Elk, Deer, and black bear. It was now late in thesummer and all game was in a fine condition, it was no unusual thing tosee from twenty five to a hundred Elk in a band. I have never seen sincethat time so many Elk with so large horns as I saw on that trip, whichconvinced me that there had been no white hunters through that part ofthe country before. 

In traveling along there were times we were not out of sight of deer forhours; consequently we never killed our game for supper until we wentinto camp, and as a rule, the boys always picked me to get the meatwhile they took care of the horses. I remember one evening I was justgetting ready to start out on my hunt. I asked the boys what kind ofmeat they wanted for supper. Jonnie West said, "Give us something new. "Well, I answered, "How will a cub bear do?" They all answered, "That isjust what we want. " That moment I turned my eyes to the south, and ona ridge not more than three hundred yards from camp, I saw three bearseating sarvis berries. I was not long in getting into gun shot of them. There was the old mother bear and two cubs. I had to wait severalminutes before I could get a good sight on the one I wanted, as theywere in the brush and I wanted a sure shot. I fired and broke his neck;he had hardly done kicking before Jonnie West and some of the Indianswere there. We made quick work getting the meat to camp and around thefire cooking, and it was as fine a piece of meat as I ever ate. 

The next morning we bid the Indians good bye, but before they left usone of them stooped down and with a finger marked out the route weshould take, thinking we did not know the country we must pass over, andstrange to say, the route this wild Indian marked out in the sand wasaccurate in every particular. He made dots for the places where weshould camp and a little mark for a stream of water, then little pilesof sand for mountains, some large and some small, according to the sizeof the mountain we were to cross. After he had finished his work, Iexamined the diagram and I found he had marked out every place where weshould camp. 

From there to the head of the Arkansas river, I called Jonnie West andasked him to look at it. He examined it at every point and said, "Thisbeats any thing I ever saw or heard tell of; with this to guide us, wecould not get lost if we tried to. "

We were now ready to start. Jonnie said to me, "Well, I feel we owe thisIndian something. How many butcher knives have you?"

I said, "I have two. " "Alright, I will give him this finger ring and yougive him one of your knives. "

We did so, and I think he was the proudest Indian I ever saw; he jumpedup and shouted, "Hy-you-scu-scum, white man, " which meant "Good whiteman. "

The Indians all shook hands with us and then mounted their horses andwere gone. We now pulled out on our long and dangerous trip to Taos, NewMexico, and strange to say, we never missed a camping ground that theIndians had marked out for us, until we reached the head of the Arkansasriver, and the beauty of it was, we had good grass and good water atevery camping place, which was very essential for ourselves and ourhorses. 

When we struck the head of the Arkansas river we considered ourselvesout of danger of all hostile Indians. Besides, we knew every foot of theground we had to travel over from here to Taos, New Mexico. We campedone night on the river, down below where Leadville stands now, and Inever saw so many huckleberries at one place as I saw there. After wehad our horses unpacked and staked out to grass, I said to the boys, "Now you go and pick berries, and I will try and find some meat forsupper. " I did not go far when looking up on a high bluff I saw a bandof mountain sheep. I noticed they had not seen me yet and were comingdirectly towards me. When they got in gun-shot, I fired and killed ahalf-grown sheep, and he did not stop kicking until he was nearly at myfeet. This was the first mountain sheep I had ever killed, and it was asfine a piece of meat as I ever ate, and until this day, mountain sheepis my favorite wild meat. This was one of the nights to be remembered, fine fresh meat, and ripe huckleberries, what luxuries, for the wilds toproduce. 

In a few days we reached Taos, and here I met my old friend Jim Bridger. After laying around a few days and resting up, Jonnie West said to me, "Will, what are we going to do this winter? You are like me, you can'tlay around without going wild. "

I said, "That's so, Jonnie. Let's go and hunt up Jim Bridger, and askhim what he is going to do this winter. "

We went to the house where Jim was boarding and we found him in one ofhis talkative moods. We asked him what he proposed doing this winter; hesaid, "I am going out a trapping, and I want you boys to go with me. "

I asked him where he was going to trap, and he said he thought he wouldtrap on the head of the Cache-la-Poudre, and the quicker we went thebetter it would be for us. "I have all the traps we will need thiswinter, " he said; "now you boys go to work and mould a lot of bullets. "

The reader will understand that in those days we used the muzzle-loadinggun, and we had to mould all of our bullets. In a few days we were readyto pull out. I asked Jim if we could keep our horses with us throughthe winter. He said, "Yes, as the snow does not get very deep in thatcountry, and there is plenty of Cotton Wood and Quaker Asp for them tobrowse on in case the snow gets deep. Besides, it will save one of us along tramp in the spring, for we will have to have the horses in orderto pack our furs on. "

In a few days we were ready to pull for trapping ground. Each one of ustook a saddle horse and two pack horses. We were on the road nine daysfrom the day we left Taos until we reached our trapping ground. 

We traveled down Cherry Creek from its source to its mouth, and acrossthe Platte, where Denver City, Colorado, now stands. At that time therewas not a sign of civilization in all that country. 

After crossing the Platte a little below where Denver now stands, we metabout five hundred Kiawah Indians, led by their old chief. The Kiawaswere friendly to us, and the chief was a particular friend of Jim. Hewanted to trade for some of our beaver traps. He kept bidding until heoffered two horses for one trap. Jim refused to trade, but he made thechief a present of a trap. After Jim refused to take the horses, a youngsquaw came running out and offered to give me as fine a buffalo robe asI ever saw; I was in the act of taking it and was congratulating myselfon what a fine bed I would have that winter when Jim said, "Will, don'ttake that. There is more stock on that robe than we can feed thiswinter. Open the hair and look for yourself. "

I did so, and I saw the Grey Backs all through the hair as thick as theycould crawl. I had never seen such a sight before, and the reader canimagine my horror. I dropped it so quick that Jonnie West laughed andasked me if it burnt me. The boys had the joke on me the balance of thewinter. Most every day they would ask me if I didn't want a present of aBuffalo robe from a young squaw. 

A few days after this, we were on our trapping ground, and our winter'swork of toil, hardship, and pleasure had begun. We soon had our cabinbuilt in a little valley, which was from a half mile to a mile wide andabout eight miles long. On each side of the valley were high cliffs. Inplaces there was a half a mile or more where neither man or beast couldclimb these cliffs, and we were surprised later on to see the quantityof game of various kinds that came into this valley to winter, such asElk, Deer, and Antelope. I never, before or since, have seen so manyWild Cats, or Bob Cats, as they were called at that time, and also somecougars. 

I remember one little circumstance that occurred later on; it was aboutthe middle of the afternoon; we had all been to our traps and hadreturned to the cabin with our furs. Jim said, "Will, we will stretchyour furs if you will go and shoot a deer for supper. "

This suited me, so I took my gun and went outside the door to clean it. Just as I had got through, Jonnie West looked out and said, "Look, Will, there is your deer now; you won't have to hunt him. "

I looked, and sure enough, there he was, in about a hundred yards of thecabin. Jim Bridger fired at him and knocked him down, but he got up andran into a little bunch of brush. I ran to the spot, thinking he wasonly wounded and that I should have to shoot him again. When I reachedthe brush, to my surprise, I found five big wildcats, and they allcame for me at once. I fired at the leader, and then I did some livelyrunning myself. As soon as I got out of the brush, I called the boys, and we got the cats, the whole of the bunch, and the deer besides, whichhad not been touched by the cats. 

We skinned the cats, and Jim afterwards made a cap out of one of them, and he wore it for several years. 

Jonnie West and I were out hunting one day for deer when we discoveredtwo cougars in the grass, and we could not make out what it meant. Finally one made a spring, and it seemed to us that he jumped at leasttwenty feet, and he landed on a deer, and for a minute or two there wasa tussle. While this was going on Jonnie and I were getting closer tothem, and when they had the deer killed we were within gunshot of them, and they didn't eat much before we killed them both. We skinned thedeer, and also the cougars, and took them to camp, and when we went toBent's Fort the next spring we got twenty dollars apiece for them, forthey were extra large cougars, or mountain lions as they are sometimescalled, and their hides are very valuable. 

It seems wonderful to me when I think of the amount of game I sawthrough the country at that time, of all descriptions, some of which intheir wild state are now extinct, especially the buffalo and the bison, and all other game that was so plentiful at that time is very scarce allover the west. I believe a man could have seen a thousand antelopeany day in the year within five miles of where the city of Denver nowstands. 

We had splendid success this winter in trapping beaver. It was late inthe spring when we left our trapping ground. Just before we pulled outJim Bridger said, "Boys, I saw a pretty sight this evening out at thepoint of rocks, " which was about a quarter of a mile from our cabin. Jonnie West said, "What did you see, Jim?"

"I saw an old Cinnamon bear and two cubs. " Jonnie said, "Why didn't youkill her?"

"I didn't have anything to kill with, " Jim replied. "I left my gun inthe cabin, but we will all go out in the morning and see if we can findthem. "

We were all up early in the morning and ready for the bear hunt. Jimtold us what route each should take. He said, "Now boys, be careful, forshe is an old whale, and if you get in to a fight with her some one willget hurt, or there will be some running done. "

I had not gone far when I looked up on a ridge ahead of me and saw whatI took to be Mrs. Bruin; I crawled up within gun shot and fired andbroke the bear's neck. I rushed up to her expecting to see the cubs. Imagine my surprise when I found only a small bear. In a few moments theboys were there; Jonnie laughed and asked Jim if that bear was the whalehe set out to kill. Jim stood and looked at the bear quite a bit beforeanswering. Then he said, "That is a Cinnamon Bear, but where are thecubs?" Jonnie said, "I will bet my hat you didn't see any cubs, Jim, youdreamed it. " Jim grinned and answered, "Well, boys I guess you have thedrop on me this time. "

From then on, all the spring Jim's cubs was a standing joke. In a fewdays, we pulled out for Bent's Fort; we were late in getting to the Fortwith our furs this spring. Mr. Bent asked us why we were so late ingetting in. Jonnie replied that Jim kept us hunting for Cub bears allthe spring, and as we couldn't find any, it took all our time. Of coursethey all wanted to know the joke, and when Jonnie told it in his drollway, it made a laugh on Jim. "If you will only quit talking about thecubs, " Jim said, "I'll treat all around, " which cost him about tendollars. 

After laying around the Fort a few days, Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidouxhired Jonnie and me to kill meat to supply the table at the boardinghouse for the summer, that being the only time of the year that theboarding house at the Fort did any business. At this time of the yearall of the trappers and hunters were staying at the fort with nothing todo but eat, drink and spend their money that they had earned the winterbefore. It was no uncommon thing for some of these men to bring fromthree to four hundred dollars worth of furs to Bent's Fort in thespring, and when fall came and it was time to go back to the trappingground, they wouldn't have a dollar left, and some of them had to go indebt for their winter outfit. 

Jonnie and I had no trouble in keeping plenty of meat on hand, from thefact that buffalo and antelope were very plentiful eight or ten milesfrom the fort. I remember one little circumstance that occurred thissummer. We were out hunting, not far from the Arkansas river, nearthe city now known as Rocky Ford, Colo. We had camped there the nightbefore. We went out early in the morning to kill some antelope, leavingour horses staked where we had camped. We hadn't gone more than half amile when we heard a Lofa wolf howl just ahead of us. The Lofa wolf wasa very large and ferocious animal and was a terror to the buffalo. Whenwe reached the top of a ridge just ahead of us, looking down into alittle valley two or three hundred yards away, we saw five Buffalo cowswith their calves, and one large bull, and they were entirely surroundedby Lofa wolves. Jonnie said, "Now, Will, we will see some fun. " The cowswere trying to defend their calves from the wolves, and the bull startedoff with his head lowered to the ground, trying to drive the wolves awaywith his horns. This he continued to do until he had driven the wolvesthirty yards away. All at once a wolf made a bark and a howl whichseemed to be a signal for a general attack, for in a moment, the wolveswere attacking the Buffalo on every side, and I don't think it was fiveminutes before they had the bull dead and stretched out. Until then Ihad never thought that wolves would attack a well Buffalo, but thissight convinced me that they could and would kill any buffalo they choseto attack. 

We went back to camp, packed up our meat, and pulled out for the fort. When we got there I told Jim Bridger about the fight the wolves had withthe buffalos, and he said, "If you had seen as much of that as I have, you would know that wolves signal to each other and understand eachother the same as men do. "

CHAPTER II. 

It was early in the spring of fifty when Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, andmyself met at Bent's Fort, which was on the head waters, of the Arkansasriver. Bridger and I had just got in from our winter's trapping groundand had disposed of our furs to a very good advantage; Carson had justreturned from a trip back east. Carson said to Bridger, "Now Jim, I'lltell you what I want you to do. I want you and Will (meaning me) togo over to Fort Kerney and escort emigrants across to California thisseason, for the gold excitement back in the eastern states is somethingwonderful, and there will be thousands of emigrants going to the goldfields of California, and they do not know the danger they will have tocontend with, and you two men can save thousands of lives this summer bygoing to Fort Kerney and meeting the emigrants there and escorting themthrough. Now boys, you must understand that this undertaking is nochild's play. In doing this apparently many times you will seemto take your lives in your own hands, for the Indians will be worse onthe plains this year than they ever have been. At the present time thereis no protection for the emigrant from the time they get twenty-fivemiles west of Fort Kerney, until they cross the Sierra Nevada mountains, and there are to be so many renegades from justice from Illinois andMissouri that it is going to be fearful this season, for the renegadeis really worse in some respects than the Indian. He invariably has twoobjects in view. He gets the Indian to commit the murder which is asatisfaction to him without any personal risk besides the plunder hegets. I know, boys, you can get good wages out of this thing, and I wantyou to take hold of it, and you, Jim, I know have no better friend thanGen. Kerney, and he will assist you boys in every way he can. I almostfeel as though I ought to go myself, but I cannot leave my family atthe present time; now, Jim, will you go?" Bridger jumped up, rubbed hishands together and said, "I'll be dog goned if I won't, if Will goeswith me. "

[Illustration: As soon as they were gone I took the scalp off the deadChief's head. ]

To which I replied, "I will go with you, and I think the quicker westart the better it will be for all parties concerned. " Carson said, "You can't start too soon, for the emigrants will be arriving at FortKerney by the time you get there. "

The next morning Jim and I were up and had an early breakfast and wereready to start. Uncle Kit said to us, "Now boys, when you come back thisfall I want you to come and see me and tell me what kind of luck youhave had, and all the news. "

We now bid him good bye, and we were off. 

I will here inform the reader that Carson had taught me to call himUncle Kit when I was fourteen years old, and I always addressed him inthat way. Jim and I were off for Fort Kerney, which was a journey ofabout three hundred miles and not a sign of civilization on the wholetrip. It was a wild Indian country the entire distance, but weknew where the hostile Indians were and also the friendly Indians. Consequently we reached Fort Kerney without having any trouble. 

We met Gen. Kerney, who was glad to see us. He said, "Boys, where in thename of common sense are you going to?"

We explained to him in a few words our business. After hearing our plansthe Gen. Said, "I am certainly glad to know that someone will take holdof this thing, for I am sure that there will be more emigrants massacredthis year than has ever been in any other. I will tell you why I thinkso. All the Indians from here to the Sierra-Nevada mountains are in thewar-path; in the second place the emigrants who are coming from theeast have no idea what they have to contend with, and I dread theconsequences. "

While this conversation was taking place a soldier rode in that had beenon picket duty and said to the Gen. , "I saw some covered wagons goinginto camp down on Deer Creek about five miles from here. Where do yousuppose they are going, Gen?"

To which Gen. Kerney replied, "They are going to California, and youwill see hundreds of them inside the next two weeks. "

Jim Bridger said, "Well, Willie, come on and let's see what we can dowith them. "

As we were leaving the Fort Gen. Kerney said to us, "Boys, come back andstay all night with me, I want you to make my quarters your home whileyou are waiting for the emigrants to arrive. "

Bridger answered, "Thank you, Gen. We will be glad to do so, and we maywant you to recommend us to the emigrants. "

To which the Gen. Answered, "I will take pleasure in doing so. "

Bridger and I rode down to where the emigrants were in camp, and wefound the most excited people I ever saw in my life. They had passedthrough one of the most terrible experiences that had ever occurred onthe frontier. There were thirty wagons in the train, and they were allfrom the southeastern part of Missouri, and it seemed that there was oneman in the train by the name of Rebel who at the time they had lefthome had sworn that he would kill the first Indian he came across. Thisopportunity occurred this morning about five miles back of where we metthem. The train was moving along slowly when this man "Rebel" saw asquaw sitting on a log with a papoose in her arms, nursing. He shot herdown; she was a Kiawah squaw, and it was right on the edge of theirvillage where he killed her in cold blood. The Kiawahs were a verystrong tribe, but up to this time they had never been hostile to thewhites; but this deed so enraged the warriors that they came out in abody and surrounded the emigrants and demanded them to give up the manwho had shot the squaw. Of course, his comrades tried not to give him tothem, but the Indians told them if they did not give the man to them, they would kill them all. So knowing that the whole train was at themercy of the Indians, they gave the man to them. The Indians dragged himabout a hundred yards and tied him to a tree, and then they skinnedhim alive and then turned him loose. One of the men told us that thebutchered creature lived about an hour, suffering the most intenseagony. They had just buried him when we rode into the camp. The womanand some of the men talked about the dreadful thing; one of the men saidit was a comfort to know that he had no family with him here or backhome to grieve at his dreadful death. 

On hearing this remark Jim said, "You are the most lucky outfit I eversaw. Any other tribe of Indians this side of the Rocky Mountains wouldnot have left one of you to have told the tale, and it is just suchdarned fools as that man that stir up the Indians, to do so muchdeviltry. "

Until this time there had been but a few of the emigrants near us. Wewere both dressed in buck-skin, and they did not know what to make ofus. The young girls and some of the young men were very shy. They hadnever seen anyone dressed in buck-skin before. An elderly woman cameto us and said, "Ain't you two men what they call mountaineers?" Jimanswered, "Yes, marm, I reckon, we are. "

She replied, "Well, if you are, my old man wants you to come and eatsupper with we'ns. "

Jim turned to me and laughed. "Shall we go and eat with them, Willie?"he asked. I answered, "Yes, let's get acquainted with everybody. "

We went with the old lady to their tent, which was but a few steps fromwhere we stood. When she had presented us to her old man as she calledhim, she said to him, "Jim, I know these men can tell you what to do. "He shook hands with us, saying, "I don't know what in the world we aregoing to do. I believe the Indians will kill us all if we try to go anyfurther, and I know they will if we go back. "

By this time there was quite a crowd around us. 

I said to Jim, "Why don't you tell the people, what we can do for them?"Jim then said, "why, dog gorn it, this boy and I can take you allthrough to California and not be troubled with the Indians if there isno more durned fools among you to be a-shooting squaws. But you willhave to do just as we tell you to do. " And looking over the ground heasked, "Who is your captain? I want to see him. "

The old man said, "Want to see our Capt'n? We hain't got any capt'n, gotno use for one. " Jim then asked, "Who puts out your guards around thecamp at night?"

"Guards? Didn't know we had to have any. "

Jim looked the astonishment he felt as he said, "Why, dad-blame-itman, you won't get a hundred miles from here before all of you will bekilled. "

At that moment one of the men said, "Who is this coming?"

We all looked in the direction he was, and we saw it was Gen. Kerney. When he rode up to us Bridger said, "Gen. , what do you think? Thesepeople have no captain and have no one to guard the camp at night. "

The Gen. Answered, "Is that possible? How in the name of god have theygot here without being massacred?" And then, addressing the men thatstood near he said, "Gentlemen, you had better make some arrangementwith my friends here to pilot you across to California; for I assure youthat if these men go with you and you follow their directions, you willreach your journey's end in safety. "

Just then the Gen. Looked down the road, and he said, "Look there!"

We all looked, and we saw another long train of emigrants coming towardsus. They drove up near us and prepared to go into camp. This was a mixedtrain. Some came from Illinois, some from Indiana, and a few familiesfrom the state of Ohio. 

Jim and I mounted our horses and rode with the Gen. Down among the newemigrants. They had heard all about the skinning of the white man andwere terribly excited about it. They asked the Gen. What was best forthem to do. A great many of them wanted to turn and go back. Finallythe Gen. Said to them, "Here are two as good men as there are in themountains. They are thoroughly reliable and understand the Indians'habits perfectly. Now, my friends, the best thing you can do is toorganize yourselves into company, select your captain and then make somearrangement with these men to pilot you through, for I tell you now, there will be more trouble on the plains this year than has ever beenknown before with the Indians. Now gentlemen, we must leave you, but wewill come back in the morning and see what decision you have come to. "

At this time two men stepped up to Jim Bridger and me and said, "Whycan't you two stay all night with us? We've got plenty to eat, and youboth can sleep in our tent. "

Jim answered, "We don't want to sleep in any tent. We've got ourblankets, and we will sleep under that tree, " pointing to a tree nearus. 

The Gen. Said, "Mr. Bridger, you boys had better stay here tonight, foryou have lots of business to talk over. "

Jim and I dismounted, staked our horses out and went to supper. Aftersupper Jim said, "Now, you want to get together and elect a captain. "

One man said, "All right, I'll go and notify the entire camp, and wewill call a meeting at once. " Which was done. As soon as the crowdgathered, they called on Jim to tell them what to do. Jim mounted thetongue of a wagon and said, "Now, men, the first thing to do is to electa Captain, and we must take the name of every able-bodied man in thisoutfit, for you will have to put out camp guards and picket guards everynight. Now, pick out your men, and I'll put it to a vote. "

Some called for Mr. Davis, and some for Mr. Thomas; both men cameforward. Jim said, "now, Mr. Davis, get up on this wagon tongue and I'llmake a mark, and we'll see if the crowd wants you for their Captain. " Jimtook a stick and made a mark on the ground from the wagon tongue clearout through the crowd. He then said, "All that want Mr. Davis forCaptain will step to the right of this line, and they that favor Mr. Thomas will keep to the left of the line. " About three fourths of the menstepped to the right of the line, which made Davis Captain. As soon asDavis was declared Captain, he said, "Now friends, we must hire thesemen to escort us to California; if there is anybody here that is not infavor of this let him say so now. "

But everyone shouted, "Yes! yes!"

Davis turned to us and said, "What is your price for the trip?"

Jim said to me, "What do you say, Will?"

I replied, "It is worth four dollars a day each. "

Jim told the Captain that we would go for four dollars a day to be paideach of us every Saturday night, and if at the end of the first week wehad not given satisfaction, we would quit. Davis put it to a vote, andit was carried in our favor. 

The balance of the evening was spent in making arrangements to commencedrilling the men. In the morning Jim said to me, "Now, Will, I'll takecharge of the wagons and you take charge of the scouts. "

I told the Captain that I wanted him to select seven good men that ownedtheir horses. I wanted to drill them to act as scouts. Jim said, "Yes, we want to get to drilling every body tomorrow morning. "

We put in four hard days' work at this business, and then we were readyfor the trail, and we pulled out on our long and tedious journey to theland of gold. 

There were four hundred and eighty-six men and ninety women in thetrain, and they had one hundred and forty-eight wagons. Every thingmoved smoothly until we were near the head of the North Platte river. We were now in the Sioux country, and I began to see a plenty of Indiansign. Jim and I had arranged that a certain signal meant for him tocorral the wagons at once. As I was crossing the divide at the headof Sweet Water, I discovered quite a band of Indians coming directlytowards the train, but I did not think they had seen it yet. I rode backas fast as my horse could carry me. When I saw the train, I signaledto Jim to corral, and I never saw such a number of wagons corralled soquickly before or since, as they were. Jim told the women and childrento leave the wagon and go inside the corral, and he told the men tostand outside with their guns, ready for action, but to hold their fireuntil he gave the word, and he said, "When you shoot, shoot to kill; anddo your duty as brave men should. "

In a moment, the Indians were in sight, coming over the hill at fullspeed. When they saw the wagons, they gave the war whoop. This scaredthe women, and they began to cry and scream and cling to their children. Jim jumped up on a wagon tongue and shouted at the top of his voice "ForGod's sake, women, keep still, or you will all be killed. "

This had the effect that he desired, and there was not a word or soundout of them. When the Indians were within a hundred yards from us, theiryelling was terrible to hear. 

Jim now said, "Now boys, give it to them, and let the red devils havesomething to yell about, " and I never saw men stand up and fight betterthan these emigrants. They were fighting for their mothers' and wives'and children's lives, and they did it bravely. In a few minutes thefight was over, and what was left of the Indians got away in shortorder. We did not lose a man, and only one was slightly wounded. Therewere sixty-three dead warriors left on the field, and we captured twentyhorses. 

It was six miles from here to the nearest water, so we had to drive thatdistance to find a place to camp. We reached the camping ground a littlebefore sunset. After attending to the teams and stationing the guardsfor the night Cap't. Davis came to Jim and me and said, "The ladies wantto give you a reception tonight. "

Jim said, "What for?" Davis replied, "Saving our lives from thosehorrible savages. " Jim answered, "Why, durn it all, ain't that what youare paying us for? We just done our duty and no more, as we intend to doall the way to California. "

By this time there was a dozen women around us. With the others was amiddle-aged woman. She said, "Now, you men with the buck-skin clothes, come and take supper with us. It is now all ready. "

Jim said, "Come, Willie, let's go and eat, for I am hungry and tiredtoo. "

While we were eating supper, three or four young ladies came up to usand asked me if I didn't want to dance. 

"The boys are cleaning off the ground now, and I want you for my firstpardner, " she said with a smile and a blush. Jim said, "Will can't danceanything but the scalp dance. " One of the girls said, "What kind of adance is that?"

Jim replied, "If the Indians had got some of your scalps this afternoonyou would have known something about it by this time. "

Jim told them that when the Indians scalped a young girl, they took thescalp to their wigwam and then gave a dance to show the young squawswhat a brave deed they had done, "and all you girls had better watch outthat they don't have some of your scalps to dance around before you getto California; but if you wish us to, Will and I will dance the scalpdance tonight, so you can see how it is done. "

When they had the ground all fixed for the dance, Jim and I took ourhandkerchiefs and put them on a couple of sticks, stuck the sticks intothe ground and went through the Indian scalp dance, making all thehideous motions with jumps and screams, loud enough to start the hairfrom its roots, after which Jim explained to them this strange custom, telling them that if any of them was unfortunate enough to fall into theIndians' hands this was the performance that would be had around theirscalps. 

The girls said with a shudder they had seen enough of that kind ofdancing without the Indians showing them. The lady who had invited us tosupper said, "Now girls, you see what these men have done for us, theyhave saved our lives, and do you realize the obligation we are under tothem? Now let us do everything we can for their comfort until we reachCalifornia. "

And I must say I never saw more kind-hearted people than these men andwomen were to us all the way, on this long and dangerous journey. 

We had no more trouble with the Indians until we had crossed Greenriver. We were now in the Ute country. At this time the Utes wereconsidered to be one of the most hostile tribes in the West. That nightJim asked me what route I thought best to take, by the way of Salt Lakeor Landers Cut Off. I said, "Jim, Landers Cut Off is the shortest andsafest route from the fact that the Indians are in the southern part ofthe territory at this time of year, and I do not believe we shall havemuch more trouble with them on this trip. " Which proved to be true. Wesaw no more Indians until we reached the Humbolt river. Just above theSink of Humbolt about the middle of the afternoon I saw quite a band ofIndians heading directly for the train. I signaled Jim to corral, whichhe did at once. 

In a few moments they were upon us. As we were out on an open prairie, we had a good sight of the Indians before they reached us; I saw by theleader's dress that it was a chief that was leading them. His head dresswas composed of eagles' feathers, and he rode some thirty or forty yardsahead of the other warriors. When in gun shot of me I fired at him andbrought him down. When he fell from his horse the rest of the Indianswheeled their horses and fled, but the chief was the only one that fell. As soon as they were gone I took the scalp off the dead chief's head. When we went into camp that evening, Jim told the emigrants what a greatthing I had done in shooting the chief. "There is no knowing how manylives he saved by that one shot in the right time. "

Then all the emigrants gathered around me to see the scalp of theIndian; they had never seen such a sight before; each of the youngladies wanted a quill from the Indian's head dress; and they asked mewhat I would take for one of them; I told them the quills were not forsale. 

At this time the lady who had invited Jim and me to eat with her so manytimes came up to us, and she said, "Girls, I can tell you how you canget these quills. " They all asked at once, "How is that, aunty?"

"Each one of you give him a kiss for a quill, " she laughed, and of allthe blushing I ever saw the young girls that surrounded me beat therecord. Jim grinned and said, "I'll be dog goned if I don't buy thescalp and the feathers and take all the kisses myself. "

This made a general laugh. I told Jim that he was too selfish, and thatI would not share the kisses with him, that I would give the scalpto him and the feathers to the elder lady, and she could divide thefeathers among the girls. The girls clapped their hands and shouted, "Good! good!"

Jim said that was just his luck, he was always left out in the cold. 

In a few days we were on the top of the Sierra Nevada mountains. We toldthe emigrants that they were entirely out of danger and did not need ourservices any longer, so we would not put them to any more expense bygoing further with them. As this was Saturday evening the emigrantsproposed going into camp until Monday morning and that Jim and I shouldstay and visit with them. We accepted the invitation, and Sunday waspassed in pleasant converse with these most agreeable people, and I willsay here that of all the emigrants I ever piloted across the plains noneever exceeded these men and women in politeness and good nature, notonly to Jim and me, but to each other, for through all that long andtrying journey there was no unkindness shown by any of them, and if wewould have accepted all the provisions they offered us it would havetaken a pack train to have carried it through. Every lady in the traintried to get up some little extra bite for us to eat on the way back. The reader may imagine our surprise when Monday morning came and we sawthe amount of stuff they brought to us. Jim said, "Why ladies we haven'tany wagon to haul this stuff, and we have only one pack horse and he canjust pack our blankets and a little more. Besides, we won't have time toeat these goodies on the road. Supposing the Indians get after us? Wewould have to drop them and the red skins would get it all. "

We now packed up and were ready to put out. We mounted our horses, bidthem "good bye" and were off. 

Nothing of interest occurred until we got near Green river. Here we metJim Beckwith and Bob Simson. Jim Bridger and I had just gone into campwhen they rode up. After they had shaken hands with us Jim Beckwithsaid, "Boys, you are just the parties we are looking for. "

Bridger asked Beckwith what he had been doing and where he had beensince we parted at Bent's Fort last spring. Beckwith replied that hehad been with a train of emigrants just now who were on the way toCalifornia, and they had camped over on Black's Fort. The cholera hadbroken out among them soon after they crossed the Platte River, and fromthen up to yesterday they had buried more or less every day. There hadbeen no new cases since yesterday, and they were laying over to letthe people rest and get their strength, and they expected to start outtomorrow morning, and turning to me Beckwith said, "Will, I want you togo with us for there is another train of emigrants over on the Salt Lakeroute. "

At this time there were two routes between the Green river and theHumboldt; one by the way of Salt Lake and the other by Lander's Cut off. Beckwith said, "Those emigrants going by the Salt Lake route have noguide, and I am afraid when they strike the Humboldt they will all bemassacred, for they will be right in the heart of the Pi-Ute country, and you know this tribe is on the war path, and I want you to go on andovertake them and see them safely through, or else stay with this trainand I will go myself and take care of them. We want the two trains tomeet at the mouth of Lone Canyon, and then we will go up Long Canyon toHoney lake and then cross the Sierra Nevada. "

I turned to Jim Bridger and said, "Jim, what do you think of thisproposition?"

Jim said he thought it a good thing for me to do; the responsibilitywould give me more confidence in myself. "You know, Will, you havealways depended on Carson or me at all times, and this trip will teachyou to depend on yourself. "

I saddled my horse and went with Beckwith back to the emigrants' camp. It was arranged that I was to take charge of the scouts and Simson totake charge of the other train, and Beckwith would go on and overtakethe other train, and the train that reached the mouth of Long Canyonwhere it empties into Truckey river first must wait for the other train. 

At this point the two trails divided, one going up the Truckey by theDonna lake route and the other up Long Canyon by Honey lake, the latterbeing considered the best route. 

The next morning we pulled out. I had good luck all the way through, having no trouble with the Indians, arriving at Long Canyon three daysahead of Jim Beckwith. 

In my train there was an old man with his wife and a son and daughter;they seemed to be very peculiar dispositioned people, always wanting tocamp by themselves and having nothing to say to any one. When we reachedLong Canyon, Simson told the emigrants that we would wait until theother train arrived, which news greatly pleased the most of them, butthe old man and his family seemed to be all upset at the idea of layingover, and the next morning they harnessed up their horses. While theywere doing this, Simson called my attention to them and said, "Let's goand see what they mean. "

I asked the man what he was going to do with his team. He replied thathe was going to hook them to the wagon and was going to California. Isaid, "You certainly are not going to start on such a journey alone, are you? You are liable to be all killed by the Indians before you gettwenty miles from here. "

The old man shrugged his shoulders and said, "Why, gol darn it, wehain't seen an Injin in the last three hundred miles, and I don'tbelieve there is one this side of them mountains, " and he pointedtowards the Sierra Nevada mountains. "And if we did meet any theywouldn't bother us for we hain't got much grub, and our horses is toopoor for them to want. "

I told him, he must not go alone, the road was too dangerous, andbesides the other train might come at any moment, and then we could allpull out in safety. He said, "I own that wagon and them horses, and Iown pretty much every thing in that wagon and I think I will do just asI please with them. " I insisted on his waiting until the other traincame up, he said, he would not wait any longer, that he was going to goright now. I left him and walked back to the camp; I asked the men ifany of them had any influence with that old man out there. 

"If you have for god's sake use it and persuade him to not leave us, forif he starts out alone he, nor any of his family will reach Honey lakealive. "

Just then one of the men said, "I have known that man ten years and Iknow that all the advice all these people could give him would be wastedbreath and the less said to him the better it will be. "

I then went back to Simson who had charge of the wagons and said to him, "What shall we do with that old man? He is hitching up to leave us whichwill be sure death to him and his family. If he goes had we not bettertake his team away from him and save his life and his family's?"

Simson said, he would consult with the other men and see what theythought about it. After he had talked with the other men a short time, twenty or thirty of them went out where the old man was hitching up histeam. What they said to him I do not know. When I got to him he wasabout ready to pull out; he said, "I'm going now and you men can comewhen you please and I don't give a D'. Whether you come at all of not. "

This was the last we ever saw of the old man or his son. 

Three days later Jim Bridger arrived with his train, and then we allpulled out together by the way of Honey lake. The first night afterleaving camp Jim Bridger, Simson and myself had a talk about the old manwho had left us. Jim said. "I don't suppose we shall ever hear of himagain, " and turning to me he said, "Will, it will take us two days to goto Honey Lake; now tomorrow morning suppose you pick out of your scoutforce eight good men, take two days' rations and your blankets with youand rush on ahead to the Lake and see if you can find them. It may bepossible that some of them are alive, but I don't think you will findone of them. Now, Will, be careful and don't take any desperate chances;if you find they have been taken prisoners keep track of them until weget there. "

The next morning I and my men were off bright and early. We reached thelake about three o'clock in the afternoon, where we struck the lakethere was scattering timber for quite a ways up and down and here wefound the old man's wagon. The wagon cover, his tent, and his team, weregone; his cooking utensils were setting around the fire which was stillburning. Almost every thing was gone from the wagon, but there wasno sign of a fight. Neither could we see any white men's tracks; butmoccasin tracks were plenty. We sat down and ate our luncheon: as soonas we finished eating we started to trail the Indians to find out whathad become of the whites. We had gone but a short distance when Idiscovered the tracks of the two women; then we knew that they had beencaptured by the Indians. I said, "I want you men to take this side ofthe ridge and watch for Indians all the time, and you must watch mealso; when you see me throw up my hat come at once and be sure to notshout, but signal to each other by whistling or holding up your handsand be sure to have your signals understood among yourselves. Andanother thing I want to say to you, if you see any Indian, signal to me, at once. Now I am going to take the trail of these white women, and if Ineed your assistance I will signal, and you must all get to me as quickas possible. "

All being understood I started on the trail of the white women. I hadn'tfollowed the trail over a half a mile, when I saw one of the men runningtowards me at full speed; when he reached me he said, "We have found adead man, and he is stuck full of arrows. "

I mounted my horse and accompanied him to where the body lay. Irecognized it at once; it was the son of the old man who had left usthree days before. His clothes were gone except his shirt and pants, and his body was almost filled with arrows. I said, "This is one of theparty, and the other is a prisoner, or we shall find his body notfar from here. Let us scatter out and search this grove of timberthoroughly; perhaps we may find the other body; and be careful to watchout for the Indians, for they are liable to run upon us any time. "

We had not gone more than two hundred yards before we found the oldman's body; it was laying behind a log with every indication of ahand-to-hand fight. One arrow was stuck in his body near the heart, andthere were several tomahawk's wounds on the head and shoulders, whichshowed that he died game. 

It was getting late in the afternoon so I proposed to the men that wetake the bodies back to where we had found their camp, as we had no wayof burying the bodies in a decent manner, we had to wait until the traincame up to us. We laid the bodies side by side under a tree and then wewent into camp for the night as there was good grass for the horses. Westaked them out close to camp. We had seen no Indians all day, so we didnot think it necessary to put out guards around the camp that night, andwe all laid down and went to sleep. 

The next morning we were up and had an early breakfast; that done, Isaid, "Now, men I want two of you to go back and meet Bridger and tellhim what we have found and pilot him here to this camp, and he willattend to the burying of these bodies; I would rather you should chooseamong your selves who shall go back. "

One man by the name of Boyd and another whose name was Taluck said theywould go. These men were both from Missouri; I then told them to tellBridger that I was a going to start on the trail of the white women atonce, and for him to camp here and that he would hear from me tonight, whether I found them or not. 

The rest of the men and I started on the trail; three went on one sideand three on the other, and I took the trail; I cautioned the men tokeep a sharp look out for the Indians all the time, and if they saw anyIndians to signal to me at once. I had followed the trail some five orsix miles when it led me to a little stream of water in a small grove oftimber. Here I found where the Indians had camped; the fire was stillburning which convinced me that the Indians had camped there the nightbefore. I also saw where the two women had been tied to a tree. Ifollowed them a short distance and saw that the band we were followinghad met a larger band, and they had all gone off together in a northerlydirection. We were now near the north end of Honey lake, and I had aboutgiven up hopes of ever seeing the women again, but I did not tell mythoughts to my companions. The trail was so plain that I now mounted myhorse; we followed at a pretty rapid gate two or three miles, when wesaw that a few tracks had turned directly towards the lake. I dismountedand examined them and found the two shoe tracks went with the smallparty. I was now convinced that this was a party of squaws going to thelake to fish; and I felt more encouraged to keep up the pursuit. We werewithin a mile of the lake at this time. We rode as fast as we could andkeep the trail in sight. We soon came in sight of the lake; looking tothe right I saw a small band of squaws building a fire. I called the mento me and told them that I believed the women we were looking for werewith those squaws, and if they were, I thought we could rescue them. 

"I think our best plan will be to ride slowly until they see us and thenmake a dash as fast as our horses can carry us; if the white women arewith them, we will ride right up to them, if they are tied I will jumpdown and cut them loose, " and pointing at two of the men I said, "Youtwo men will take them up behind you and take the lead back, and therest of us will protect you. "

We did not ride much farther before the squaws discovered us at whichthey began to shout, "Hyha, " which meant "They're coming they'recoming. "

In a moment we were in their midst, and sure enough the women were thereand tied fast to a small tree, a short distance from where the squawswere building the fire. 

What happened in the next few minutes I could never describe. Thewomen knew me at once and with cries and laughter, touching, beyonddescription greeted me. 

In an instant I was off my horse and cutting them loose from the tree, at the same time the men were circling around us with guns cocked readyto shoot the first squaw that interfered with us. 

To my great surprise I did not see a bow or arrow among them or atomahawk either; as quick as I had the women loose I helped them upbehind the men I had selected to take them away from captivity back tomeet the train. As soon as we had left them of all the noise I everheard those squaws made the worst. I think they did this so the bucksmight know that they had lost their captives and might come to theirassistance. Where the bucks were I never knew. After riding four or fivemiles we slacked our speed, and the women began telling us how the wholething had occurred. It seemed they had got to the camping ground earlyin the afternoon of the second day after leaving us and instead ofstaking out their horses they turned them loose, and about dusk the oldman and his son went out to look for the horses, were gone a couple ofhours and came back without them. This made them all very uneasy. Thenext morning just at break of day the old man and his son took theirguns and started out again to hunt for their horses, and the mother anddaughter made a fire and cooked breakfast. The sun was about an hourhigh, and they were sitting near the fire waiting for the men to comeback when they heard the report of a gun; they thought the men werecoming back and were shooting some game. They had no idea there was anIndian near them. In the course of a half an hour they heard the secondshot, and in a few minutes the Indians were upon them, and they knewthat the men were both dead, because the Indians had both of their gunsand were holding them up and yelling and dancing with fiendish glee. TheIndians grabbed them and tied their hands behind them and then they toredown their tent, took the wagon cover off and everything out of thewagon that they could carry off. 

"The bucks did the things up in bundles, and the squaws packed them ontheir backs, and they were expecting every minute to be killed. Afterthe squaws had gone the bucks ate everything they could find that wascooked, and the squaws that you found us with made us go with them tothe north end of the lake and there they camped that night. They tied uswith our backs to a little tree; we could not lay down and what littlesleep we got we took sitting up; we had not had a bit of breakfast thatmorning when the Indians came upon us; it was all ready, and we werewaiting for our men folks to come back, and we have had nothing since, but a little piece of broiled fish with no salt on it. "

Until now I had not said anything about our finding the dead bodies oftheir men, I thought it better to tell them now rather than wait untilwe reached camp, as I thought the shock would be less when they came tosee the condition they were in. 

Before I had finished telling the condition of the bodies when we foundthem, I was afraid the young lady would faint, she seemed to take thehorrid news much harder than her mother did. 

When we got to camp we found that Bridger had been there some two hoursahead of us and had men digging the graves and others tearing up thewagon box to make coffins to bury the bodies in. 

We took the women to a family they were acquainted with and left them intheir care. After they had been given something to eat they went wherethe bodies lay and looked at them, and with sobs of bitter grief bentover them; which made my heart ache in sympathy for them in theirloneliness. 

The next morning we laid them away into their lonely graves in as decenta manner as we could, and in sadness left them. 

Through the influence of Jim Bridger arrangements were made with twofamilies to take these two ladies with them to California. Just beforenoon Jim came to me and said, "We will stay here until tomorrow morning;I would like you to take four or five men who have good horses and goaround the north end of the lake and find out, if you can, if the Piutesare gathering together in a large band. It is about the time of year forthe Piutes to leave this part of the country, but if they are gatheringin a large band they are bent on giving us trouble, and we will have tomake preparations to defend our selves. In three days more if we havegood luck we shall be out of the hostile Indian country. "

We had an early dinner and four others and myself set out for the headof the lake, we rode hard all that afternoon and to our great surprisewe never saw an Indian. We passed a number of camps where they had been, but their trails all showed that they had pulled out for the north. Seeing this we turned back and struck the emigrant trail about ten milesfrom where Jim was camped. Just as we struck the emigrants trail Ilooked off to the south about a quarter of a mile and saw nine head ofhorses, and they were heading in the same direction we were going. Icalled the other men's attention to them and said, "Let's capture thoseIndian ponies. " You may imagine our surprise when we got near them tofind they were not Indian ponies but good American horses and several ofthem had collar marks on them showing that they had been worked lately. We drove them on to camp, and when we put them in the corral we foundthem to be perfectly gentle. Bridger and the balance of the men came tosee them, and every man had his own view where they had come from. Butwe never knew for certain whom they belonged to. The next morning wepulled out very early. The third day we crossed the Sierra Nevadamountains without any thing of interest happening to us. In two daysmore we reached the Sacramento river. We were now about forty milesabove Sacramento City, California. We camped here about the middle ofthe afternoon. It being Saturday Jim thought we would rest the balanceof the day. After we had eaten our dinner Jim called all the men of thetrain together and told them that they were out of all danger now fromthe Indians and would have no further use for a guide and that ourcontract with them was ended, and that he and I would like to start backfor New Mexico Monday morning. In a short time they settled up with us, paying us our due with grateful thanks for our care of them on theirdangerous journey. I now went to the men who were with me when I foundthe horses. I said, "Some of those horses belong to you, how many do youwant?"

They all looked surprised, and one said, "They are not our horses, theyare yours. You found them. "

I answered, "Now, boys, that is not fair; drive them up and let meselect three and you may have the balance to divide as you choose amongyou. "

This seemed to please them; and they drove the horses up at once. Ichose the three I liked best, and I afterwards found them all to be goodsaddle horses. Bridger and I now went to work making our pack saddlesand getting ready for our long and tedious journey back to New Mexico, ajourney where wild beasts and still wilder savages might lurk behindany tree or bush, a journey where at that time all one could see forhundreds of miles was thick forests, and trackless prairies; a journeyof danger and fatigue which the people of this later day of rapid travelcould not be made to understand. 

The next morning after breakfast was over a man came to me and said, Mrs. Lynch and her daughter Lizzie would like to see me. These were thetwo ladies I had rescued from the Indians. I had not spoken to themsince I left them with Bridger at the camp near Honey Lake. As I camenear to the elder lady she came to meet me and holding out her hand, clasping mine she said, "Are you going to leave us tomorrow?"

I answered, "That is what we intended to do. "

She then burst into tears, and amid her sobs said, "We can never pay youfor what you have done for us. "

At this moment the young girl appeared, and as she gave me her hand hermother said, "He is going to leave us, and we can never pay him for whathe has done for us"; at this the girl commenced to cry too and it wassome minutes before I could talk to them. When they had quieted down Isaid, "Ladies, you owe me nothing, I only done my duty, and I woulddo the same thing over again for you or any one else under thecircumstances that existed. " Then the elder lady said, "If it hadn'tbeen for you we might never have seen a white person again. "

I asked her, what state they were from. She said they came from Wrightcountry, Missouri, and that she had a brother there that was amply ableto come and take them back, but she would not ask him to do so for shenever wanted to cross the plains again. She said she had a few dollarsleft that the Indians didn't get, and she thought Lizzie and she couldfind something to do to get a living. I gave them all the encouragementI could, bid them good bye and went back to Jim. 

By the time dinner was ready Jim and I had our pack saddles and everything ready to put on our horses. While we were eating dinner as many asthirty ladies came to us to inquire what they could give us to take withus to eat on our journey. I was amused at Bridger. After each lady hadtold what she had to give us, some had cakes, some had pie, and somehad boiled meat and some had bread; Jim straightened up and said, "Whydog-gorn it ladies, we ain't got no wagon and we couldn't take one if wehad one the route we are going which will be through the mountains allthe way with no road or trail. We are going horse back and we can onlytake about a hundred pounds on our pack horses. Now, ladies, we are athousand times obliged to you all but all we want is some bread and alittle meat, enough to do us a couple of days, and then we will be wherewe can shoot all the meat we want; it is a poor hunter that could notget enough grub for himself in the country we are going through. "

The next morning when we were getting ready to start the women commencedbringing in bread and meat for us and we had to take enough to last usa week, we could not take less without hurting their feelings. When wewere all ready to start, the whole company came to bid us "good bye. "Men and women, old and young, all came, and amid hand clasps from themen and tears and smiles from the women we mounted our horses and wereoff. 

We followed the trail we had come, back as far as Truckey river, andjust below where Reno stands now, we met the remnant of an emigranttrain and according to their story they had had nothing but trouble fromthe time they struck the head of Bitter Creek until the day before wemet them. They said they had lost twenty seven men and fourteen womenand a number of cattle and horses. They were very much surprised when wetold them of the train we had just piloted through to California withoutlosing one that staid with us. We told them of the dreadful fate of oldMr. Lynch and his son. 

As night was coming on we camped in company with these people. Nextmorning we crossed Truckey river and struck out in a south eastdirection, leaving the site where Virginia city now stands a little toour right going by the sink of the Carson River. Here we camped and laidover one day to give our horses a rest. Before we left here we filledour canteens with water. Bridger told me that for the next fifty milesit was the poorest watered country in the United States. Said he: "Thereis plenty of water, but it is so full of alkali it is not fit to drink;it is dangerous for both men and beasts. "

Jim took the lead all day, and when we came to a little stream of waterhe would get down and taste the water while I held the horses to keepthem from drinking. It was about four o'clock that afternoon before wefound water that was fit to drink; here we camped for the night. 

Jim said, "From this on we may look for Indians; we are now in the Utecountry and tomorrow night we will be in the Apache country. Now we mustavoid the large streams for the Apaches are almost always to be foundnear the large streams at this time of year. Their hunting season isabout over now, and they go to the large streams to catch fish and forthe benefit of a milder climate. If we keep on the high ridges andmountains away from the large streams we will have no trouble withthe Indians and what is better for us we can get all the game we wantwithout any exertion. "

The next day we were traveling along on a high ridge in the south eastcorner of what is now the State of Nevada. We looked off to the south ata little valley that was perhaps a half a mile from us, and there we sawa grand sight. There must have been at least a hundred elk and amongstthem two very large old bucks fighting. Their horns were somethingimmense, and strange to say all the rest of the band stood still, watching the fight. At last Jim said, "Will, I believe I will break upthat fight. "

He jumped to the ground, raised his gun and fired. At the sound of thegun all of the band ran away except the two who were fighting. I laughedand said, "Jim, I thought you were going to stop that fight. "

He replied, "Give me your gun, and I will stop it. "

This time I handed him my gun, and he squatted down and took a rest onhis knee and fired. At the crack of the gun one of the elks fell to hisknees, but got up and ran for all that was in him, and that was the lastwe saw of the elk. I told Jim he had spoilt the fun, and we had got nomeat out of it. He grinned and said, "Oh durn it that old elk was tooold to eat any way. "

We went on and camped at the head of a little stream that emptied intoGreen river. The sun was perhaps an hour high, when we went into camp. As soon as we had staked out our horses Jim said, "Now Will, I will getthe supper, if you will go out and see if you can get some meat. "

I answered, "That suits me to a T. Jim. "

I took my gun and started for a little ridge. I had not gone over ahundred yards when I saw five deer coming directly towards me. Amongthem were two spring fawns. I dropped down at the root of a tree andwaited until they came to within fifty yards of me; I then fired andbroke one of the fawns' necks, and the rest of the flock came nearrunning over me, and over Jim also. I picked up my fawn and went back tocamp. Jim said, "I don't want you to go hunting anymore Will. "

I said, "Why not?" He said, "If you do I shall have to stand guard overthe camp to keep the deer from tramping every thing we have into theground"; and he pointed to the tracks of the deer not ten feet from thefire. This convinced us that these deer had never heard the report of agun before. We were now in the extreme south east end of Nevada, and Idon't imagine a white man had ever been through that part of the countrybefore. On this trip we traveled some twelve or fifteen hundred miles, and we never saw a white person the whole way, and not even the sign ofone. 

At this time when a little more than a half of a century has passedthere are portions of this same country that could not be rode over fromthe fact that it is all fenced in and cultivated. If we had been toldthen that we would live to see railroads crossing every part of thiscountry we would have thought the person insane to ever think of such athing at a time when there was not a foot of rail-road as far west asMissouri. 

We had broiled venison for supper that night, the first we had eaten forsome time, and the reader may be sure we enjoyed it. 

Next morning we pulled out of here quite early and crossed Green riverjust above the mouth of Blue River. We were now in the greatest gamecountry I had ever seen then or ever have seen since. We traveled upthis stream three days, and I do not think there was a half an hour atany one time that we were out of sight of game of some kind. There wasthe Bison which is a species of Buffalo, Elk, Deer, Black Bear, andAntelope. We crossed the main divide of the Rocky Mountains at the headof the Arkansas River. That night we camped within a few miles of whatsince has become the far-famed camp and now city of Leadville. 

We were now out of the hostile Indian country, and so we did not have tobe so cautious in traveling days or camping at night. 

While we were traveling down the Arkansas river I saw a sight I hadnever seen before and never have since. Two Buck Deer locked fasttogether by their horns. I had been told of such things and have since, but that is the only time I ever saw it myself. We were very near thembefore we saw them. They were in a little open prairie. I called Jim'sattention to them as soon as I saw them. He said, "I'll be gol durned ifthat ain't the second time I ever saw such a sight, and now we will havesome fun out of them bucks. "

We dismounted and walked up near them, and by the looks of the groundwhich was torn and tramped for quite a distance we decided that theyhad been in that condition quite a while. Jim said, "How in the plague, Will, are we going to get these critters apart? They are too plagueypoor to eat, so we don't want to kill them, and they will die if weleave them in this fix; what shall we do, Will?"

I thought a minute and said, "Can't we take our little ax and chop oneof their horns off?"

He said, "I hadn't thought of that, but bring me the ax and I will tryit. "

I ran to the pack horse and got the ax. He said, "Now you go back to thehorses; for if I get them loose they may want to fight us. "

So I went to the horses and looked back to see what Jim was doing. Hewent up to them with the ax drawn ready to strike but it was quite a bitbefore they were quiet enough for him to get a good hit at them. At lasthe made a strike and down went one of the deer. Instead of strikingthe deer's horn he struck him right back of the horn and killed himinstantly; when Jim saw what he had done he made another hit at the deadbuck's horn and freed the live one, which ran thirty or forty yards andstopped and turned around and shook his head at us a half a dozen timesand then he trotted away as if nothing had happened. 

Jim laughed and said, "He never stopped to thank us, did he? Well heain't much different from some people. " I said, "Why, Jim he meant"thank you" when he shook his head at us; that is all the way he couldsay it, you know, " to which he replied, "Well, I saved one of them anyway. "

Nothing occurred of interest from this time on until we reached ourjourney's end at Taos, New Mexico. Here we found Uncle Kit and his wifeboth enjoying good health and a warm welcome for his boy Willie, and hisold friend Jim Bridger. 

After supper that night we told Uncle Kit that we had traveled from theSacramento river, California to Taos, New Mexico in thirty-three days, and that we never saw a hostile Indian on the trip, and neither had hadany trouble of any kind to detain us a half an hour on the whole trip. He said, "That is a wonderful story to hear, when there are so many wildIndians in that part of the country. Now boys tell me what route youcame. "

We marked out the route by different streams and mountains. He looked atthe map we had drawn and said, "I will venture to say there is not twomen in all the country that could make that trip over that route and getthrough alive. I will say again, boys, it is some thing wonderful tothink of, and you must have been protected by a higher power than yourselves to get through in safety. "

We staid with Uncle Kit a couple of weeks and rested up, and then westruck out for Bent's Fort to make up our crew to go to our trappingground for our winter's work. 

Uncle Kit accompanied us to Bent's Fort; and all the trappers wereanxious to get in his employ from the fact that the report had gone outthat the Sioux and the Utes were on the war path, and all the trappersknew that these two tribes were the strongest hostile tribes in thewest, and when fifty miles from Bent's Fort we never knew that we weresafe and the trappers all had confidence in Uncle Kit's judgment that heseldom made a mistake in locating his trapping ground, and furthermore he had more influence with the Indians than any other man in thecountry, so they worked rather for him than take chances with any oneelse. 

The next morning after we reached Bent's Fort I heard Mr. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux talking with Carson in regard to the trappers. Mr. Bent said, "Carson, I wish you would take as many as you can handle, for they allhave an Indian scare on them and are afraid to go out, and every one ofthem is indebted to us for board now; and we can not afford to supportthem if they loaf around here all winter, " to which Carson replied, "Ican handle five or six of them, and that is all I want, I can not affordto take men out in the mountains and board them all winter for nothing. "After thinking a minute Carson asked, "How many of the men have theirown traps and blankets?"

Mr. Roubidoux said, he thought nearly all of the trappers at the Forthad their own trapping outfits with them. Carson said he would thinkit over and see what he could do for them. That afternoon Carson andBridger had a talk with regard to how many men they should take withthem. Uncle Kit said, "We haven't horses enough to carry more thanthree or four besides us three. " Bridger said, "That will not make anydifference, if they want to go they can foot it from here to the head ofSouth Platte as that's where we are going to trap this winter; and whenthey are through in the spring they can foot it back again. We havenine pack horses besides our saddle horses, and we can pack out to thetrapping grounds, an outfit for five or six men besides our own all ingood shape. "

That afternoon Uncle Kit and Bridger made arrangements with six mento go with us to the head of South Platte to trap Beaver that winter. Carson and Bridger agreed to furnish them with flour, coffee, salt, andtobacco for which Carson and Bridger were to have half of the furs thateach man caught, Carson and Bridger to pack the grub and every thingelse out to the trapping ground and also to pack the furs and all theirother things back to Bent's Fort in the Spring. After Carson and Bridgerhad selected the six men they wanted, it seemed as though all thetrappers at the Fort wanted to go with them. Carson told them he hadengaged all he could handle. The next two days we spent in getting readyto go to our trapping grounds. On the morning of the third day everything in readiness we bid farewell to all the people at the Fort andstruck out for the trapping grounds and our winter's work. The menthat had to walk did not wait for us but started as soon as they hadbreakfast. 

Uncle Kit told them where we would camp the first night. They got therebefore we did, and they had killed the fattest deer I ever saw and hadkilled a Cub Bear. They were skinning them when we got to camp. The deerwas a spike buck and when he was skinned he was as white as a sheepfrom pure fat. The reader may be sure we were not long in unpacking andgetting ready for supper; every one was tired and hungry for we had nothad any thing to eat since morning. For my supper I roasted two of thecub's feet, and I have never enjoyed a meal since that tasted better. While we were eating Jim Bridger looked at me and said, "Will, you havethe best of me tonight, but when we get to the Beaver grounds I'll havea Beaver's tail roasted for my supper and then I'll be even with you. "

I never saw a band of men enjoy a meal more than those men did thatnight. In this climate people have better appetites than any climate Ihave ever been. I think the reason for this was the air was so pure andinvigorating and it naturally required more food to sustain the body andkeep it in good health, and at that time sickness was very rare in thatpart of the country. It would seem unreasonable to tell how much meat aman ate at one meal, especially when out on a trip like this when he wasout in the open air all the time, night as well as day. 

The third day after leaving this camp we struck the South Platte river, and now we had another change of meat, which was mountain sheep. This isin my opinion the best wild game that roams the forest. 

We made an early camp that night and Uncle Kit said to Jim Bridger andme, "You two boys get the meat for supper and the rest of us will lookafter the horses. " We picked up our guns and started up the river; wehad not gone far when in looking up on a high bluff we saw a band ofmountain sheep. Jim said, "Now if we can reach that little canyon, " andhe pointed to one just ahead of us, "without them fellows seeing us wewill sure have something good for supper. " This we succeeded in doingand then we crawled around until we were within fifty yards of our game. We selected a couple of spring lambs and fired and brought them bothdown. When the men at the camp heard the firing a couple of the men camerunning to help us bring our game to camp. We soon had it dressed andready for cooking, and it was good and every one of the men ate as ifthey enjoyed it as much as I did. While we were eating supper Jim toldus a story of his coming in contact with a panther that had just killeda sheep, and he said it was a miracle that it did not kill him. He wascoming down a bluff on a little trail and as good luck had it he hadhis gun in his hand. The panther had the sheep behind a rock and as thepanther sprang at him he fired and broke its neck. 

"It was the luckiest shot I ever fired, " said he, "for if I had not hadmy gun all ready to fire he would have torn me to pieces before I couldhave helped myself. "

Uncle Kit said, "Well, Jim, you were in about as close a place as I gotinto once. I went out from my camp fire one night perhaps forty yards toa small tree. I didn't have any pistol or gun with me, I had nothing butmy hunting knife to protect myself with when a half-grown panther sprangout of the tree on me and, maybe you think I didn't have a lively timethere with him for a few minutes, but I finally got the best of him bycutting him almost to pieces. He tore my buck skin breeches and coatpretty near off me and left this scar on my arm before I finished him, "and Carson pulled his sleeve up and showed us a scar that must have beentorn almost to the bone. 

Two days from this we reached the place where we made our headquartersfor the winter. That night the men talked it over and made their planshow many should camp together. They agreed that there should be three ineach camp as there were nine of us in all. That made the number even ineach camp. Next morning they all put out leaving me to look out for thehorses and things in general. 

For the benefit of the reader I will explain how we arranged a campwhere a number of men were associated together in trapping beaver. Webuilt our camps about four miles apart which gave each camp two milessquare to work on, and this was ample room, for this was a new field andBeaver was as thick as rats around a wharf. 

While they were gone I took my gun and started out to take a littlestroll around where the horses were feeding. I had gone but a shortdistance when I looked up. On a mountain, north of me I saw a band ofelk with perhaps seventy five or a hundred in it, and they were comingdirectly towards me; I was satisfied in my mind that they were going tothe river to get water. I dropped down behind a log and waited for themto come close to me. The nearest one was twenty yards from me when Ifired. I shot at a two-year-old heifer and broke her neck. I then wentback to camp to see if any of the men had come in as it was near noon. Ithought some of them would be back and sure enough in a few minutes theyall came together; I told them what I had done, and Uncle Kit said, "Jimand I will get dinner and the balance of you go and help Willie bring inhis cow. "

We found her in fine condition. We soon had her skinned and in camp, andwe found dinner ready when we got back. After dinner Uncle Kit said, "Come boys let's pack up and move to our camp which is only about a halfa mile from here, and tomorrow, while Jim and me are at work on ourshanty, Willie can help you to move to your quarters, and you can bebuilding your shanties, so we can get to work as soon as possible. "

We gathered every thing together and moved it to the ground where wewere going to make our winter quarters, and Uncle Kit and Jim selectedthe place to build our cabin, and the men all turned to and went tochopping the logs and putting up the cabin. By night the body of thecabin was almost up, but the reader must bear in mind that this was nota very large house. It was ten feet one way, and twelve the other, witha fire place built in one corner. They built the walls of the shackseven foot high and then covered it with small poles, covered the poleswith fine bows and then there was from six to eight inches of dirtpacked on them and the cracks were stuffed with mud. The door was splitout of logs called puncheons and was fastened together with wooden pins, driven into holes, bored with an auger. This way of building a houseto live in through the winter may seem strange to the readers who areaccustomed to all the luxuries of the modern home of civilization; butwe considered our cabin very good quarters, and we were very comfortablethat winter. 

The first morning after we were settled in our new home we commencedsetting traps for Beaver. Jim Bridger was the lucky man of the wholeoutfit in catching Beaver all that winter. Each man had twelve trapswhich was called a string, and a number of times that winter Bridger hada beaver in every one of his traps in the morning. I had watched him sethis traps many times and I tried to imitate him in every particular, butI never had the luck he had. 

Uncle Kit told me a number of times that winter that it was a goodtrapper that made an average of catching five Beaver a day, during thetrapping season. We were all very successful this winter. Beaver wasvery plentiful, as there had never been any trappers in this part ofthe country before, and besides that was an exceptional good winter fortrapping. The winter was quite cold, but there was not much snow allwinter for that country. We stayed here and trapped until the very lastof March, and when we had the furs all baled and ready for packing wefound we did not have horses enough to take them all out at one time, soUncle Kit and Jim Bridger packed the seven horses and rode the other twoand struck out for Bent's Fort, telling us they would come back as soonas they could make the trip; and to our surprise they were back on thetenth day. 

We had everything ready for them to break up camp when they came back, and we had all we could carry the second time. All of the nine horseswere packed, and we all had to walk to Bent's Fort. 

After we left the Platte we took up a stream called Sand Creek whichleads to the divide between the Platte and the Arkansas rivers. Afterwe camped that night Carson said to the boys, "Now we have had a prettygood variety of meat this winter, but we haven't had any antelope, butwe are in the greatest country for antelope in the west now. Can't oneof you boys kill one tomorrow for supper? But I am sorry for Jim andWill for Jim can't get a Beaver's tail off of it, and there won't be anybear's foot for Will to eat. "

Jim answered, "You needn't worry about Will and me, for we may make yousorry twice, for when we get at the Antelope there may not be enough forthe balance of you. "

After breakfast next morning two of the men struck ahead in order to getthe antelope. Near the trail about ten o'clock we overtook them, andthey had killed two nice young antelope. One said that if they hadhad ammunition enough with them they could have loaded the train withantelope. That day we saw a number of bands of antelope, and I ventureto say there were as many as eight hundred or a thousand in each band. 

At supper that night Jim Bridger and I convinced Uncle Kit that we hadnot lost our appetite, if we didn't have Beaver's tail and Bear's footfor supper. 

The second day after leaving this camp we landed at Bent's Fort aboutthe middle of the afternoon. That evening and all the next day Carsonand Bridger were counting the pelts and paying off the men for the fursthey had trapped during the winter. Each man had a mark of his own whichhe put on all his hides as he took them off the animal. I noticed oneman always clipped the left ear; that was his mark. Having a privatemark for each man saved a great deal of trouble and dispute when thetime came to separate the furs and give each man his due. 

I heard Carson and Bridger talking after they had settled with the men, and Bridger said, "We have done twice as well as I expected we would dothe past winter. "

Carson answered, "Jim, we had an extra good crew of men. Every manworked for all that was in him and when they earned a dollar forthemselves they earned one for us. I am more than satisfied with ourwinter's work and what it brought us. "

He then asked Jim and me what we intended to do that summer; Jimanswered, "We are going back to Fort Kerney to pilot emigrants across toCalifornia, and it is time we were off now, for I believe by the firstof May there will be lots of emigrants there, and we want to get there, and get the first train out, and if it is possible we are going to maketwo trips across the plains this season. "

CHAPTER III. 

The next morning Carson left Bent's Fort taking his four horses withhim going to his home at Taos, New Mexico, and Jim and I, taking fivehorses, pulled out for Fort Kerney. Nothing of interest happened to uson the way; and we made the trip in eleven days. As soon as we got tothe Fort, we called on the General; he was very glad to see us, andinvited us to stay all night with him. We accepted his invitation. Thatevening at supper General Kerney mentioned my rescuing the two women atthe head of Honey Lake the year before; he recounted the incident verymuch as it took place. 

I said to him, "General, how in the name of common sense did you hear ofall that?"

He said, "Why the eastern papers have been full of it; and it will bethe best thing for you two men that could have happened; for no doubtthere will be hundreds of people here on their way to California, andwhen they see you two men who are the heroes of that expedition theywill all want your services to pilot them across the plains, and Iassure you if there is any thing I can do to assist either of you in anyway I am more than willing to do it. I heard yesterday that there wereseveral small trains on the way coming from St. Joe, and they will behere in a few days, so you are in good time to catch the first ofthem, and I want you both to stay right here with me until you makearrangements to leave for California. We will take a trip down the roadevery day, and if there are any emigrants coming we will meet them. "

[Illustration: The first thing we knew the whole number that we hadfirst seen was upon us. ]

After breakfast next morning an orderly brought in our horses, allsaddled, the General's as well as ours. We all mounted and started downthe road. We had made five or six miles when we saw an emigrant traincoming towards us. The General said, "Look, boys, there they come now. Let me do the talking. "

The General had his uniform on, and Jim and I were dressed in buck-skinfrom head to foot, and we were a rather conspicuous trio, as we rode upto them. There were six or eight men on horse back, riding ahead of thetrain. As we met them the General saluted them. One of the men said, "Isthis the commander at the Fort?"

The General answered, "I am. My name is Kerney. "

One of the men said, "General, can you tell us whether the Indians areon the war path or not between here and Salt Lake?"

The General answered, "I surely can. Every tribe of Indians between hereand the Sierra Nevada mountains is on the war path, and the emigrantswho get through this year without losing their lives or their stock mayconsider themselves lucky, " and pointing to Jim and me, he continued. "These two men took a train through last year and only lost two men andwould not have lost them if they had obeyed orders. "

One of the men asked, "Are these the men that piloted a train across andhad the trouble at Honey Lake last year?"

The General answered, "Yes, sir, they are, and that boy sitting on thatiron gray horse is the boy that planned and led the rescue of the twowomen from the Indians. "

One asked, "Are these the two men the papers said so much about lastfall? I think one was named Jim Bridger and the other's name was WilliamDrannan. "

General Kerney smiled and answered, "Yes, these are the very men. "

By this time the train had come up, and the other men of the companygathered around us and being told who we were they all shook hands withus, besides a great many of the ladies got out of the wagons and came tous offering their hands. The people were all from Missouri and Illinois. A man by the name of Tullock from Missouri asked us what we would chargeto pilot their train to California. Jim Bridger turned to me and said, "Will, what do you think it would be worth?"

I said to the man who had asked the question, "Drive on about fivemiles, and you will find a little creek and plenty of grass. Go intocamp there and select five or ten men to act as a committee, and we willbe there at four o'clock to meet you. You must give your committee fullpower to deal with us. The committee must know the number of wagons, the number of men, and the number of grown women; it will be moresatisfactory to you as well as to us to deal with a few men than for thewhole train to take a part in the business. "

This plan seemed to meet with the approval of the men, so GeneralKerney, Jim Bridger and I left them and rode back to the Fort. On theway back the General asked Bridger how much he meant to charge theemigrants to take the train across. 

Bridger said, "What do you say, Will?"

I answered, "Jim, I look at it this way, we are held responsible forthe people's lives as well as their stock to get them to California insafety; just think of the responsibility we are assuming; and as far asI am concerned I will not undertake the job for less then four dollars aday. "

Bridger answered, "That settles it, Will, that's just my price. "

The General said, "I think you are very moderate in your charges; Ishould think they would jump at such a chance; for I assure you, youwill have your hands full day and night. "

After we had eaten our dinner at the Fort Gen. Kerney accompaniedus back to the emigrant's camp. On our arriving there we found thecommittee waiting to receive us. Mr. Tullock introduced us to theothers, and then said, "We want you to tell us what amount of money youwill charge us to pilot us across the plains to California. "

I said, "Gentlemen, I want to ask you a few questions before I answeryours; how many wagons have you in this train?" Mr. Tullock answered, "Sixty four. " "How many men?" "One hundred and forty-eight. " "How manywomen?" "Sixty four. "

I then said, "I will now answer your question as to our price. If wetake charge of this train from here to California our price will be fourdollars a day to each of us, with this understanding that Mr. Bridgerhas entire charge of the wagons both day and night, and I to have thecharge of the scout force. Now, gentlemen, I don't suppose any of youknow what the duty of a scout is, and I will explain it to you. Twentymiles from here we will strike a country where all the Indians arehostile, and for the next twelve hundred miles they are all on the warpath; now, if we undertake this job we shall want twelve good men tohelp me in scouting; each of the twelve to be mounted, and our duty willbe to protect the train; three men to ride in the rear of the train andthree on each side, each three to keep about a half a mile from thetrain, and the other three in the lead, and the duty of these scoutswill be when they see Indians coming towards the train to notify Mr. Bridger at once, so he can corral the wagons to protect the women andchildren and the stock, and my duty will be to ride to the highest hillson either side of the road to keep a lookout for Indians all through theday, and at night to watch for their camp fires. Now, gentlemen, I havetold you our terms and if you decide to employ us, it will take four orfive days to drill the outfit so it will be safe for us to start on thislong and dangerous journey. Now, it is for you to say what you will do. "

Gen. Kerney then spoke for the first time. "Let me say a word, gentlemen. These men know every camping ground and every watering placeand also every Indian run way from here to the Sierra Nevada mountains, and you could not find better men for guides on the frontier, and theprice they ask for the dangerous service they will give you is the leastyou can expect to give. "

The committee walked away from us a short distance, and talked amongthem selves about a half an hour, and then came to us, and said theywould accept our offer. Bridger then said, "Now gentlemen I want youto pick out twelve men that are not afraid to ride alone and havenumber-one eyesight and good hearing, for no doubt there will be manytimes when the fate of the whole train will depend on these twelve men. Will will start in to train them tomorrow morning if they are ready, andhe will tell them and show them just what they have got to do; and Iwant every teamster to have his team hooked to his wagon by nine o'clockin the morning. It is not necessary for you to take down your tents ormove any of your camp equipage at all; for I will drill the teamstersout on that little prairie yonder, " and he pointed to a clear space alittle ways up the road. 

After these arrangements were made General Kerney went back to the Fort, and Jim and I staid at the emigrants' camp that night, so we could be upearly the next morning to commence our work of drilling the men for thecoming trip. My men reported to me soon after breakfast, and they wereall fairly well mounted and well armed, each man having a pistol anda rifle. We mounted our horses and rode about a half a mile away fromcamp. We stopped and I explained to them what we had to do. Aftershowing them and drilling them about two hours I asked them if any ofthem had ever shot from his horse's back. They said they never had;neither had they ever seen any one shoot that way. I went a shortdistance to a tree and made a cross mark with my knife. I then said tothem, "Now, my men I will show you what you must learn to do. "

I then rode a hundred yards from the tree I had marked, turned my horse, put spurs to him and had him running at his best. When I came near thetree, I fired my pistol and also my rifle as I passed the tree anddidn't miss the mark over a foot with either shot. When I returned themen were examining the bullet holes I had put in the tree. One of themsaid, "That is wonderful shooting. But what seems to be a mystery is howyou can use both your gun and your pistol so near together. "

I showed them how it was done, and then I said to them, "You will haveto practice this way of shooting when fighting with the Indians. Theynever stand up and fight like a white man does, and if they shouldattack us they will be on horse back, as that is their general mode offighting, and you are liable to meet them any moment, and you will be ina country some of the time where you can not see a hundred yards aheadof you, and you must always be prepared to give them a warm reception. When we come out here this afternoon I want you to all try your hand atshooting the way I have just done, from off your horse's back with himon the run. "

I met Jim at dinner, and asked him what success he had training histeamsters. He answered, "Why, we will get there bye and bye, for everyman tries to do his best. "

At that moment two of the committee came to where Jim and I stoodtalking and said, "There is another large train of emigrants in sight. What are you going to do with them?"

"I don't intend to do any thing with them, " Jim answered. "It is thebusiness of you men of the committee to look after them, but if theyjoin this train they will have to bear their share of the expense, thesame as you do. "

One of the men asked how much extra we would charge to take the othertrain under our protection. Jim answered, "If there are forty wagons orover that number, we will require one dollar a day extra and that willlighten the expense on this train, and they must comply with all therules this train does; and if they are going to join us, I want them todo so at once, for I want to get away from here day after tomorrow. "

The man said he would attend to the matter at once, which he did, andall of the new train joined us with the exception of four wagons andeleven men. These eleven men claimed they could take care of themselvesat all times and in every place, and they pulled out alone. 

The train over which Jim and I had control now numbered one hundred andfour wagons, and we had to work day and night to get them in shape tostart out on the road. We left there the third day after taking chargeof the train. That afternoon when I took my scouts out to practiceshooting, I had considerable sport at their expense. They were allperfectly willing to try their guns and pistols, but they wanted someone to take the lead. No one was willing to be the first one to shoot. So I said, "I will settle the matter this way. I will call the name of aman, and he must take his place and shoot. " The first man I called rodeout saying, "I have never shot from the back of a horse. " I answered, "Well, there is always a first time for everything, and the quicker youstart in the sooner you will learn. "

He rode off a short distance, whirled his horse and started for thetree. When he got to within a few steps of the mark he fired his pistol, and made a very good shot, but the report of the pistol frightened hishorse, and he wheeled and ran in the opposite direction of the one hewas going, and he had run about two hundred yards before he could stophim. When the man rode back and saw the shot he had made, he feltencouraged, and said, "I want to try that over again. "

I answered, "All right, load your pistol and try again, and I will rideby your side and perhaps that will quiet your horse. "

This time he did fine for a green hand at that way of shooting. The nextman I called on fired his pistol before he got near the tree, and hishorse commenced to jump, and he dropped his gun. At that moment Gen. Kerney rode up to us and said to the man, "That is one time, young man, when if you had been in an Indian fight you might have lost your scalpand you surely would have lost your gun. You must do better than that. You must all take an interest in what Mr. Drannan is trying to teach youto do, for you will need all the knowledge you can get to protect notonly your selves but the whole train before you get to California. TheIndians are all on the war path and you are liable to have a brush withthem any day after you leave Fort Kerney, and Mr. Drannan is fullycompetent to teach you how to meet them, if you will follow hisinstructions. "

After talking a little longer to the men the Gen. Rode away; and I wasglad to see that his advice had a good effect on the men; they allseemed anxious to try their hand at shooting instead of being backwardas they had been before, and I heard one of them remark to another, "Say, man, we have got to learn to shoot from our horses for thatGeneral knows what he is talking about, and now let's get in and learnas quick as we can. "

After they had all had a try single handed at the mark on the tree Isaid, "Now men, we will take a shot all together. "

I then made a mark on the ground, about twenty steps from the tree wehad been shooting at. I then said to them, "We will go back to ourstarting place, " which was about two hundred yards, "then we will formin, line, and we will make a dash as fast as our horses can carry us. When we reach this mark I have made on the ground I will shout, "Fire!"and every man must be ready to fire together, and be careful that youkeep in line together; for if you break your ranks in an Indian fightyou are almost sure to lose the battle; this drill will train yourhorses at the same time it is training you. "

We rode back, formed in line, and made the charge, and I was very muchsurprised at the way the men all acquitted them selves. When I gave theword "fire, " the report was almost as one sound, so close were theirshots together. I went up to the tree and I found that every man had themark. I told them that they had done exceptionally well. 

"It is getting near night, so we will go back to camp and after supperwe will practice signaling for one to use in case of danger to theothers. "

When we got back to camp Bridger had just finished corralling the wholetrain, and I was surprised to see how neatly it was done considering theshort time they had been drilling; I asked Jim when he would be readyto pull out. He answered, "I am going to order an early breakfast fortomorrow morning; and we will pull out as soon as we can after we haveeaten it. I want to make it to the crossing of the Platte tomorrow, andit will take us all of the next day to cross the river, and as the riverhas commenced to rise, the quicker we get across it, the better it willbe for us; after we cross the Platte we will have no more trouble withhigh water until we get to Green river. "

After supper I got my scouts together, and we went outside of thecorral; we all sat down on a log. I then asked them if any of them couldmimic a Coyote; they all looked at me a moment, and then one said, "Idon't think any of us ever saw a Coyote. What are they? What do theylook like?"

I could not help laughing, for I thought everyone knew what a Coyotewas. I told them that a Coyote was a species of Wolf, not as dangerousas the Grey Wolf but three of them could make more noise than all thedogs around the camp could, and I said, "You will see them in drovesbetween here and California, being so numerous the Indians pay noattention to them; and we scouts often use the howl of a Coyote as asignal to each other because this noise will not attract the attentionof the Indians; I will now show you how the Coyote howls. "

I then gave two or three yelps mimicking the Coyote, and before I hadgiven the yelp the Coyotes answered me. They were about two hundredyards from us in the brush. Some of the men jumped to their feetexclaiming, "What was that?"

When I could stop laughing I told them those were my Coyote friends, answering me. 

The Coyotes and I kept up the howling several minutes, and quite a crowdof men and women gathered around me, listening to the noise, and theyall wanted to know what it was that I was mimicking. Before I couldanswer them Jim Bridger, who had come near unobserved by me, said, "Will, suppose we give them the double howl?"

I said, "All right, " and we howled together just a few times when theCoyotes in the brush turned loose and such howling I never had heardbefore in all my experience among them. A number of the women rushed upto Jim and me, frightened nearly into spasms, crying, "oh, is there anydanger, of those dreadful beasts attacking the camp?"

Jim laughed heartily and assured them there was no danger as the Coyotewas the greatest coward in the forest and would run at the sight of aman. I told the men that they would not have any scout duty to do untilafter we crossed the Platte river, so we could all ride along the trailtogether and practice the coyote signal, for they would need to know itas soon as they crossed the Platte river. 

The next morning we were astir very early, had our breakfast and were onthe road. A little after sunrise that morning, just as we were pullingout, Jim said to me, "When we are within five or six miles of the PlatteI want you to go on ahead of the train and select a camping ground asnear the crossing of the river as you can; for if we camp near thecrossing we can get the train over the river very much quicker than wecan if we camp a distance back. "

I left them in time to reach the river an hour before the train and hadgood luck selecting a place to camp not a quarter of a mile from thecrossing. I found a little grove of timber with a beautiful littlestream of water running through it which I thought was just the placefor us to camp that night. I went back and reported to Jim. He said, "Why, I ought to have remembered that little grove, but I clean forgotit. "

As soon as Jim had corralled the train, we turned our horses over to theherders and struck out down to the river to see what condition the waterwas in, and to our satisfaction we found that it had just commenced torise. Jim said, "As soon as you have eaten breakfast in the morning, Will, I wish you would ride down here and cross the river and see if theford is clear of quick sand. If there is nothing of that kind to botherus we ought to get the whole outfit over by noon. "

When we returned to camp supper was ready. While Jim and I were eating, about a dozen ladies came to us; among them was an old lady who said, "Can't you men coax the wolves to howl again to night?"

Jim answered, "Yes, but I will bet my old boots that before another weekhas passed you will want us to stop their howling so you can sleep, " towhich she answered, "Well, where do they live? We don't see or hear themin the day time. "

Jim told her that the Coyotes stayed in hollow logs or caves or in thickbrush in the day time anywhere out of sight. Just at that moment aCoyote yelped; he was up the river a short distance and for the next twohours there was a continual howl. I asked the old lady if she thoughtthe wolves needed any coaxing to make them yelp. She said, no, sheguessed, Mr. Bridger was right when he said they were noisy. Early inthe morning I did not wait for breakfast but mounted my horse and wentdown to the river. I crossed it at the ford to ascertain whether therewas quick sand in the ford enough to interfere with the crossing of theemigrant train. 

I will here explain to the reader that it was very necessary to examinethe fords of the Platte river, as it was a treacherous stream in the wayof quick sand, but this time I found nothing in the way to interferewith our crossing. When I got back to camp they were just sitting downto breakfast. I told Jim that there would be no trouble in crossing theriver, to which he replied, "All right, when we get ready to cross Iwant you to lead the train. We will cross twenty-five wagons at a time, and I will have all the mounted men ride on each side of the wagons tokeep the teams in their places. "

We were successful in landing all the wagons in safety and were all onthe other side by eleven o'clock. I asked Jim where we should camp thatnight; he asked me how far it was to Quaking Asp Grove. I told him Ithought it was about nine miles to that place. 

He said, "Well, I think we can make it there in good season and thatwill be a good place to camp. "

I now instructed my scouts what their duty was, and we pulled out, Itaking the lead from one to two and a half miles ahead of the train. 

Late that afternoon I discovered considerable Indian signs where theyhad crossed the main trail. I followed their trail quite a way anddecided that they had passed that way about two days before. 

After we went into camp I rode to the top of a high hill about a mileaway to look for Indian camp fires. I was soon convinced that there wereno Indians near us and started back to camp. I had got within a quarterof a mile of the camp when I saw two men sitting on a log just ahead ofme; I rode up to them, and when I spoke to them I recognized them as twoof the eleven that left us with the four wagons at Fort Kerney. I saidto them, "Men, what are you doing here, and where are your teams and therest of the men who went with you?"

They answered, "The rest of the men are all dead, killed by the Indiansnight before last; we made our escape by running off in the dark, and wehaven't had a bite to eat since supper that night, and in fact we didnot have much supper then, for the savages came on us when we wereeating. "

I said, "What became of your wagons and teams?"

They said they did not know what became of them, for they made theirescape as soon as the Indians came upon them; that they ran a littleways and stopped and listened to the cries of the others as long asthere were any left, and then wandering around through the woods eversince, not knowing where they were or what would become of them, andthey continued, "We sat down here because we were so weak we could go nofurther. "

One then asked where the rest of the train was. I replied, pointing, "Itis about a quarter of a mile over there. "

At that, one said to the other, "Let's go and get something to eat. " Ishowed them the way to the train, and as they were intimately acquaintedwith some of the emigrants they soon had their hunger appeased. 

While they were eating, they told us their experience. Three or fourmiles before they camped for the night they saw the Indians. There wereat least seventy-five of them. They were on the north side of the road. They would come close to the road and then disappear again. 

"We tried to get near to talk to them, but they ran away as if they wereafraid of us. When we camped that evening there were about twenty-fiveof them on a hill not more than a hundred and fifty yards from us. Twoof the men started to go up to them, but they ran away, and that was thelast we saw of them, and so we made up our minds that they had gone, andwe thought no more about them. It was good and dark when we sat down tosupper, and how so many of them came upon us without making any noise isa mystery to us. The first thing we knew, the whole number we had firstseen was upon us, and of all the noise, the yells and whoops we everheard, they made the worst. If they had come up out of the ground, wewould not have been more surprised, and the arrows were flying in everydirection. As it happened we two were sitting a little away from therest of the men eating our supper, and at their first yell we jumped upand made for the nearest brush; our guns were all in the wagons, andthe Indians were between us and the wagons, so we had no way to defendourselves. We went a little ways into the brush, and then we looked backand saw the Indians using their tomahawks on the men we had left, and ina few minutes all the noise was over and we supposed all the nine werekilled. "

Jim Bridger then said, "You two men are the luckiest chaps I ever heardof. You may be sure that the Indians did not see you that night, or theywould have trailed you up and had your scalps before the next morning. "

One of the committee men came to where Jim and I were sitting and said, "What shall we do about finding and burying those bodies?"

Jim answered, "That, sir, is your business, not ours. It is our businessto see that the people under our care do not meet with the same fatethese men have met, and I do not intend to put the lives of all thistrain in danger by stopping to hunt for the remains of men who refusedwith scorn to stay with us and share the protection we offered them;they brought the trouble and their own deaths on them selves, but I willsay this, if any of you men want to hunt for these bodies and take thetime to bury them, I have no objection, but you must understand thatwhen you get outside of the scout force we shall not be responsible forany thing that may happen to you. "

At that moment more than twenty men spoke together, saying, "Mr. Bridgeris right, Mr. Bridger is right; he proposes to do just what he agreed todo, and no one can blame him. " One of the men then asked if we would bewilling to stop long enough to bury the bodies if we found them; Jimsaid, "We have no objections to stopping if it is a suitable place tomake our camp, but if it isn't we can't afford to lose the time, as wemust make certain places to camp every day, for we are now in a hostileIndian country, and in order to protect our selves we must camp incertain places, for without we take this care this train will not be inexistence a week, and Will and I feel the responsibility that rests uponus, for the lives of your women and children as well as your own are inour hands. "

At this moment a middle-aged lady who stood near us with the tearsrunning down her cheeks said, "Why don't you let Mr. Bridger and Mr. Drannan have their way? You see what these other men came to by notobeying their orders, and do you want to bring us all to the predicamentthey are in?" At this Jim said, "I'll be dog goned if they will. "

This settled the controversy for the time being. 

That evening before we turned in for the night Jim and I talked thematter over together; and we decided that after I put out the scouts inthe morning I would take ten men all mounted on horses and keeping aboutfive miles ahead of the train, and if we found the bodies I should setthe men I had with me to work digging graves, and I should turn back andreport to Jim what we had found, and the condition we found them in. 

As soon as possible the next morning the men I had selected and myselfpulled out. We had made eight or nine miles when we found the bodies wewere looking for. They were all laying near together, around what hadbeen their camp fire, and all of them were scalped. 

There was nothing about them to indicate that they had made any effortto protect themselves. Every one of the heads was split, showing theyhad been tomahawked, proving what the two survivors had told us aboutthe suddenness of the attack to be correct. We found their wagons nearlyempty. The covers had been torn off, the most of the bedding was goneand some of their clothing. The eatables such as bacon and flour anddried fruit was laying on the ground. I told the men I thought the bestway to bury them would be to dig one large grave and put them all intoit, and they seemed to be of the same mind. After helping to select aspot for the grave, I left them and rode back to meet the train andreport our find. I told Jim all about the condition of things at thedead men's camp, at which he said, "I guess we had better stop there acouple of hours, which will give us time to bury the dead, and we canreach our camping ground before night. "

On reaching the place Jim corralled the train, and he then went to allthe families and told them that two hours was as long as we should stopthere. I said, "I will take a stroll around through the brush and see ifI can find some of their cattle. "

I hadn't gone more than a quarter of a mile when I found twelve head oftheir oxen. When I drove them back to the wagons, the two men said theywere just half of the original number. They yoked them up and hookedthem to two of the wagons and took what they wanted of the provisionsand clothes and left the rest laying on the ground. As we were about toleave Jim said, "It is too dog goned bad to leave all that grub for theCoyotes to eat. That meat and flour will be worth fifty cents a poundwhen you get to California. "

Then several of the men and women commenced to gather up the stuff, themen carrying the flour and the women the bacon, and they soon had it allstowed away in their wagons. 

Having laid the dead away in the best manner we could under thecircumstances, and every thing else being in readiness, we pulled outfor Barrel Springs. I told Jim not to look for me until about dark, asI intended to climb the tall hills that we could see in the distance tolook for Indian camp fires. This being understood, my twelve scouts andmyself left the train in Jim's care. After giving the eleven scoutstheir orders, I took the other one with me and took the lead. Nothing ofinterest occurred until we had nearly reached the place where we were tocamp that night. Happening to look up on a high ridge to the north ofus, I saw a large band of Buffalo coming towards us, and I thought bythe lay of the ground that they must pass through the spot where we weregoing to camp. I said to my companion, "Let's hitch our horses and getthose trees, " pointing to a little grove of timber, which stood near thesprings. "Those Buffalo are going to come down there, and we want to getas many of them as possible. Now don't shoot until they are opposite us, and then aim to break their neck every time, and load and shoot as fastas you can after you commence. "

We only had a few minutes to wait. When we reached the timber, theBuffalos were opposite us. They were within thirty feet of us. We bothfired and two Buffaloes fell. Now it was a race to see who could loadfirst. I was the quickest and got the next one. They were now on thestampede, and it was a sight to see the number that was passing us. Igot three of them with my rifle and one with my pistol. My companionshot three with his rifle. The one I shot with my pistol I don't thinkwas over ten feet from me when she fell. She was the nicest littletwo-year-old heifer I had ever killed, and her meat was almost as tenderas chicken. We went to work dressing them and had them pretty wellunderway when the train arrived. 

Barrel Springs was one of the prettiest places for a camping ground Iever saw. It was in a small, open prairie, surrounded by scatteringtimber, a stream of cool and pure sparkling water running through thecenter, and the grass was almost to the horses' knees. 

As soon as Jim had corralled the train, he rode to where we were at workand said, "Boys, I'll be gol durned if this ain't one of the times, youdone two good jobs at once. "

I said, "How is that, Jim?"

He answered, "In the first place you provided meat for our supper, andin the next, you drove the Buffalos off so we have plenty of grass forthe stock for their supper. "

By this time nearly all the women were standing around us. This was thefirst Buffalo they had ever seen and they were a great curiosity tothem. With the rest was a middle-aged lady, and with her she had twodaughters nearly grown. The mother stood near me watching me work. 

She said, "Mr. Drannan, may I have a piece of that yearling's hindquarter? I will tell you what I want to do with it; my girls and I havepicked a lot of wild onions today, and I want to make a stew, and wewant you and Mr. Bridger to come to our tent and eat supper. "

I assured her she could have all the meat she wanted from my littleheifer. One of the girls ran to their wagon to get an ax and her fatherto come and chop it off for them. By this time the men had aboutfinished dressing the Buffalo, and every body helped themselves to whatpart they wanted. There was plenty for all, and some of the rough partleft over. It did not seem long to me when one of the girls came to Jimand me and told us that her mother had sent for us to come and takesupper with them, and I think that was one of the times we did justiceto a meal, for a stew with onions was a rare dish for us woodsmen, anda woman to cook it was a still more rare occasion. As soon as we hadfinished eating, Jim stood up and in a loud voice said, "Ladies, howmany of you can dance?"

I think there were as many as twenty-five answered, "I can dance. "

Jim said, "All right, get ready, and after dark we will have lots ofmusic. "

One of the men asked, "Where are you going to get your music?"

Jim answered, "Why dog gone it, Will and Mr. Henderson have engaged aband to play for us to night. "

And in a few moments the band struck up in a Coyote howl, and Jimlaughed and said, "There, didn't I promise you a band? Isn't thatmusic?" And from then until midnight the howling never ceased. It wassomething fearful to listen to. The smell of the Buffalo blood made themwild, and they howled worse then usual that night. A great number of theemigrants did not lay down until after midnight, and time after timeasked me if I thought there was any danger of them attacking the camp. I told them there was no danger from them, and that if I knew thereweren't any Indians within twenty miles of us I could stop their yellingin five minutes. They asked how that was possible. I told them that ifI was sure there were no Indians in hearing, I would fire my gun off atime or two, and we would hear no more of the Coyotes at night. Aftermidnight they quieted down and every one went to sleep, except theguards who watched the camp. 

Jim and I were up very early the next morning and called all the othersto have an early breakfast, telling them we had to make twenty milesthat day to get to water and grass so we could camp that night. As soonas breakfast was over Jim said to the women, "Now ladies, you won't haveany more music to dance to for the next three nights, for you will seeno more Buffalo, hear no more Coyotes, or see any Indians until we crossGreen River. "

Several of the ladies said they would be glad if they never heard anymore Coyotes howl. They did not like that kind of music to dance to, orto be kept awake all night listening to them either. 

For the next three days everything passed along smoothly; when wereached Green River, it was rising rapidly, and we had a great deal oftrouble crossing it. We had to hitch three teams to one wagon and sixand eight men had to ride each side to keep the teams straight. 

Green River is a mountain stream and flows very rapidly, and at thisplace was very narrow, and if the team should get ten feet below theFord they would be lost so swift is the current. We worked hard two daysgetting everything across the river, but we got everything over in goodshape at last. 

That night, after supper was over, we told all the people of the trainto be ready for starting on the road by sunrise in the morning, as wehad a long drive before us and it was all gradually uphill at that. Several of the women asked when we were going to give them some moreBuffalo meat. Jim burst out laughing and asked them if they wanted somemore music to dance to. One girl said, "Have we got to have music everytime we have Buffalo meat?"

Jim told her that for the next two weeks we would have music every nightwhether we had Buffalo meat or not, and very likely there would be timeswe would hear Indian yells during the day. 

"By that time, " he said, "we shall be in the Ute country, and they arethe meanest tribe of Indians in the west, and we may look for troublewith them any moment, day or night. " And addressing the men he said, "I want you to keep your guns loaded and ready for use at a moment'swarning, and you must stay with the wagons, all but the scouts, who willbe under Will's control, for if they attack us I want to give them aswarm a reception as we possibly can, for if we whip them in the firstbattle, that will settle it with that bunch. They will not trouble usagain. "

The next night we camped at Soda Springs. There were three springs closetogether. Two of them were mineral, one strong with soda, and the otherwas very salt, and the third one was pure cold water. As soon as thewagons were corralled, several of the young girls took buckets andstarted for the springs to get water, and as luck had it they all wentto the Soda spring. Not one of them had ever even heard of a soda springuntil they tried this one. They had not had any water to drink sincenoon and were very thirsty, so drank very heartily without stopping totaste, but as soon as the water was down, there was a cry from as manyas had drunk, and they all ran back to the wagons, screaming, "oh! oh! Iam poisoned, oh! What shall I do?" And with their hands pressed to theirbreasts and the gas bursting from nose and mouth they did make a sadsight to those who did not understand the effects of soda springs, butto Jim and me it was very amusing, for we knew they were in no danger ofpoison. 

Some of the sufferers cried as well as screamed. I could not speak forlaughing, for I remembered my own first experience in drinking from asoda spring, but Jim told them they were not poisoned and told them whatkind of water they had drunk. In a few moments all the crowd was at thesoda spring, drinking its poison water as the girls still called it. Theolder women asked what they should do for water to cook with. I pointedto the salt spring and told them to go and get water from that if theyhad fresh meat to cook, and the water would salt it and for coffee Ipointed to the spring of water farthest from us, and I told the girlsthey could drink all the water they wanted from that spring and not haveto make such faces as they did after they drank the soda. One of thegirls said she reckoned I would have made a face if I had felt as shedid. Jim stood near us with a smile on his lips, which I knew meantmischief of some sort. He said. "Will, why don't you tell the girls howyou enjoyed your first drink of soda water?" And seeing how I blushed, for my face was burning, he said, "I guess I had better tell themmyself. I don't think you know how comical you looked. " And in the mostridiculous way he could think of he described how I looked and acted onthat to me never-to-be-forgotten occasion, "My first drink from a sodaspring. "

I have been told there is a large town at this place now, and that it isa great resort for the sick. They use this salt water, which I forgot tosay was also hot as well as salt, for bathing, and is considered a greatcure for many diseases. 

[Illustration: Waving my hat, I dashed into the midst of the band. ]

CHAPTER IV

The next morning we pulled out of this place by the way of Landers. That afternoon about two o'clock I saw a small band of Indians comingdirectly towards us. They were about a mile away when I first saw them. I rode to the foot of a little hill which was close to me at the time Isaw them. I dismounted from my horse and tied him to a sage brush, andthen I crept to the top of the hill to see how many there were of them. I watched them until they were within a half a mile of my hiding place;I then counted thirty. I took them to be a hunting party by the way theywere traveling. I signaled to my scouts to come to me at once. When theyreached me, the Indians were less than a quarter of a mile from me. Itold them what was coming down the ravine and told them to see thattheir guns and pistols were in order, "for, as soon as they round thatlittle point yonder, we will charge on them, and we will kill every onewe can. Now, don't shoot until we get within thirty yards of them. Iwill say, "fire, " then I want every man to get an Indian. Now don't getrattled, but shoot to kill and shout as loud as you can. It don't makeany difference what you say, only make as big a noise as you can, and assoon as you empty your guns, pull your pistols and go after them. "

In a moment more the time had come to act, and when I said, "Charge, "every man responded and did his duty. I had been in several Indianfights before, but I never saw Indians so taken by surprise as this bandwas. They did not draw their arrows or run, until we had fired intothem, and after they turned to run, they had gone at least two hundredyards, before I saw them try to shoot an arrow. 

We got fourteen of them in the first charge, and inside of three hundredyards we got six more. The remainder had reached the thick brush, so welet them go. 

We now commenced catching the horses. We caught sixteen horses, and theyall had good hair ropes around their necks. We tied them all together, and I left them in charge of two men, and the rest of us went to takethe scalps of the Indians, and I was surprised to find when I said, "Wewill take the scalps of these Indians, " that the men did not know whatI meant. I showed them how to take the scalps off, and then they askedwhat I was going to do with them. I told them I was going to give themto Jim Bridger, and he would make guards out of them. "Jim wouldn't takethe biggest hundred dollar bill you could offer him for these scalps, when he gets his hands on them. "

One of the men said, "What will Bridger do with them horrid bloodythings?"

I told him to just wait until night and then Jim would explain the usethey would be to him. I tied the scalps to my saddle, left two men tocare for the horses we had captured and biding the others to follow me Istruck out for the place where we were to camp that night. 

Jim told me that night how surprised the emigrants were when the traincame to the men who had charge of the horses, and seeing the bodies ofthe dead Indians. 

He said, "I had to let them stop the train a few minutes so they couldall look at them. " He said, "Some of the women wanted to know whathad become of the hair off the top of their heads. I told them that Ireckoned Will had taken them to give to me. "

"And what are you going to do with those horrid Indians' hair?" onewoman inquired. 

"I am going to protect you and the rest of the train with them, " heanswered her. 

The place we had picked out for camping ground that night was SageCreek. There was no timber in sight as far as one could see; there wasnothing to see but sage brush, but there was plenty of good water andfine grass. 

We had been riding around looking for signs of Indians, so we did notreach the camping ground until Jim had the wagons corralled. I gave himthe scalps I had taken and I told him I was going to get some meat forsupper. He said, "What have you found? Bison or Antelope?"

I answered, "There are four or five hundred head of Antelope over beyondthat hill yonder, " and I pointed to the ridge a short distance fromcamp, "and I think I can take my scouts with me, and we can get anAntelope apiece and get back here before sundown. " Jim answered, "Allright, Will. I busy myself by hanging up my scalps while you are gone. "

My men and I struck out up a ravine that led up close to where theAntelope were feeding; we were screened from their sight by the highbanks. When we were close enough to them we dismounted and tied ourhorses to some bush. I then crawled up the bank alone to see just wherethe Antelope were, and to my surprise I found that there were two orthree hundred of them feeding almost on the edge of the ravine in closegunshot to us. I slipped back down the bank and got to the boys as quickas possible and told them that the Antelope were on the top of the bankin close gun shot of us. We scattered along down the ravine for perhapsa hundred yards. I took my handkerchief out of my pocket and told them Iwould tie it around my ramrod. "And now don't any of you shoot untilyou see this red handkerchief waving, for the color being red it willattract their attention, and you will see more heads looking towards itthen you ever saw in your life before. Now take good aim and be sureand hit your game, and as soon as you have emptied your guns pull yourpistols and get some more while they are running away; we ought to getat least twenty Antelope out of this band. "

When I waved the handkerchief, it seemed as if every rifle cracked atonce, and it was a lively time for a few minutes for all of us. When wecounted the Antelope we found we had shot twenty-two. We each took anAntelope in front of us on our horses and put out for camp. When we gotthere we unloaded, and some of the men that were at the camp commenceddressing them and cutting them up in pieces to cook, while the otherboys went back to get those we had left where we killed them. 

The women had the fires burning when the meat was ready for cooking, and when supper was ready all the Antelope were dressed and distributedaround among the emigrants, and there was enough to last until thesecond day. 

Jim had cut long sticks and had hung the scalps on the wagons so theycould be seen quite a distance away. After he had them all fixed, he andI were standing together talking, he telling me the effect the sight ofthe dead Indians had on the emigrants and especially when they saw thattheir scalps had been taken off. 

Two of the women came to us and invited us to eat supper with them attheir tent. I will here explain to the reader that every family in thetrain had their own separate tent and cooked at their own fire. Jim andI accepted the invitation as we always did of the first that invited usto each meal. 

As we finished eating it seemed as though all the women of the traingathered around us. There was one old lady in the crowd who seemed to bethe one selected to do the talking. She said, "Mr. Bridger, I want youto tell me truly, don't you think it was awfully wicked to cut thosescalps off those Indians' heads and then hang the dreadful, bloodythings up on the wagons for us to look at?" and the tears were in hereyes as she finished her question. 

Jim replied, "The best thing that has been done since we started on thistrip is killing those Indians, and better still taking their scalps. Idid not hang those scalps up on your wagons for you to look at. I hungthem up for the Indians that are alive to look at, and I will tell youthis, the Indians will never attack the train as long as they see thosesame bloody things hanging there, for they will think they will losetheir own scalps, if they do. I would rather have these Indian scalpsto protect you with than a hundred of the best soldiers in the UnitedStates Army. The Indian does not fear death, but he dreads the thoughtof having his scalps taken off his head, for it is the Indian's beliefthat he cannot enter the happy hunting grounds after death if his scalphas been taken off his head, and I want to impress on your minds that ifthis train should be attacked, every one of you that fell into the handsof the Indians, it would not matter whether they be men or women, wouldhave their scalps torn off, and the same scalps would be hanging up onthe Indians' wigwams for the squaws to dance around, and I want all youladies to distinctly understand that Will Drannan or myself will donothing while we have charge of this train but what will be of benefitto you all, and will bear the strictest investigation. "

By this time everyone in the train had surrounded us, and turning to themen of the train, Jim continued, "If any of you are dissatisfied withour actions, now is the time to say so, and we will quit right here, andI will guarantee that the Indians will have all of your scalps beforeyou are a hundred miles from here. "

At this moment the committee came to us and said, "We want you two mento understand that there is no fault to be found with what you have donesince you took charge of this train. We realize that every move you havemade has been for our benefit. Mr. Bridger, you have no doubt found outlong before this time that in a large company like this, everyone cannot be satisfied. No matter how hard you may try to please them, therewill still be some growlers and, pardon me for saying, there are cranksamong the women as well as among men. "

At this the old lady who had called Bridger wicked stepped up to Jim andsaid, "Mr. Bridger, I hope you will excuse me, for what I said. I willadmit that I did not know what I was talking about, and if you willforgive me this time I will find no more fault with you. "

Jim made no reply to the lady's remarks, but turning to the rest of thecompany he said, "Now get ready to have a good dance tonight, for we aregoing to have lots of music, for the Coyotes will smell the blood of theIndians on one side of us and that of the Antelope on the other side, sothere will be music from a double band. "

This was the last word of complaint that was expressed, while wewere with this train. Everyone seemed satisfied, and all things wentpleasantly from this time on. But talk about Coyotes' howling. This wasone of the nights when they did howl. They came so close to us that wecould hear them snap their teeth. Apparently there were hundreds of themaround us. 

After leaving this camp we had no more trouble for two days. The secondnight we camped on a little stream which was a tributary to Snake river. In the morning before we camped at this place, I told Jim when I lefthim with my scouts that he need not expect to see me until supper time. "You know, Jim, that we are in the heart of the Ute country, and I shallprospect every hill or ravine where there is liable to be found signs ofIndians. "

That evening it was perhaps a couple of miles before we got to the campand a mile or so away from the other scouts, I ran on three wagonsstanding right in the middle of the road. After examining them a fewminutes, I came to the conclusion that they had been standing where theywere all winter. I saw that there had been ox-teams attached to themsome time, but there was no sign of yokes there. The covers were stillon the wagons, so I got off my horse and climbed into one of them. Ifound some flour and probably three hundred pounds of bacon in the threewagons. There was no bedding, but some clothing for both men and women, which was quite old and worn. On the front gate of one of the wagons Ifound considerable blood, and there was blood on the tongue of the samewagon. I now made an examination of the ground to see if there were anysigns of a fight. After I had looked around some time, I was convincedthat the owners of the wagons, whoever they had been, had been massacredby the Indians. 

About forty steps from the wagons I found the remains of three people. One was a large body, that of a man, and one a medium size, which I tookfor the body of a woman, and the other was a small child. All there wasleft of them was their bones and some hair, the Wolves having strippedthe flesh entirely from them. 

I signaled to my scouts to come to me. As soon as they came, I told themto take all the grub out of the wagons and put it in a pile, and I wouldgo back and meet the train and have three men appointed to distributethe stuff among the families. I told the boys that there were two trunksin the wagons and to break them open and see what was in them. 

They did so and found them full of women's clothes, some of the garmentsof very nice material. I rode back and met the train and told Jim what Ihad found, and what I thought we had best do. 

He selected three men to divide the provisions among the families of thetrain. I never inquired what they did with the clothes that was in thetrunks. 

We hunted all around in every direction, but we could find no morebodies, so if there had been others, the Indians must have taken theminto captivity or, what was more likely, the Coyotes had dragged themaway into the brush beyond our reach. 

After the emigrants had stored the provisions in their wagons, we wenton to the place we had selected for a camping ground for that night. Ipreceded the train a half a mile, and I found plenty of Indian signs, but they were all old. All their trails were pointing south that night. I asked Jim why all the Indians were going south this time of the year. He told me that they were going to hunt big game such as Buffalo, Bisonand Elk, and they had to go further south to find such game, and hesaid, he should not be surprised if we did not see another Indian untilwe struck the Sink of Humboldt. 

"But you may look out then, for we will find them then in plenty. " AsJim finished this remark, one of my scouts came riding into camp at fullspeed. Jim and I went to meet him, for we suspected that something wasup. As soon as he got in speaking distance he said to me, "There are athousand Indians up on that ridge yonder, and they are coming this way;they are all on horse back, and there are women and children with them. "Jim asked how far off they were. He said he didn't believe they wereover a mile from camp at this minute; Jim mounted his horse and went tothe herders and ordered them to corral the stock at once, at the sametime telling every man to get his gun and form in line for the Indianswere coming upon us, and the reader may be sure that everybody and everyanimal in that train was moving lively for a few minutes. 

As soon as the stock was corralled, Jim rode up to me with one of thesticks that had a scalp on it in his hand. Handing it to me, he said, "Here, Will, take this and ride out a little ways from the corral, andwhen the Indians come where they can see you, wave it over your head sothey will be sure to see the scalps, and I will get another bunch and Iwill stand close to you at the same time. "

In a few minutes more the Indians hove in sight. They were in less thana quarter of a mile of us before they could see the whole train. As soonas they got a good sight of us the whole band stopped. The leader ofthe band was a war chief. We knew this by his dress. As soon as theystopped, Jim and I rode out towards them, waving the scalps like a flag. 

The old chief looked at us a moment, then turned and seemed to betalking with some of the other braves a few minutes. Then the wholetribe pulled out in a westerly direction from us, and in a short timethey were out of our sight, and their pace was lively the reader may besure for the sight of the scalps had frightened them, as they fearedthey would meet the same fate if they did not get away from us quick. 

I followed them quite a distance to make sure that they had gone. When Igot back, everything had quieted down and the company was just sittingdown to supper. 

After Jim and I had got through eating, two of the committee came to usand as many as forty or fifty women, old and young, were with them. Themen said to us, "These women have asked us to come to you and tendertheir most heartfelt thanks to you for what you have done for themtoday, for we are all sure we would have fallen victims to the savagesif you had not been with us to protect us from them. It was theeasiest-won battle that I ever heard of, and all because you knew how tofight the savages with their own weapon. "

Jim answered, "Didn't I tell you that them scalps was worth an army ofsoldiers to us, and hasn't this proved my words to be true? What woulda hundred soldiers have done with that whole tribe of Indians? Therewouldn't have been a man of them left in an hour to tell the story, andevery one of their scalps would be hanging to the Indians' belts, and Iwant you to all bear in mind that for the next three hundred miles weare liable to have just such another experience any hour of the day ornight, and I want to ask you all to do as you done this time. Only keepcool and obey our orders, and I think we will get you through in safety, and I want to say this for the ladies, they showed great bravery todayin keeping so quiet and having good sense staying under cover, and I didnot hear a sound from any of them, and I will tell the girls that I willrecommend them to the best-looking young frontiersmen I am acquaintedwith, as wifes, especially if they learn to dance to the Coyote'smusic. "

This made a laugh all around and took the edge off of the danger thathad clouded the people's faces, which was the motive Jim had in viewin making the joking remarks, for no one knew better than Jim did hownecessary it is to keep a company in good spirits, and to keep them fromdwelling on the danger that might threaten them. 

There was nothing to interrupt our slumbers that night, and we aroserefreshed the next morning, ready for the day's journey and whatever wasbefore us. 

For the next three days nothing happened to interfere with our journey. The third day brought us to the foot of Look Out mountain, which is aspur of the Sierra Nevada mountains. In the eastern part of what isnow the State of Nevada, but which was at that time one of the wildestcountries in all the west, this particular portion I am speaking aboutwas inhabited solely by the Ute Indians, which at that time was a verylarge tribe, and one of the most barbarous tribe that ever inhabitedNorth America. 

It is now fifty years ago since the events I am speaking of took place, and after all that Uncle Sam has done for them, they are not civilizedyet. 

At the time I speak of, this tribe inhabited all of the country fromSnake river on the north to the Colorado river on the south and probablyfour hundred miles east and west, and at that time it was one of thegreatest game countries west of the Rocky mountains. Such game asBuffalo, Elk, Antelope and Deer ranged all through that country incountless numbers. The Buffalo traveled much less in that particularportion of the country than they did in the country east of the Rockymountains. The Buffalo that inhabited this part of the country scarcelyever crossed Snake river on the north or strayed as far as what is nowknown as the States of Oregon and Idaho, and it was no uncommon sight tosee from fifty to two hundred and fifty Elk in one band. It would seemunreasonable at this period to tell how many Antelope one could see inone day. 

But to return to the emigrant train and our camp at the foot of Look Outmountain, just before I got to our intended camping place, I crossed atrail where the Indians had just passed. I followed this trail for somedistance, and judging from the signs I decided there was quite a largeband, five hundred or more of them. 

I went back to the main trail and signaled to my scouts to come to me. I selected one to go with me, gave the others their orders what to do, telling them to be sure and tell Bridger to not look for us until he sawus, for I was going to follow a trail until I found where the Indianswent into camp. 

Myself and my assistants now took the trail of the Indians, and we hadfollowed it about five miles when we came to a high ridge, and as welooked down into the valley we saw the Indians in camp. 

I was now satisfied that the Indians had not seen us and would not seeus, so we turned and rode back to the place where we started from. Whenwe reached the camping ground, Jim had just got the train corralled. I reported to him what I had seen and where the Indians were. Afterlistening to my report, Jim said, "That is good. There is no danger fromthat band anyway. "

We passed a quiet night at this camp. The next morning we were up veryearly and got an early start on the road, for we had a long drive beforeus that day, as it was all of twenty miles before we could reach wateragain. 

Before we started that morning, Jim said to me, "Keep a sharp lookout for Buffalo when you get near the next water, for if there are noIndians there, you will be sure to find Buffalo, and tomorrow beingSunday we will lay over a day and rest up, and if we can have some freshmeat I think everyone will enjoy it. "

I answered that if there were any Buffalo in that part of the country, Iwould surely find them, "for, besides the treat the Buffalo will be tous, we can have another Coyote dance. "

Jim clapped his hands and, laughing, replied, "Yes, Will, I'll be doggorned if we won't, for the Coyotes will howl to beat any band if youcan kill a few Buffalos. "

I and my scouts pulled out at once, and to my surprise I did not see anIndian track all that day. When I was within three or four miles of theplace where we were to camp, I commenced to see signs of Buffalo, so Isignaled all the other scouts to come to me. As soon as they came, Ishowed them the tracks of the Buffalo in the sand, and then I told themthat we would scatter out and go in abreast, keeping about a hundredyards apart, and keep a sharp look out, and if either of us see anyBuffalo, signal to the rest of us to come, "for, we are going to layover in this camp tomorrow, and we want some Buffalo meat to feast on. "

We saw no Buffalo until we were almost to the camping ground. Then oneof the men discovered a herd of perhaps twenty-five cows and calves in alittle valley close to the place where we were going to camp. 

As soon as he saw them, he signaled to the balance of us, and we got tohim as quickly as possible. On examination of the valley, we found thatthere was only one way the Buffalos could get out, and that was the waythey went in, which led down to where our camp would be that night. There were not more than eight or ten acres in the whole valley, and itwas almost surrounded by high bluffs, and the only outlet which was notmore than thirty paces wide led directly to the spot where we intendedto camp over Sunday. 

I told the men to dismount and tie their horses to some Sage brush thatwas near and go down to a little grove of trees that stood at the mouthof the valley. 

"I will ride in among them and try to separate the herd so we can get asmany of them as possible, and aim to kill the smallest of the band asthey pass you. If I am successful in separating the band, and you canget two shots at them, we will get all the meat we want. I will try tohold all the calves until the cows are out of the valley, and when thelast cow is out, all you men rush and close the opening, and then wewill have lots of sport killing the calves. "

As I rode into the valley, all the Buffalos ran to the opposite end, and I saw then that I should have a hard time to separate them. I rodequickly to where they were all in a bunch. As I drew near them, they allbroke for the outlet in one body. I took my hat off and, waving itover my head and with a yell, I dashed into the midst of the band andsucceeded in separating three cows and ten calves. At one time I thoughtthey would run over me and my horse in spite of all I could do toprevent it. But finally I separated the three cows and ten calves fromthe rest and turned them back to the head of the valley. I now heard thereport of the guns, so I knew the men were getting some meat. I thenrode back to them as quickly as I could, and I found they had shot tenBuffalo cows, which all lay dead within a few feet of each other. 

I said, "Now boys, we have enough cows, but we want some of the calves, and I will go up and start them down, and you let the cows all pass outbut hold the calves inside and shoot all of them you can. "

I went back to the other end of the valley, and as luck was on my sidethe cows separated themselves from the calves, and I had no trouble inrunning the cows out, which I did at full speed. I then said, "Now boys, you may kill all these calves but one, and that one I am going to havefor a pet. "

They all commenced to laugh and asked, "How are you going to catch it?"

I answered, "You just watch me, " at the same time I was loosening theriata from my saddle. I then rode up near to where the calves werehuddled together, and as they started to run I threw my rope at thelargest one in the bunch and caught him around the neck, and there wassome lively kicking and bucking for a few minutes, but he found it wasno use to struggle. After that it took only a few minutes before the menhad all the others killed. 

The excitement being over, I looked down to the other end of the valleyand saw that Bridger had the train corralled. I sent one of the men totell Jim to send ten or twelve teams up the valley to drag the Buffalosdown to camp. The men reported the number of cows and calves we hadkilled, and Jim sent enough teams to drag them all down to camp in onetrip. 

As soon as the teams had started with their loads, I asked the boys tohelp me with my calf. I told them to all get behind him and give him ascare, and he would go to camp in a lively gallop, for I wanted to showthe women and children how a wild Buffalo looked when alive. 

When we reached the corral, Jim Bridger was the first to meet us. Thecalf had got pretty wild by this time. No one could get near him. Jimsaid he had been seeing Buffalo for the last twenty-five years, and thisone was the first he had ever seen led into camp, and in a few minutesall the women and children and the majority of the men were gathered ina bunch looking at my calf and laughing at his antics, for he did notsubmit to captivity very gracefully. After watching him a while, Jimsaid, "What are you going to do with him, Will?"

I answered that I did intend to eat him, but I thought now I had betterturn him loose. 

Jim said, "That won't do, Will, for he would kill someone before hecleared himself of the crowd. Tie him up to a tree, and we can kill himand take the meat with us when we leave here. "

I tied him up as Jim thought best, although I pitied the little fellowand had rather have let him loose and seen him scamper away over thehills to join his friends in freedom. 

The men set to work skinning and getting the meat ready to cook forsupper. We now had fresh meat enough to last the entire outfit nearly aweek. 

After we had finished supper Jim told the women to get ready to dance, "for, " he said, "we will have more music tonight than we have had for along time. "

One of the old ladies asked him, how he could tell when the wolves wouldhowl more one night than another, and she said, "every time that youhave said they would howl, they have made such a noise that none of uscould sleep. " Jim answered, "this will be the worst night for them tohowl you have ever heard, and I will tell you why. You see, all thoseBuffalos have been dressed here at the camp, and the Coyotes will smellthe blood for miles away from here, and they will follow the scent untilthey get to us, and as they cannot get to the meat they will vent theirdisappointment in howling. So you see why I say the ladies will have aplenty of music to dance to. " And sure enough, as soon as it commencedgrowing dark the din commenced, and there was no sleep for anyone inthat camp until nearly daylight the next morning. A number of timesthat night I went out perhaps fifty yards from the wagons and saw themrunning in every direction. I could have silenced them by firing onceamong them, but this I did not dare to do, for I did not know how manyIndians might be in hearing of the report of my gun, and I thought itthe better policy to hear the howling of the wolves than to have a fightwith the Indians. 

The next morning I called the scouts together and divided them into foursquads, and we started out to examine the country in all four directionsfor Indians or the signs of them, our calculation being to investigatethe country for five miles in every direction. 

I told the men that if we saw no Indians or the signs of them that daythat we would have a chance to sleep that night for I would fire a fewshots among the Coyotes and stop their music, for that time at least. I and the men that went with me took a direct western course. Aftertraveling perhaps five miles we struck a fresh Indian trail; the Indianshad passed along there the evening before going in a southern direction. We followed it some distance, and I came to the conclusion that therewere four or five hundred Indians in the band, and I knew by thedirection they were traveling that they would have to go fifteen ortwenty miles before they could find water, so I knew we were perfectlysafe from this band. So after explaining this to my companions, I said, "Let us go back to camp. "

On our arrival there we found that all the scouts had got into campexcept the squad that went east, and in a few minutes, they came ridingin as fast as their horses could bring them shouting at the top of theirvoices, "The Indians are after us. "

Jim ordered the stock all corralled at once, and the men were not longin obeying orders. While these were attending to the stock, Jim wasplacing the other men in a position to protect the train, and as goodluck, or rather Jim's forethought, had it, he had stuck the scalps wehad used for the same purpose before on the wagons the night before, saying as he did it, "We don't ever know when they will be needed. "

I with all my scout force rode out to meet the coming Indians. About twohundred yards from the corral there was a little hill which the Indianswould have to climb before they came in view of our camp. I told the menthat we would meet them at the top of the hill and give them as warm awelcome as we could, and then we would get back to the train as quicklyas possible, and I then told them to shoot with their rifles first andthen to pull their pistols and to let the savages have all there was inthem, and then wheel their horses and make for camp. 

We heard them coming before we reached the top of the hill. When we goton the crest, they were not more than thirty or forty yards from us. Every one of my men fired together, and I saw a number of Indians fallfrom their horses, and after we emptied our pistols among them, wewheeled our horses and sped back to camp. 

The Indians just rounded the top of the hill where they could barely seethe train, and then they stopped. Seeing the wagons with the scalpson them and all in seeming waiting for them seemed to take them bysurprise. Bridger was making arrangements to make an attack on them whenthey all gave the war whoop and wheeled their horses and went back theway they had come. 

Myself and scouts went to the top of the hill to see if the Indians werestill in the neighborhood, but finding no signs of them we went back tocamp. When I told Jim that there were no Indians in sight, he sprang upand laughed as loud as he could and clapped his hands together and said, "Another battle won by Will's Indian scalps. Didn't I tell you all thatthem scalps was worth more to us than all the soldiers we could getaround us? They have won two good strong battles for us, and we willnot have any more trouble here. Them scalps is worth a hundred dollarsapiece to this train. "

My men and I now went back over the hill to see how many Indians we hadshot in our first meeting them, and strange to say we did not find adead Indian, but there was plenty of blood all around where they werewhen we fired on them. I knew by the blood that we had killed some ofthem, but their comrades had taken their bodies on their horses andcarried them with them, which the Indian always does if he can. 

When we returned to camp the excitement was all over, and everyone wasas cheerful as if nothing had happened to disturb them. Jim and I weretalking together a short time after I got back when two young girls cameto us and said their mother wanted us to eat dinner with them, for theywere going to have pie for dinner. Jim said, "Is it calf pie? I do lovecalf pie above all things. "

The girls laughed and said, "No, it is apple pie. " Jim said, "All right, I like apple pie too. "

When we sat down to dinner, which the reader will understand was notspread on a table, but was spread on the ground, I was surprised to seewhat was before us to eat. I have paid a dollar many times since thenfor a meal that would not compare in any way with this dinner that wascooked out in the wilds with no conveniences that women are supposed torequire. 

There was a stew made of the Buffalo calf, a roast of the same kind ofmeat, corn bread, fried wild onions, apple pie and as good a cup ofcoffee as I ever drank. 

After we had finished eating, Jim said to the lady, "Are you going torun a boarding house when you get to California?"

She answered, "I don't know what I shall do when we get there. Why doyou ask?"

Jim answered, "I wanted to know because if you are, every time I come toCalifornia, I am coming to board with you. "

Her husband then said, "It don't make any difference whether we keep aboarding house or not. Any time you or Mr. Drannan come near our placewe shall expect you to come to us. You both will be perfectly welcome toa seat at our table at any and all times. After what I have seen today, I am more fully convinced that everyone in this train owes their livesto you two men. What would have become of the whole of us this morningif you two men had not been here to guard us? I will tell you what wouldhave happened. Our stock and all we possessed would have been in thehands of the Indians, and our scalps would be hanging at their girdlesat this time, and I want to say now that the people that compose thistrain can never pay you for what you have done for us on this dangerousjourney. "

Jim answered, "When we undertook to pilot this train across toCalifornia, we knew what we would be likely to meet with and that theundertaking was no child's play. We both understood the nature of theIndians thoroughly, and if all you people stick together and obey ourorders, we will take you through in safety. "

The man answered, "Mr. Bridger, you need not have one uneasy thoughtabout anyone wanting to leave your protection on this trip, for everyonein this company understands that their lives are in the hands of you twomen. "

By this time there was quite a crowd around us, and Jim said, "We bothappreciate the good opinion you have expressed, but after all we haveonly done our duty by you as we always do, or at least we try to do toeveryone who intrust themselves and their property in our care. And now, to change the subject, Will says he is going to stop the wolves howlingtonight so you people can get some sleep. "

When it had grown dark I took a few of the scouts with me out on theedge of camp perhaps a hundred yards from the corral, and when theCoyotes began their howling, we began firing, and in a few minutes therewas not a sound to be heard. We were satisfied that we would not bedisturbed that night by the savages or the Coyotes, so we all turned in, and we had a good night's rest. 

The next morning we were up and had an early breakfast, and I hadnot seen the emigrants in such a cheerful mood as they all were thismorning, since we left Fort Kerney. Every one was cracking jokes. 

As my scouts and I were about to leave the train to take our usualposition as guards, one of the young girls came to me and said, "Mr. Drannan, I knew you were a good Indian fighter, but I did not know theCoyotes were so afraid of you. Did you hang up some of their scalps sothat they could see them and know they would share the same fate astheir comrades if they did not keep away?"

I told her that the report of our guns told the Coyotes what to expectif they came where the bullets would hit them. "But if my shootinginterferes with your dancing, I will be careful and not do any thing tospoil the music. "

She laughed and said, "Never you mind, Mr. Drannan, we are going to giveyou a dance before many nights. "

I answered that I only knew how to dance one kind of a dance, and thatwas the scalp dance. 

She said she had never seen a scalp dance, and said, "What is it like?"

Jim Bridger said, "When we have the next fight with the Indians, Willand I will show you how it is done, that is providing the Indians don'tget our scalps, and if they do they will show you. "

Jim said to me, "I don't think we will have any more trouble with theIndians until we get to the sink of the Humboldt; it is about a hundredmiles from here. There is quite a strip of country through here that Iam afraid we will have a great deal of trouble in, for at this time ofthe year all the game that is in the country seems to gather there, andas the Indians always follow the game I am afraid there will be plentyof them too. But we could not have a better scare crow than the scalpswe have scared the last two bands away with, and I think if we arealways successful in getting the train corralled before they come on uswe will get through in safety. "

I answered, "Jim, if it is possible for me to prevent it, you will neverbe surprised, for I and my men will keep a sharp look out for any signsof Indians at all times, and if there is any danger, you will know itas soon as we can get the news to you, for all the men under my controlseem to be the right stuff, and they want to do what is right and forthe best interest of all the train. "

Jim answered, "I know I can trust you, Will, to do all in your power toget this train through in safety. I have every confidence in you. If Ihad not had, I should not have undertaken such a dangerous business aswe are engaged in. But it stands us both in hand to be always on thelookout for danger, for we can never tell when the red friends maypounce on us when we are anywhere near them. "

Monday morning we were up and ready to take to the road early, feelingin good spirits after our rest over Sunday. I asked Jim if we could makeSand Creek by night. He answered, "Yes, we have got to if we are toreach the sink of the Humboldt tomorrow. "

We broke camp and pulled out. Everything worked smoothly until we hadnearly reached Sand Creek, where we were to camp that night, when thetwo scouts that guarded the north side of the train discovered a largeband of Indians coming in our direction. They reported their discoveryto me at once. I put spurs to my horse and rode out where I could seethe Indians myself. After I had gone about two miles or so I came insight of them, and I saw that the men were right. The Indians weremaking directly to the spot where I thought the train was, and Irealized that there was no time to lose in getting word to Jim. 

As soon as I got near the road I signaled all the scouts to come to me, and in a few minutes, they were with me. I sent them all to the train tohelp Jim, except two which I kept with me. We three rode out to the spotwhere we could see the Indians. When we got in sight of them, they werewithin a mile of the train, and I knew that the time for action hadcome, and wheeling our horses we made for camp at a pace that wouldsurprise the readers of today. I told Jim that the Indians were upon us, but there was no need to tell him this, as he had seen us coming andsuspected the news we were bringing and had ordered the train corralledbefore we reached camp, and I do not think a train was ever got intoshape to resist the savages quicker or with less excitement than thattrain was that day. And we were none too quick, for the Indians were insight of us as soon as we were ready for them. At this spot our trailled down a little valley. Consequently, when the Indians hove in sightthey were not more than a hundred yards from the corral. 

I sang out, "What do you say, Jim? Let's form in line and give them asalute. "

Jim shouted, "Every man form in a line and shoot, and be sure you hityour mark. "

By this time there were as many as two hundred Indians in sight, andevery gun seemed to go off at once. At that moment Jim cried, "Every manpull your pistol and shoot as loud as you can, and let us make a dash onthem. " And every man in the train did as Jim told them to, and it surelyhad a good effect on the savages, for they wheeled and fled as fast astheir legs could carry them in the direction they had come. We foundtwenty-seven dead Indians all laying close together, and it did not takeus long to take their scalps off. When we had finished this job, Jimmade the remark that he had scalps enough now to protect the train allthe way to California. 

As it was yet about three miles to our camping ground, I told my scoutswhat to do, and then I told Jim that I meant to follow the Indians aloneand see where they went to and not to expect me back until he saw me, for I intended to see those Indians go into camp before I left them, if it took me until midnight to do it, for if I did this I could tellwhether they meant to give us any more trouble or not. 

Jim told me where to look for the camp when I wanted to find it, and Ileft them, on a mission the danger of which I do not think one of myreaders can understand, but which at that time I thought very littleabout. 

I had followed the trail of the Indians but a short distance before Iwas convinced that there were a great many wounded in the band, forthere was so much blood scattered all along the trail. I had followedthe trail about five miles when I came to a high ridge, and on lookingdown on the other side I saw what looked to me like two or three hundredcamp fires, and from the noise I heard I thought that many that I hadthought to be wounded must be dead, for it was the same sound that I hadoften heard the squaws make over their dead. I decided by the appearanceof the camp that I had discovered the main camping ground of theIndians. On deciding this in my mind, I hurried back as quickly as Icould to tell Jim. When I reached camp, supper was just over. After Ihad looked after my horse, I went into the camp, and a lady met me andinvited me to her tent, saying she had kept some supper warm for me andhad been on the lookout for me to come back, and the reader may restassured I was hungry enough to accept the invitation and to do amplejustice to the good things the kind lady had saved for me. 

While I was eating, Jim came to me and asked what I had discovered. Itold him of the big Indian camp I had found at the foot of the ridge, which was probably five or six miles from where we were then in camp, and I told him of the noise the squaws had made too. He said, "Well, Iwill bet my old hat that we won't have any more trouble with them, forwhen they come back to get their dead warriors in the morning and findthem without their scalps, they won't follow us any farther. "

So feeling safe to do so, everyone except the guards turned in for thenight. The night passed without anything happening to disturb us. Nextmorning I got up early and mounted my horse and went to the place wherewe'd had the fight to see if the dead Indians had been taken away. Ifound that they had all been taken away during the night. I got back tocamp in time for breakfast. I told Jim that I had been to see about theIndians we had killed the day before, but I found no bodies there andsupposed the squaws had taken them away in the night. 

Jim jumped up and clapped his hands together and said, "Good, good, wewill not have any more trouble with these Indians, and I don't believewe will have any more fights with the Indians this side of the SierraNevada mountains, for the news of our scalping so many of the Indianswill fly from tribe to tribe faster than we can travel, and you may besure they all will be on the lookout to avoid meeting us. "

Everything moved quietly for the next three days, and we made goodprogress on our journey. 

The night before we reached the sink of the Humboldt, while we were atsupper about a dozen ladies came to Jim and me. One of them said with asmile, "Mr. Drannan, we have two favors to ask of you. "

Jim looked up at them, and seeing that there was mischief in their eyes, he said, "Say, gals, can't I have one of them?"

The lady that had spoken to me said, "I am afraid neither of them wouldsuit you, Mr. Bridger. "

I then asked her what I could do for them. She answered that they wouldlike to have some more fresh meat, but that they did not want any moresuch music as had accompanied all that they had had before, but if Icould supply the meat without the music it would be a great favor aswell as a treat. I said, "What kind of meat do you prefer, ladies?" Sheanswered that they were not particular, any kind that was good. 

Jim said, "Well, how will Coyote do you? That kind of meat will answer adouble purpose. I-t will satisfy your hunger, and then you can howl thesame as they do. "

She answered, "Now Mr. Bridger, you know that Coyotes are not fit toeat. Are they not a species of a dog?"

Jim replied, "Yes, they are, and dog is the Indians' favorite meat, andthat is the kind of meat you will have to eat when you go to live withthem, so you had better learn to eat it now. "

She said she was pretty sure that she didn't want to neighbor with theIndians, and she didn't want any dog meat either. 

I told her that I would try and get some kind of fresh meat for thembetween then and night. 

"It may be Elk or it may be Buffalo or it may be Antelope. "

She said, "What kind of an animal is an Elk?"

I told her that an Elk was about as large as a cow and equally as goodmeat, and all the ladies said, "Well, well, wouldn't we like to havesome. "

I told them that I wouldn't promise for sure, but I thought I could getsome fresh meat for supper tomorrow night. 

The next morning my scouts and I were off early. I told them before westarted that we must keep two objects in view that day. One object wasto look out for Indians, and the other was to look for camp. 

"We are in a game country, and there is plenty of Elk and Buffalo, andthe first man that sees a band of either kind must signal to the others, and we will all get together and see if we can get enough to supply thecamp for a day or two at least. "

We had gone perhaps five or six miles when I heard a signal from thesouth. I got to it as quickly as possible, and as pretty a sight awaitedme as I ever saw in the way of game. Down in a little valley just belowthe man that had signaled to the rest of us were about fifty Elk cowsfeeding, and there were also a few calves running and jumping aroundtheir mothers. As soon as all the men got there, I began to plan how wecould get to them and kill some of them before they saw us. They werefeeding towards the road, and they were not more than a quarter of amile from it when I first saw them. A little ways from us there wasa little ravine which was covered with brush, and it led down to thevalley where the Elk were feeding. I told the men that we would hitchour horses and then crawl down the ravine, and I thought we could geta few of them before they could get away from us. All the men were asanxious to get the game as I was. I took the lead, and when we got downto the valley the Elk were only a short distance from us. I said, "Nowwait until they feed opposite us, and then they will not be over fiftyyards from us, and as I am to the right I will take the leader and eachman in rotation as they come to him. In doing this way we will be sureto each get an Elk as not two of us will fire at the same animal, and ifthey are not too far from us after we have fired our rifles, let us pullour pistols and try to get some more. "

When the Elk had got near enough to us, I gave the word to fire, anddown came twelve Elk cows, and then we went for them with our pistols, and we got five calves, and so we knew we had plenty of meat to supplythe camp for a day or two. 

I sent one of the men back to meet the train and to tell Jim what we haddone, and told him to send all the help he could so we could get themeat to the train as quickly as possible, and the rest of us commencedto skin the animals. In a short time there were forty or fifty menthere, and it did not take long to finish the job, and we had themeat on the way to the wagons. About the time we had got the meat alldressed, several ladies came with sacks in their hands. I asked themwhat part of the animal they wanted. They said they wanted the liversand the hearts. This was a new idea to me. I asked them what they weregoing to do with them. One of the women said, "We want you and Mr. Bridger to take supper with us tonight, and we will show you what wehave done with them then. "

In a short time we had the meat to the train and each family had theirshare. Jim said he did not think he had lost over twenty-five minutestime in waiting for that meat. 

The train proceeded on now without any more stops towards the placewhere we were to camp that night at the sink of the Humboldt. We reachedthe camping ground quite a little while before sundown, and we certainlyhad selected an ideal place to camp. A beautiful pearling stream ofwater, plenty of wood and any amount of grass met our eyes as we came tothe place to stop. In a few minutes we had the stock out to grass andthe women were busy cooking supper. Jim and I took a walk down towardsthe Sink, and as we were coming back we had got near the wagons when acouple of girls came to meet us and said, "We want you two to come andeat supper with us. Our two families got supper together tonight. " Jimsaid, "Have you got something good to eat?"

One said, "You may just bet we have; we have got Elk roasted and friedElk calf and fried liver. Isn't that something good?"

Jim said it sounded good and we would go and see for ourselves. 

When we got to the tent Jim said, "These girls told us that you hadinvited us to eat supper with you; that you had some stewed dog, and asthat is our favorite dish we thought we would accept the invitation. "

One of the girls cried, "Oh Mr. Bridger, we didn't tell you any suchthing. "

Jim answered, "Oh, excuse me, girls. I thought you were going to havesomething good for supper, so of course all I could think of was dog. "

We had a fine supper, and as fried liver was a new dish to Jim and me, we ate heartily of that, and we thought it was beyond the ordinary. It seems to me now in thinking of those days that people had betterappetites then for hearty food than they have now; at least it is so inmy case. The reason may be that we lived in the open air both day andnight, and the air of that western climate was so pure and clear andfree from all the different scents that impregnate it now. The amountof food that each person ate at that time would surprise the people oftoday. 

After supper Jim told the girls that they would not get any music todance to tonight, so they had just as well turn in and have a goodnight's sleep. 

CHAPTER V

The next morning we had an early breakfast and were on our journey ingood season. Nothing of interest occurred to us until we reached wherethe city of Reno now stands, which is in the western part of what is nowthe state of Nevada. 

We were about to go into camp on the bank of the Truckee river when Ilooked off to the north and saw a band of Indians, and they were headingdirectly for the train. 

They were probably a mile away from us when I saw them. I reported toJim at once, and he was not long in corralling the train, and he madethe largest display of scalps that I had ever seen then or ever havesince. It looked as if every wagon had a scalp hanging on it. 

Apparently the Indians did not notice the decorations on the wagonsuntil they were within three or four hundred yards of them, and thesight seemed to take them by surprise. 

[Illustration: Fishing with the girls. ]

All at once the whole band stopped, and of all the actions ever anIndian performed that band did it. Jim said, "Will, do you think you canreach them with your rifle?"

I answered that I thought not at that distance, but I said, "My men andI will get nearer to them and give them a scare anyway. "

I called my scouts to follow me out to a little bunch of timber, and weall fired at them at once. Whether we hit any Indians or not I neverknew, for they wheeled their horses and fled, and if any of them werekilled or wounded the others did not leave them, and we saw no more ofthat band, but they left three horses laying on the ground, which showedus that our bullets had done a little execution. 

We now settled into camp for the night. Jim told the emigrants as it wasSaturday evening we would lay over here until Monday morning, and hetold them that all who liked to have a good time fishing could enjoythemselves to their hearts' content, for this stream was full ofMountain Trout, and he added, "They are beauties. "

Both men and women asked what kind of bait to use to catch them. We toldthem that grass hoppers or crickets was good bait for Mountain Trout, and both of these insects were numerous around the camp. 

It was very amusing to me to see the girls run to their mothers to askif they could go fishing the next day. They were as excited as if theywere asking to go to some great entertainment. 

It being Sunday morning and as there was no danger from the Indians, Idid not get up very early. Jim and I occupied the same tent together, which was the blue sky above us and the ground beneath us, a bed that Ihave no doubt the reader will think a not very desirable one, but rolledin our blankets, a bed on the soft moss with the trees waving over uswas as good a bed as Jim and I cared to have, and our sleep was as soundand restful as if we were laying on a bed of down. 

When Jim arose in the morning, he gave me a shake and said, "Wake up, Will. We are going to have fish, for everyone in the camp is huntinggrass hoppers, " and it was really an amusing sight to see, for everyone, as Jim had said, was running, trying to catch grass hoppers. Both menand women were racing about like children. 

Jim and I had started to go to the river to take a wash when a littlegirl came running to us saying, "Papa wants you to come and eatbreakfast with us, for we have got fish for breakfast. "

Jim said, "All right, sissy, but I am afraid you haven't got enough fishto go around. "

She said, "Oh yes we have, for papa caught fifteen this morning, andthey are all great big ones. "

So we did not go to the river but went with the little girl to herfather's tent and washed there, and sure enough, there was enough fishfor all the family and Jim and me and some left over. 

The man laughed and said to Jim, "Mr. Bridger, you made the right remarkwhen you said that the river was full of fish. I have been fishing allmy life, and I never saw so many fish at one time as I saw this morning. I went down to the river about daylight, and I caught fifteen fish, andI don't think I was over fifteen minutes in catching them, and I believethey will average two pounds to a fish, and they are as luscious as Iever tasted in the way of fish. "

I asked him if this was his first experience in eating Mountain Trout. He said it was, but he hoped it would not be his last, and said, "Canyou tell me why they have such an extra flavor?" I said, "Certainly, I can. There is no stream in the world that has purer water than theTruckee river, and do you see that snowcapped mountain yonder?" and Ipointed to a mountain at the south west of us which was always coveredwith snow at the top. "This stream is surrounded with mountains likethat, and the water is cold the year around, no matter how hot theweather may be, and that is the secret of the fine flavor of the fishcaught in it. "

And here I must say that, although I had eaten Mountain Trout many timesbefore that morning, I never enjoyed a meal more than I did this one. AsI finished eating, six young girls came to the tent and asked me if Iwas going fishing. I said I had thought of going. They asked if theycould go with me, I said, "Certainly, you can if you wish to, but Ishall have to go out and hunt some bait before I can go. "

One of them said, "We have enough grass hoppers to last us all day, andwe will share them with you for bait. "

I answered, "Well, we will go up the river a little ways to those rocksyonder, " and I pointed up the stream. 

When we got opposite the rocks which were in the middle of the stream, Ihelped each of the girls to a place by herself and then took a place ona rock myself, but I could not do anything for laughing at the girls. Itold them they would scare all the fish out of the river. In a momentone of the girls caught a fish on her hook, but he struggled so hardthat she could not pull him out of the water, and she cried for me tocome and help her to land him. I got to her as quickly as I could andtook the fish out of the water, and it was the largest trout I had everseen, and I did not wonder the girl could not land him, for he made abrave fight for liberty, and it was all I could do to capture him. 

By this time it was a sight to look up and down the stream and seethe people that were fishing. Men, women and children, old and young, seeming to be perfectly happy and to be having the time of their lives. 

In about an hour they began to realize that more fish were being caughtthan they could take care of, so everyone gathered their catch and wentback to camp. Some of the emigrants estimated that three thousand fishhad been caught that day by the entire crowd. I think the most of thepeople had fish until they were tired of it. For the next two days wehad fish for every meal served in every way that fish could be cooked. 

Monday morning we pulled out from this camp bright and early for HoneyLake. We made the trip in two days, which was as we considered very goodtime, and we did not see an Indian on the way or a fresh sign of them. 

When we reached Honey Lake and saw that there were no signs of Indiansthere Jim said to me that there would be no more trouble with theIndians, and if we could convince the emigrants of this fact we need notgo further with them. 

I told him I did not think it would be best to mention to the emigrantsany change in the contract we had made with them when we started onthe trip, that we had better go on with the train until we crossed theSierra Nevada Mountains, as we had engaged to do. 

Jim thought it over a few minutes, and then he said, "I guess you areright, Will, for they might think we wanted to shirk our duty in leavingthem here, although I am sure there will be no more danger to guard themfrom. "

Everything moved on without anything to interfere with our progressfor the next four days, and by that time we had crossed the top of theSierra Nevada Mountains. 

After we had eaten our supper the night after crossing on the other sideof the mountains, Jim shouted that he wanted to talk to everybody forjust a few minutes, and in a few minutes all the people of the train, men, women, and children, were around us thick. 

Jim then said to them, "I wanted to speak to you together to tell youthat all danger to this train is passed, there will be no more Indiansto molest you, and you are perfectly safe to continue on your journeywithout fear of being troubled by them. Tomorrow night we will camp inthe Sacramento Valley, and being sure that we can leave you in perfectsafety, our contract with the people of this train will be closed, andwe will leave you the next morning. There is one thing I am sorry for, though, and that is we can't furnish any more music for a farewell dancewith the ladies before we leave them. "

This joke created a laugh all around and brightened the faces of theolder people, for we had shared in and protected them from too manydangers for the thought of separation from us not to sadden the faces ofthe older members of the train. 

Mr. Tullock, one of the committee, got upon a chair and said, "I want toask if there is a person here in this company can realize what these twomen have done for us in the seven weeks they have been with us. I forone know for a certainty that if we had not met them, and they had notaccompanied us on the dangerous journey we have almost finished, not oneof this large company would have been alive today. I will acknowledgethat I have no doubt that all the rest of you thought them to bebarbarians when they took the scalps off those first Indians' heads, butthe events that followed showed their knowledge of their businessand also of our ignorance in Indian warfare for that what we thoughtbarbarism was the means of saving some, if not all our lives. Now I willtell you what I propose doing. I am going to write a recommendation foreach one of these men, and I want every one of you to sign it. "

It sounded as if every one in the crowd said at once, "I'll sign it. "

When Mr. Tullock stepped down, Jim took his place on the chair andsaid to the people, "I want you all to distinctly understand that WillDrannan and myself do not think we have done anything but our duty tothe people of this train, and I want to thank all the men that havehelped me to protect the train when the savages were upon us. You allshowed that you were brave men and willing to obey orders, which, I willtell you now, is a rare thing among so many men, and Will tells me thathe had the best men as scouts to help him that he has ever had, thateveryone tried to do his duty. So it seems to me that we have all doneour best to make the journey a success. Now let us get away from hereearly in the morning, for I want to reach our camping ground in goodseason tomorrow evening. We have quite a long drive before us tomorrow, but as good luck is on our side it is all downhill. "

We got an early start in the morning, and we landed at our camping placeabout four o'clock in the evening, and I think there were as many astwenty invited us to take supper with them that night. The last one wasfrom four young girls, who came to us together. One of them told Jimthat she wanted him and Mr. Drannan to come to their tent right away, assupper was waiting. Jim answered that we didn't want any supper but toldher that if she would invite us to breakfast next morning and wouldpromise there would be enough to eat to fill us both for three or fourdays, we would be glad to come and eat. 

She answered, "All right, Mr. Bridger, I will get up before day and getto cooking, so I shall be sure and have enough for you at least. "

Jim and I now went to the tent of the people who had invited us first, as had been our custom all through the journey. These were elderlypeople who had one son and one daughter, both grown to man andwomanhood. While we were at supper the older woman asked how much breadwe could carry with us. Jim said we would like enough to last us threeor four days, and he thought three loaves like the ones on the spreadwould be enough. 

She said, "Why, Mr. Bridger, everybody is making bread, and cooking meatfor you to take with you. "

Jim said, "Why, my good woman, we can kill all the meat we want as weneed it, and three loaves of bread is all we can carry on our horseswith our other stuff. "

The first thing in the morning the girls we had promised to eatbreakfast with were after us to come to their tent, and we found a finemeal waiting for us. 

Jim said, "Now ladies, you know that in going back, Will and I have togo over a very dangerous road, and we won't have time to cook in thenext three or four days, so we calculate to eat enough to last us tillwe get to the Sink of the Humboldt, and that will take us three or fourdays, so in our accepting your invitation to take our last breakfast onthis trip with you we may make you twice glad. "

The elder woman smiled and told the girls they had better be frying somemore meat. Jim looked around the spread and told the girls he guessedthey had better wait till we had eaten what was before u, before theycooked more, and there certainly was enough food before us for as manymore as sat around it, and although it was spread on a cloth laid on theground, I have never partaken of a breakfast served on the finest tablethat tasted as good as that one did that morning. 

We had almost finished eating when the elder lady said, "Girls, passthat cake around. "

Jim said, "Is there cake too? I'm not used to eating cake, only onSunday mornings, and this is Saturday. "

I told the girls that Jim hadn't seen any cake since we left FortKerney, and that if she wanted any left for themselves they had betternot pass the plate. She answered, "There is aplenty, and I have a greatbig cake for you to take to eat on the road. "

Jim said, "That won't do at all, for Will will want to stay in camp allthe time and eat cake until it is all gone. "

As soon as breakfast was over, we caught our horses and began packing. We each had two saddle horses, and we had one pack horse between us. When we were leading up our horses, Jim said, "This is the worst job ofall, for all these women have a lot of grub cooked for us to take along, and plagued take it, we have no room on the pack horses to put it. Whatshall we do?"

I said, "We will take what we can pack, Jim, and we can thank the ladiesfor their kindness, and tell them we are sorry we can't take all theywould give us, and then we can mount and be off. "

Jim said, "That sounds easy. "

When we were packing, sure enough, every one of the elder women and someof the girls brought something for us to take with us to eat. Jim toldthem that we were a thousand times obliged to them all, but we could nottake anything but a few loaves of bread, and then, as was usual, in hisjoking way he said with a glance at me, "I know, Will feels bad to leavethat cake, and he will dream of seeing cakes for a week, but I can'tindulge him this time. "

When Jim had done speaking, one of the girls, that we had takenbreakfast with handed him a small sack, and told him not to open ituntil we camped that night. At this moment Mr. Tullock, came to us andsaid, "Here, my friends, is a recommendation, and I think every grownperson in the train has signed their name to both of them, and all thecompany have asked me to say a few words for them. If either or both ofyou ever come to California, we want you to find some of us and makeyour home with us as long as you wish, for you will always find a warmwelcome with any of this company. "

I had been acquainted with Jim Bridger several years and this was thefirst time I had ever seen him overcome with feeling. His voice shook sohe could hardly thank the people for their kind words and when it cameto shaking hands and biding them good bye, he almost lost his speech. 

But it was over at last and we mounted our horses and left them. Forthe first ten miles I don't think Jim spoke ten words. Finally he said, "Well they were a good crowd of people, weren't they Will? If I ever goto California and can find any of them, I mean to stay all night withthem, for it would be like visiting brother or sister. "

We now began to calculate where we should camp that night. I said, "Let's make a dry camp tonight, we can fill our canteen, and water ourhorses at a stream that crosses the trail, and then we can ride on tilldark. In doing this way we will avoid the Indians and will not have toguard against them in the night, for the Indians invariably camp nearthe water. "

We made a long ride that day and picked a nice place to camp that night. As soon as we had unsaddled and unpacked our horses, I said, "Jim, Iwill stake the horses if you will make a fire. " When I came back fromattending to the horses, Jim said, "Look here, Will, see what them girlsgave me, but I guess they meant it for you. "

And he showed me the sack which the girls had given him as we wereleaving them that morning. I looked into it and saw two large cakes anda good-sized piece of roasted Elk calf. The reader may imagine how goodthis nice food looked to two hungry men, and we surely did justice toit. When we were eating, Jim made the remark that it would be many along day before we met with such a company again as those we had leftthat morning. He said, "In nearly all large companies there are cranks, either men or women, and sometimes both, but all that outfit wereperfect ladies and gentlemen, and they all seemed to want to do what wasright, and the men were all brave and the women were sensible. "

The next morning we pulled out early, and we made good progress for fivedays, making dry camps every night. Nothing occurred to disturb us untilwe reached the Sink of the Humboldt. Here were Indian signs in everydirection. We knew we would be in the heart of the Ute country for thenext hundred miles, so we decided to do our traveling in the night andlay over and rest in the daytime. 

We picked our camping places off the trail, where we thought the Indianswould not be likely to discover us. The second night after we left theSink of the Humboldt, we crossed a little stream called Sand Creek, andjust off to the right of the trail we saw what we thought must have beenfive hundred Indians in camp. Most of them were laying around asleep, but a few were sitting at the fire smoking, and we succeeded in ridingpast them without their noticing us. After we had got entirely away fromtheir camp fires, Jim said, "Will, we are the luckiest chaps that evercrossed the plains, for if them Indians had seen us, they would havefilled our hides full of arrows just to get our horses, and I think wehad better keep on traveling in the night until we strike Black's Fork, then we will be pretty near out of the Utes country. "

When we got to Lone Tree on Black's Fork we lay over one day to let ourhorses rest and to get rested ourselves. 

It was a little before sunrise that morning when we reached Lone Tree. Isaid to Jim, "Are you hungry?" He replied that he was too hungry to tellthe truth. 

I answered, "All right, you take care of the horses, and I will get anAntelope and we will have a fine breakfast. "

Jim said, "Well, don't disappoint me, Will, for I am in the right shapeto eat a half an Antelope. "

I took my gun and went up on a little ridge and looked over, and not aquarter of a mile from me I saw a large band of Antelope, and I saw thatthey were feeding directly towards me. I hid myself in a little bunch ofsage brush and waited until they fed up to within fifty yards of me. Ithen fired and brought down a little two-year-old buck. I took him up, threw him over my shoulder, and went back to Camp as fast as I could go. When I reached there, Jim had a fire burning, and in a few minutes wehad the meat cooking. Jim made the remark that we had enough to do tokeep us busy all day, for when we were not eating, we must be sleeping, for he was about as hungry as he ever was and so sleepy that he did notdare to sit down for fear he would fall asleep without his breakfast. 

After we had enjoyed a very hearty meal of meat and bread, for we atethe last piece of bread that the ladies had given us that morning, wesmoked our pipes a few moments, and then we spread our blankets on theground under the only tree in ten miles of us, and we were soon lost toeverything in a sleep that lasted until near night. I did at least. WhenI awoke I found Jim cooking meat for supper. When he saw that I wasawake, he said, "Come, Will, get up. We have had our sleep. Now we willhave our supper. "

While we were eating, I asked Jim if we could make Green River tomorrow. He said, "Yes, we must get out of here tomorrow morning by daylight. Our horses will be well rested as we ourselves will be. We want to makeGreen River tomorrow night and Rock Springs the next night. I considerit is about eighty miles to Rock Springs from here, and we ought to makeit in two days. "

The next morning we were up bright and early and were on our journey assoon as we could see the trail. Nothing happened to disturb us, and wereached Green River just before sunset. We crossed the river and wentinto camp just above the Ford. We had just got our horses staked outwhen we heard whips snapping and people's voices shouting. 

Jim listened a moment and said, "What in thunder does that mean?"

I answered, "I think it is an emigrant train coming. " Jim said, "Byjove if that is so, we will have to move from here and stake our horsessomewhere else, for no doubt they will want to camp right here, and ifthere is much of a train, they will take all the room in this littlevalley. "

In a few minutes they hove in sight. Jim said, "Now, let's get to oneside and see if they have any system about their camping, and then wewill know whether it is worth while for us to apply for a job or not. "

They did not seem to know that they were near a river by the way theyacted. Some of them would leave their wagons and run down to the streamand run back again and talk with the others. Finally they discovered Jimand me, and about twenty of the men came to where we were sitting. Wehad started a fire and were waiting for it to get hot enough to cook ourmeat for our supper, and it was certainly very amusing to watch theirfaces. They looked at us as if they thought us wild men. We learnedafterwards that they had never seen anyone dressed in Buck Skin before. 

After staring at us a while, one of them, an old man, said, "Where increation are you two men from?"

Jim answered, "We have just come from Sacramento Valley, California. "

And did you come all the way alone?

Jim answered, "Yes sir, we did. "

"Did you see any Indians?" he inquired. 

Jim said, "Yes, about a thousand, I think. "

"Did they try to kill you?"

"Oh, no, " Jim said. "They were asleep when we saw them. "

"Why, they told us back at Fort Kerney that the Indians never slept dayor night, " the old man said. 

Jim answered that they slept a little at night sometimes, and that wasthe time we took to travel. We had traveled nearly all the way fromCalifornia to this place after night, and in some places where wetraveled over, the Indians were as thick as jack rabbits. 

One of the men then inquired when we went to California. 

Jim answered, "We left Fort Kerney about eight weeks ago and pilotedthe biggest train of emigrants across the plains that has ever gone toCalifornia, and we did not lose a person or a head of stock, but we gota good many Indian scalps on the way. "

One of the men then said, "Ain't you Jim Bridger and Will Drannan thatthe commander at the Fort told us about?"

Jim replied, "That is who we are. "

One of them then asked if we would pilot another train to California. 

Jim answered, "I don't know. The Indians are getting so dog goned thickthat there is no fun in the job, but you folks go and get your supper, and let us eat ours. We are dog goned hungry, for we haven't had a bitesince day-break this morning. You can come back here after supper, andwe will talk to you. "

By this time there must have been a hundred men standing around us, butwhen Jim told them that we wanted to eat our supper, they all scattered. After they had left us, Jim said, "You get supper, Will, and I will goand see whether there is any system about this outfit or not, and ifsupper is ready before I get back, don't wait for me, for I may not getback in half an hour or more. "

I had got my meat on the fire and was just making the coffee when anumber of women, I should think about a dozen of them, came near me andstopped and gazed at me. I bid them good evening and asked them to havesupper with me. One of them answered, "No, I came to ask you to come andeat supper with us. My father sent me to invite you. "

I thanked her and told her that as my own supper was nearly ready, Iwould eat at my own camp. I had taken my Buck-skin coat off and laid iton our pack. One of the women asked me if she could look at it. I toldher that she could if she wished to. 

While they were looking at the coat and exclaiming over its beauty (itwas heavily embroidered with beads and porcupine quills, and was an oddlooking garment to one not accustomed to seeing the clothing of thefrontiers men), a couple of girls came running to me, saying, "Fatherwants you to come and eat supper with us, Mr. Bridger is eating now. " SoI took the meat and coffee off the fire and put my coat on and went withthem. When I got in speaking distance of Jim, I said, "I thought youtold me to cook supper. " Jim answered, "I know I did Will, but we didn'thave any fried onions, and these folks have, so I thought we would eathere and save our supper. "

The people all laughed at Jim being so saving, and then the old manasked what we would charge to pilot the train through to California. Jimasked, "How many wagons have you in this outfit?"

He answered that he was not sure, but he thought there were about ahundred and thirty-five. 

"How many men are there in the train?" The old man said, "Oh, dog goneit, I can't tell. "

Jim said, "Have you got no Captain?"

The old man answered, "Why no, we haven't any use for a Captain. "

Jim then said, "Well, I don't suppose they have any use for a commanderover at the Fort then. Suppose the Indians should make an attack on themover there, and there was no Commander there, what do you think thesoldiers would do? I will tell you what would happen. The most of thesoldiers would be scalped, and it is the same way with a train ofemigrants if the Indians attack them and they have no leader or what wecall a Captain; they will all be scalped and in a mighty short time too. Now you call the men together and come to our camp, and we will talkthis matter over, and then we will see if we can make a bargain with thecrowd. "

In a few minutes it seemed as if all the men and women of the train werestanding around our camp. 

Jim said to them, "I want some man who is a good reader to read thisletter to the company. "

And he held up one of the letters of recommendation given us by thepeople of the train we had left a few days before. A middle-aged mancame forward and said, "I reckon I can read it; I am a school teacher byprofession, and I am used to reading all kinds of handwriting. "

He took the letter, stepped up on a log and in a clear, loud voice readit to the company. After he had finished reading it, the man handed theletter back to Jim with the remark that it was a fine recommendation andgave a character few men could claim. 

Jim now told the emigrants that before we took charge of a train healways had the men of the train select a committee from their number, and this committee had the entire charge of the business in makingarrangements with us and all other matters that might take place on thetrip. "Now if you want us to pilot this train across to California, gettogether and select your committee, and they can come to us and we willtalk business. "

It was now nearly eleven o'clock at night, so Jim told the people thatwe had traveled a long distance that day and were very tired, and hethought we had better not make any bargain that night. We would go toour rest, and in the morning they could tell us what they had decidedon. Next morning Jim and I were up very early, and so were the most ofthe emigrants. We were building a fire to get our breakfast when one ofthe emigrants came to us and invited us to take breakfast with him. Hesaid there had been a committee selected, that the men talked the matterover after they left us the night before, and they chose five men tomake arrangements with us. "But as we did not go to bed until nearlymorning, I don't think they are all up yet, " he said, smiling. 

We went with him and found breakfast waiting for us. After we hadfinished, two of the men came to us and said they were two of the fivewho had been appointed to do business with us, and that the other threewould meet us at our camp in a few minutes. So Jim and I went back toour camp, and in a very short time the five men were with us. One ofthem asked us how much we would charge to pilot them to California. Jimsaid, "How many wagons have you?"

He said, "We have ninety here now, and there will be twenty more here bynoon. "

Jim asked, "How many men are there in the company?" They said they didnot know for certain but thought there would be about a hundred andninety. Jim said that we would take them across to California for fivedollars a day, which would be two dollars and a half for each of us. "Providing you will promise to obey our orders in all things pertainingto the protection of the train and also give us two days to drill theteamsters and the scouts, but we will have to move on one day from here, as there is no ground here that is fit to drill on. "

One of the committee said, "We will give you an answer in twentyminutes, " and they went back to their camp, which was a hundred yards ormore from ours. Jim and I caught our horses and were saddling them whenthe committee came back to us and told us we could consider ourselvesengaged. 

I now spoke for the first time, Jim having done all the talking before. I said, "I want you men to select ten good men who own their horses. Iprefer young men who are good horsemen, for I want them to assist me indoing scout work. "

This seemed to surprise the men. One of them asked, what the young menwould have to do. Jim now spoke up in his joking way and said, "Theywill find enough to do before we get to California. For example I willshow you what Will and his scouts have done on our last trip across. " Atthe same time he was untying the sack that held the Indian scalps we hadtaken on our last trip to California. When he emptied the sack itwas amusing to us to see their faces. Their first expression was ofsurprise, and the next was of horror. Jim took up one of the scalps andshook it out and said, "Taking these is one of the things you young menmay have to do, " and he continued, "These scalps which seem to give youmen the horrors to look at now, will be worth more than money to all thepeople of this train, for they will save the lives of all of you, andthat is more than money could do in an attack by the Indians. "

Some of the men wanted to know in what way the scalps would save them. Jim answered, "Let us get on the road to our next camping ground, and Iwill explain everything in regard to the protection of the train when weget to drilling. "

In a short time every thing was on the move, and we reached our placeto camp about four o'clock in the afternoon. Jim commenced to put thenumbers on the wagons as soon as we landed in camp in order to get todrilling as early as possible in the morning. We had been in camp but ashort time when one of the committee men came to me and said, "We haveselected your men, Mr. Drannan. Come out, and I will introduce them toyou, and you can see if they would suit you, and if they do, you cantell them what you want them to do. "

We went outside the corral, and we found the ten men there with theirhorses. I asked them if they all had rifles and pistols. They said theyhad. I next asked them if they had ever practiced shooting off theirhorses' backs, and they all said no, nor had ever heard of such a wayof shooting. I then said, "Now boys, it is too late in the evening tocommence practicing, but I want you all to meet me here after breakfastin the morning, and have your horses and guns and pistols with you, andyou may make up your mind to do a hard day's work tomorrow. "

That evening Jim and I had a talk by ourselves in regard to how muchtime we should take to drill the men. Jim said, "Will, do you think youcan drill your men in one day so they will know enough to risk startingout day after tomorrow?"

I answered, "I think I can, Jim. "

He thought a moment and then said, "I don't like to hurry you intraining your men, Will, but you know it is getting late in the season, and we have a long road to travel after we get these emigrants throughto California in order to get back home to Taos before the winter setsin, and I have no doubt Kit will be looking for us long before we getthere. "

I said, "Jim, this will be my last trip as a pilot for emigrants. "

Jim laughed and answered, "I thought this kind of business just suitedyou, Will, for you are a favorite with the girls, especially when youbring in scalps. "

I answered, "The girls are all right, Jim, but there is too muchresponsibility in such an undertaking, and besides, it is impossible tosuit everybody. "

Jim answered, "There is a good deal of truth in what you say, Will. Itis not an easy job to please so many people all at once. We will hurrythis trip through as quick as possible and get them off our hands. "

The next morning I was up early and met the men who were to be trainedto make scouts. We went to a little grove of timber about a quarter ofa mile from camp. I selected a small tree, probably a foot through, dismounted and made a crossmark with my knife. I then asked the boys, ifthey thought they could hit that cross with their guns or pistols withtheir horses on the dead run. One of them said, "No, I don't know as Icould hit it with my horse standing still. "

I answered, "But that is just what I must teach you to do if you areever to make a scout to guard against Indians or fight them. I willmount my horse and go back to that little bunch of brush, " and I pointedto a bunch of brush that was perhaps a little more than a hundred yardsfrom the tree, "and all of you men follow me. "

When we reached the brush, I turned my horse's head towards the tree Ihad marked, and I then said, "Now boys, I am going to put my horse downto his best speed, and I want you all to follow me and keep as close tome as you can, and each man look out for his own horse when I commenceto shoot. At the same time keep your eyes on me, for I want each oneof you to take his turn in doing as I do, and I want you to repeat thething until you can hit the mark as I shall do. "

I now started my horse at full speed, and before I had got to the treeI had fired my second shot, and both balls struck near the cross, but Iwas surprised, and I will not deny also amused, to see the way the boyswere trying to stop their horses; they were running in every directionand appeared to be nearly frightened to death, and apparently theirriders had no control over them, but finally they checked them and rodeback to where I stood. 

I said, "Boys, you certainly have your horses trained to run from theIndians if you can't stop to fight them. "

One of the boys said, "I never saw my horse act the fool as he has donetoday. "

I said, "Now, which one of you are going to try it again first? Don'tall speak at once. "

It was some minutes before anyone answered. At last one of them said, "Iwill try it. Shall we all come down together as we did with you?"

I told him, "No, I want you to all to try it single-handed once and thenwe will try it in groups of three, but if you are afraid you cannotmanage your horse, I will ride beside you. "

He answered, "No, I have got to break him in to it, and I might as welldo it at the start. "

So the others got out of his way, and he rode to the brush, wheeled hishorse, put the spurs to him and came at full speed. When within fiftyfeet of the tree he fired his rifle and missed the tree but pulledhis pistol and made a good shot, and he did not have much trouble instopping his horse this time. 

When he rode back to us, I showed him the hole where the bullet struckit and told him he had done exceptionally well. 

He said, "Can't I give it another trial?"

I said, "Not now. Best let everyone have a try first. "

I saw that they were a little encouraged by the first one's success, soI said, "Who comes next?"

One of them said, "I reckon it is me next, " and he was on his horse ina twinkle and off for the brush. This man was in a little too much of ahurry; he shot too soon and missed the tree, which scared his horse, andhe turned and ran in an opposite direction, and the rider had all hecould do to attend to him so he did not fire his pistol at all. When hecame back the boys had a laugh on him. 

He said, "All right, see that the balance of you does better. "

They all gave it a trial, and out of the ten men only three hit the markwith either rifle or pistol. Before we got through practicing, theremust have been as many as a hundred men from the camp watching theperformance. After each man had tried singly, I formed them in squads ofthree, and they were more successful that way than they were alone fromthe fact that their horses were getting used to the report of the guns. 

The reader will understand that the drilling was done more for thebenefit of the horses than it was for the men, for many times if thehorses were unmanageable when in a fight with the Indians, the rider wasin a great deal more danger of being killed than he would have if hecould manage his horse. 

As it was getting near noon I called it off until after dinner. When wewere near the corral going back to camp, I pointed to a large log thatwas laying on the ground and told the boys to meet me there on foot, and I would put them through another kind of a drill, which was moreessential for them to know than the one we had been practicing. One ofthem said, "What can it be?"

I answered, "It is to learn to signal to each other without speakingwhen you are in danger. "

After dinner I had a talk with Jim in regard to how he was succeeding indrilling his teamsters. He said they were doing fine and would be readyto pull out in the morning. He said, "Will, these are not such people tohandle as the last train we drilled. "

I said, "What makes you think so, Jim?"

He answered, "There are a few in this outfit who do not believe therewill be trouble with the Indians. "

I answered, "Well, Jim, these are of the class that will not obeyorders, and they will get the worst of it, and no one can blame us. "

When I went to meet the boys, they were all standing or sitting on thefallen tree, waiting for me. I asked if they had ever heard a Coyotehowl. They said not until they heard them on this trip. Then I explainedto them, that the Indians were so used to hearing the Coyotes howlthat they took no notice of that kind of a noise day or night, so wefrontiers-men always used the bark or howl of a Coyote as a signal tocall each other together in times of danger. I then gave a howl that theboys said no Coyote could beat, and in a couple of hours I had them alldrilled so they could mimic the Coyotes very well. 

We went back to camp, got our horses, and put in the afternoon inshooting at targets on horse back. Before we separated that evening, Itold the men what position I wanted each one of them to take when thetrain was ready to move in the morning. I also told them they mustalways meet me at the head of the train before we started the trainevery morning to get their instructions for the day. Every one of theten seemed to be willing and ready to obey everything I asked them todo. 

CHAPTER VI. 

All was in readiness for the start on the road the next morning, andwe pulled out in good season. Every thing worked smoothly for the nextthree days, and then we were in the Ute country, and there were also agreat many Buffalo scattered all through the country. I had seen somesigns of Indians, but up to this time I had seen only one small band ofthem, and they were going in the opposite direction from the one we weregoing. 

The evening of the third day, after we had eaten our supper, abouttwenty men came to where Jim and I were sitting on a log having a smokeand a private talk together. 

One of them who seemed to be the leader said, "We want some Buffalomeat, and we propose to go out and get some tomorrow. Now what do youthink about it?"

[Illustration: They raced around us in a circle. ]

Jim said, "Which way do you think of going?" Pointing to the south, hesaid, "We think of going down into those low hills not more than eightor ten miles from the trail. "

Jim answered, "I have no doubt you would find Buffalo and maybe killsome, but I have grave doubt of your ever getting back alive. "

The man said, "Do you think we would get lost?"

Jim answered, "Yes, I think you would, if the Indians shoot you full ofarrows and take your scalp off. "

He answered, "We have got to find some Indians before they have a chanceto scalp us, and I don't believe there is an Indian out there, and weare going hunting in the morning. "

Jim answered, "All right, do just as you darned please, but I will tellyou this just here and now. When you go a half a mile from the trainwithout our consent, you will be out from under our protection, and weshall not hold ourselves responsible for your lives. "

They turned away from us, saying, "We will take the chances; we wantsome Buffalo meat, and we are going to get it. "

The next morning when the train pulled out twenty-three men left us, mounted on their horses with their guns all in trim for a Buffalo hunt, and four out of the twenty three was all we ever saw again either deador alive. 

We pulled out, and everything moved on nicely all day. I saw a greatdeal of Indian sign at various places during the day. About the middleof the afternoon one of the scouts reported that he saw a band ofIndians off to the south. As soon as he reported this to me, I went withhim to the top of a high ridge where we could see all over the country, and sure enough, there was a small band of Indians some two or threemiles south of our trail. 

After watching them a few minutes, I saw that they were going from us, so I knew that we were in no danger from that band. 

We had to make an early camp that evening on account of water. It wasone of my duties to ride ahead of the train and look the country overfor signs of Indians to select a safe camping ground for each night, although Jim and I always talked over the best place to camp the comingnight before we struck out in the morning. 

That night I did not get in until Jim had the wagons all corralled. Jimcame to me as soon as I rode in and said, "Will, have you seen anythingof the men that went hunting this morning?"

I answered, "I neither saw or heard anything of them since I saw themride away this morning, but I will call my scouts together and ask themif they have seen them during the day. "

When I inquired of the men, I learned that they had not seen or heard ofthem and had not even heard the report of a gun all day. 

We had just finished eating supper that night when one of the committeemen came to us and said, "Don't you think you had better send out somemen to look for the party that went a hunting?"

Jim said, "I told those men not to go away from the train, that therewas danger of their losing their scalps if they left us, and I also toldthem that if they went a half a mile from the train I should not beresponsible for them dead or alive. They answered that they did notbelieve there was an Indian in the country, and that they would take thechances anyway, and more than that, I would not know where to go to huntfor them any more than you would, for the country for miles around islike this, and I would be willing to bet anything that you will neversee them all again. "

Dusk was settling down, and as the night came on and the hunters did notcome in, the excitement grew more intense. About twenty men came to meand inquired if I knew what kind of a country the hunters would be aptto go into. I answered that if they kept the course which they said theyintended to go, it would lead them to the Buffalo country and also intothe heart of the Indian country. One of them then asked me if I wouldbe willing to try to find the absent men if I had enough men with me tohelp. 

I answered, "Why, my friends, it would be like hunting for a needle ina haystack. You certainly do not understand the ways of the Indians. Ifthe Indians have killed those men, they will take the bodies with themif they have to carry them a hundred miles. They will take them to theirvillage and spend two or three days in having a scalp dance, so you willsee how useless it would be to try to find them, and what is more to bethought of, if we should stay here two or three days we should in allprobability be attacked by the Utes ourselves, and there is no knowinghow many of the people would be killed, or how much other damage wouldbe done. "

It was getting towards bed time when four women came to me with theirfaces swollen with tears. One of them said, "Mr. Drannan, do you thinkour husbands have been killed by the Indians?"

I answered, "That is a question I can not answer, but I will say that Ihope they have not; they may have lost their course and in that way haveescaped the Indians. "

While I was talking with the women, I heard the tramp of horses' feetcoming towards camp on the trail. 

I said, "Listen, perhaps they are coming now. " and we went to meetthe coming horsemen. There were four of them, and one of them was thehusband of the woman I had been talking to. When they came up to us, hejumped off his horse and, clasping his wife in his arms he said, "OhMary, I never expected to see you again. "

In a few minutes everybody in camp was standing around those four men, and they surely had a dreadful story to tell. They said, they did notknow how far they had ridden that morning when they sighted a band ofBuffalo in a little valley. They fired at them and killed four; theydismounted and turned their horses loose and went to skinning theirBuffalo and had the hides nearly off of them when, without a sound towarn them of danger, the Indians pounced upon them, and of all theyelling and shouting that ever greeted any one's ears, that was theworst they had ever heard, and the arrows flew as thick as hail. 

"One of them struck me here, " and he pulled up his pants and showed us aragged wound in the calf of his leg. After we had looked at the woundedleg, he continued his story. He said, "As soon as I heard the firstyell, I ran for my horse and was fortunate in catching him. I think thereason of we four being so lucky in getting away was that we were alittle distance from the others. We were off at one side, and we fourwere working on one Buffalo, and lucky for us our horses were feedingclose to us. I do not believe that one of the other men caught his horseas their horses were quite a distance from them, and the Indians werebetween the men and their horses. The last I saw of them was theirhopeless struggle against the flying Indians' arrows. 

"We had mounted and had run a hundred or two hundred yards when we sawthat four or five Indians were after us. They chased us two or threemiles. It seemed that our horses could outrun theirs, and they gave upthe chase, but in the confusion we had lost our course, and we did notknow which direction to take, and we have been all the rest of the daytrying to find the train, and we are just about worn but, and we arehungry enough to eat anything, at least I am. "

As it happened, Jim Bridger was standing near me when the man wastalking. The man turned and said to him, "Mr. Bridger, I hope all thepeople of this train will listen to your advice from this night until wereach the end of our journey. If we four men had done as you told us todo, we would not have suffered what we have today, and the nineteen, whoI have no doubt have been scalped by the savages, would have been aliveand well tonight. There is no one to blame but ourselves. You warned us, but we thought we knew more than you did, and the dreadful fate thatovertook the most of the company shows how little we knew what we weredoing in putting our judgment in opposition to men whose lives have beenspent in learning the crafty nature of the Red-men. "

Jim answered, "I always know what I am saying when I give advice, and Iknew what would be liable to happen to you if you left the protection ofthe train. This is the third case of this kind which has happened sinceWill and I have been piloting emigrants across the plains to California, and I hope it will be the last. "

There was but little sleep in camp that night. Out of the nineteen menthat were killed, twelve of them were the heads of families, and thecries of the widows and orphaned children were very distressing for Jimand me to hear, although we were blameless. The next morning just afterbreakfast the committee of five men came to Jim and me and said theywanted to have a private talk with us. 

Jim said, "All right, " and we all went outside the corral. When we werealone by ourselves, one of them said, "I want to have your opinion withregard to hunting for the bodies of the men who are lost. Do you thinkit possible to find their bodies if they were killed?"

Jim said, "No, I do not. In the first place, we do not know where tolook. In the second place, the Indians may have carried them fifty orseventy-five miles from where they killed them. In the third place, wedo not know where the Indian village is or in what direction to look forit, and if we should find the Indian camp, they may be so strong that wewould not dare to attack them, so you will see at once how useless itwould be for us to attempt to do anything in regard to finding theirbodies. "

One of the committee said, "Well, so you propose to pull out and go on?"

Jim said, "Yes, that is what I propose doing. For the next four hundredmiles we shall be in the worst Indian country in the West, and I want toget this train through it as quickly as I possibly can. "

The man answered, "It seems cruel to do it, but I suppose we must giveorders to get ready to move. "

Jim replied, "Yes, we must be moving at once, for I cannot risk thelives of the living to hunt for those who are dead. "

We were on the road in less than an hour, the committee having told thefriends of the lost men what the consequences would be if they resistedthe idea of moving, and also the utter uselessness of trying to findtheir friends dead or alive. 

When the train was already to move, Jim rode down the whole length ofthe wagons and told each man that he wanted every one of them to havetheir guns and pistols loaded and ready for immediate action, for, hetold them, "We cannot tell at what minute we may be attacked by theIndians, and if your guns were not ready for use, you would have a slimchance of saving your own lives or the lives of those dependent on you. "

Everyone seemed to understand the situation better than they ever hadbefore and promised to do as we had asked them to do. Everything movedon satisfactory until about two o'clock in the afternoon, when one ofthe scouts from the north side reported that a big band of Indians wascoming directly towards us. I spurred my horse to a run, and when wereached a little ridge about a half a mile from the trail, I could seethem myself, and I could see that they were all warriors, for therewere no squaws or children with them, and I thought they would number athousand strong. 

I sent my companion back to tell Jim what was in prospect for afight, and to be sure and have the Indian scalps hung up in the mostconspicuous places. I watched the Indians until they had got within ahalf a mile of the trail, where they all stopped and huddled togetherfor several minutes. I decided they were planning the attack, for whenthey started, they went directly for the train, which fact convinced methat the Indians had had a scout out as well as I had, and that he hadbeen a little sharper than I was. 

I now signaled for all the scouts to get to the train at once, and thereader can rest assured that not one of them including myself was longin getting there. 

We found everything in readiness to receive the Indians. We rode insidethe corral of wagons and dismounted. I told my men to follow me. We wentto the head of the train, which was but a short distance. I placed eightmen under two wagons, four to a wagon, and took the other two with me tothe next wagon. I told them to lay flat on the ground, and when I cried"fire" for each one to shoot and to be sure that he got his Indian. 

When the savages got in sight of the wagons, they were probably ahundred and fifty yards from them, and to my surprise they all stopped. I had forgotten the scalps that Jim had hung up, but of course the sightof them hanging on the top of the wagons stopped them, but they did notstop longer than a few minutes. Then they began circling around thewagons. I could see that there were two war chiefs with the outfit. Iknew this by their dress, for a war Chief always wears what is called abonnet. It is made of feathers taken from the wings and tails of eaglesand reaches from their head almost to their heels. 

When they started to circle around the wagons, I said to the boys whowere with me under the wagon, "Now you watch that old red sinner who hasthe lead. I am going to shoot at him, but I do not know as I can hithim, he is so far away, but if I can get him we have won the battle. "

They answered, "Fire away, and if you miss we will try our hand at him. "

I drew a bead at the top of his head, and when the gun cracked I sawthat I had hit him. One of the boys cried, "You have hit him, " and atthat moment he swayed and tumbled from his horse. The report of my gunseemed to be a signal for the whole train to fire, and for the nextminute the noise of the guns was terrific. While they all did not hit anIndian, they did fairly well for men in an Indian battle for the firsttime. There were forty-two dead Indians left on the ground, and as thereport of the last gun died away, the Indians turned their horses andfled in the opposite direction, and I ran to the old Chief to get hisscalp. 

I had just finished taking his scalp after taking his bonnet off whenJim Bridger and quite a crowd of the other men came running up to me. Jim said, "Did you do that, Will?" I answered, "I did, " and then one ofthe boys who were with me under the wagon said, "Mr. Drannan sure shothim, for he told us to see him get him, and at the report of his gun, Mr. Big Chief went to the Indians' happy hunting grounds. "

Jim slapped me on the back and said, "That is the best shot you evermade, Will, for that bonnet and that scalp will protect this train fromhere to California without another shot being fired. " I said, "You canhave this bonnet to use for a scare crow, Jim, but be sure and take goodcare of it, for I want to keep it as a memento of this trip. "

I then asked Jim if he were going to take the scalps off of the otherdead Indians. He said, "No, we have scalps enough now to protect thetrain, and that is all we want. Besides, we haven't time; we must go onto our camping ground, we have fifty or sixty miles to drive before wecan camp for the night. "

As we were pulling out, I said to the scouts, "We are in the Buffalocountry, and there will be no more trouble with the Indians; let us tryto get some fresh meat for supper. " I knew that we would camp near alittle stream a few miles from where we had the fight, and also that itwas a great feeding ground for Buffalo at this time of the year. Whenwe were within a quarter of a mile of the stream, where we were to campthat night, we saw that the valley was covered with Buffalo. I sent allbut one of the men down a little ravine to the valley. I told them todismount and tie their horses just before they got to the valley and tocrawl down and each one get behind a tree at the edge of the valley, andI and the other men would go around to the head of the valley and scarethe Buffalo, and they would run down to where they were in hiding. Itold the men to be sure and not shoot until the Buffalo started to run, and then to shoot all they could get with their guns, and when they hademptied them to use their pistols. 

"Let us give the women and children a surprise tonight in giving themall the fresh Buffalo meat they can eat. "

Myself and companion rode around to the head of the valley, and when wereached the top of the ridge, we looked down and saw hundreds of Buffalofeeding. We spurred our horses to a run, and in a moment we were in themidst of them, and it certainly was a grand sight to see that immenseherd on the stampede, as they all rushed down to the outlet where theboys were waiting for them. In a few moments we heard the report ofguns, and we knew that the other boys, were getting the meat for supper. I told my comrade to pick out his Buffalo and I would pick mine, and Isaid to him, "Now don't shoot until you get near the other boys, and ifyou want to kill him quick, shoot him through the kidneys. " When I hadreached the mouth of the valley where the Buffalo had crowded togetherin one big mass, I chose a two-year-old heifer, rode up to her sideand shot her through her kidneys, and she fell at my horse's feet withhardly a struggle. I pulled my pistol and shot another one and broke itsneck. My comrade had picked a big cow, and she was the fattest BuffaloI ever saw killed. The other boys had killed twelve, and we got three, making fifteen in all, and what was best of all, the Buffalo alllay near to where Jim had corralled the wagons. As the wagons werecorralled, I went to one of the committee and told him that my scoutsand I had killed fifteen Buffalo and asked him to send some of themen of the train to help dress them and to divide the meat so all theemigrants could have some fresh meat for their supper, and in a shorttime I saw men and women with their arms full of meat, hurrying to theircamp fires. 

Jim and I were sitting on a wagon tongue talking as we usually did everyevening when two little girls came running to us and said their papawanted us to come and eat supper with them. We went with the children totheir father's tent, and we found an appetizing meal waiting for us. Jimand I had not tasted any fresh meat since starting out with this trainof emigrants at Green river. When we sat down, Jim said, "Lady, I amafraid you will be sorry that you invited Will and me to supper, for youmay not have meat enough to go around. We have not had any fresh meat ina dog's age, and we are big meat eaters any time. " She answered, "Oh, don't be uneasy. I have two pans full on the fire cooking now. I knowhow much it takes to fill up hungry men, and you two are not the onlyhungry men around this camp, and you may be sure we appreciate the feastyou planned to surprise us with"; and she turned to me with a smile. "You see, Mr. Drannan, the boys told me all about your suggesting theBuffalo hunt. "

I answered that the meal she had set before us would pay for more than Ihad done. Her husband said, "It has surely been a great benefit to allthe people of the train, for we were all suffering for fresh meat, andyou don't know how much we appreciate your thoughtfulness in providingit for us. "

As I left the tent where I had supper, about a dozen middle-aged ladiescame to me and said, "We would like to see that pretty thing you tookoff that Indian. "

I did not know what they meant by "A pretty thing" until Jim said, "Why, Will, they want to see that war bonnet you took with the old chief'sscalp. "

I went to our pack and got the bonnet and gave it to them, and for thenext two hours that Indian adornment was the talk of the camp. It wascarried from tent to tent, examined by nearly everyone, old and young, in the whole emigrant train, and it was a curiosity to any white person, and still more so to those not used to the Indians' way of adorningthemselves. 

Jim explained to the emigrants why this piece of Indian dress in ourpossession would be a protection to them in case of an attack on usby the Indians; he said, "The Indians have no fear of being killed inbattle. Their great dread is of being scalped. They believe that iftheir scalps are taken off their heads in this world, they will not berevived in the next, or what they call the "Happy Hunting grounds of theIndians, " where they will dwell with the great spirit forever, and ifthey should see this bonnet which none but a great chief can wear theywill think we must be powerful to have got it and will keep away fromus, fearing they may share the fate themselves. "

Jim told the emigrants to be ready for an early start in the morning, and then we separated for the night, the emigrants going to their tentsand Jim and I to lay our blankets under a tree. 

Next morning after we had a hearty breakfast of cornbread and Buffalosteak, Jim said, "Now, men and women, Will gave you all a treat inBuffalo meat last night, but if all goes well, and we meet with nothingto detain us, in one week from tonight I will give you a treat that willdiscount his. "

An old lady answered, "You must be mistaken, Mr. Bridger, for nothingcould taste better then the chunk of meat I broiled over the fire lastnight. "

Jim laughed and said, he would own up to the last night's supper beingextra good but asked how she thought Mountain Trout would taste. Shesaid she did not know, as she had never tasted any; Jim said, "Well, you will know in a week from tonight, and you will say that my treat isbetter than Will's, for Mountain trout is the best fish that ever swamin the water. "

We were on the road soon after sunrise the next morning, and everythingwent well for the next three days. The third day's travel brought usto Humboldt Well. As we were going into camp, I discovered a band ofIndians coming directly for the train. I notified Jim at once, and hesoon had the train corralled, and the chief's bonnet hung high above theIndian scalps so all the Indians could see it. The savages seemed todiscover the bonnet and the scalps as soon as they saw the train, forthey stopped and came no nearer, and after gazing at the decorations onthe wagons a few moments they wheeled their horses and galloped away inthe same direction they had come, and we saw no more of them. As soon asthe Indians disappeared Jim slapped his hands and said, "Didn't I tellyou the effect that bonnet would have on the Red Skins? And I don'tthink we will have to shoot another Indian on this trip, for they willnot get close enough to us for us to get a show to hit them. "

The second day from this camp we reached Truckey river, and it happenedto be Saturday, and Jim told the emigrants that this was the place wherehe proposed to outdo Will in the way of a treat and told them thateveryone who could catch a grasshopper could have a mess of fish forsupper, as the river was swarming with the speckled beauties, and itwas really amusing to see the old of both sexes as well as the childrenrunning in every direction, catching the little hopping insects. Everyone seemed to be of one mind, what they were going to have for theevening meal, for they were all on the margin of the river, and Jim andI staid with the wagons and watched the crowd which was great amusementfor us, for they were all so excited. But our fun did not last long. Ina few minutes the crowd commenced to come back with their bands full offish; one woman passed us with two little girls. She had about a dozenfish, and the children had their hands full too. She said, "Come, Mr. Bridger, I want you and Mr. Drannan to eat supper with us tonight, andafter we get through I will tell you which treat is the best, Buffalo orMountain Trout. "

Jim told her she hadn't got half enough fish for him, not reckoning themembers of her own family. She said, "Don't you be uneasy about nothaving enough. My man will come back in a few minutes, and he will haveenough to make out the supper, I reckon. "

We went with her to her tent and helped to clean the fish, and it wasnot long before the appetizing meal was ready. While Jim and I werecleaning the fish that the woman and children had caught, the man cameback, and he had fifteen of the handsomest trout I had ever seen on astring. He greeted us with a laugh and said this was the first stream hehad ever seen where a man could take a long-handled shovel and pitch outall the fish he had a mind to. "It is wonderful to think of the amountof fish that has been taken out of that stream, and they would not bemissed if we wanted more. "

Jim said, "If you could stay here and fish a week, they would be justas thick when you got through as they are now, and will be until thespawning season is over. "

That night Jim suggested that we get up a party and go over on TruckeeMeadows and kill some Antelope tomorrow. 

I said, "All right, Jim, that is the greatest feeding ground forAntelope of any I have seen. I will go and speak to my scouts now, andwe may get a party so we can start early in the morning. "

I hunted my men up and told them what Jim and I thought of doing, andthey were delighted with the idea. They said that every man in theoutfit that owned a horse and gun would be glad to go with us. I toldthem to see everyone that they thought would like to or could go and forthem to meet us at the head of the corral right after breakfast in themorning. 

Next morning Jim and I went to the place agreed upon. We were mountedand had our guns all ready for business, and in a few minutes there wereforty-three men all mounted and anxious to go with us on the hunt forAntelope. 

Jim told them that the hunting ground was eight or ten miles away fromcamp, and he said, "I will guarantee that you will see a thousandAntelope today. Now we will all travel together until we begin to seethe Antelope. "

The place called Truckee Meadows was about twenty miles long and tenmiles wide and very level and covered with the tallest sage brush in allthe country around and with an abundance of fine grass. We crossed theTruckee river just below where the city of Reno now stands, and thenwe struck out south east, Jim and I taking the lead and the othersfollowing us. 

When we were about five miles from camp, I discovered a band ofAntelope. They were probably a half a mile from us, and they werefeeding in a northeasterly direction. I called Jim's attention to themat once. After he got a good look at them, he said, "I will bet my oldhat that there is a thousand Antelope in that band. "

We stopped our horses and waited for all the crowd to come up to us, andJim pointed to the Antelope, saying, "There is your game. Did you eversee a prettier sight? Now my friends, I want every one of you to have anAntelope across your saddle when we go back to camp. It don't make anydifference who kills it so we all have an Antelope. "

Jim then turned to me and said, "Will, do you see that open ridgeyonder?" and he pointed to a low ridge about a mile from us right in thedirection towards which the Antelope were feeding. I told him, yes, Isaw it. He then said, "I will take all the men but you and two others, and I will station them all along on that little ridge at the edge ofsage brush. Now, Will, you pick out your two men and ride clear aroundthe south end of the band, and when they start to run towards us, crowdthem as hard as you can, but give us time to locate before you start theband. "

My men and I rode probably a mile and a half before we got around theherd, and it looked to us as if the whole valley was covered withAntelope. I told the men not to shoot at first, but to give a whoop ortwo to get them started and then to crowd them for all they were worth, and when the Antelope got to the open ridge to shoot. 

In a few minutes, after we started the herd of Antelope, we heard theguns of Jim and his men, and it sounded as if they kept up a continualfire. When we struck the opening, I told the boys to get all theAntelope they could, and we had a plenty to choose from, for there werehundreds in the herd ahead of us. I fired my rifle and knocked one down, and then I pulled my pistol and got another. Just then I heard someoneshouting at the top of his voice just ahead of me. I looked to see whoit was and saw Jim Bridger, shaking his hat at me. I held up my horse soI could hear what he said. He cried, "For pity's sake, Will, don't killany more Antelope, for we have more now than we can carry to camp. "

I called my men to me, and we rode to where Jim and his men were waitingfor us. Jim said, "Will, I have been in the Antelope country twentyyears most of the time, and I never saw so many Antelope together atone time as I saw here this morning; why, there must be fifty orseventy-five laying around here at this minute, that we have shot, andyou would not miss them out of the herd. "

One of the men said, "It did not need any skill with the rifle, thathunt, for a blind man could not help hitting one of them, for as far asI could see, there was a mass of Antelope. "

Every man now went to work skinning and getting the meat ready to carryto camp. My two companions and myself put two Antelopes on each of ourhorses and started on ahead of the others, and although it was fivemiles and we walked all the way, we got back to camp a few minutesbefore they did. 

As soon as they saw us, the women came to meet us and wanted to see whatwe had on our horses. As I threw one of the Antelopes off the horse, amiddle aged woman said, "Mr. Drannan, can I have a piece of this one?My little girls have just picked some wild onions, and I can make somehash, and I want you and Mr. Bridger to come and take dinner with ustoday. "

I told her to help herself, that I brought the meat to camp for all ofthem to eat as far as it would go. Her husband came at that moment witha knife and skinned a portion of the Antelope and cut out what shewanted. By this time the other hunters began coming in, and everyone wasgetting fresh meat for their dinner, and by the way they acted I thoughtthey enjoyed the Antelope fully as well as they had the Buffalo. 

While we ate dinner, I asked Jim how many Antelope were killed by thewhole party. He answered. "Why, dog gone it, I forgot to count them, but I know this much. Pretty near all of the men brought two across hissaddle, and I will bet that it was the biggest Antelope hunt that wasever in this country before. Why, Will, the Antelope came along so thickat one time that a man could have killed them with rocks. "

If the reader will stop to think a moment, I think he will be surprisedat the great change that has taken place in that country in fifty years. At that time there was not a white family living within two hundredmiles of this place, and if there had been any one brave enough to tellus that in a few years this would be a settled country, we would havethought he was insane. And just think, this very spot where the wildAntelope roamed in countless numbers fifty-five years ago is todayNevada's most prosperous farming country and is worth from fifty to onehundred dollars an acre, and the city of Reno, now a flourishing town ofseveral thousand inhabitants stands on the very spot where we camped andhad the Antelope hunt, and I have been told by reliable people that thewhole country from the city of Reno to Honey Lake is thickly settled, and that cities and villages and thriving farms now cover the groundwhere at the time I am speaking of there was nothing but wild animals, and what was worse to contend with, wild savages lurking in the thicksage brush which covered the ground for hundreds of miles, and I am alsotold that the whole country around Honey Lake is a thriving farmingcountry, but at the time I am speaking of, we did not have an idea thatit would ever be settled up with Whites or used for anything but afeeding ground for wild animals. If we had been told at that time that arailroad would pass through the place where the city of Reno now stands, we would have thought the one who told us such a wild, improbable storyto be a fit subject for a straight jacket. 

We pulled out of there early Monday morning; we took the trail up LongValley towards Honey Lake, which we reached on the evening of the thirdday. Nothing occurred to disturb us during this time. As soon as we wentinto camp that evening the emigrants got out their fishing tackle andwent to the lake. Some of them caught some fish, but many of them cameback disappointed. None had the luck they'd had at Truckee river. Still, the most of us had some fish for supper that night. 

While we were at supper, Jim told the people that they were throughcatching trout, that the next fish we had would be salmon. They saidthey had never heard of that kind and asked what it looked like. Jimtold them that the meat of some kinds of salmon was as red as beef, while another kind was pink, and still another kind was yellow, andthey were considered the finest fish that swim in the water, and hecontinued, "I have seen them so thick in the spring in some of thestreams in California that it was difficult to ride my horse throughthem without mashing them, and they ran against the horse's legs andfrightened him so that he was as eager to get away from them as theywere of him. "

An old man presently asked how large a salmon usually was, to which Jimanswered, "Well, they run in weight from ten to fifty pounds, but I haveseldom seen one as small as ten pounds, and they are very fat when theyare going upstream to spawn, but when they are coming down they are sopoor they can scarcely swim. "

We left Honey Lake in the morning, and the third day from there westruck the Sacramento valley, and we now told the emigrants that theyhad no further use for our services, that their road was perfectly safefrom this point to Sacramento city. 

Two of the committee came to us and said, "As this is Saturday we willcamp here until Monday, and we want you two men to stay with us, for thewomen want to fix up something for you to eat on your way back. "

Jim answered that we would stay with them over Sunday and take a rest, for we had a long and tiresome journey before us, but it must beunderstood that we did not want the women to go to cooking for us, forall we could take with us was a few loaves of bread, enough to last usa few days. Our meat we could get as we wanted it, which would be ourprincipal food on the trip, as it always was when we were alone. 

Sunday was a very pleasant, restful day to us. All the emigrants seemedto vie with each other in being social. Among the company was a man andwife by the name of Dent; these two came to us and said that they weregoing to make their home in Sacramento city and were going into businessthere, and they wanted us if we ever came there to come to them andmake their home ours as long as we wished to stay, for, said they, "Weappreciate what you have done for us on this journey we have passedthrough. Besides the protection you have given us, the Buffalo andAntelope meat you have shown us how to get and have helped to get hasbeen worth more money to us than all we have paid you to pilot us toCalifornia. ". 

We thanked them for their kind offer and good opinion of us butdisclaimed having done anything but our duty by them. 

Monday morning Jim and I were about the first to be astir. We caughtour horses and had them saddled by the time breakfast was ready, and weaccepted the first invitation offered us to eat. While we were eating, our hostess said she had baked two loaves of bread for us to take withus, and that she had roasted the last piece of Antelope that she had andwanted us to take that too. We took the food this lady had prepared forus and went to our horses, but before we reached them we saw the womencoming from every direction with bread and cake. Jim said, "Will, let'sfill this sack with bread and cake if they insist on giving it to us andthen get away as soon as possible. "

As Jim made this remark, it was very amusing to see how every womantried to get her package in the sack first, but it would not begin tohold half that was brought. As soon as the sack was full, Jim said, "Nowladies, we can take no more, so be kind to us in letting us get away. "

By the time we had our pack fixed on our pack horses' backs, every manand woman and all the children were around us to bid us farewell andgood speed on our journey back to Taos, New Mexico. 

We had shaken hands with probably a hundred or more when Jim sprang uponhis horse all at once, saying, "Now friends, we will consider we haveall shaken hands, " and he took off his hat and, waving it to theassembled crowd, gathered up his reins and galloped away, and I followedsuit. But as long as we were in hearing distance we could hear, "Goodbye, good bye, " floating on the wind. As the sight of the train faded inthe distance, we waved our hats for the last time. 

For the next two days everything went smoothly with Jim and me, whichbrought us to Honey Lake. The night we reached Honey Lake, we camped ina little grove of timber near a pearling stream of cool, sparkling waterabout a half a mile south of the trail. 

We had eaten our supper and were about to spread our blankets and turnin for the night when we heard a dog bark close to our camp, but itwas too dark to see him. Jim said, "Don't that beat any thing you everheard?"

We listened a moment, and then it was a howl, and then in a moment hebarked again. Jim said, "You stay in camp, Will, and I will take my gunand see what is the matter. "

In a moment Jim called, "I see him. " I waited about an hour before Jimcame back and was beginning to feel anxious about him. When I heard hisfootsteps, he said, "I followed that dog nearly a mile, and then I foundthe cause of his howling, and what do you think it was?" I answered, "Jim, I have no idea, " to which he said, "Well, I will tell you. I foundthe body of a dead man laying on his blanket just as if he was layingdown to rest. I did not get near the dog until I had discovered thebody, and then he was very friendly with me, and came and whined, andwagged his tail, as if he knew me. I looked all around, but I could findnothing but the body laying on the blanket. I could not see that therehad been a fire, and I saw no signs of a horse or anything else, and thestrange part of it is that, although the dog was so friendly with me, Icould not coax him away from the body which I suppose was his master. "

I asked Jim what he thought it was best to do. He answered, "What can wedo, Will? We have no tools to dig a grave with, and the body is layingamong the rocks, and I expect that dog will stay beside it and starve todeath. "

"Wouldn't it be a good idea to go to the place in the morning and pilerocks on the body to keep the wolves and other wild animals fromeating it up?" Jim said, "Yes, we will do that, and we will shoot somejack-rabbits and leave them with the dog, so he can have something toeat for a few days anyhow. "

On the way over to the place where the body lay, we killed three rabbitsand threw them to the dog, and he ate them as if he was nearly starved, and I have always thought that his master died of starvation, as he hadno gun or pistol with which to kill anything to eat, and Jim thoughtthat he must have got lost from some emigrant train and wandered arounduntil he was too weak to go farther and lay down and died with no onebut his faithful dog to watch over him in his last moments. 

We covered him up with stones and brush the best we could and left himand the poor dog together, although we tried every way we could to temptthe animal away. The faithful dog would not leave his master's body. After trying persuasion until we saw it was no use, Jim said, "Let's puta rope around his neck and lead him off. " I answered, "No, Jim, if hewill not be coaxed away, it would not be right to force him to leave hisdead master. " Jim said, "It seems too bad to leave him to starve, butyou are right, Will, " and so we left him, and we never saw him again. 

Saddened with the experience of the morning, we mounted our horses andstruck for the trail. We had nothing more to disturb us for the nextthree days. About the middle of the afternoon of the third day we wereriding along slowly, talking about where we should camp that night, whenJim happened to look off to the south, and he saw a band of Indiansabout a mile from us, and they were coming directly towards us, but wecould not tell whether they had seen us or not. Jim said, "Let's putspurs to our horses and see if we can get away from them Red devilswithout a fight with them. "

We put our horses to a run and had kept them going this gate for five orsix miles when we came to the top of a little ridge, and in looking backwe saw the Indians about a half a mile in the rear and coming as fast astheir horses could carry them. 

Jim said, "Will, we are in for it now, and we must find a place where wecan defend ourselves. "

At that moment I saw a little bunch of timber a few hundred yards aheadof us. I pointed to it and said to Jim, "Let's get in there and showthem our war bonnet and scalps, and maybe that will save us from havinga fight with the Red imps. "

Jim laughed and said, "Why dog gone it, Will, I forgot all about yourwar bonnet. Sure, that will be the very thing to do. "

We had reached the timber while we talked. We now dismounted and tiedour horses, and in less time than one could think we had the war bonnetand scalps dangling from the trees all around our horses. We hadscarcely got ready for them when the Red Skins were in sight. They racedaround us in a circle but did not come in gun shot of us. They wentthrough this performance a few times and then stopped and took a goodlook at our decorations, and then they wheeled their horses and left inthe direction they had come from, and that was the last we saw of thatbunch of Indians. 

We waited a few minutes to be sure that all was clear, and then wemounted again and rode about two miles before we found water so we couldcamp for the night. When we were eating our supper that night, Jim said, "Will, I don't think you realize what a benefit those scalps and thatbonnet is to us; if I were you, I would never part with that bonnet aslong as you are in the Indian country. This being a Ute bonnet, theComanches will offer you all kinds of prices for it, but if I were you Iwould not sell it at any price. "

I answered, "Jim, I am going to keep that bonnet for two reasons. Oneis for the protection of my own scalp and the other is to keep inremembrance my last trip in company with you as a pilot across theplains to California. "

Jim looked at me a moment and then said, "Will, you don't pretend to saythat you will never take any more trips with me. "

I answered, "Yes Jim, I mean what I say. This is my last trip as a pilotfor emigrants. "

Jim did not answer for a few moments, and then he said, "Who will gowith me next year Willie? I thought the pilot business just suited you. "

I answered, "In some respects I do like it, and in others I dislike itvery much. You know yourself how impossible it is to please everybody. There are so many of the people who come from the east that don't thinkthere is any more danger of the Indians than there is of the Whites, andyou know Jim that is the class of people who will always get us intotrouble. See what those nineteen smart alecks did for us on this lasttrip. Do you think if they had known any thing of Indian trickery theywould have left our protection to go hunting in the very heart of theIndian country? And if we had not been firm with the rest of thosepeople the whole outfit would have been scalped and then we would havehad to bear the blame. "

Jim answered, "There is more truth than poetry in all you say Will, butmaybe you will change your mind when spring comes. "

We had a peaceful night's sleep and pulled out on the road bright andearly the next morning. We left the main trail and took a south eastcourse and crossed the extreme southern portion, of what is now thestate of Utah. We traveled hundreds of miles in this country withoutseeing a human being. 

A year ago I passed through this same country in a comfortable seat ina railroad car, and it would be difficult for me to make the people ofthis day understand the feelings that I experienced when in looking fromthe car window I saw the changes that fifty-five years have made in whatwas a wild, rough wilderness, inhabited by Buffaloes, Antelopes, Coyotesand savage men. 

We kept on through this section of country until we struck the Coloradoriver, which we crossed just below the mouth of Green river, and a fewdays' travel brought us into the northwest part of what is now NewMexico. 

The country which is now New Mexico was at the time of which I amwriting considered perfectly worthless. It is a rolling, hilly countrywith smooth, level valleys between the hills and is proving to be veryfertile and is settling as fast as any part of the west. 

There was nothing more to trouble us, and we made good progress on ourjourney, and in ten days from the time we left the Colorado river wereached Taos, New Mexico, which was the end of our journey, and tiredand worn with the long hours in the saddle and the anxiety of mind whichwe had experienced in all the long months since we left there in thespring, we were glad to get there and rest a few days and to feel thatwe were free with no responsibility. 

[Illustration: The mother bear ran to the dead cub and pawed it with herfoot. ]

CHAPTER VII. 

We found Uncle Kit and his family all well and glad to see us. It waslate in the afternoon when we got there, and we spent the remainder ofthe day and evening in recounting our summer's experience for UncleKit's benefit, who was a very interested listener to all that hadbefallen us since we parted from him in the spring. 

While we ate supper, Jim told Uncle Kit of the fight with the Indiansin which I killed the old chief and took his scalp and war bonnet, anaccount which amused Uncle Kit very much, and later in the evening heinsisted on my undoing my pack and showing the bonnet to him. 

After he had examined it, he said, "Will, I always knew that you wouldmake an Indian fighter since that night when you were not fifteen yearsold and showed such bravery in showing me the two scalps of the Indiansyou had killed that morning all by yourself. But little did I think thatyou would have the honor of killing a Ute Chief and capturing his warbonnet. There will be many times when that bonnet will be as muchprotection to you as a whole regiment of soldiers would be, " and turningto Jim, Carson said, "Bridger, don't you think my Willie must have beenan apt pupil and does me great honor for the instruction I gave him?"

Jim answered, "Yes, Kit, I certainly do, and if you had seen him testedas I have the past summer, you would not need to ask me that question. "

Uncle Kit patted me on the back and told Jim that he did not need to seehis boy's bravery tested, for he always took it for granted that Williewould stand any test. 

The next morning, Uncle Kit and Bridger commenced to lay their plans forthe winter's trapping. I heard Uncle Kit say, "Bridger, we have gotto get down to Bent's Fort right away; here it is in the last days ofSeptember, and you know that when the fall of the year comes, themtrappers are like a fish out of water, and if we don't get to the Fortsoon, Bent and Roubidoux will fit them out and send them out trapping ontheir own hooks. "

Jim answered, "That is true, Kit, and the quicker we go the better itwill be for us. "

On the fifth day after we arrived at Taos from California, we were onthe road to Bent's Fort with twenty-two pack horses besides our saddlehorses. Uncle Kit, my old comrade Jonnie West and a Mexican boy by thename of Juan accompanied us. 

We reached Bent's Fort in safety without having any trouble on the way. The evening we got to the Fort it seemed to me that there were moretrappers than I had ever seen together at one time before, and they allhuddled around Carson and Bridger. Uncle Kit told them all that he wouldtalk business with them in the morning. When supper was ready thatevening, Col. Bent invited all of us to take supper with him. Weaccepted the invitation, and while we were at the table, a runner camewith a note to Uncle Kit from Capt. McKee, asking Carson to send all themen he could muster to join him at Rocky Ford to escort a governmenttrain to Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

According to the Capt's. Note Carson had only twenty-four hours togather his men and get to Rocky Ford. When Uncle Kit read the note sounexpectedly brought him, it seemed to upset and confuse him. He said, "My God, I can't go, " and then he read the note aloud. When he hadfinished reading. Col. Bent said, "I will go out and see how many menwill volunteer to go. " After Col. Bent left the room, Uncle Kit said tome, "Willie, will you take charge of the men if Col. Bent can raise acompany? I know you can handle them as well as I could. "

I answered, "Yes sir, I will do any thing you think is best. "

In a short time Col. Bent came back and said he had found twenty sevenmen who were willing to go, and that every man had his own horse and agun and a pistol, "but who will take the command of the company? Do youintend to go yourself Carson?"

Uncle Kit said, "No, I do not, but Willie here, " and he touched myshoulder, "will take my place and do as well as I could. "

Col. Bent said, "Well, come with me, Will, and I will introduce you toyour men. "

When we went outside, all the twenty-seven men were there waiting forus. Col. Bent said to them, "Now, gentlemen, I have brought you a leaderin Mr. William Drannan. He will have charge of you until you reach RockyFord. "

I then told the men to furnish themselves with four day's ration andalso to take blankets to use at night, and to be ready to take the trailat sun rise in the morning. They all promised to be ready at the time Ispecified, and we separated for the night. 

I found Uncle Kit in the dining room writing a letter to Capt. McKee. Hegave the letter to me, saying, "Give this letter to Capt. McKee, and ifyou want to go to Santa Fe with him, do so, or if you had rather be withme, you will find Jim and me on the Cache-La-Poudre; just suit yourself, Willie, in regard to this matter, and I shall be satisfied. "

The next morning we were up and on the road by the time the sun was up. We rode hard until about eleven o'clock, when we dismounted, staked ourhorses out to grass and ate our luncheon. We let our horses feed aboutan hour, and then we mounted and were on the road again. A little beforesunset we came in sight of Rocky Ford. As soon as I saw where we were, Ipointed it out to the boys, and said, "There is Rocky Ford, and we areahead of time. "

We had ridden but a short distance when one of the boys remarked, "Weare not much in the lead, for there comes Capt. McKee's company justacross the river, " and as we reached the Ford, Capt. McKee and his menwere crossing. So we both met on time. I had never met Capt. McKee butknew him from the fact that he was in the lead of his men. 

I rode up to him and saluted and asked if this was Capt. McKee. He saidit was. I told my name at the same time I gave him Carson's letter. 

He read the letter and then said, "Let us go into camp. My men andhorses are tired, and we will talk business after we have had supper. "

We rode perhaps a quarter of a mile from the Ford, where we could getplenty of sage brush to make fires, dismounted and staked our horses outto grass, and it was not long until our meal was ready to eat. As soonas the meal was over, the Captain came to me and inquired if I had everbeen over this country before. I told him I had a number of times. Hesaid, "I am a stranger in this country; will you please tell me wherethe main body of the Comanches are at this time of the year?"

I told him that the main body of the Comanche tribe was at least ahundred miles down the river. 

"They go down there to shoot the Buffalo as they cross the river ontheir winter's feeding ground. You will find the Indians very numerousall through that part of the country. Sometimes there are from two tothree hundred wigwams in one village, and the Indians will stay therefor nearly a month yet before they go farther south. "

The Capt. Then asked if I was acquainted with any of the ComancheChiefs. I told him that I was, and that I had traded with pretty nearall of them. 

"The Comanches are all great friends with Kit Carson, and as I havevisited them and traded with them in company with him, they extend theirfriendship to me. "

The Capt. Thought a moment and then said, "I am mighty afraid that weare going to have trouble with the Comanches from the fact that thatGovernment train is at least two hundred miles from here, and there areforty wagons in it, and they have no escort, only their drivers andherders, and I am weak myself; you see, I have only twenty men with me. Five days before I received this order, I sent all of my men, except thetwenty with me, to Fort Worth, Texas to protect the settlers in thatcountry as the Comanches are on the war path there, and the few men wehave with us now will not be as much as a drop in a bucket as far asprotecting the train is concerned if the Comanches attack it. "

I answered, "Captain, if we can reach the train before the Indians do, Ibelieve we can get the train through to Santa Fe without firing a gun. "

This seemed to surprise him, for he looked at me as though I was insanein making such a remark and said, "What do you mean, young man?"

I answered: "Capt. McKee, all the Comanche tribe know me, and they alsoknow that I have for several years been closely associated with KitCarson, and they think that all Kit Carson does or says is right, forthey both love him and fear him, and they have the same feeling for theboy Carson raised, and furthermore I have in this pack, " and I pointedto my pack which was laying on the ground near me, "more protection, inmy estimation, than a hundred soldiers would be to the train. "

He said, "Explain what you mean, for I do not understand. "

I then unrolled my pack and, taking out the Indian scalps and the UteChief's war bonnet, I showed them to him and told him how I had usedthem to protect an emigrant train when I only had twelve men to help methat were of any use in a fight with the Indians. 

I said, "Now, Captain, you must know that the Indians have no fear ofdeath, but they do dread to lose their scalps after they are killed, asthey think there will be no chance for a scalpless Indian to enter theHappy Hunting ground. So if we reach the train before the Indians getthere and fear they will attack it when they do, all we have to do is tohang these scalps up in a prominent place and put the Chief's war bonnethigh above them all, and there will be no need of a fight or chance forone, for the Indians will not come near enough to be shot at, for theywill fear that they will share the same fate that befell the Indiansthat these scalps belonged to. "

Capt. McKee then asked me if I were willing to go on and assist him inthis way until the train reached Santa Fe, and he said, "I am quite sureyour plan in using the scalps and bonnet for protection with the Indianswill prove a success, for I know how superstitious the Indians are aboutbeing scalped, and I am also sure that we have not sufficient men tosave the train from the Indians without some other means is used. "

I then asked the Capt. Who would pay me and my men for our time if wewent with him. His answer was "The Government pays me and will pay youand the men with you, and if we have a chance to test your plan and itproves a success, I will see that you have double pay. "

Everything being understood and arranged to the satisfaction of allhands, we separated and turned in for the night. 

Next morning we were all up in good season and got an early start on theroad. 

Late that evening just before we went into camp we saw a few Buffalofeeding near the river. I asked the Capt. Where he was going to campthat night. He pointed to a little ravine about a half a mile from us, and answered, "We will camp on that ravine. " I said, "Take my pack onyour saddle in front of you, and I will kill a calf for supper. "

He took my pack, saying, "All right, we surely will enjoy some freshmeat, " and the company moved on, and I struck out to kill the Buffalo. Irode around the herd so if they became frightened they would run towardsthe place where we were to camp. They saw me before I had got in gunshot of them and started to run directly towards where the Capt. Hadgone into camp. 

As soon as I saw the direction they were taking, I commenced to shout tothe men at the camp to look out, for the Buffalo were coming, and theydid not get the news any too quick before the Buffalos were there. Themen grabbed their guns and commenced shooting, and that was all thatsaved the camp from being overrun with Buffalo. They shot down threecalves and two heifers right in camp. 

The boys had the laugh on me for several days. When anything was saidabout getting fresh meat, some of them would say, "Will can go and driveit into camp, and we will shoot it, " and the Capt. Would laugh and sayhe reckoned that was a good way to save me from packing it. 

I do not think I ever saw men enjoy a meal more than these did thatnight. We had all ridden hard that day and had only a light lunch atmidday, so we were all very hungry and young and hearty and just at thetime of life when food tastes best, and every one of us knew how tobroil Buffalo meat over sage brush fire. 

The next morning the Capt. Told the men to all cut enough meat from theBuffalos to last until the next day and to put it in their packs, for, he said, "We may not meet with as good luck again as we did today, andif we take the meat with us we will be provided for anyway. "

We were on the road early in the morning and traveled without stoppinguntil noon, and we saw numerous small bands of Buffalo all along theway. We stopped on the bank of a little pearling stream of cold water, where there was plenty of grass for the horses, and ate our luncheon andrested about an hour. We were about ready to continue our journey when Idiscovered a small band of Indians coming up the trail. 

I sang out to the Capt. , "There come some of our neighbors. " He lookedat them and said, "Boys, mount your horses and be ready, for we aregoing to have fun right here. " I said, "Hold on, Capt. , and let me seeif I can't settle this thing without a fight. " He said, "How will you doit?" I said, "I believe I know all those Indians, but I will ride downand meet them and see, and if I am acquainted with them we will have notrouble with them. "

Capt. McKee said, "Won't you be taking a desperate chance, Mr. Drannan, in going to meet those savages when you are not sure whether you knowthem or not?" I said, "I am not afraid to go to meet them, but ifanything is wrong, I will signal to you by raising my hat, and if I doso you must charge at once, but if I give no signal you may be sureeverything is all right. "

I started my horse at full speed down the narrow valley to meet theapproaching Indian band. When I was within a hundred yards of them, they recognized me, and they all began crying, "Hi-yar-hi-yar, " whichtranslated into English means, "How do-yo-do, " and in a few minutes, they were all swarming around me, each one trying to shake my handfirst. I shook hands with all, and I then asked them where they weregoing. The Chief told me that they were going to their village, whichwas on the opposite side of the river. We had passed their village a fewhours before, but owing to the timber being so thick we did not noticeit. They wanted to know when I was coming to trade for Buffalo robeswith them. I told them I would come in four months. This seemed toplease them well, and they said they would have a plenty of robes totrade for knives and rings and beads. 

I rode back with my Indian friends to the camp. On the way I told thechief where I was going, and that the white men he saw in the camp weremy friends and were going with me. Not knowing any of the men in thecamp, the Indians passed on without stopping, as is their custom whenthey are not on the war path. 

When the last Indian had passed the camp, Capt. McKee ordered the men tomount, and we continued our journey. 

When we were under way the Capt. Rode to my side and said, "Mr. Drannan, will you tell me how it is that you have such a control over thoseIndians? Why, I would not have ridden to meet that savage band foranything that you could have offered me, for I should have considereddoing such a thing equal to committing suicide, and I know I should nothave come out alive. "

I said, "Very true, Capt. I don't think you would. But there is thisdifference between your going to meet them and my doing so. You are astranger to them, and a member of the white race, which they hate. They, not knowing who you are, are suspicious of your being on their huntinggrounds, but in my case I have known them all for years and haveaccompanied them many times to their village. Whom they trust, althoughhe be a "pale face, " they have confidence in, as they have in me. Sothey are all my friends, and when I told the Chief that you and all thecompany were my friends and were going with me, he or any of his braveshad no wish to trouble you. "

Capt. McKee looked at me as if he thought me something hardly humanwhile I explained why I was not afraid of the Indians who had justpassed, and in a moment after I had ceased speaking he said, "Can youcontrol all of the Comanche tribe the same as you did the band which hasjust passed us?" I answered, "I certainly think I can if I have my wayabout it. " He answered, "If that is so, the United States Governmentwill be under great obligation to you. " "The obligation is nothing to meCapt. , but if the men will obey my instruction I think I can pilotthe train through to Santa Fe without their having to fire a shot, " Ireplied. The Capt. Said, "I am not acquainted with the wagon master, soI can not say what he will do, but I will give you my word that my menwill do as you instruct them, and as soon as we meet the train I willhave a talk with the wagon master and try to influence him to submit tobeing directed by you. "

The third day from this place we met the train at a place called HorseShoe Bend. We saw a number of bands of Indians and passed several Indianvillages on the way, but we did not come into contact with any of them. The train was just corralling for the night when we met them, and themost discouraged-acting men I ever saw were in that train. The wagonmaster told us that the Indians had attacked the train the day beforeand killed five of his men, and he said, "If this had been anythingbut a Government train, I should have turned around and gone back, andCapt. , you haven't half men enough to protect this train through theComanche country; we have just struck the edge of it, and the Comanchesare the largest and most hostile tribe in the west, and you see thatI lost five of my herders in the Kiawah country, and they are a smalltribe beside the Comanches. "

Capt. McKee then told the wagon master what he had seen me do with aband of Comanche warriors, and also told him what I said I could do forthe train if I had the control of the men and they would obey me. 

The wagon master turned and looked at me a moment as if he was measuringme and then said, "Young man, do you pretend to say that you know all ofthe Comanche tribe?"

I answered, "No, sir, I do not know them all, but they all know me, andthere are hundreds of them that are particular friends of mine, and ifyou are acquainted with the Indian character, you know that when anIndian professes to be a friend he is a friend indeed, and there is nolimit to what he will do for you. "

He then asked how I proposed to handle the train and the men. Ianswered, "I want the men to ride beside the wagons, and in the rear ofthem with a half a dozen just a little ahead of the teams, and I willride alone from a quarter to a half a mile ahead, and if the men in therear or those on the side see any Indians advancing on the train, I wantthem to notify me at once, for I want to talk with the Indians beforethey get to the train, no matter whether there are a few or many ofthem. "

The wagon master said, "I don't see anything to find fault withyour plans, " and turning to McKee he asked what he thought of thearrangement. Capt. McKee answered, "All that I find fault with is thedesperate chances Mr. Drannan will take in going out to meet the savagesall by himself. " I said, "Capt. , there is where you make a mistake. Mysafety lies in my going out to meet the Indians alone, and I will assureyou and the other gentlemen that there will not be a gun fired if I canget to the Indians before they get to the train. "

At this moment the cook said supper was ready, and it did not take longfor me at least to get to eating it, for I was very hungry. 

The wagon master, the Capt. And I messed together. The Capt. Asked mewhat I thought about putting out picket guards that night. I told himthat I did not think it necessary tonight, but further on the road itmight be advisable. 

We had a quiet night's rest, and everybody seemed cheerful in themorning, and we were on the road quite early. Before we started, I askedthe wagon master how many miles he traveled in a day, and if he stoppedat noon. He answered that he was four or five days behind time now andwould like to make twenty miles a day if he could, and he thought itwould not be advisable to stop at noon while we were in the Comanchecountry, but when we got clear of the Indians probably he would lay overa day or two, and let the teams have a rest. 

Everything moved on pleasantly all that day. We did not see an Indian, but towards evening we saw large bands of Buffalo all going south. Thatnight when we had got settled into camp, I told the Capt. That I wouldtake a ride five or six miles up the valley and see if I could find anyIndians' village or see any Indians and for them not to be uneasy aboutme or look for me until they saw me. 

I had ridden perhaps three miles when I saw a large band of Indians justgoing into camp. They were about a half a mile from our trail right onthe bank of the Arkansas river. I knew that they were a hunting partybecause their squaws and papooses were with them, which is never thecase if the warriors are on the war path. 

I rode down among them, and as soon as the squaws saw me they commencedto cry, "Hi-yar-hi-yar, " and ran to me with extended hands, and they allasked together if I had come to trade rings and beads. When I told themthat I would come again in four months and trade with them, they laughedand said in their own language that they would have many Buffalo robesready to trade with me. As I was talking with the squaws, an Indian cameto me, one that I had known for quite a while, and invited me to hiswigwam to take supper with him and stay all night. I explained to himthat I could not accept his invitation that time and told him what I wasdoing, and where I was going, but that I would return in four months andwould bring a plenty of knives and rings and beads to trade for Buffalorobes. 

This seemed to please him very much. 

I bid them all good bye and went back to camp. It was rather late andsupper was over, but the cook had saved some for me. While I was eating, Capt. McKee and the wagon master came to see me. The Capt. Asked what Ihad seen while I was gone. I said, "Capt. , I saw enough Indian squaws tokeep me shaking hands for twenty minutes, and besides the squaws I sawfour or five hundred warriors and shook hands with a good many of themand was invited to eat supper and pass the night with one of the Chiefs, but I declined to do either, although I would have been more thanwelcome. "

The Capt. Asked where the Indians were, and I told him. He asked how farfrom our trail their village was. I told him between half and a quarterof a mile. He said, "Have we got to pass in full view of that Indianvillage?" I answered, "Yes, sir, that is the only road that leads fromhere to Santa Fe. " "And do you believe that we can pass them in themorning without being attacked by them?" he asked. I said, "Capt. , ifthe men will obey my instructions, there will be no danger when westrike out in the morning. We will all travel in the same order as wedid today, except that I shall not ride so far in advance of the train, and if the Indians start to come towards the train, I will ride out andmeet them, and the train must keep right on, as if nothing had occurred, and I will hold the Indians until the train is out of sight, and then Iwill leave them and overtake you. "

The Capt. Said, "All right, Mr. Drannan, we will do as you havedirected, and if you succeed in this venture, I shall know that you havethe control over the Indians that you thought you had. "

The wagon master said that he would not feel very easy until we hadpassed and were out of sight of the Indians and their village, and Ibelieve he spoke the truth, for he was up and had everything ready. Wewere on the road by sunrise. When we were nearly opposite the Indianvillage, the squaws discovered us and came running towards us in droves. I rode out and met them and had a general hand-shaking with them, andthey wanted me to assure them that I was coming in four months to tradewith them and wanted me to go and look at some of the robes they haddressed, which I did, and in doing so, I saw something that I had neverseen before nor have I since. It was a white Buffalo skin, and theanimal must have been a half-grown cow judging from the size of theskin. It was the prettiest thing of the kind that I had ever seen, orever have since. When I was looking at the beautiful thing, I asked theIndian that I thought it belonged to how much he would take for it. Hesaid it was not his, that it was his squaw's. I asked her what her pricewould be, and she answered, "One string of beads. " I told her to save itfor me and in four months I would come back and bring the beads to herand take the robe. I was so interested in looking at the robes andtalking with the Indians that time passed without notice, and the firstthing I thought about it, in looking at my watch I found it was nearlynoon. I now bid the Indians good bye, mounted my horse and started toovertake the train. When I caught up with them, I found that the Capt. Was feeling very uneasy about me, and the wagon master thought theIndians had taken me captive. 

When I rode to the Capt's. Side, he said, "This settles it. I have beenfighting the Indians for several years, and I must admit now that Idon't know anything about them, and I will confess that I was like "theMissouri"; I had to be shown before I believed. But having seen likethem, I am satisfied that you knew what you were talking about. Afterthe experience of this morning, I cannot doubt that through yourfriendship with the Red skins we shall get through to Santa Fe in safetywithout having any trouble with them. "

That evening when we went into camp, the Capt. And the wagon master cameto me. The Capt. Said, "Mr. Drannan, you are so well acquainted with theComanche Indians, perhaps you can tell us where we shall pass their mainvillage and where the Indians are likely to be the most numerous. " Ianswered, "This is an unusually late fall, and the Buffalo are as aconsequence unusually late in going south and are more scattered thanthey would be earlier in the season, and I do not think we will pass theComanches' main village under forty miles from here. You must understandthat the Comanches' main village is always near where the largest herdof Buffalo cross the river, and from this on we will travel as we havebeen doing; I will take the lead five or six miles in advance of thetrain so that if we come on to a band of Indians or a small village Ican meet them and have a talk with them before the train gets up tothem, and Capt. , I want you and the other men to keep a close look out, and if any of you see any Indians coming towards the train from anydirection, send a runner after me at once, for I want to meet theIndians before they get to the train. "

The next morning we pulled out early, and we traveled withoutinterruption all day, and we did not see an Indian and but very fewBuffalo. 

That night we camped on a little stream called Cotton Wood Creek. Therewas fine water and the best of grass for the stock. That evening I toldthe Capt. And the wagon boss that the three main Buffalo crossings werewithin thirty miles of us, and we would probably have more trouble withthe Buffalos than we would with the Indians. "At this time of the yearit is no uncommon thing to see a herd of Buffalo from eight to ten mileslong, and from a half to a mile wide, and if we meet with such a herd, all we can do is to stop and wait until they pass, for we could no moreget through them than we could fly over them, and, Capt. , we now havetwo dangers to avoid. The Indians and Buffalos. If you see a band ofBuffalo coming and I am not with you, have the wagon master corral thetrain as quickly as possible, and as close as he can get them together. I have considerable influence with the Indians, but I have none with theBuffalos, so we must give the latter their own way and a plenty of room, or they will tramp the train under their feet and us with it. "

We were on the road in good season the next morning, and every thingwent smoothly until about eleven o'clock in the morning, when I saw alarge band of Buffalo coming from the north and heading directly for theriver. I rode back and met the train and told the wagon master thathe must corral the train at once, and he did not have time to get itcorralled too soon before the herd was near us, and I will say I hadseen a great many large herds of Buffalo before and have since that timebut never saw anything that equaled this herd. We waited until threeo'clock in the afternoon before we could move on our journey, and afterthey had all passed us, one could see nothing but a black moving mass asfar as the eyes could see. 

I asked the Capt. How many Buffalos he thought there were in that band. He answered, "I think the number would run into millions. How manyBuffalos would it take to cover a half a mile square?"

I thought a moment and answered, "That is a difficult question toanswer, Capt. The way they were crowded together here I believe therewould be a hundred thousand on every half a mile square. "

Capt. McKee said, "Yes, and on some of the half a mile square therewould be more than that number. I was in Texas nine years, and I saw agreat many bands of Buffalo in that time, but I had no idea that theyever traveled in such immense bodies as the one that passed us today. "

We proceeded but a short distance that afternoon but made an early campon account of water. While we were at supper, I was amused at some ofthe remarks made by the teamsters. One of them said, "Boys, if I liveto get home, you will never catch me any farther west than the state ofMissouri again. Who would live in such a country as this is? Good fornothing but Indians, Buffalos, and Coyotes, and any of the three isliable to kill you if you get out among them. " And another said, "How increation are we going to get home? If this train don't go back, we aresure in for it. "

The wagon boss said, "Boys, I should not think you would want to go backover this country again. " One of them said, "How would we live?" Heanswered, "Why, you could go and live with the Indians, and then youcould have Buffalo meat to eat and hear the Coyotes howl all the time. "

This remark made a laugh, but I noticed one of the teamsters wiped hiseyes on his coat sleeve and got up and left the crowd, and I saw thetears running down his cheeks. After he had gone, one of the otherdrivers said, "I pity John, for he thinks he will never see hissweetheart again. It was to get money to settle down with that broughthim out here, and now he is afraid that he will never get back, andI believe he will go crazy if he don't get to see his girl in a fewmonths. "

The boss said, "It is too bad, and I will go and see if I can consolehim. "

When we were ready to strike the trail the next morning, I told theCapt. That I thought we would pass the Comanches' main village that day. Said I, "If it is late in the afternoon when we pass the Indian camp, it will be best to drive on four or five miles before you stop for thenight, and do not pay any attention to me, for very likely I shall be inthe middle of the camp, talking with the Chief. "

I struck out, and I had not ridden more than eight miles when in lookingoff to the south I saw the Indian village. It was about a mile from thetrail on the bank of the Arkansas river. I turned my horse and went forthe village. When I was about halfway there, I met a number of youngbucks, and they all knew me. After I had shaken hands with them, I askedwhere the old Chief's wigwam was, and they all went with me and showedme where it was. As soon as I struck the edge of the village, every buckand squaw commenced to shout and shake their hands at me. When I got tothe Chief's wigwam I dismounted, and as he came out to meet me I offeredmy hand, which is always customary when one visits an Indian, be heChief or warrior. 

After we had talked a few minutes, he told me in his own language that Ihad come too soon. He supposed I had come to trade with the Indians forBuffalo robes. I told him that I had not come to trade this time butwould come all prepared to trade in four months. 

Then I told him what I was doing and where I was going, and I told himthat if he would tell all his Warriors to let us pass without disturbingor molesting us in any way, I would make him a present of two butcherknives when I came in four months to trade with them. 

This promise seemed to please him, for he said I and the pale faces withme could go through his country and none of his Warriors would disturbus. I told him I would want to come back with the same wagons in aboutone month, and he answered, "It is well, " which meant "It is all right. "

By this time there were hundreds of bucks and squaws and papooses aroundthe Chief's wigwam. They all thought I had come with knives and ringsand beads to trade with them. When the Chief told them that I was onlymaking him a visit, and that I would return in four months to trade, they all wanted to shake hands with me, and while I was shaking theirhands, I saw the train pass along the trail, and by the time I hadshaken hands with them all it was out of sight. 

I was now about to mount my horse to follow the train when the Chiefsaid, "No go now, stay eat dinner. "

I knew that it would be considered an insult to refuse, so I said, "Wato, " which means "All right. "

I staked my horse out by tying him to a sage brush and accompanied theChief to his wigwam, and it was not long before the squaws had a plentyof juicy Buffalo steak broiled and ready to eat, and I have no doubt thereader will think me a very strange person when I say that I enjoyedthat meal, which was of broiled Buffalo meat alone without even bread, more than I would now the most sumptuous dinner that could be cooked andspread on the finest mahogany table, and that meal was spread on theground in an Indian wigwam with wild Indians for companions. 

After a while, which seemed short to me, I looked at my watch and wassurprised to find that it was two o'clock in the afternoon. I bid theChief and his squaws good by and mounted my horse and was off in pursuitof the train. 

I overtook them just as they were corralling for the night. As I rodeinto camp, Capt. McKee met me and said, "Mr. Drannan, you must bear acharmed life. I never expected to see you again, either alive or dead. "

I laughed and answered, "Did you think I was going to marry a squaw andsettle down in the Indian village, Capt? I thought you had a betteropinion of me than that. I will confess that I like the Indians prettywell, but not well enough to be a squaw man. "

This answer made a general laugh and upset the gravity that was settlingon all their faces. Capt McKee then said, "Where have you been all day, Mr. Drannan?"

I told him I went to the Indian village which he passed and was invitedto eat dinner with the head Chief, and they made such a spread that Ilike to not got away today. He said, "What could you have had for dinnerthat it took all day to eat it?" I answered, "Buffalo steak straightcooked in the most approved style. "

This answer made such a laugh that the Capt. Did not ask any morequestions until he and I were alone that evening. The wagon master andCapt. McKee asked me to take a walk with them. After we had strolledalong a while, the Capt. Said, "Mr. Drannan, how is it that you can gointo those Indian villages be they large or small? It seems to makeno difference to you, and the Indians do not molest you. Have you nohesitation at all in going among the Indians?"

I answered, "Yes sir, I would hesitate a long time before I went intothe village of some tribes of Indians, but I have no fear of theComanches in small bands or when they are all together, for they are allfriendly to me, and instead of hurting me they would protect me fromharm, and there is something else I can guarantee, and that is that thistrain will not be molested by the Comanche Indians, either going orcoming on this trip. "

Capt. McKee said, "Where in the world could you get that guarantee, Mr. Drannan?"

I replied, "Capt. McKee, I got it from the head Chief of the Comanchetribe, and his word is law with all his warriors. "

Then the wagon master spoke for the first time since we started on ourwalk. He said, "In that case there is no need of all these men as anescort, is there?"

I answered, "That is none of my business; it is nothing to me how manymen the Government employs to escort the trains. All I have to do withit is to do my duty. "

The Capt. Inquired how I came to make such an arrangement with theChief. I told him that I had the idea in my mind from the beginning, andthat was the reason I wanted to go to the main village in advance of thetrain, so I could arrange everything to suit myself before the traincame in sight. 

The Capt. Inquired how much it cost me to get the guarantee. I said, "The cost was considerable, but I think the teamsters will be willingto make it up to me, considering the trouble and perhaps loss of life Ihave saved them. "

The wagon boss said, "I reckon we all will want to take a hand in thatpayment. Tell me what it costs, and be it ever so much, you shall not beout a cent. I will go and see the boys right away and see if we can makeit up. How much shall I tell them?"

I answered, "I promised the Chief two butcher knives for the safety ofthis train's passage through the Comanche country, both going to SantaFe and coming back. "

They both stared at me as if they were amazed, and finally the Capt. Said, "What are you giving us? Are you joking or in earnest, Mr. Drannan?"

I answered, "I have told just what I promised to give the Chief. We didnot call it 'paying, ' and I have over three months to pay it in. "

Capt. McKee said, "Two butcher knives for the safety of all our livesand all the property in our care? How in the name of common sense couldyou make such a bargain as that?"

I answered, "There is nothing very wonderful about the transaction, Capt. I told the Chief that I would give him two butcher knives if hewould tell his warriors not to molest the train either going or comingback, and he accepted my offer and seemed to think himself well paid. Itold him that I would come to trade with his tribe in four months andthat I would give the knives to him then. "

Capt. McKee asked how many more villages we would have to pass through. I told him that there were two more small villages. One was about tenmiles, and the other one about fifteen or twenty miles above us. 

He inquired if I intended to visit each of those in advance of the trainas I had the ones we had passed; I replied, "I certainly do, for theywould think themselves greatly insulted if I should visit the othervillages and pass them by without paying them a visit too. The Indiansare very much like children. If you notice one, you must pay the sameattention to the others or there will be jealousy, and that is verymuch to be avoided in this case. Besides, I expect to trade with thoseIndians next spring, and I want to keep on the good side of all of them. If one gets the ill will of one Indian, the whole tribe is against one, and if you have the Chief on your side there is no danger from theothers. "

When we returned to camp from our walk, the wagon master said, "Boys, Mr. Drannan has hired the Chief of the Comanches to forbid his warriorsinterfering with this train going to Santa Fe or when it is coming back. Now I want to know how much money each one of you are willing to chipin towards helping him out. You must remember that the contract he madewith the Indian Chief has not only saved the destruction of the train, but more than likely some of us would have lost our lives if the Indianshad resented our passing through their country. "

Three drivers, all from Missouri, came forward at once and said, "Mr. Drannan, we haven't any money now, but as soon as we draw our pay, wewill give you twenty dollars apiece as our share. "

Another man cried out, "I will give twenty-five. "

Capt. McKee frowned and said, "Don't you think your lives worth morethan twenty-five dollars, men?"

This remark seemed to stir them up, and in less than ten minutes theyhad subscribed four hundred and forty dollars. 

The Capt. Clapped his hands and said, "Mr. Drannan, you are safe, " andthen told the men what the real expense would be to me. The Missourimen answered, "Don't make any difference to us what he is to pay. Thebargain he made to save our lives is what we want to pay for as far aswe can. "

I said, "Now boys, I believe that I have been instrumental in savingsome of your lives and probably the whole train, but you don't owe me acent of money for what I have done, and I want to say to you all thatif there should be any Indians come near the train while we are passingthrough the Comanche country do not interfere with them in any way, andyou may rest assured they will not with you. "

The Capt. Now turned to the wagon master and said, "How much further doyou want me and my men to accompany you?" He answered, "I will leavethat for you and Mr. Drannan to decide. "

I said, "Capt. McKee, I think you had better stay with the train untilwe cross the river at Rocky Ford, which will take the train nearly outof the Comanche country at this season of the year, and we ought toreach Rocky Ford day after to morrow night, and as far as having anescort is concerned, I do not think there will be any more need of oneafter we cross Rocky Ford. I think the train will be perfectly safe togo on alone under the present circumstances. "

To this neither the Capt. Or the wagon master would agree, for Capt. McKee said, "You, Mr. Drannan, have been really the only protection thetrain has had, and it is no more than right that you should accompany itthrough to Santa Fe. I with my men will go on to Santa Fe, and I willreport that all is well with the train, and I will also report what youhave done in protecting the lives of the men as well as the Governmentproperty on this trip. "

The next morning we broke camp early and hit the trail in good season. Everything went along smoothly until about two o'clock, when we came insight of a little Indian village. It was on the opposite side of theArkansas river. 

I rode to the bank of the river where I saw a number of squaws on theother side. I waved my hand at them, and they recognized me at once andbegan crying, "Hy-ar-hy-ar, " and they came to the brink of the river andwaved their hands at me. I called to them that in four months I wouldcome with a plenty of beads and rings and knives to trade with them. They clapped their hands and answered, "Good-good, " and I turned myhorse and rode back to meet the train. 

I will here explain that all this conversation had been carried on inthe Comanches' language, as the Indians, neither bucks or squaws, couldunderstand a word of the English language at that time, and if I couldnot have talked with them in their language, I would not have had theinfluence over them that I had now. 

That night when we went into camp, Capt. McKee got off a good joke onme. 

While we were eating supper, he said, "Mr. Drannan, I have caught on toyour tricks with the Indians. First you make love to the squaws, andthen you get the good will of the bucks by giving them knives to scalpthe white men with. I saw how you made love to the squaws today when youwere flirting with them across the river, and I saw them throwing kissesat you too. "

I answered, "Capt. , you ought to be with me when I come down here totrade with them. You would then see the real thing. I will acknowledgethat I get all the hand-shaking that I can stand up to, but as far askissing and hugging is concerned, that the squaws save for their own ifthey give them to anyone. "

The Capt. Laughed and answered, "Well putting joking aside, Mr. Drannan, I think the Indians of the Comanche tribe are all your friends, and nomistake, and I see that you have a wonderful influence over them. "

I answered, "Capt. McKee, I have been trading with those Indians fouryears, and I have always done just as I agreed to do with them, whichis the secret of what you call my wonderful influence over them, and Icertainly have never had any trouble with one of the Comanche Indiansyet, and I will tell you furthermore, Capt. , that I intend, if I goback with this train, to carry the knives with me and stop at the mainvillage and give them to the old Chief, for I do not know how soon I mayhave occasion to ask another favor of him, and I feel confident that aslong as I keep his good will he will never refuse to do me a favor. "

We left this camp quite early in the morning, and all things workedsatisfactory throughout the day. We did not see an Indian and but veryfew Buffalos. We reached Rocky Ford and crossed the river just beforenight and went into camp, and Capt. McKee began to make preparations toleave the train, as with his twenty men and also the twenty-seven menwho went with me from Bent's Fort he intended to strike out in themorning for Santa Fe, where he could make his report, and the men couldreceive their pay from the Government for their services on this trip. 

Before he left us in the morning, I said, "Now Capt. , there is a part ofthe route between here and Santa Fe which I am not familiar with, and asthe country is strange to the wagon master also, can you tell me aboutthe water and also tell me how many days it will take the train to reachSanta Fe from this place?" The Capt. Answered, "As for water and grass, you will find a plenty all along the way; there is not more than four orfive miles from one stream to another, and for the time it will take toreach Santa Fe, I figure that it will take fourteen days if everythingmoves as smoothly in the future as it has done the last few days, andnow, Mr. Drannan, have you any word you would like to send to Bent'sFort to Mr. Bent or Roubidoux? I intend to go back that way, and I willtake any message to anyone there that you would like to send. "

I said, "Tell Mr. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux that I will be at Bent's Fortas soon as I finish this job and can get there, and that if they want meto go and trade with the Comanches, I have everything cut and dried forbusiness, for I have visited all the main villages on this trip, and theIndians are expecting to see me back in four months to trade with them. "

The men all mounted now, and we shook hands and bid each other good bye, and the Capt. And forty-seven others struck out back across the Arkansasriver for Santa Fe by the way of Bent's Fort, while the train kept on upthe old Santa Fe trail by the picket-wire route. 

From this place I had a jolly time all the way to Santa Fe; we were in awild country where game was plentiful, such as Deer, Antelope, and blackBear, and after the first day's travel there was never a night on thetrip but I had fresh meat for supper. 

I traveled along with the train until the middle of the afternoon. ThenI always asked the wagon boss what kind of meat he wanted for supper. Sometimes he would say Antelope, and at other times he said he wouldlike a piece of black tail Deer, and I invariably got what he mentioned. 

We got up into the foot hills where Trinidad, Colorado now stands. Thewagon boss and I were riding along together one afternoon. I looked atmy watch and saw that it was about time to be looking for some meat forsupper. I asked him in a joking way what he would like best for supperif he could get it. He replied that he would like a Cub Bear for a roasttonight. Up to this time I had not seen a bear, although I had seen somesigns of them, and I had no more idea of killing a bear that eveningthan I had of flying when I started out to get something for supper. 

I struck out on a low ridge that ran almost parallel with the trail. Ihad gone but a short distance when I came on a patch of huckleberries, and they certainly looked as if they might be delicious. They were thefirst I had seen that year. I jumped off my horse and went to pickingand eating as fast as I could. In a few minutes my horse gave a littlesnort. When I turned to see what was the matter, I saw that somethinghad frightened him. I went to him at once, and not over fifty yards fromhim was an old she bear, and she had two cubs with her, and I thoughtthey, like myself, were so taken with eating berries that they had notnoticed the horse or me either. 

I took my rifle, dropped down on one knee, fired and broke one of thecubs' necks. The mother bear ran to the dead cub and pawed it with herfoot. While she was thus engaged, I mounted my horse drew my pistol, rode up to where the mother bear and her two cubs were in a bunch andshot the other cub and broke this one's back, and it looked for a fewminutes as if I must run from the mother, as I did not want to kill herfor the reason that I had no use for so much meat. So I rode away ashort distance and watched her a few minutes. She pawed them over a fewtimes and seemed to think that they were no more good and with a few lowgrowls she trotted off into the brush, and I saw no more of her. 

I then rode to the dead cubs and dismounted from my horse. I picked themup and strapped them both on the back of my saddle and struck out toovertake the train, which I did just as they were going into camp. 

When the wagon master saw me coming, he came to meet me, and when he sawthe load on my horse's back, he exclaimed, "Mr. Drannan, I would like toknow if there is anything that you can't do that you take a notion todo. I had no idea that you would bring in a bear this evening than I hadof doing so myself. I was only joking when I suggested bear meat forsupper. "

I answered, "Well, you had your joke, and you and the rest of us canhave Bear's Foot roasted for supper, and as I have wanted some bear meatfor several days, I can please you and myself at the same time. "

The whole outfit was amazed when I spoke about roasting the bears' feet. They had never heard of such a thing before. When I got all the feetroasted, I took one from the coals and told the men to help themselves. They all gathered around me to see how I fixed it so I could eat it. When I had it ready to eat, the wagon boss said, "Well, who ever thoughtof eating Bears' Feet? But it does look nice. "

He watched me eat a few minutes and then made the remark that, as Iseemed to like it so well, he guessed he would try one, and it was notlong before the boys all had a taste of Bear's Foot. 

After he had demolished a whole foot, the wagon boss said, "I havetasted almost all kinds of meat, but I must say that I never ate anymeat as good as Bear's Foot. "

Some of the boys asked me if I could get some more Bears' Feet forsupper the next night, and one said he would give me a dollar if I wouldget a big foot for him. 

We got an early start on the road the next morning, and we traveledalong all day without anything of interest taking place. 

Along in the middle of the afternoon I told the boss that I guessed Iwould go and hunt some more huckleberries. He said, "I would not exertmyself to get any more meat today if I were you. We have enough forsupper that was left over from last night. "

"Yes, but I want some huckleberries, and I will pick enough for your andmy supper if I can find them. "

I struck out and rode a mile or more, but I was not at any time morethan a half a mile from the train. I came to a little ridge. When I hadridden to the top of it, I saw something in the way of game that wasa great surprise to me, as I had not seen any of that kind in severalyears. It was a large flock of wild turkeys. I saw that they had notdiscovered me as yet. I looked all around and could see no place wherethey could roost except a little bunch of timber about a quarter of amile from where they were feeding. I got back out of sight and rode backto the train as quickly as I could. When I overtook the train, the bosswas looking for a place to corral, and it was not long before all was inshape for the night. 

I asked the boss if he would like to go turkey hunting that night. Hisanswer was that he always went turkey hunting in the daytime, when hecould see to shoot them. I asked him if he had never hunted them atnight, and he said no, and had never heard of any one else doing such athing. 

I said, "All right, I will go to the boys from Missouri and ask them, for I have found a flock of wild turkeys, and I know where they roost. "

When I told the Missouri boys of my find, they were wild for the hunt. One said, "Do I know how to hunt turkeys by night? You bet I do, and Ihave a shotgun that will fetch one every pop. "

I said, "All right, you can have a chance to try your gun tonight, forthe moon will be bright tonight, and we will start right after supper, and I think we will have some fun and all the turkeys we want besides, for the flock was a large one that I saw this afternoon. "

When I was ready, I found eight of the boys had their guns all readyand were waiting for me. It was not over a half a mile from camp to thegrove where I felt sure we should find the turkeys. When we reached theedge of the timber, I said, "Now, boys, I think we had better split upand two go together, and when any of you see a turkey, shoot him. "

In a few minutes all I could hear was "bang, bang" all around me, andonce in a while the cry "I've got one" as the hunter captured one he hadwounded. 

I spent most of my time laying at the foot of a tree, laughing andwatching the other fellows shoot and chase the turkeys, but the fundid not last long. In a few minutes it was all over, and when the boysgathered up their game, there were eleven turkeys, and I had not killeda one, but I had my share of the sport in watching the others. 

We struck back for camp, all the hunters feeling proud of what theyhad done. When we reached camp, we found the cook waiting for us witheverything that would hold water and stand the fire that he could gethold of full of steaming hot water, ready to scald the turkeys, and allthe men pitched in and helped to dress them. 

When we were picking the turkeys, the boss said to the cook, "Say, John, can't you preserve one of these birds, so it will keep until we get toSanta Fe, and we will present it to Capt. McKee?"

John answered, "I am afraid it would not keep, Boss. There are too manyof us in this crowd that like turkey fried in bear's grease, and afteryou have had breakfast in the morning, you won't say anything more aboutpreserving turkeys for somebody else to eat. "

But notwithstanding this remark John kept two turkeys until we got toSanta Fe the third day after the turkey hunt. We made the trip fromRocky Ford to Santa Fe in thirteen days. We met Capt. McKee coming tomeet us about two miles before we reached our journey's end, and withhim was Col. Chivington, the commander of the Government Post at SantaFe. I was riding alone just a little ahead of the train. When I metthem, I saluted the Capt. And after we had shaken hands he introduced meto the Col. Whom I had never met before, although I had heard of him, and he had heard of me also. 

The Col. Said, "Mr. Drannan, I have been acquainted with Capt. McKee forseveral years, and have known him to have been a great Indian fighter, but he tells me that you can do more with the Comanches alone than hecould do if he had five hundred soldiers to help him. Now, there mustbe some secret about this, and I would like to be initiated into it. TheCapt. Tells me that you went into the Comanches' main village alone, andI presume there were several thousand warriors there at that time, andwhat seems more wonderful to me, " he said, "that you staid and atedinner with the head Chief. Now my friend, there must be something inthis unusual transaction. Will you tell me the secret of your influencewith the red men?"

I answered, "Col. , if you were a member of a secret organization, wouldyou think it right to give away the secret to outsiders?"

At this answer the Capt. Laughed and slapped the Col. On the back, andsaid, "Col. , I reckon, you have got your match in Mr. Drannan, for Ihave never asked him a question that he did not find a way to answer mewithout giving me the information that I was seeking. "

Col. Chivington smiled but made no answer to the Capt. Or me. 

We rode in silence a few minutes, and then turning to me the Col. Said, "Mr. Drannan, I want you to come to my quarters tonight. I have a littlebusiness that I would like to talk with you. "

We soon got to headquarters, and as soon as the train was corralled, Isaw cook John coming to where the Col. The Capt. And I were standing, and he had a turkey in each of his hands. 

As soon as he reached us, he handed Capt. McKee one of the turkeys, withthe remark, "Here is your supper, Capt. , and yours also, Col. " and hegave the other turkey to that Col. 

They both looked at John in amazement, and the Col. Said, "Thank youvery much, but where in creation did you get them?"

John answered, "I did not get them. You must give that honor to Mr. Drannan, and I will say that he has provided every thing good to eat, from turkey to bear feet, since we left Rocky Ford. "

I went to Col. Chivington's quarters that evening, and as soon as wewere seated, he asked me if I intended to return with the train toBent's Fort. 

I answered. "I have sent word to Mr. Bent that I was coming back to theFort as soon as I finished my business with the train here, but I havenot asked Capt. McKee whether Col. Bent wants my services or not. "

At this moment Capt. McKee came in. I said, "Capt. , what answer did Col. Bent give to the message that I sent by you?"

He answered, "He said he wanted you to get back to the Fort as quicklyas you can, that they want you to go to the Comanche village on atrading trip for them. "

I turned to the Col. And said, "You see the position I am in, Col. Youmust bear in mind that the train does not need an escort back to Bent'sFort, for there are no Comanches between here and there, and I do notsee where there is anything to hinder the train in going back in perfectsafety. "

The Col. Then said, "Now Mr. Drannan, what do you expect for yourtrouble in piloting the train here?"

I answered, "Col. , I will leave that matter with you and Capt. McKee. Heknows what my services have been and what they were worth. "

The Capt. Said, "Col. , it will be impossible to ever pay Mr. Drannanthe worth of what he has done to protect the train through the Comanchecountry, in not only protecting the Government property, but the livesof the men that were with the train. So Col. , you will readily understandwhat a difficult matter it is to put an estimate on what his servicescalls for in money. "

Col. Chivington sat in thought a few minutes and then said to me, "Mr. Drannan, will two hundred and fifty dollars be a sufficient amount tooffer you?"

"That will be owing to circumstances, Col. If I drop the train here itwill, but if I am required to pilot the train back through the Comanchecountry, I would not think of accepting so small an amount. "

He then said, "Mr. Drannan, providing we employ you to take the trainback through the Comanche country, will there be need of any otherescort but yourself?"

I answered, "No sir, I would much prefer to handle the Indians by myselfthan to have a crowd with me. " I then said, "Col. , you have the controlof this train. Why don't you make a contract with Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux to load the train with Buffalo robes to freight back to theMissouri river? I believe that if you could do so, it would nearly ifnot quite pay the expense of the whole trip. "

He answered, "That is something I had not thought of, but it looks asif it might be a good scheme, " and turning to the Capt. He said, "Capt. McKee, will you return with Mr. Drannan to Bent's Fort and see if suchan arrangement can be made with Col. Bent and Mr. Roubidoux and reportto me as quickly as possible?"

The Capt. Answered, "Yes, if you think it best, and we want to be on theroad early in the morning if I am to make such an arrangement. "

Col. Chivington said, "Very well, I will hold the train here until I getyour report, and, Mr. Drannan, come to me in the morning, and I willsettle with you. "

The Capt. And I now left the Col's, quarters, and on the way to our ownquarters the Capt. Said, "Mr. Drannan, I think you were very unwise inaccepting so small an amount as two hundred and fifty dollars for yourefforts to save the lives, and more than that, think of what an expenseit would have been to the Government to fit out another train to takethe place of the one destroyed if the Indians had attacked it, which Ihave no doubt they would if you had not been there to control them. Athousand dollars is the least you ought to have accepted. "

I answered, "Capt. , I thank you for your interest in me, and I willprofit by it. I have another chance with the Col. If he employs me totake the train back through the Comanche country, which I feel confidenthe will. "

The next morning we were up very early and ready to leave Santa Fe. Iwent and bid the wagon boss and the other men of the train good bye andtold them of the arrangement now pending between the Col. And thepeople at Bent's Fort. This news seemed to please the boys very much, especially if I were to be their escort through the Indian country. Thewagon boss was anxious to know how soon we would know what we weregoing to do. I told him we would know in eighteen or twenty days at theoutside. 

Capt. McKee and I now went to the Col's. Quarters, and he paid me thetwo hundred and fifty dollars I had agreed to take. As we were leaving, the Col. Said, "Mr. Drannan, if the Capt. Makes the arrangement inregard to the freighting of the Buffalo robes, where can I find you?"

I answered, "I shall make Bent's Fort my headquarters from now on untilnext spring. "

Capt. McKee and I now pulled out for Bent's Fort. He being wellacquainted with the country, we did not take any road or trail, but tookour way across the country by the most direct route, and we made goodtime all the way. As well as I can remember, it was called in theneighborhood of three hundred miles from Santa Fe to Bent's Fort, and wecovered it in seven days on this trip. 

When we landed at the Fort, Col. Bent and Mr. Roubedoux were both there. Capt. McKee informed them what he had come for at once, and they weremore than anxious to close the deal with him, but they did not haverobes enough on hand to load the train. They then inquired how long itwould take the train to get there. The Capt. Said he thought it wouldtake about twenty-five days; Col. Bent then turned to me and said, "Mr. Drannan, will you take a pack train and go among the Indians and tradefor robes for us?"

I said, "Yes, I will. " He asked how many days it would take to go tothe Indian village and get back. I answered, "To go to the main Indianvillage and do the trading and get back here will take fourteen orfifteen days. "

Col. Bent asked me if I thought I could take twenty pack horses and goto the Indian village and trade for and load them up with the help oftwo men and get back to the Fort in fifteen days. I told him I thought Icould and was willing to try it anyway. "But, Col. , I want you to sendthe quickest and best packers in your employ to help me. " He answered, "I have two men that are number one packers, and you can rely on them inevery particular. " I said, "All right, we will be off tomorrow morning. "

We commenced to pack the goods that I was to trade for the Buffalo robeswhich consisted of knives, rings and beads. We put each kind in boxes bythemselves. When I thought we had enough packed to trade for what robesthe horses could carry, Col. Bent said, "Here, Will, take some more, "and he threw several knives and some rings, and a bunch of beads intoone of the boxes. "Maybe you will want a few to give some of the squawsthat are such friends to you down there. Such little gifts are neverlost among the Indians, you know, Will. "

Col. Bent then sent some of his men out to gather up the pack horses sohe could pick out enough for a train. 

The next morning Capt. McKee said he wanted to have a talk with me whenI was at leisure. I said, "Now is your time, Capt. " So we started outfor a walk. We walked in silence. The Capt. Seemed to be thinking. Atlast he said, "Mr. Drannan, have you made any definite arrangementswith Col. Chivington regarding taking the train through the Comanchecountry?" I answered, "No sir, I have not. "

"What will you charge him if you take the job?"

I said, "Capt. , I am not anxious to take the job, but if I take it, Ishall charge five hundred dollars for my services this time, and I wouldlike you to tell the Col. So when you go back to Santa Fe. I think thisamount will be very reasonable from the fact that there will be nomore expense. If he had to feed forty or fifty men and pay them wagesbesides, he would find quite a difference, and after all, they wouldbe no protection to the train, and they and the drivers also would bescalped before they had passed one Indian village. So taking all thingsinto consideration I think that Col. Chivington acted rather close withme, more close than I shall allow him to do again. " Capt. McKee saidthat he thought my charges were very modest, and he continued, "Thereis another thing I want to talk to you about, provided you go with thistrain. What do you propose doing when you come back?"

I answered, "I am open for anything that is honorable and has enoughmoney in it to pay me. "

He said, "I intended to make up a company soon to go down on the PanHandle country in Texas, and I expect to go down as far as Fort Worth. Iwould like you to join me. What do you think of the idea, Mr. Drannan?"

"What is your object in going down there, Capt. ?" I asked. He said, "Western Texas is settling up very fast, and the Apache Indians are verybad there. They are murdering the white people every day, and somethingmust be done to protect them from the Red fiends. I have seen enough ofyour methods with the Indians to satisfy me that you understand them andhow to manage them better than anyone I have ever met with, and I amsure you would suit me better than anyone that I know. If you will joinme in this undertaking, the state of Texas will pay us well for what wedo towards protecting the settlers. I believe the Apache Indians are themost vicious as well as the most treacherous of any tribe of Indiansthat ever infested the frontier from the fact that they are so mixedwith the Mexicans and never have been conquered. "

I said, "Capt. McKee, if I take the train back and you are not gone whenI come back here, I will join you in this trip to Texas, or if you willleave word where I can find you, if it is within two or three hundredmiles of here, I will come to you. "

We turned back to the Fort with the understanding that, in case he leftthe Fort without me, he would leave word where I could come to him. 

CHAPTER VIII

The next morning my packers and myself were up early and ready to be offfor the Indian village. I told the boys to be sure and take a plenty ofrope as all the hides would have to be baled before they could be packedon the horses. One man said, "I have four sacks full of rope, and Ireckon that will be enough. "

Col. Bent asked me how many hides I thought I could pack on the horses. I told him I could put twenty hides on each horse, and that would makefour hundred and forty hides in all. He said, "That would be a big load, and I am afraid you cannot do it. Besides, it is early in the season forthe Indians to have so many robes. But do the best you can, and I shallbe satisfied. " I bid the Col. And Capt. McKee good bye, and we were off. 

The second night out we camped near a little village. I told the boys toget supper, and I would go over to the village, and have a talk with theIndians. As soon as the Indians saw me, they thought I had come to tradewith them. I told them that I was on the way to the main village and forthem to come there tomorrow, and I would be ready to trade with them. 

[Illustration: The next morning we struck the trail for Bent's Fort. ]

We landed at the main village about noon the next day, making the tripin a half a day less than I had planned to do. We camped near the oldChief's lodge. The boys commenced to get dinner, and I took the twoknives that I had promised the Chief and went to his wigwam. I greetedhim with a handshake and handed him the knives wrapped in a paper. Heopened the package, and I never saw such a smile on a face before as theone that beamed on that Indian's. He examined the knives carefully, andthen he told me how proud he was of them and said in his own language hewould always be white brother's friend. 

I told him that I would be ready to trade with his people the nextmorning and asked him to inform them of the fact. 

The boys had dinner ready when I went back to our camp. I told the boyswhen I would commence to trade with the Indians, and that I wanted themto be in readiness to begin packing the robes as soon as the Indiansgave them to me. 

That afternoon I went around among the wigwams and visited the Indians, and they seemed as pleased to see me as children are with a new toy. Ishowed the squaws the rings and beads I had with me, and I showed theknives to the braves also, and they could hardly wait until morning totrade their Buffalo robes for them. 

The squaws showed me the robes they had dressed since I was there thelast time, and I saw that they were in a fine condition. 

The next morning they commenced coming very early, hardly giving me timeto eat my breakfast, and I fixed my price when I bought the first robe, which was one string of beads for one robe, or two rings or one butcherknife, and the reader can rest assured that the Indians kept me busyhanding out my goods and taking the robes in payment for them. 

About noon one of the packers came to me and said, "Will, I think youhave all the robes the horses can carry. " I told him to count them, andthen we would know, and in a short time he came back with the reportthat we had bought four hundred and eighty-nine robes. I said, "That isa few more than we can find a place for, isn't it?"

He said, "I reckon we can get them all on, and we will finish baling assoon as we can, but don't trade for any more, " and the boys certainlydid prove themselves to be expert balers as well as packers. 

The next morning as they finished packing a horse, I had to hold him, and so on until the horses were all packed. It was my job to take careof them, and when the horses were all ready for the trail, they surelywere a sight to look at. Each horse was completely covered. All therewas to be seen of him was his head and his tail. 

The next morning amidst the lamentations of the Indians because we couldnot exchange more of our goods for robes, we struck the trail for Bent'sFort, and we had the extraordinary good luck to cover the distance inthree days, and Col. Bent, and Mr. Roubidoux were very much surprised tosee us, as well as pleased. 

They did not expect to see us in four days more, and when I told themhow many hides we had brought, they were more than pleased. Col. Bentsaid, "Did you have any goods left over?"

I answered, "Yes sir, almost enough to have loaded another pack train. "

He said, "Well, well, Will, you can have all our trading to do wheneveryou want it. "

I asked the Col. When he expected the train from Santa Fe. "I don'tthink it will be here under four or five days, " he answered, "and I wantyou to make yourself at home and be easy until the train comes. You havedone enough to lay over awhile, and the rest won't hurt you. "

The fourth morning after this I was saddling my horse to ride out on thetrail and see if I could see anything of the Government train when Col. Bent asked me where I was going. I told him I was going to see if thetrain was in sight, "and what is more important to me, I want to findout whether I am going to escort the train through the Comanche countryor not. "

Col. Bent said, "I thought that was understood. If I thought you werenot going to be the escort, I certainly would not trust my freight withthe train. "

I said, "Col. Bent, I have not made any positive bargain with Col. Chivington, and after Capt. McKee tells him what I said about the priceI intend to charge him for my services this trip, he may decide not toemploy me. "

Col. Bent said, "Would you be offended if I asked you how much moneyCol. Chivington paid you for that work, Will?"

I said I would not, and I then told Col. Bent the whole transaction, andI also told him what I would charge to escort the train back through theComanche country, and that I would take the whole responsibility myselfwithout any helpers. Col. Bent said, "Col. Chivington was not fair toyou in offering you so small a sum for what you done to protect theGovernment property, not speaking of the lives you probably savedfrom the savages' arrows or tomahawks, and I think you charge a veryreasonable price if you undertake the job over again and you don't wantany one to help you, for they might upset all of your plans by doingsomething to anger the Indians. "

I answered, "Well, Col. I will soon settle the matter if I meet thetrain. "

I then struck out and had ridden perhaps ten miles when I met Capt. McKee and the wagon master coming just ahead of the train. 

Capt. McKee said, "Why, Mr. Drannan, I thought you were at the Indianvillages trading for Buffalo robes. "

I told him that I had been to the Indian village and bought all therobes we could pack back to Bent's Fort and had been waiting for thetrain to come four days. 

Capt. McKee said, "And I expected to have to wait for you four days. " Isaid, "Now tell me what Col. Chivington had to say about my escortingthe train. "

The Capt. Laughed and said, "After the Col. Had studied the matter overfor about twenty-four hours, he came to the conclusion that he could dono better than employ you. So the job is yours, and Mr. Drannan, can youtell me just about how long you will be gone so I can lay my plans tomeet you here at Bent's Fort?"

I said, "Capt. , I want about twenty-five days to complete the trip, andas soon as I return, Capt, I will be ready to join you in the expeditionto Texas, and Capt. , I would like for you to bring my pay here soI shall not have to go to Santa Fe after it when I come back fromescorting the train. "

He answered, "I will arrange the matter so Col. Bent will settle withyou here. "

The next morning Col. Bent had his men commenced to load the train, andthey put the entire day in this business. That evening the Col. Said tome, "Will, if you had a half a dozen more hides, we could not have putthem on the wagons. "

When we were all ready to pull out, Col. Bent said, "Now Will, I want togive you some presents to give to the squaws. "

We went into the store room, and he gave me a dozen butcher knives, saying, "The bucks will be jealous if they don't have something too, "and he gave me a dozen rings, and a hand full of strings of beads andsaid, "Now, Will, you can give these trinkets where you think best andthe knives too. I know the Comanche Indians are all friendly to you, butthese little trifles will cement their friendship. "

I bid everybody at the Fort good bye, and we were off on the journeyeast. 

Everything passed along smoothly for the next two days. We did not seean Indian, and nothing happened to interfere with our progress. Thethird evening we went into camp near a small Indian village. I rodeover to see the Indians and took a couple of knives and a few rings andstrings of beads with me. When I entered the village, I inquired wherethe Chief's wigwam was. A couple of young bucks showed me where it was. 

As soon as I saw the Chief, I knew him at once. He was "White Bird, " andhe had not met me in a year, but he recognized me as quickly as I didhim. He invited me into his wigwam and asked me to eat supper with him, which was ready in a short time. As we sat eating, two young squaws cameinto the wigwam, and White Bird said they were his sisters. I took outa butcher knife and gave it to him, and I gave a string of beads to hissquaw and one to each of his sisters. They all jumped up and commencedto dance, and I think they kept it up for half an hour. Then White Birdsaid in the language of his race, "White Bird and all the Indians of theComanche tribe always be pale face brother friend. "

His sisters said they had some skins of the young dog which they wouldtan and give to me so I could make some new clothes for myself. 

The train pulled out from there, and the third day we came to the mainvillage. Before the train went into camp for the night, I told the wagonboss that I was going to the Indian village and that he need not expectto see me before midnight as I was going to have a good time with theIndians. 

I gave my horse into the herders' care and struck out on foot for theIndian village, which was about a half a mile from our camp. Before Ireached the Chief's wigwam, I met several Indians, and they accompaniedme to the Chief's lodge. Chief Light Foot saw me before I did him andcommenced to shout at the top of his voice, and as I reached his wigwamthe Indians were coming from every quarter. 

As soon as Light Foot and I had shaken hands, he said, "Stay to supper, and we have a peace smoke and peace dance tonight. "

By the time we had finished that meal there was a dozen or more of hisuncle Chiefs at the wigwam, and we took our places for the peace smoke. 

I will explain to the reader what the peace smoke is. We all took seatsin a circle around the head Chief. He lighted the peace pipe, which isa special pipe kept to use on these occasions alone. He took the firstwhiff himself, blowing it up into the air, and the second whiff he blewinto my face. I being his guest of honor, I sat at the right of him. Thethird whiff he blew into the face of the Chief who sat on his left, andthen he passed the pipe to me. I went through the same performance andpassed the pipe to the next, and so the pipe went around the circleuntil all had smoked, and in all the time this smoking was going onthere was not a smile or a grunt or a word spoken. Every motion was inthe most solemn way throughout the whole performance. As the last onefinished smoking, he passed the pipe to the head Chief, and all of theChiefs sprang to their feet and shook hands with me, from the head Chiefdown, and the peace smoke was over. 

I will say here for the instruction of the reader that the Indians neverheld a peace smoke with others than the members of their own tribe, without they had perfect confidence in the outsider, who always occupiedthe seat of honor at the right side of the head Chief of the tribe. 

After the peace smoke was over, everybody left the wigwam and everyone, Chief, warriors, and squaws, all joined in the peace dance, I of coursetaking a part with the rest. I never knew how many took a part in thedance that night, which is always danced in a circle, and every Indianhas his or her own way of dancing, and all, old and young, male andfemale, that take a part are singing. 

It would be impossible to explain to the people of this age so theywould understand just what a peace dance is and how the people who tookpart in it looked with the camp fires throwing their lurid light throughthe darkness of the forest, lighting up the savage faces of the red men, and the not-much-less wild faces of the squaws. It was a strange sightthen. How much more strange it would look to the people of this latercivilization. 

The dance lasted half an hour or more, and all the Indians of both sexesthen shook hands with me. I shook the Chief's hand last of all, and asI did so, I gave him the other knife I had brought with me. He took itand, brandishing it over his head, he shouted as loud as he could yell, which was a signal for all the others to yell too and shake their handstowards me. By my giving these knives to the head Chief of the tribe, Icemented the friendship of him and through him of the whole tribe morethan I should if I had presented each one of his warriors with a knife. 

Amidst the yells of the warriors and their squaws, I left them andwalked back to camp, well satisfied with what I had done towardsprotecting the train as it passed through the Comanche country, for Iknew we would not have any trouble with the Indians of that tribe. 

The wagon boss and several of the drivers were sitting at the firewaiting for me. As I came up to the fire, the wagon boss said, "What inthe name of common sense was the racket about? Why, some of the timethis evening there was such a noise over there that we could not hearourselves think, much less talk. "

I answered, "Why, I was just having a good dance with the squaws, and asthey all wanted to dance with me first, they made a little noise overit. "

He asked, "How many squaws were there in the dance?" and I told him Ireckoned there were about a thousand in the crowd. 

"And did you dance with a thousand squaws?" he inquired. 

I answered, "Why, I certainly could not show any partiality there, couldI?"

He said, "Well, if you have danced with that many squaws, I guess youare tired enough to sleep sound. "

So we bid each other good night and turned in, and in a few momentssilence reigned over the camp. 

We pulled out of this camp the next morning and did not see an Indianfor the next three days. On the third evening, as we were getting readyto camp for the night, I discovered a small band of Indians comingdirectly towards us. I told the wagon master where to corral the train, and I then left him and rode on to meet the Indians. As I drew nearthem, I saw that I knew them all. They were a small band of Comanches, and when I met them they told me that they had been on a visit to theKiawah tribe and were hurrying to get back to the main Comanche village. I told them of the peace dance I had taken a part in at the main villagea few nights before, and they expressed much regret that they had missedthe fun. 

I asked them if there were many more of their tribe down the countrythey had come from. They answered, "No more Comanches that way, allgone to village, " which proved to be a fact, for we did not see anotherComanche Indian on this trip. 

I remained with the train four days after this, and, seeing that myservices were no longer needed, I told the wagon master that the trainwas out of danger, as we had passed through the Comanche country, andthere would be nothing to interfere with their progress, so I wouldleave them the next morning. 

In the morning, when the wagon boss told the men that I was going toleave them, a number of them came to me and insisted on my taking atleast ten dollars from each of them in payment for the bargain I hadmade with the Comanche Chief regarding the passage of the train on itsway to Santa Fe. 

Of course, I did not accept their hard-earned money. I told them thatI was glad of the privilege of saving their lives. And besides, theGovernment would pay me for my services. 

Cook John had a nice sack of bread ready for me, and I accepted his giftgladly. I bid them all good bye and struck out for Bent's Fort, and itwas about as lonesome a journey as I ever made in my life. I avoided theIndian villages when I could, for I knew that the Indians would takemore of my time than I could spare if I stopped at all. 

I made a rule with myself when I first left the train to ride eighthours and then stop and let my horse rest and feed four hours. This ruleI followed day and night, except a few times I overslept, but I gave myhorse his feed and rest just the same, and I was back at Bent's Fort onthe twenty-third day after leaving there with the train. 

The next morning after I got there, Capt. McKee arrived, and he was verymuch surprised to find me there before him. He had made arrangements forCol. Bent to pay me for piloting the train through the Comanche country, and Col. Bent settled with me that day. The next morning Capt. McKee andI began our preparations for our journey to Texas. He had thirty-twomen with him when he came to the fort, and eight more joined us there, making forty in all. Each man had two saddle horses, and there was onepack horse to every four men. Everything being ready, we left Bent'sFort on what would be considered in these days of rapid transit a longand tiresome journey on horse back, over trackless mountains and plains, through valleys, across rivers, in danger of attacks from wild animalsand still wilder red men. 

I think we traveled between four and five hundred miles without seeinga white person. We camped and lay over one day to give our horses restwhere the thriving little city of Amarillo now stands. At that time wehad no idea that vast prairie would ever be inhabited by the white race. That part of Texas was the greatest country for Antelope at the time Iam speaking of that I had ever seen. Some days we saw a thousand or moreAntelope in one drove. 

We now began to see plenty of Indian signs all along where we traveled. There were no roads or trails to guide us. We had traveled down whatis now called the Pan Handle country, to where the city of Bowie nowstands, before we saw a white person after we left Bent's Fort. We metthree men there. They were going around through the country hunting formen to assist them to look after a settlement that had been attacked bythe Indians the night before. They did not know what tribe had made theattack. Capt. McKee said, "We will go with you and assist you if youwill lead us to the place. "

We all struck out with the men, and after riding perhaps five miles, wecame to the settlement and found that one man had been killed and allthe horses and cattle belonging to the people had been driven off. 

Capt. McKee asked if they knew what tribe of Indians had made theattack. They answered that they did not know, as it was very dark whenthe Indians first came, and they could not see them, but they had askirmish with them, and one man was killed, and the Indians drove thehorses and cattle off in a southerly direction. The Capt. Asked me ifI thought it would be best to follow the savages and try to take thehorses and cattle away from them. 

I said, "Capt. , these people have lost everything they had to depend onto get a living, and what will they do if someone does not do somethingto help them? And all the way to do that is to get their horses andcattle and return them to the owners. "

He answered, "Well, if you will take the lead and do the scout work, wewill strike the trail of the Red devils at once. "

I said, "All right, Capt. , you pick out two good men to assist me, andwe will be off at once, for the sooner we are after them the quicker wemay overhaul the Red murdering thieves. "

In a few minutes the Capt. Came to me, and with him were two men. Hesaid, "These men say they are willing to do all they can to help. " Isaid, "I will take the lead, and don't you pay any attention to mymovements. You take the trail and follow it as long as you can seeit, and when it is too dark to see, go into camp, and if I locate theIndians, whether they are in camp or on the move, I will inform you atonce. "

It was in the middle of the afternoon when we pulled out on the trail ofthe Indians. After following them eight or ten miles, I decided in mymind that there were not more than forty Indians in the band we wereafter. 

I said, "Now boys, if we catch these Indians in camp, we can wipe themout and not leave one of them to tell the tale. We have a bright moontonight, and their trail is so fresh and plain there will be no troublein following it. "

One man asked if I thought we could overtake the Indians in their firstcamp. I answered, "I think we can, for the Indians will have no fear ofbeing followed and will not be in a hurry and will be off their guard. "

We pushed on until about eleven o'clock in the night when we rode upon a little ridge, and, on looking down in the valley beyond, we sawseveral camp fires, but they were burning very dimly. 

I said, "Boys, there are your Indians, and I want one of you to stayhere and hold the horses, and the other to go with me, and we willinvestigate the matter, " and said to the man that we left with thehorses, "If you hear the report of a gun, mount your horse and lead oursto us at once, for the gun shot will be a signal that we are in troubleand want you to assist us. "

My companion and I crawled down near the camp fires, and we saw that allthe Indians were lying around the fires asleep, but they were scatteredabout so that I could not count them. 

I whispered to my companion, "Now let us find the stock. "

We crept down a little further and found the horses and cattle allfeeding quietly, and they were all bunched up together. We went back tothe man who had the horses. I told him to mount his horse and take thetrail back until he met Capt. McKee and to tell him what we had found, and if it was possible for him to get here by daybreak to do so, "for ifwe can all be together before daylight, I think we can capture the wholeoutfit without losing a man. "

He mounted his horse and was off at once. He had been gone perhaps anhour, and my comrade and I were sitting talking, when he raised his handand said, "Hush, I hear something. "

"What did it sound like?" I said. 

"Like a horse snorting, " and he pointed up the trail the way the Capt. Should come. We sprang to our feet and listened, and in a minute more weheard the tramp of the horses' feet. We quickly mounted our horses andwent to meet them. I told the Capt. What we had found and what positionthe Indians were in. 

He said, "Mr. Drannan, what do you think is the best way to attackthem?" I answered, "It is the easiest thing to do imaginable Capt. , ifwe only work the thing right. Dismount all but ten of the men, and wewill crawl down and surround the Indians and not fire a shot untildaybreak or till they commence getting up, and when we that are on footcommence firing, the ten on horseback must charge down the hill, and ifany of the Indians escape our bullets, the mounted men must follow themand shoot them down. When the Indians find that the Whites are afterthem, they will make a rush for their horses, and that is the time forthe mounted men to get their work in. "

The Capt. Thought a few minutes and then said, "I believe your plan is agrand idea, and we will follow it. "

He selected the ten men and then asked me where he should place them. Ishowed him where I thought was the best place for them to stand. I thenpointed to the place where the stock was still feeding and said, "Nowboys, when you make your charge on the Indians, charge down between thestock and the fires, and by doing so you will catch the Indians as theyrun for their horses, and be sure and get every one of them. Don't letone get away. "

Everything being understood, we that were on foot commenced to crawldown towards the sleeping Indians' camp. The day was just beginning tobreak when we got fixed in our positions around them, and it was nearlysunrise before any of the savages crawled out of their blankets. As soonas the first one got out, we shot him down, and we continued to shoot aslong as an Indian remained alive. The men on horseback gave a yell andmade the charge. When they reached Capt. McKee, one of the horsemensaid, "Where is our part of the fight? We didn't get any chance to firea shot. "

The Capt. Answered, "It is all over, boys. You will have to wait for thenext time for your shot, for I do not think one of this band is alivefor you to shoot at. It was one of the quickest-won battles I was everengaged in, " and turning to me the Capt. Said, "Mr. Drannan, you oughtto join the army, for you would make a first-class General, and I amsure would always lead your men to victory in Indian warfare any way. "

We now led our horses down to the Indian camp and staked them out toget their breakfast from the juicy grass that was very abundant in thevalley, and then we began to think that we were very hungry ourselves. We had not had a bite to eat since the morning before, and the hardday's ride and no supper and the all-night vigil had about used us up. 

Capt. McKee said, "Come, boys let's get some breakfast, for I for one amnearly starved, and we will lay over here until tomorrow morning and letour horses rest and get a little rest ourselves. "

After we had satisfied our hunger with a slice of Antelope broiled overthe fire and some bread and a cup of coffee, Capt. McKee said to me, "Let us look around and see how many dead Indians we can find. "

We struck out together, and we counted thirty-eight, and not one of themhad got ten feet from where he had slept, and all their blankets layjust as they had crawled out of them. 

I said at the time, and I think now, that that was the most accurateshooting and with the least excitement of any Indian fight I was everin. It seemed as if every man was as cool as if he was shooting atprairie dogs, and every shot hit the mark. We did not touch the deadIndians but left them as a warning to others who might come that way. Wenext looked after the stock. By examining the horses, we found that theytallied with the number of Indians, for every horse that belonged to theIndians had a hair rope around his neck, which was a custom followed byall the Western Indians at that time, as by marking a half hitch aroundthe horse's nose he made a bridle of it. 

We found twenty-two horses and thirty-two head of cattle that theIndians had stolen from the white settlers. Capt. McKee looked thehorses over that had belonged to the Indians and said, "Those are themost valuable horses that I ever saw in the possession of the Indians. They are all good stock, and we will get a good price for them if wetake them to Fort Worth, for good horses bring good money there. "

When we returned to camp, we saw that two of the young men had theirhorses saddled. The Capt. Asked them where they were going. One of themanswered that, as they did not earn any of the honor that morning inkilling Indians, they would try to kill some deer for supper, as theyknew they would enjoy a piece of good, fat venison and thought theothers would, and they believed there was plenty of deer all aroundthere. 

Capt. McKee and I spread our blankets and laid down to try and make upfor some of the sleep we had lost while in pursuit of the Indians. 

About three o'clock one of the boys came and woke us up, saying they hadsome fine venison all cooked and ready for supper, and that was one ofthe times that I enjoyed a venison roast. It was as fat and tender as ayoung chicken. 

The next morning we pulled out of there bright and early, and it took ustwo days to make it back to the settlement that the Indians had robbedand in whose behalf Capt. McKee and I had gone out to punish thethieves, with what success the reader already knows. 

As soon as we landed, we sent word to all that had been robbed to comeand get their stock. Each owner came and claimed what belonged to him, and when all had taken what they said belonged to them, there were stillfour horses left unclaimed. These horses we never found an owner for, sowe kept them ourselves. The settlers whose property we had returned tothem now met and came to find out how much we intended to charge themfor what we had done for them. We knew that these people were all poor, and we told them that they might give us what they could afford to paywithout distressing themselves. They made up one hundred and forty-fourdollars and gave it to us, which was a much larger sum than we expectedto receive. After thanking them for their generous payment and refusingtheir invitation to stay with them longer, we bid them all good bye andcontinued on our journey to Fort Worth, which had been interrupted bythe Indian raid on the settlement. 

We had ridden to within ten miles or so of Fort Worth when we met an oldacquaintance of Capt. McKee. His name was Reese. There were two othermen with him, and they all three wanted to purchase horses. Theyexamined all the horses we had, and then they asked Capt. McKee what wewould take for the entire lot. The Capt. Asked me what I thought wouldbe a fair price. I answered, "Let the men make an offer before we set aprice. "

When the Capt asked them what they would give for them, they said theywould give a hundred dollars apiece for them if we would help them drivethe horses to Dallas. 

I told the men that we would let them have the whole bunch and helpdrive them to Dallas for a hundred and ten dollars apiece. The three menrode off a few yards and consulted together a few minutes. When theycame back, they said they would take the horses on my terms. 

Capt McKee then told his men to go on to Fort Worth and go into camp, and he told them where to camp and to wait for us and we would come tothem as soon as we could. The Capt. Then told Mr. Reese to lead on andwe would follow. 

We drove the horses to Dallas without any trouble and delivered them atMr. Reese's stable. He paid us the money for them, and we lost no timein pulling out for Fort Worth. It was thirty-two miles from Dallas toFort Worth, and we passed two houses on the way from there to Fort Worthat the time of which I am writing. I think there were about fifty housesin Fort Worth. I do not know the number there were at Dallas. The placewas somewhat larger, but it was a small town. 

[Illustration: I took the lead. ]

CHAPTER IX. 

When we reached Fort Worth, the news met us that the Indians were on thewar path in western Texas and were raiding all the white settlements, killing the people and driving off their stock throughout all that partof the state. 

We laid in a supply of provisions and tobacco, enough to last threemonths, and struck the trail for western Texas. The fourth day afterwe left Fort Worth, we came to a settlement, and all the people werenatives of Tennessee, and as that was my native state, I soon made manyfriends. 

The people of the settlement had met together that morning to try toplan some way to stop the depredations of the Indians, but they did notknow what to do or where to commence, and they were glad to see theCapt. , he being well known as an Indian fighter all over Texas. 

When they asked him what he thought best to be done, he said that hecould not advise them what to do, but he had come to that part of theState to protect the settlements from the outrages of the savages forthe next six months. 

We rode to the edge of the settlement and went into camp, thinking wewould stay there until towards evening. We had just eaten our dinnerwhen two of the settlers came to our camp and in a very excited mannertold us that a small band of Indians had just gone into camp a few milesfrom the settlement. 

We asked them how they got the news. They said that two of the men hadbeen out hunting and saw the Indians when they went into camp. 

We told these men to go and bring the men who'd seen the Indians' campso we could get all the particulars from them. In a few moments thehunters were with us. I asked them how far the Indians' camp was fromthe settlement. 

"Not over five miles, " one of them said. I asked which way the Indianshad come from and if there were any squaws with them. The answer wasthat the Indians had come from an eastern direction and there were nosquaws with them, and they were driving quite a large band of horses. 

Capt. McKee said to me, "What do you think of it?"

I said, "Capt. , I am afraid they will move again before night, but Iwant one of these men to go and show me where the Indians are, and Iwill locate their camp tonight, and we can get every one of them and thehorses too. "

Capt. McKee said, "That is a good idea. How many men do you want to gowith you?"

I said, "Give me the two men that went with me on the other Indianhunt. "

In a little while my men and I were off. I told the Capt. To stay inthat camp until he heard from me, which would be before dark. 

We had ridden between four and five miles when we came to a littleridge, and, stopping and pointing to a little bunch of timber, my guardsaid, "The Indians' camp is there. "

We dismounted, and, taking one man with me, I crawled to the top of thehill and looked over, and sure enough, there was a small band of Indianssquatted around their camp fire, smoking and talking and apparently notfearing any danger. 

I told my companion to count them, and I would count too, and we mightfind out how many there were. I crawled around in the brush keeping outof sight, and I counted forty-eight, and my men made out fifty-one. Wecrept along on the ridge to see if we could find out how many horsesthe Indians had with them, but we could not count them, although I wassatisfied that there were at least a hundred horses feeding in thevalley. Some few of them were staked out, but the most of them werefeeding where they chose. 

We went back to our horses, and I told the boys to take the horses toa little ravine which was a short distance from us and to find a placewhere they could not be seen and to stay with them until they heard fromme, for I intended to watch the Indians, and if they did not move beforesundown I would send one of them to the Capt. 

I went back to the edge of the ridge where I could see the savages andwatch their movements. They sat and lay around on the grass until nearlysunset when a few of them went to the horses that were staked out andcommenced to move them to fresh places to feed, which convinced me thatthey intended to stay where they were that night. I crept down the ridgeto the ravine where the boys were with our horses and told one of themto go back to Capt. McKee and tell him we had found the Indian camp, andthat the Indians intended to stay the night where they were, and that Iwanted him and the rest of the men to come to me, but not before ten oreleven o'clock that night. 

The other man and I led our horses further up the ridge and hitchedthem, and we then crawled to the top, where we could watch the Indiansand not be seen by them. It was not nine o'clock before all the savageshad turned in for the night. Seeing that we could now leave the Indiansto their slumbers in safety, my companion and I now mounted our horsesand struck out to meet the Capt. And his men. We had ridden perhaps amile when we met the company. I told Capt. McKee how many Indians therewere in the band and how many horses they had with them. He said, "Canwe take as good advantage of this outfit as we did of the other one?"

I said, "I think we can, only there are more of them to fight in thisband, but as far as the ground is concerned we have all the advantage, and we had better station ourselves around them just as we did beforeand wait for daybreak, or until the Indians begin getting up. "

"Shall we have a reserve on horseback as we did before?" he asked. 

I told him I did not think it would be necessary in this case. We couldget between the Indians and their horses, and if they started to run fortheir horses as they surely would, they would put themselves into ourclutches. And besides, this way would be more pleasing to the men, asthey all would have the same chance to shoot Indians alike and couldfind no grounds to murmur, as they had the last fight. 

We rode to within a quarter of a mile of the Indian camp, dismounted andhitched our horses, and we all got near together, and I explained to allthe boys the position that all the Indians were in, and also where thehorses were. 

I took the lead, and we crawled down and took our stations around thesleeping Indians' camp. When every man was stationed and ready for theCapt's. Word to proceed to business, Capt. McKee crawled to the placewhere I was waiting and whispered, "Why not make the charge at once?I will go around and tell the boys, and we will begin the attack withknives. I could kill a half a dozen Indians before the others arearoused, and when the others begin getting up, pull our pistols andfinish them before they are fairly awake, and don't let any of them getaway. When you see me in among them it will be your time to begin. "

He left me as silently as he had come, and I waited, hardly breathing, till I saw his form outlined among the shadows, as the full moonflickered through the branches of the trees. 

As soon as the Capt. Reached the Indians, every man sprang for thenearest one, and it was a lively little fight for me at least. The firsttwo Indians I struck never gave a grunt, for I nearly severed their headfrom their bodies. The third one, as I made for him, shouted, "Woughe, "and sprang to his feet. I hit him on the back of the neck, but I gavehim the third blow before he went down. Just as he doubled up, I sawanother coming directly for me, running at full speed. I jerked mypistol, and when he was in a few feet of me I fired, and he fell, andnow I could hear the pistols firing thick, and fast, but no more Indianscame near me, and the fight lasted but a few minutes longer. One ofour men had a hand-to-hand fight with an Indian. They both fought withknives. I did not see the fight, although they must have been near me, and he was the only man that was wounded in the fight, and he was onlyslightly wounded. He told me that the first he saw of the Indian he wasright before him brandishing his long knife, and he said, "I had to worklively for a little bit, you may rest assured, but I finally got a lickat his short ribs, and then I gave him another on the back of the neckand that got him. "

As soon as the pistols ceased firing, Capt. McKee came to me and said, "I think we have got them all. "

I said, "Now Capt. , call the boys together and see if any are wounded. "

He stepped out a little ways and called to the men. "If anyone is hurt, report to me at once, so we can attend to you. "

No one came to us but the one I have spoken about. He was cut on onearm and had a slight cut on one shoulder. The Capt. Said, "Now boys, goaround to every dead Indian and take every knife and anything else thatyou can find that is of any value and bring them here and lay them in apile, " and then he gave me a title when he said, "The scout and I willgo and see about the horses. "

Capt. McKee gave me this title in fun that night, but he little thoughtthat years after that night I would win the right to not only be calleda scout but would have the honor conferred on me of "Capt. , Chief ofscouts. "

We went to where the horses were feeding, but they were so mixed that wecould not count them. After we had looked at some of them, the Capt. , said, "I wonder where the Indians stole them. Such fine horses are notfound every where. Perhaps after daylight we may discover some brandthat will show whom they belong to. "

We went back to the Indians' camp and saw that the boys had gathered upall that belonged to them. Each one of them had had a nice blanket andnearly all of them had butcher knives. The Capt. , said, "Now we will getour horses and stake them out so they can feed, and we will get to ourblankets and try to get a few hours rest, for I am dead tired, and Ireckon the rest of you boys don't feel any better. "

It was nearly sunrise when I opened my eyes in the morning, and therewere only a few others stirring, and I was not long in getting somethingto eat, for I had not broken my fast since noon the day before. In ashort time all the men were cooking their breakfast and as soon as themeal was over Capt. McKee asked me what we should do with those horses. I told him, we could not fight Indians and care for a band of horses atthe same time. We must drive the horses some where and sell them, and Ithink we had better go back to Fort Worth, and if we can not dispose ofthem there we can take them to Dallas. 

The Capt. Then called four of the men to us and told them to go outwhere the horses were and count them and to be sure and get the rightnumber. They were gone about an hour, and when they came back they saidthere were one hundred and twenty horses out there, and one of the mensaid, "Some of those horses are of the finest breed that I ever saw, andnearly all of them have been broke to the harness, for I could see themarks where the collars have rubbed the hair off their shoulders, andI bet those Indians drove those horses hundreds of miles, maybe fromKansas or Arkansas, and they and the horses being so tired was thereason that the Indians stopped here to rest. "

Capt. McKee and I went back and took another look at the horses, and wefound them to be much better horses than we had thought them to be, butwe could find no brand on them or any thing that would show whom theybelonged to. This convinced us that they had been stolen from farmers. As the horses showed that they had been driven hard and we thoughta long distance, we decided to stay over one day as the grass wasplentiful and a stream of pure, cool water ran a few feet from wherethey were feeding. 

Three of the other men and myself went hunting, and we killed sixAntelope and were back in time to cook some for dinner. Capt. McKeeand I cooked dinner together that day, and while we ate he told me theconditions he had hired the men to work under. He said he had guaranteedthem twenty-five dollars a month, and each man was to pay his portionof the grub bill. "So you can see that the men have no share in thesehorses, and what we can make out of the sale Of them belongs to youand me alone. And I think we had better pull out for Fort Worth in themorning, and try to dispose of them there. "

So the next morning we pulled out, the Capt. And I taking the lead, andthe men driving the horses after us. 

The evening of the fourth day we reached Fort Worth. 

That night we camped a little south of where the Union depot now stands. 

The next morning Capt. McKee and I rode into the town to see if we couldfind a purchaser for our horses. We found a number of men who wantedhorses, but each man only wanted a few. Of course, the first questionwas what price we asked for them. The Capt. And I had set the price atone hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece, which we considered verycheap for such fine stock. 

We talked with a number of men, and a few of them said they would cometo our camp and look at the horses. So we rode back, and by noon we hadsold half of our horses. I heard one man say as he rode off leading fourhorses that he had paid one hundred and twenty-five dollars apiece for, that he had made a bargain, as he would not take two hundred dollars forthe worst-looking one. 

After dinner that day a man came and looked at the horses we had leftand said, "You are selling your horses too cheap. If you can stay here afew days and let your horses rest, and the people have time to find outwhat good stock you have for sale, it would pay you well, and you willhave no trouble in selling your horses for a much higher price than youhave been asking. "

The Capt. Answered that we had other business to look after, and it wasvery necessary for us to get rid of the horses as quickly as possible, even if we had to sell them at a disadvantage. The man said, "Well, Iwill send some men to you this afternoon, and perhaps you can make abargain with them. "

Before the next night we had sold all of our horses at our own price. Capt McKee said, "I think I will settle up with the boys, and then wewill see how we stand. "

I said, "I think you had better lay in enough provisions to last threemonths, Capt. , for we do not know where we shall be or whether we canget any as good as we can here. And besides, we may not always have suchgood luck as we have been having the last few weeks. "

Capt. McKee bought the grub and then settled with the boys, and then hecame to me and said, "Now we will settle between ourselves. "

We walked a few yards away from camp and sat down under a large tree, and he showed me a little book where he had everything set down in blackand white, and when all was reckoned up there were twenty two hundredand eighty dollars to divide between us two. 

As soon as we had divided the money, he said, "Now, are you willing todo the scout work and take the lead of this company? You are the onlyone in the outfit who understands the duties of a scout. I know thiswork will very often place you in positions that will be anything butpleasant, but someone must take the chances, and your knowledge of theIndians and his ways of fighting makes you more suitable than any oneelse in the company. "

I said, "I will accept the position, Capt. , if I can have the two menthat have been with me in the last two hunts, and one more man. Andanother thing I want understood is that we four men will be exempt fromall camp duty and have the privilege of going and coming any time weplease without being interfered with. "

He said, "All that suits me, and I will see that you are also exemptfrom cooking. Your meals will be prepared for you from this on. "

Capt. McKee now called the men I had selected, and one of the others tocome to him, and when they came, he told them of the arrangements we hadmade and told them they must look to me for their instructions in thefuture if they were willing to accept the positions as assistants. Theyall said they were willing to undertake the job if I was willing toteach them what I wanted them to do. One of them said, "Mr. Drannan, when I make a mistake, I want you to tell me of it at once, for I wantto do right in everything as much as you will want me to. "

I answered that we would commence by learning the private signals tobe used when in the Indian country, which I would teach them tomorrownight. 

After we went into camp the next morning, just as we were getting readyto pull out, two men came and told us that the Indians were doinga great deal of damage about seventy-five miles in a southwesterndirection from Fort Worth. He said they had been making raids on thesettlements every few days for several weeks and had killed severalpeople, and the settlers were kept in a constant fear day and night. 

As the Capt. Was well acquainted all over the country, he knew justwhere to direct our course, and we pulled out in that direction makingas good time on the way as possible. 

The second night after we left Fort Worth, we camped on the edge of oneof the settlements where the Indians had been making so much trouble. Assoon as we were settled in camp, I rode to a house that was perhaps ahalf a mile from us to get some information regarding the Indians. Theman of the house said that the Indians had come every ten days andsometimes oftener, and, said he, "The Indians do not try to kill thepeople as much as they did to steal the stock or anything else that theycould get their hands on. "

I asked him what direction the Indians came from, and he answered thatthey invariably came from the west. I asked whether they were in largeor small bands. He said there were seldom more than thirty in a band, and they always came up that river, and he pointed to a small stream notfar from us. 

I rode back to camp and told Capt. McKee what I had learned. He said, "The Indians must be very sure that no one will be after them now. Whatdo you think is the best plan to adopt?"

I told him that I thought we had better travel down the stream that theIndians seemed to make a pathway of, for one day at least, and go intocamp at night, and I would scout around the country and find their maintrails, for I was satisfied that only a part of the band came to thissettlement. "And what we want to do, Capt. , is to cripple them so theywould let this settlement alone, and we can do it if we can catch themain band. "

We pulled down this little stream and traveled in that direction. 

All day we saw lots of Indian sign all the way, but none of them wasfresh. As we were going into camp that evening, I told Capt. McKee thatmy scouts and I would take a circle around the camp and see if therewere any Indian camp fires to be seen. 

We rode about three miles on top of a high ridge, and looking off to thewest we saw a large Indian camp. I knew this by the number of fires theyhad burning. I pointed to the fires and said to the boys, "There theyare. We have found the main camp. But now the difficulty will be to getto them without being discovered by them. "

As the darkness was coming on, I could not see well enough to tell howfar the Indian camp was from where we stood, but we struck out towardsthe fires. I told the boys to ride carefully and keep close together, and for each man to keep a close watch in every direction. 

We rode about two miles, and almost before we were aware of it, we wereclose to the Indian camp. I tried my best to count them, but I could notmake out the number of Indians there were in the camp. Their horses werestaked all around them, and I could not count them either. 

I said, "Now boys, we will go back and report to Capt. McKee and seewhat he thinks is best to do. "

It was late when we got back to camp, and they were awaiting our return. Before turning in for the night, I told the Capt. What we had found, andthe position of the Indian camp, and that I thought they were about fivemiles from us. 

He sat in thought a few minutes and, turning to me, said, "What planhave you in your mind about making an attack on that camp, Mr. Drannan?"

I said, "They are so scattered that in my opinion it would be impossibleto get them all, and I think the best way to make an attack on themwould be at daybreak, and for us all to be mounted on our horses. Youand your men make the attack, and me and my scouts make a dash for theirhorses and cut them loose and run them off out of the Indians' reach. Now Capt. , I am satisfied that this fight will be no child's play, but will be a nasty little fight, but if we can get the Indians on astampede and keep them from getting to their horses, I think we can runthem down and get the most of them. "

The Capt. Told the men that they had better not go to sleep that night. 

"If we sit around the fire here until three or four o'clock in themorning, you will all get over your scare and feel more like fighting. "

One of the boys laughed and said, "It don't affect me in that way, Capt. The more I study about a bad scrape that I expect to get into, the morenervous it makes me. "

Capt. McKee answered, "Perhaps you will fight better when you arenervous than you would if you were cool. Anyway, we will take thechances. "

We sat around the fire and told stories and smoked until about oneo'clock in the morning, and then we saddled our horses and pulled outfor the Indian camp and arrived there in good time to look around andsee if we could take any advantage of the Indians in the coming fight. 

The Capt. Selected the place to make the attack and told his men that heand they would sit on their horses and watch for the first Indian to getup, and as soon as the first Indian attempted to get up, they must makethe charge, and every man must do all the shouting he could, "for, " saidthe Capt. "if we can get the Indians stampeded once, we will have asgood a thing as we want. "

I told my scouts, that we would cut the horses loose and turn them inthe opposite direction from the one the Capt. Was making the charge, andI told the men to cut the horses loose as fast as they came to them, andto pay no attention to the Indians unless they saw them coming towardsthe horses, but if the Indians, one or many, seemed likely to get to thehorses, to pull their pistols and shoot them down before they caughtthe horses, "for, " I said, "every horse we drive away will be equal tokilling an Indian, for it will be putting him in the way of the otherboy's bullets. "

We did not have to wait long before the sound of the guns and the yellsof the men as they made the attack on the half-awake Indians reached us, and the din that the two noises made was something dreadful to listen toas it broke on the stillness of the early morning, but my men and I hadtoo much to attend to to pay much attention to what the others weredoing. 

After the fight had been going on a little while, one of my scouts cameto me and said, "I think we have got all the horses loose. "

I answered, "Well, we will drive them all to the top of the hill, andthen they will be safe from their Indian masters. "

We were not long in driving them there. I told one of the boys to stayand look out for the horses, and I and the other two would go back andsee if any of the horses had been overlooked in our hurry. 

When we reached the village again, we could only hear a shot once in awhile, and the yelling had ceased altogether. 

We sat on our horses and waited for the pursuers to come back, and in ahalf an hour the Capt. And all his men were back to the Indian camp. 

I asked the Capt. If he got them all. He answered, "I think we did, andI saw the bravest Indian that I ever saw before. After he had been shotthree times, he still fought and wounded two of my men. "

While the Capt. Was speaking, one of the men came near us and raisinghis right arm said, "Look at that, " and I saw where he had been shotthrough the fleshy part of his arm with an arrow, and calling one of theother men by name, he said, "And the same Indian shot him through theleg, after he had shot the Indian twice, and then I got a hit at him, and as he fell he gave me this wound in the arm. Either one of the threeshots we hit him with would have killed any ordinary man. "

Capt. McKee now said, "Come, boys, we will scatter all over this littlevalley and look carefully into every bunch of brush and see if there areany of the Red skins left. "

After they had searched a half an hour, all the men returned withoutfinding an Indian. The Capt. Said to me, "Where shall we make our camp?For we are very tired and need some sleep. "

I answered, "Why not camp here? There is plenty of grass for the horses, and that stream of water that we can hear gurgling through the stones isas cool as I ever drank, and my men and I can go and drive the horsesdown the hill again and relieve the man that is watching them. "

Capt. McKee said, "All right, and the men can get breakfast while youand I go and count the horses. "

We counted them three times and made sixty-six each time. 

The Capt. Said, "I don't believe there were that many Indians in theband. If there were that number and only two men wounded, and all theIndians killed, it will be a wonderful story to tell. 

"After we have had our breakfast, we will look around and find and countall the dead Indians and see if the number tallies with the number ofhorses they had. "

In a few minutes the boys that were cooking called out that breakfastwas ready, and I was one of the crowd that was ready to eat it. 

While we were eating I was amused at one of the boys who was telling ofthe shines an Indian cut up after he had shot him. 

He said he thought he had given the Indian a dead shot, but after he washit, the Indian rolled over just like a dog that had been whipped, andthat he did not think the Indian stopped rolling as long as the breathwas in him. 

As soon as we had eaten our breakfast the Capt. And I and four othersstarted out to search for and count the dead Indians. We looked aroundabout an hour and a half, and we found forty-two Indian bodies, and theywere nearly all armed with bows and arrows, only a few having knives. 

Capt. McKee said he thought that we were the luckiest men that everhunted Indians. 

"Just think, " said he, "what we have done in the last month, and we havenot lost a man. If we keep this kind of warfare up all summer, therewill be no Apache Indians left to bother the settlers. Besides, whenthese warriors do not return, the rest of the tribe will think thatsomething is wrong, and they will take the hint, and we will be rid ofthem in two or three months. "

We now went back to camp, and we all turned in for a day's sleep. As wewere laying down, Capt. McKee said, "The first of you that is awake goout and kill some deer, for we want some fresh meat to eat. "

When I awoke it was near night, and the boys were cooking venison aroundthe fire. I inquired who had been hunting. They said no one, that thedeer came and hunted them, that when they awoke they saw a band of deerout feeding near the horses, and they got four deer out of the band. 

I went and found the Capt. Fast asleep. I woke him, and we had supper. 

I asked him what course we would take next. He said, "There are somesettlements up on the Colorado river that we have not heard from inquite a while, and we will go and look after them. "

I asked, "On what part of the Colorado river?" and he said, "At Austin. "

We had a good night's sleep, and we were astir very early in the morningand pulled out in the direction of Austin, Capt. McKee and I taking thelead, and the boys following driving the horses we had captured from theIndians. 

Late that afternoon we struck the trail of a small band of Indians. Idid not go far before I saw that it was quite fresh. I told the Capt. That he had better camp there, for there was plenty of grass and a nicestream of water, and let my scouts and me follow the trail and see if wecould find them, to which he consented. My men and I left the main partyand started on the trail of the Indians. After trailing them four orfive miles in an almost eastern direction, the trail turned to thesouthwest. We kept on for four or five miles more, and then we came towhere the Indians were in camp. I had kept the lay of the country andthe direction of our camp in my mind, and when I saw the Indians, I knewthat their camp was near ours. 

They had a fire and were cooking meat around it. We counted them andfound that there were thirteen Indians in the band. 

I said, "Now boys, we will go back to our own camp and report to theCapt. At once, " and I was really surprised to find it was so short adistance between the Indians' camp and ours. It was not more than a milefrom one to the other. 

When we reached camp, we found the Capt. And the men waiting for us andvery anxious to hear what we had found. I reported to the Capt. , and heasked when I thought it best to go after the Red wretches. I told himthere was so small a bunch of them I did not think it mattered, but ashis favorite time for an attack seemed to be at break of day, I supposedwe could wait until then for this one. 

He laughed and said, "The break of day has been your time, not mine, Mr. Drannan. You have done all the planning and led all the fights in thiscampaign, but I am glad to admit that it has been a grand success, andso far you have come out with flying colors. "

I said, "Well, Capt. , I think in this case we can take a little nap andbe up in time to take that outfit before they have time to wake up, forit is no more than a mile from here to their camp. "

Capt. McKee answered, "I reckon you are right. There are so few of themthat we shall not have to delay breakfast to get them. "

We all turned in, and, although we knew that Indians were so near us, wewere not afraid to sleep without placing a guard over the camp. 

When I awoke, I looked at my watch and saw it was two o'clock. I calledthe Capt. And told him that it was time we were moving. He asked whetherwe should go on horseback or on foot. I said, "We can walk there whilewe would be saddling the horses, it is so short a distance. " He said, "All right, we will take twelve men with us, " and in a few minutes wewere on the road. When we came in sight of the dimly burning campfiresof the Indians, I pointed to them and told the Capt. That was the place, and I said, "We will be very careful and not make any noise, and I thinkwe can send them to the Happy hunting grounds while they sleep. " But thereader may imagine our surprise when we crept to the Indian camp to findthat there was not an Indian there. We looked around the camp where theIndians had cooked their supper, and then we looked for their horses, but they too had disappeared with their masters. Capt. McKee said, "Doesn't this beat you? What do you suppose caused those Indians toleave?"

I said, "This is one of the times that the Indians were smarter than weand have out-generaled us. Probably they too had a scout out, and he sawus before we discovered their trail and reported the fact to the others, and they made themselves scarce, which was a very wise proceeding ontheir part. "

We turned and walked back to our own camp and found the boys we had leftthere still asleep. I said, "Capt. , I think you had better stay herewith your men and my scouts, and I will find the trail of those Indiansand see where they have gone. It may be that they are a part of a largeband and have gone to inform the main tribe of our being here. If thisis the case, we will be sure to have some trouble with them. "

The Capt. Woke the men, and they cooked breakfast from some of the deerthat was left over the night before, and in a short time my men and Iwere off on the trail of the Indians. I told my men they had better takesomething for a lunch, as it was no telling when we should come back. 

We went to where the Indians had camped and soon found their trailleading from it. It led us in a southwestern direction, and we followedit until about twelve o'clock when all at once we came on the Indianslaying around a camp fire sound asleep. 

I said, "Now boys, there are only two ways to choose from. We haveeither got to tackle this outfit ourselves alone, or we must give up theidea of getting them at all. Now I will leave it to you to choose whichto do. "

They were all more than anxious to make the attack. I said, "Now boys, ride slowly and easy until you get in the midst of them, and then don'twait for each other, but turn loose, and each do our best, and let usget every one of them if we possibly can, " and it was surprising to meto see how cool the whole three men were in attempting to kill theseIndians while they slept. There was not a sound until we were in themidst of the sleeping Indians, and then it seemed as if every man shotat once and aimed to kill, and there were only five Indians out of thethirteen that had time to spring to their feet, and these did not tryto defend themselves, but made for their horses with the attempt toget away. Only one of them reached his horse, and as he sprang on hishorse's back, I gave him a cut with my knife across the small of hisback and almost cut him in two. He tumbled to the ground without a word, and as he did so, one of the boys shouted, "We have got them all. Thatwas the last one, and that was the easiest little fight that I was everin. "

I asked if either of them was hurt. One man said, "Hurt? No, why durntheir shadows, they were not awake enough to hurt a fly if it had beenin their mouths. "

I could not help laughing at his droll way of expressing his contemptfor the easily won battle if such it could be called when all thefighting had been on our side. 

We staked our horses out to let them eat the sweet grass that was soabundant there, and we sat down and ate our own luncheon beneath a largetree, and after we had satisfied our hunger, we laid around and resteda while, and then we mounted our horses, I taking the lead and the boysdriving the Indians' horses after me. 

We struck out for camp and reached the place where Capt. McKee and hismen were in camp a little after dark. 

The Capt. Was surprised indeed when we rode into camp with the band ofstrange horses, and the men commenced to cheer us as soon as they sawwhat we had with us. 

One of my scouts said, "We don't want to go with you any more, Capt. McKee, for you do your work at night and our boss does his work in thedaytime. "

We dismounted and gave our horses to the man who had the care of thehorses and sat down to a supper of fried fish, and we surely did justiceto that meal, as we were very hungry. 

After we had finished the meal, I told the Capt. All about our day'swork in trailing the Indians and surprising them as they slept, and howwe wiped the whole band out before they were awake. 

The Capt. Said, "Tomorrow morning we will keep on down toward thesouthwestern settlements. "

I asked him how far it was to the first settlement, and he answered, "Wewill make it by tomorrow night. "

CHAPTER X. 

The next morning we were on the road very early, and we traveled nearlyall day before we reached the first settlement. 

There was a little cluster of houses there, perhaps fifty all together, and they were as prosperous farmers as I had seen in Texas. 

They were all acquainted with the Capt. And were glad to see us. 

We staid at this place a couple of days to let our horses rest, and wesold twelve of the horses that we'd captured from the Indians to thefarmers. 

The people there told us that it was three months since the Indians hadmade a raid on them, and there had not been any Indians through thatneighborhood since the raid, but they had been told that the Indianswere doing a great deal of damage to the settlement forty or fifty mileswest of there. 

Capt. McKee said, "Well, we will go down and investigate. "

As we were leaving the village, an old acquaintance of the Capt. Said, "Let us know when you are coming back, and we will have a banquet and adance while you and your men are here. "

Capt. McKee answered, "We will not come back until you have anothervisit from the Indians, and I don't believe you will want to dancethen. "

We pulled out for the settlements where the Indians had been making thetrouble. 

In the middle of the afternoon of that day we struck the trail of whatappeared to be quite a large band of Indians, and after following it ashort distance I concluded it was a fresh trail. Capt. McKee said, "Whatdo you think is best to do? The whole company to follow their trail, ormy men and I stop here and you and your scouts keep on after them andlocate them if you can?"

I answered, "Judging from the appearance of the trail, I think we wouldbe running a great risk for the whole company to keep on, and I think itwould be the safest plan for you to stop here and let my scouts and metrail the Indians until they camp for the night, and, Capt. , as you areacquainted with the country, can you tell me how far they will be likelyto travel until they strike good water and grass again?"

He said, "I don't believe they will find a good place to camp in fivemiles from here and maybe further. "

I said, "Well, Capt. , go into camp here, and if you do not hear from meby dark, have everything in readiness for an immediate start. "

My men and I now took the trail of the Indians. We traveled with greatcaution for several miles, and as it was just beginning to grow dark wecame in sight of the Indian camp fire. I left two of my men with thehorses, and taking one man with me I crawled near enough to count theIndians, and I was surprised when I saw how few there were sittingaround the fires. I could only make twenty-five, and I counted themover several times, and they had made a trail big enough for a hundredIndians. I was satisfied that they must have a large number of horseswith them. So we crawled down where they had left the horses to feed, and I saw that I was right. There was a large band of horses, feeding. Icould not count them they were so scattered, and the darkness hid them, but I thought there were from a hundred to a hundred and twenty-fivehorses in the bunch. 

We went back to our comrades and mounted and took the back trail towhere the Capt. Was waiting for our return. As soon as we arrived, Ireported to Capt. McKee what we had found. After I had told him thenumber of Indians in the band, and the number of horses I thought therewere, he asked me when I thought was the best time to make the attack. 

I answered that any time between that moment and daylight would do, forwe had a soft snap before us. He said, "Well, you boys get somethingto eat, and we will saddle the horses and go for them and have it overwith. "

In a very short time we were all ready and off for the Indian camp. 

When we could see the fires, the Capt. Asked, "Which way we shall makethe attack, on our horses or on foot?"

I told him that was for him to decide, but that there were so few ofthem that I thought it would be to his advantage to make the attack onfoot. 

"It will be impossible for them to get away, for my scouts and I will bebetween them and their horses, and if any of them should get away fromyou, we will attend to them before they can get to their horses. "

The whole company dismounted, and without making the least noisethey crept down to the Indian camp, and in a few moments the firingcommenced. But it was only a short time before we knew that it was over, as we heard the boys shouting, and in a moment more we were with them atthe Indian camp. I asked them what they made such a racket about, andthey said that they were shouting for more Indians to come, that therewere not enough of them to go around. 

One of the boys said that every time he drew a bead on an Indian, someone else had got in before him, and that he did not get a chance toshoot one Indian in the whole fight. 

The Capt. And his men now went and got their horses and unsaddled themand staked them out, and we all turned in for the night. 

The next morning the Capt. Was up before I was awake, and he and his menhad counted the horses that the Indians had. He came back as I was justgetting up and said, "Guess how many horses there are in the bunch wehave taken?"

"I counted a hundred and twenty-five last night, " I answered. 

He said, "You are a pretty close guesser. There are just one hundred andthirty-two in the band, and some of them are as fine work horses as Iever saw in Texas. It is a mystery to me where the Indians get such nicehorses. Do you think it possible that these wretches have been intoKansas and robbed the people there?"

I said, "It would be hard to tell, Capt. , where they got them, for theygo anywhere that they think there is anything to steal. "

After we had eaten breakfast, Capt. McKee proposed that he and I go tothe settlement alone and leave the men in camp until we came back. Hesaid that the settlement was no more than five or six miles from wherewe then were in camp, and perhaps we could get some information inregard to where the Indians had been stealing stock and doing otherdepradations to the settlers. 

When the Capt. Told the men what we proposed doing, one of them said, "That just suits me for one, for we are out of meat, and while you aregone we can go hunting and have a new supply when you get back. "

The Capt. Said, "All right, but take care of the horses and not let anyof them get away, and don't look for us until we come back. "

We mounted our horses and struck out for the settlement. A two-hoursride brought us there, and we found that Capt. McKee was acquainted withmost of the settlers, and they welcomed us gladly, for at that timewhen everyone had to travel on horseback or walk. There was not so muchvisiting, and the sight of a friendly face was very pleasing to thepeople who lived at those isolated settlements. 

When we inquired if the Indians troubled them, they said the Indianshad not raided that place in three months, but about three weeks beforesomeone saw a band of about twenty-five Indians going towards the east, and they were the last Indians that had been seen in that neighborhood, but they had heard that the Apache Indians had been doing considerablemischief fifty miles or so further south, but they did not know whetherthe report was true or not, and they of this settlement had been carefulto have their stock cared for by herders through the day, and at nightthey were put in the corral. 

The Captain asked if we could make arrangements with them to take chargeof over a hundred head of horses for a month or so, and if so to carefor the same as their own by day and at night. The man we were talkingto said that his son had charge of the stock in the daytime and wouldbe at the house for dinner, and that we had better stay and have a talkwith him. 

It was not long before the young man came in, and the Captain asked himwhat he would charge to herd a few more than a hundred horses fora month, or longer. The young man said that he would take them attwenty-five dollars a hundred, and we could leave them with him as longas we pleased at that price, and that they should have the best of carewhile he had the charge of them. 

At this moment the lady of the house came on the porch where we weresitting and invited us in to eat dinner, and she told the Captain shehad prepared a special dinner for him. 

The Captain laughed and said: "Well, my good woman, here is my comrade, Mr. Drannan; what shall we do with him? I expect he is hungry, too. "

She said: "Well, Captain, you may invite him in. Maybe you can spareenough for him to have a taste. I have only got a gallon of green peasand a ham of venison roasted and four squash pies and a pan of cornbread cooked for you, so I reckon you can spare Mr. Drannan a littlebite. "

As we went into the house the man said, "My wife must think you are apretty good eater Capt. " to which the lady replied, "I tried him a yearago, and I have not forgotten how much it took to fill him up then. "

We sat down to the table amidst the laughter that followed this remark, and I can safely say that I never ate a meal that I enjoyed more than Idid that dinner, and I thought that the Capt. Had not lost the appetitethe lady gave him credit for having the year before. And what made themeal more enjoyable was the Texas style of cracking jokes from the timewe sat down until we left the table, and I will say this for Texas thatof all the states I have ever visited from that time until this dayTexas was then and is now the most hospitable. 

It is fifty years ago that I ate that meal in the little settlement thatwas miles away from the busy cities, and I can with safety say that Ihave found in the state of Texas more large hearted people than I havefound in all the other states put together that I have visited. 

When we were leaving the house we told the young man that we would comeback the next day and bring the horses for him, to take care of. 

We left the settlement and struck the trail for our camp, and we foundthat the boys had good success in hunting. They had four deer alldressed and hanging to the limbs of trees. 

That evening I asked the Capt. What course he intended to pursue now. Hesaid, "We have the horses off our hands for a time at least, and we willpull south for a month or six weeks, and then if all is well we willcome back and get our horses and pull for Dallas. By that time thefarmers will have disposed of their crops and will have money moreplenty, and I think we can do better in selling our horses than we everhave done. I think we have crippled the Apache tribe so much that someof the settlements will not be troubled with them again, and if we areas successful in our fights with them the balance of the season, theywill be pretty well down, and what a great blessing it will be to thepeople of this country that we came to their relief. "

The next morning Capt. McKee and I and the whole company broke camp andstruck the trail for the settlement, driving the captured horses beforeus. We met the herder coming to meet us. He assisted us to drive them tohis corral and helped us to count them, and there were one hundred andthirty-eight horses in the band. Nearly everyone in the settlement wasat the corral when we got there. The people had heard that we werecoming, and everybody wanted to see the horses we had fallen heir towhen we killed the Indians. 

When we told them what we would sell the horses for, some of the mensaid that they wanted horses and would have the money to pay for themwhen they disposed of their crops in the fall. 

The horses being off our mind, we started for the south, and as we werepassing the house where we dined the day before, the lady came to thedoor and called to Capt. McKee, saying, "Captain, when you get ready tocome back this fall, send a runner on ahead, and I will have a squaremeal all cooked for you. "

All the boys heard this, and thinking it must be a joke on the Captain, they all cheered and clapped their hands. The Captain took off his hatand made a bow and thanked the lady, and we all rode on, but the Captaindid not hear the last of this joke all summer. Whenever he complained ofbeing hungry, some of us would remind him of the square meal that waswaiting for him at the settlement. 

We traveled four days, passing through several settlements before weheard of any Indians. As we were going into camp on the evening ofthe fourth day, two men rode in and said that they had seen a band ofIndians a couple of hours before, and there were as many as twenty ormore in the band, and that four of the Indians had chased them severalmiles, and that the Indians seemed to be traveling in an easterlydirection. 

I said to the Captain, "Let's have the men take supper with us and thengo back and show us where they saw the Indians. "

He asked them if they were willing to go and show us, and they said theywould. 

We struck out as quickly as we could, and I think it was all of tenmiles before we struck the Indian trail. As soon as we found the trailthe Indians had left, Captain McKee thanked the men and told them hewould not trouble them to go any further. They inquired if he intendedto follow the Indians up and make an attack on them. He told them thatwas what he expected to do if we found them. They said, "Why, can'twe go with you and help to fight the wretches? We both have guns andpistols too, and we would like to get even with them for the run theymade us take against our will. "

The Capt. Said, "I am willing for you to accompany us, but you mustwatch my men and do as they do, if you are sure you want to putyourselves in the same danger of being killed that we do. "

They both said together, "That is just what we want to do, Capt. We wantto learn how to fight the Red devils, and this will be a grand chancefor us to learn to do it in style. "

Myself and my scouts took the lead on the Indian trail. I told the Capt. To ride on slowly, and as soon as I came up with the Indians I wouldinform him of it. 

We three followed the Indian trail until the day was breaking, and whenwe first saw their camp fires, we were only a short distance from them, as they were down in a little narrow valley, and we were almost overthem before we saw them. 

We dismounted, and I sent one man back to tell the Capt. , and one I leftto care for the horses, and the other I took with me, and we crawleddown the hill through the thick brush to try to see what position theIndians were in and find out what the best way would be to attack them. 

When we had got to within a hundred yards of their camp, I saw an Indiancrawl out of his blanket and go to one of the fires and put more wood onit. I whispered to my comrade to stop, and I told him we could not goany nearer now, and in another moment two more Indians got up. 

I said, "Now let us get back to our horses as quickly as we can. "

As we reached the edge of the brush, I looked around to see where theirhorses were, but there was not a horse in sight. We kept on until wereached our horses. 

I said, "Now boys, you both stay here, and I will ride down the ridge alittle way and maybe I can see their horses, and be sure to keep a closewatch on the Indians' movements, and if they appear to be excited, signal to me at once. "

I discovered their horses feeding quietly about a quarter of a milebelow their camp. This seemed very strange to me, and that the horseswere not staked out but allowed to run loose seemed still more strange. 

I turned and rode back to my two scouts, and after I had told them whatI had seen, I said, "Boys, I am tempted to make a proposition. "

They asked what it was. I said, "It may not work, but I have a mind forus to go down where the Indians' horses are and get around them andstampede them and drive them to meet the Capt. And the men with him. "

Just as I finished speaking, one of the men said, "Hark, it is too late. The Capt. And his men are here now, " and sure enough there they were insight. 

When I told the Capt. About the Indians and their horses being so farfrom them and running loose, he said, "There is something up you maybe sure, for it is a very unusual thing for an Indian to do to leavehimself so unprotected by letting his horses run at large. "

He then asked if I had any idea how many there were in the camp belowus. I told him that I had not counted them and could not do so the waythe camp was situated and the fires so dim. 

He then asked if I wanted any more help to run the horses off. Ianswered, "No sir, if you and your men will attend to the Indians, I andmy scouts will attend to the horses, and you need have no concern but wewill get them away all right. We will run them up on this open ridge andhold them until you finish the Indians, and you will know where to findthe horses and us. "

The Capt. And his men struck out for the Indian camp, and my men and Ito get the Indians' horses. We had not reached the horses when we heardthe sound of the guns. We had just succeeded in getting the horses on alope when we heard someone shouting behind us, and turning in my saddleI saw two Indians coming on a run, and they were running for all theywere worth. 

I said, "Boys, let us wheel our horses and get those Indians, " and I hadhardly turned my horse when the report of their guns rang out, and bothof the Indians dropped in their tracks. 

In a moment more a cry came from one of the others, and looking inanother direction I saw one of the Capt's. Men in full pursuit of twoIndians, and he was shouting at the top of his voice, "Lookout, boys, weare coming. "

I said, "Now boys, let us get these horses away from here quick, for theIndians are coming in every direction, and in a few minutes they willbe upon us, and we will have to fight them and perhaps lose half of thehorses, and some of us may get hurt besides. "

We spurred our horses and soon had the Indian horses on the dead run upthe hill, and on the prairie where we had told the Capt. To come andlook for us. 

When we had got control of the frightened horses and had time to listen, we could hear the cracking of the guns in every direction, and we knewthat it was a desperate fight that was being fought. 

I said, "Boys, let us count the horses, and we can then have some ideahow many Indians the other men have to contend with. "

We found that there were fifty-eight in the band, and we knew that theyhad all been ridden by the Indians, for each one had a hair rope aroundhis neck, so we decided that there must have been fifty Indians in thecamp when the Capt. And his men made the attack on them. 

It must have been an hour or more before the Capt. And his men begancoming back. When Capt. McKee came back to the hill, he said, "This hasbeen the hardest fight that I have had with the Indians in years. Theywere nearly all up when I struck their camp, and they were all on thefight. Five of my men are badly wounded, and I don't believe we got nearall of the Indians. We must attend to the wounded men first, and thenwe must take a scout around and see if we can find any more of the Redfiends. "

He asked where I thought was the best place to make our camp. I answeredthat there was a level spot a little below where I'd found the Indians'horses that would make a good camping ground. 

He said. "I will go and find the place, and you and your men drive thehorses down where you found them. "

We had got about half way down to the valley with the horses when one ofmy men said, "Look out. See what is coming. "

I looked where he pointed and saw an Indian running from the brush andmaking for the horses as fast as he could run. I said, "Let's go forhim, boys, and don't get too close to him before you shoot, for he hashis bow and arrow ready to shoot you if you don't get him first. "

I raised my gun as we went for him and fired and broke his leg, and oneof the other boys got close to him and shot him with his pistol andfinished him. 

We now rushed the horses down to the village in a hurry. When we had gotthem there, I told the boys that we must watch the horses all the timeand change herders every two hours. I went to where the Capt. Hadestablished his camp, and I found that five of the men were badlywounded. One was wounded in the hip, and it was the worst arrow wound Iever saw. 

I asked the Capt. What he was going to do with those wounded men. "Idon't see how you are going to get them to a doctor, and I don't believethey will get well without one. So what are you going to do?"

He said if we could get them back to the settlement where we had leftthe horses, they could have a doctor's care. 

I said, "Well, but let's get them something to eat as well as ourselves, for they must be faint for the lack of food and losing so much blood, and if they are no better by evening, I think you had better sendfor the doctor to come here and not try to send the men to him fortreatment. " The Capt. Agreed to this, and as soon as we had somethingto eat, I went to where the wounded men were laying and examined theirwounds myself and was surprised to find the men so cheerful. They werelaughing and talking just as if they were well. 

I asked the one that was so badly wounded if he thought we had bettersend for a doctor to dress the wound. He said, "No, I don't want anydoctor. If you will get me a plenty of the balsam of fir to put on it, it will be well in a week. " I answered, "If that is all you want, myfriend, I will see that you get all you want of that, for there isplenty of it all around us. "

I will say for the instruction of the reader that this birch taken fromthe fir trees as it saps out of cracks in the bark was the only linimentthat the frontiersman had to heal his wounds at that time, and it wasone of the best liniments that I have ever seen applied to a sore of anykind. 

I now hunted up the Capt. To have a talk with him. I asked him what heproposed doing until those men were able to travel, as they didn't wantany doctor and said they could cure their wounds themselves with balsamof fir. 

The Capt. Said, "Well, we will leave enough men to guard the wounded menand the horses, and we will take the others with us and go and searchfor more Indians. "

Capt. McKee left ten men to guard the camp, and the balance of us struckout on a hunt for stray Indians. 

We were gone from camp two or three hours, and we only found one Indian, and he was wounded, but we found a number of dead Indians scattered allthrough the timber where the men had shot them down as they ran, or asthey met them in hand-to-hand combat. 

After we got back to camp, I asked the Capt. What he was going to dowith those horses. 

He said he thought it would be the best plan to stay where we were untilthe men were able to travel and then to go back to the settlement andget our other horses and then pull for Dallas. "For, " said he, "I do notbelieve that the Indians will make any more raids through this part ofthe country until next spring, and they may never come back, for we havecrippled them so that they will shun a place where they have met suchdisaster. There has never been a company through here that has had thesuccess in killing Indians and capturing their horses as we have hadthis spring. Just think what we have done, and not one of our men hasbeen killed. "

We remained in this camp two weeks, and everyone had a good time withthe exception of the wounded men, and even they were more cheerful thanone in health could have thought possible. 

Game was plentiful and easy to get, and we had all the fresh meat wewanted, and it was an ideal place to lay around and rest when we weretired hunting, and there was a plenty of grass for the horses and a coolspring of water to quench the thirst of man and beast. 

After the first week, the wounded men took more or less exercise everyday, and so kept their strength, and it was surprising how fast theirwounds healed. 

The day before the one set to start for the settlement, I asked the manthat had the wounded hip if he thought he could ride on horseback. Heanswered, "Yes, if I had a gentle horse so I could ride sideways, Icould stand it to ride a half a day without stopping to rest. "

I told him that I had a horse that was very gentle and would just suithis case. 

That evening the Capt. And I talked the matter over together. He said hethought we had better pull out in the morning and travel slowly so asnot to tire the wounded men too much, for the farmers would have soldtheir crops by the time we got to Dallas, and we could do as well withour horses as we could at any time of the year. 

In the morning we left the camp that we had grown to almost love, theCapt. And I taking the lead with the wounded men at our side, and theother men brought up the rear, driving the horses who had grown fat andglossy in the weeks of rest. 

When we were mounted, the Capt. Said to the wounded men, "Now boys, whenyou begin to feel tired, say so, and we will stop and camp at once. "

I never heard a word of complaint from one of them, and we had riddenten miles or so, when we came to a cool stream of water and a plenty ofgrass, and the Capt. Said, "This is a good place to stop and give oursick boys a rest. "

So we dismounted and went into camp. After we had our dinner, several ofthe men came and asked the Capt. If he was going any further that night, and he replied that he was not. The boys said, "All right, we will catchsome fish then. "

In about two hours they came from the stream, and each man had a stringof good-sized catfish, and the reader may be sure that we all enjoyedthat fish supper. 

From the time we left the camp in the valley until we reached thesettlement, we only traveled ten miles a day. 

We traveled this way for the benefit of the wounded men, and theyreached the settlement not worse for the journey, but they were muchstronger than when we started. 

The morning before we reached the settlement, as we were about to mountour horses, one of the men said to the Capt. , "Say, Cap, haven't youforgotten to do something?"

The Capt. Looked around in a surprised way and said, "I do not rememberanything that I could have forgotten to do. What is it?"

The man said, "Didn't you agree to send a runner on ahead to notify thatlady that you were coming so she could have the grub cooked for yourdinner?"

But the Capt. Never answered the question, for before he could speak, there was such a clapping of hands and laughter from all the men that itwould have been impossible to have heard him if he had tried. 

After the boys had stopped cheering, the Capt. Said, "You have the laughon me now boys, but you wait, and I will get even with you, and he thatlaughs last laughs best. "

We reached the settlement about the middle of the afternoon and we foundour horses in much better condition than we expected to. 

We staid here all the next day as we were told that several of thefarmers near there wanted to purchase horses from us and would come assoon as they heard that we were there. 

Before night we had sold thirty-one horses at a fair price. About noonof that day the Capt. And I were sitting under a tree having a smokewhen a little girl came to us and said, "Capt. , mama says you and Mr. Drannan come and take dinner with us. "

As neither of us knew her, the Capt. Asked where she lived and who hermama was. 

She said, "Come on, and I'll show you, " and when we went with her, itproved to be the same place where we had dined the last time we were atthe settlement. 

Their name was "Jones. " The man and his wife met us on the porch andshook hands with us, and the lady said, "Capt. , you have been very luckyin killing Indians and pretty lucky in getting something to eat with us. You had some of our first picking of peas last spring, and you will havesome of our first turnips today. "

The Capt. Told her that of all vegetables, he liked young turnips best. She said that she had enough for dinner and supper too, and that wemight consider ourselves invited to supper too. 

We ate dinner with this hospitable family, and then we went back to thecorral and the selling of our horses, which commenced soon after we gotthere, as the farmers came early in the day. 

That night we paid the herder for his care of the horses, and then wepulled out for Dallas. 

CHAPTER XI. 

I do not remember how many days it took us to reach Dallas, but it wasin the middle of October when we rode into that city. 

This was in the fall of fifty-eight, and the news had just reachedDallas that gold had been discovered on Cherry creek in the territoryof Colorado, and the excitement was intense. All over the city peopletalked of nothing else but gold, and of all the exaggeration storiesabout gold mines that I had ever heard, the ones told there were themost incredible. The parties who brought the news to Dallas had not beento the mines themselves, but had been told these wonderful stories atBent's Fort. 

Capt. McKee caught the gold fever right away, and he said to me, "I amgoing to get up a company in the spring and go to those new gold mines. Don't you want to go with me?"

I answered, "No, Capt. I do not, for I know that Cherry creek country, and I do not believe that there is a pound of gold in all that country. It is nothing but a desert. "

He said, "Have you been to Cherry creek?"

I answered, "Yes sir, a number of times. "

"Where is Cherry creek?" he asked. I told him that Cherry creek headedin the divide between the Arkansas river and the South Platte river, andemptied into the South Platte river about twenty miles below where thePlatte leaves the Rocky mountains and near the center of the territoryof Colorado. Capt. McKee said, "Well, I am going anyhow. I did not go toCalifornia when I ought to have gone, and maybe this will prove as richa country for getting gold as that did. "

I laughed and answered, "There may be lots of gold in Colorado, Capt. , but you or anyone else will never find enough gold in Cherry creek tomake you rich. "

He said, "Well, the way to find it is to go there and look for it. Wesurely never will if we stay away. "

From the way the people talked, one would have thought that everybody inDallas was going to the gold fields. 

After it was known that I had been through the country where the goldmines were reported to be, a great many men came to me to make inquiriesabout the country, and some of them seemed surprised because I took thenews so coolly and did not seem anxious to go there. 

The excitement did not last more than a week before it commenced to dieaway. 

By this time we had about disposed of our horses, and the wounded menwere able to go to their homes. 

The Capt. Settled up with the men, and he and I divided the remainder ofthe money. 

After we were square, the Capt. Asked what I was going to do. I told himthat I was going back to Bent's Fort. He said, "Well, won't you wait afew days until I can organize a company to go with me to Colorado, andwe will go with you as far as Bent's Fort?"

I said I certainly would, for the journey would be very lonely for meto go alone, and I liked company, and besides I was in no hurry to getthere. 

The Capt. Worked steadily to get recruits for his company for two weeks, and he succeeded in getting ten men in all that time. 

He said, "This beats anything I ever undertook. When we first came toDallas, the whole town talked as if they were crazy to go, and now Ican't get anybody to join me, but I will make the effort with the tenmen that will go, and if this is a success and we make fortunes, we willcome back and surprise the city. "

I said, "Alright, Capt. , but if the people of Dallas are ever surprised, it will not be from hearing of the great amount of gold you and yourcompanions took from Cherry creek. "

The Capt. Now commenced to get ready for the journey to Colorado, theland of reported gold. Each of his men had to have two saddle horses, and one pack horse for every two men, and each man had three monthsprovisions, consisting of flour, coffee, salt and tobacco. 

The question of getting meat was never thought of as one could get aplenty of that anywhere on the journey, and the streams were teamingwith the most delicious fish. 

The evening before we were to set out in the morning the Capt said, "Which way shall we go?"

I said, "Although it is getting late, and we may have some cold weatherto contend with I think our best and most direct route will be by whatis called the Panhandle route. There will be no rivers to cross, andthere is a plenty of grass for the horses, and also there is nicedrinking water in abundance all the way for ourselves as well as thehordes, and there will be days when we will be in sight of Deer andAntelope from morning until night. "

There were a few scattering settlements along the trail. The placewhich is now the city of Childress being the largest, and also the lastsettlement we passed through, and the last sign of civilization we sawuntil we struck Bent's Fort which was on the Arkansas river below whatis now the city of Pueblo in the state of Colorado which was at thattime a territory just a little north of what is now the city ofAmarillo. 

We killed our first Buffalo on that trip. 

It is surprising to the people who saw that country at that early daywhen they travel through it now and see what civilization has done. There is Amarillo, which has several thousand inhabitants today, andat the time I am speaking of there was not a house or sign of a livingperson there, and a number of other places I could mention that arethriving cities now were at that time inhabited by wild animals alone. 

In the year of forty-eight when Kit Carson and I went across the Rockymountains with Col. Freemont, we camped three days where the city ofPueblo, Colorado, now stands. 

Our camp was under a very large pine tree, one of the largest in thatcountry. 

Five years ago I visited the city of Pueblo again, the first time I hadbeen there since that time. 

I imagined I could go right to the spot where our camp was located, andthe morning after I arrived there I took a walk on the main businessstreet, which I thought was about where our camp had stood. But searchas long as I might, there was nothing to show me a sign of the oldlandmarks. 

I went to the river, thinking that must look the same, but no, even thechannel of that had been changed. 

Amazed at the change civilization had wrought in obliterating everythingthat I had thought would be a guide to the old places I sought, I spoketo a police officer and asked him if be could tell me whether a verylarge tree had stood in that neighborhood or not before that street waslaid out. 

He answered, "Yes, that tree stood right under that brick building, " andhe pointed to a large building near where we stood, and he continued. "As long as the tree stood there, it was called 'Freemont's campingground. '"

That particular spot is no exception, for every place I have visited inlate years all through the western country has met with the same change, and the places that I was familiar with in my youth are strange to menow. 

The place that is now called the city of Denver I will take for anexample. At the time I am speaking of, the year of forty-eight, and forseveral years later, it was one of the greatest Antelope countries inall the west, and I think I am safe in saying that there were not fiftywhite men in all what is now called the state of Colorado. 

I visited several cities in that state a year ago, and it would bedifficult for the people of this time to understand the feeling ofsurprise that I experienced when I saw what civilization had done toevery place I visited. 

On the Platte river in the eastern part of the city of Denver where thelarge machine shops now stand is the spot where the largest bands ofAntelope were to be found, and it was there that we used to go to getthem every morning as they came down to the river to drink. 

From the site where Amarillo is now we had all the Buffalo meat wewanted, and when we struck what is now the city of Trinidad, Colorado, we followed the stream known as and called the "Picket Wire, " down tothe Arkansas river, and as we were in the heart of the Buffalo country, we were not out of the sight of herds of Buffalo all the way down tothat river. 

It would be an impossibility to make this generation understand thenumbers of herds that roamed the western country. While the Buffalo wasthe most numerous game of the plains, they were the most strange intheir habits. They made the round trip from Texas to the head of theMissouri river in Dakota and back again every year. As soon as theyreached one end of their journey, they invariably turned around andbegan their journey back. Another peculiarity of this animal was thatthe calves never followed their mother, but always preceded her, and incase of fright, or when she thought them in danger when the herd startedon the run, if the calves could not keep up with the others the motherwould push her calf forward with her nose. 

I think I have seen a mother Buffalo throw her calf at least ten feet inone push, and it would always alight on its feet and not break its run. 

When we reached Bent's Fort, Capt. McKee asked Col. Bent how the goldmines were on Cherry creek. The Col. Laughed and said, he had not heardfrom them in about three months, and the last news he had from therewere that Cherry creek was deserted, so by that he thought the amount ofgold there must be rather limited, and then Capt. McKee told him that hehad fitted up a company and had come all the way from Texas to dig goldfrom Cherry creek. 

Col. Bent said, "Well, Capt. , there has been another discovery made onwhat is called Russel's gulch which is a tributary of Clear creek, and Ihave no doubt but there is gold to be found there. "

Capt. McKee asked where Clear creek was. 

Col. Bent said, "Ask Will. He can tell you better than I can, for he hastrapped all over that country. "

I told the Capt. That Clear creek was about ten miles north of Cherrycreek on the north side of Platte river and I said, "Capt. , if Russel'sgulch is up on the head of Clear creek, you could not get there thiswinter with horses, for at this time in the year the snow is from two toten feet deep, and it is the coldest country you ever struck, and yourTexas boys and yourself too would freeze to death before you got halfway to the mines. "

The Capt. Asked Col. Bent if he had any idea how many miners there wereup in the Russel's gulch mines. 

He answered, "Yes, I saw them when they started on their prospectingtrip, and there are six of them. There were seven, but one came back andwent back to his home in Georgia. 

"Green Russel was the leader, and the mine was given his name. I expectthere will be a great stampede from the east especially from Georgianext spring, for the gold excitement always spreads like fire in drygrass. "

Capt. McKee said, "Well, I believe I will go there anyway and see whatthere is in it. I can live there as cheaply as I can anywhere. There isplenty of game there, is there not?" he said, turning to me. 

I said, "Yes, there is plenty of game all around the Platte river andCherry creek, but if you go there, I advise you not to go further thanthe mouth of Cherry creek this winter. There is a grove of timber therethat you can make your camp in, and you could put up a shack to protectyou from the weather. "

The Capt. And his company pulled out the second day after this talk, butit was very plain to be seen that the whole company was much discouragedin regard to the gold mines. 

As they were leaving the Fort, I said to Capt. McKee, "When you comeback in the spring, Capt. , I hope I shall hear you tell about the grandsuccess you have had in panning gold on Cherry creek this winter. "

He said, "If there is any gold to be found in that country, I shall findit. That is what I came out here to do. "

As soon as the mining company had gone, Col. Bent said to me, "Will, doyou want to go and trade with the Indians for me now, or have you caughtthe gold fever too?"

I answered, "Col. I have not had the gold fever as yet, and I do notthink there is any danger of my catching it, so I am ready to go to workfor you trading with the Indians. "

Col. Bent laughed and said, "If you haven't got the fever now, Will, Iwill bet your best hors, that you will catch it bad when the rush forthe mines comes in the spring. "

At that time I had no idea there would be any rush for the gold mines, for I thought the excitement would die out before spring, because somany had been disappointed in the fall, but in this I was mistaken, forby the first of May they commenced to come to the Fort on their way tothe mines, and by the first of June one could see the trains stringingalong for miles, and what was very amusing to me, when I asked themwhere they were going, they invariably answered, "Pike's Peak. "

I remember one train that I met that spring down on the Arkansas river, below Bent's Fort. One of the men asked me, if I could tell them how farit was from there to Pike's Peak. I said, "No sir, I can't tell you howfar it is, but I can show it to you. There is Pike's Peak right beforeyou, " and I pointed to the snowcapped mountain that could be seen forhundreds of miles. 

He said, "Oh, I don't mean that. I want to find out where the Pike'sPeak gold mine is. "

I told him that I had never heard of such a mine. This seemed tosurprise him, and in a few minutes the whole outfit was crowding aroundme, inquiring about Pike's Peak mine. 

Then I told them what the report had been about the discovery of gold atCherry creek and Russel's gulch. 

One man asked if I could tell them where Denver was, and that was aquestion I could not answer, for I had never heard of a place calledDenver before. 

I asked him what Denver was. A new mining camp that had just been named, or what. 

"Why" he said, "Denver is a city close to Pike's Peak. "

I answered, "Strange, you must have made a mistake in the locality ofthe city you are seeking. I have traveled all over this country foryears, and I never saw or heard of a place called Denver in my life. "

Then they told me that Dr. Russel, one of the discoverers of the goldmine, had staid all night at the town where they came from in Missouri. 

When he, the Dr. , was on his way home to Georgia, last fall he had toldthem what wonderful gold mines had been discovered up in the mountains, and there was a large city building in the valley that was going to bethe queen city of the west, and they had named the city "Denver. "

I was young then, and of course my experience was limited, so I believedthe story that the man told, not stopping to think that it might beexaggerated, as an older person might have done. 

I was going down the Arkansas river on my last trading trip with theIndians for that season, and the story of the wonderful gold mines mademe anxious to get back to Bent's Fort. I had very good success in thistrade, and in two weeks I was back to the fort with my pack horsesloaded down with Buffalo robes. 

After I had settled with the Col. , I said, "I reckon you would have wonthe wager if we had made the bet last fall, Col. , for I am afraid I havea touch of the gold fever. "

Col. Bent laughed and said, "I thought you would not escape, Will, butyou are not the only one affected. I have news for you. Kit Carson andJim Bridger will be here in a few days from Taos, on their way to thegold mines, and so you are just in time to go with them. "

I then told Col. Bent the story the gold seekers had told me when I wason my way to trade with the Indians this last time. 

He said, "You must not believe all the stories that are floating about, Will. If you do, you will only be disappointed, for in a time whenpeople are excited, as they are now over the finding of gold, there willbe all kinds of exaggerated stories told. Some of them will be told ingood faith, and some will be to merely mislead too credulous people. Sotake my advice, Will, and keep cool and don't get rattled. "

The next day, after I had the talk with Col. Bent, Uncle Kit and JimBridger stopped at the Fort on their way to the new gold field. Ofcourse, Uncle Kit was as glad to see me as I was to see him, and wasrather surprised when I told him that I was all ready to go with him tothe mines. 

Jim Bridger said, "What are you going there for, Will?"

I said, "I am going to help you pick up gold. I haven't any use for itmyself, but I just want to help you, Jim. "

Uncle Kit said, "I guess, what gold we pick up won't hurt any of us. "

The morning after this we three pulled out, and on the fourth day out welanded on the ground where the city of Denver now stands. 

It was the first of June in the year of fifty-nine, and as near as I canremember, there were six little log shacks scattered around the westside of Cherry creek, which at that time was called "Arora, " and theeast side of the creek was called "Denver, " and this was the Queen cityof the west that I had been told about and had come to see, and it wasamazing to see the number of people that were coming in there every day. They came in all shapes. They came in wagons, in hand carts and on horseback. 

The hand carts had from four to six men to pull them, and I saw a fewthat had eight men pulling one cart. 

Uncle Kit, Bridger and I remained there four days, just to see thecrowds that were coming in. We found out the way to Russel's gulch, andwe decided to go up there. 

We went by the way that is called "Golden" now, but of course there wasno such place then, that being the general camping place before going upinto the mountains. 

When we made our camp on the bank of Clear creek, where the city ofGolden now stands, I think we could have counted two hundred wagons insight of our camp. Close to us there were four men in camp, and they hadone wagon and two yoke of cattle between them. 

The next morning they were up earlier than we were and were eating theirbreakfast when we crawled out of our blankets. 

As soon as they finished eating, they hooked up their ox teams and drovedown to the creek and stopped at the bank and commenced to throw theirprovisions into the water. As soon as Uncle Kit saw the men doing this, he said, "What do they mean? Are they crazy? I will go and see what isthe matter. "

As soon as he got in speaking distance, he asked them what they werethrowing their provisions to the creek for. 

One of the men stopped and answered, "We are going back to Missouri, andour oxen's feet are so tender that they can hardly walk, let alone pullthis load. "

Uncle Kit said, "Why don't you throw the stuff on the ground? If youdon't want it yourselves, do not waste it by throwing it in the creek. Someone else may want it. "

One of them said, "I had not thought of that, " and they threw the flourand bacon and coffee and other small packages of food on the ground. 

There must have been as much as twelve hundred pounds of provisionslaying on the ground when they got through, and I saw the contents oftwo other wagons share the same fate that same day. How long that stufflay there I do not know. We left there the next morning, and I noticedthat it had not been touched. 

I never saw so many discouraged-looking people at one time as I saw inthose wagons that were camped around Clear creek. I visited a numberof camps where six or eight men would be sitting around a little firetalking about their disappointment in not finding gold to take home totheir families, and some of them were crying like children as they saidthe expense of fitting out their teams and themselves had ruined themfinancially. 

This spot on Clear creek seemed to be the turntable for thegold-seekers. They either went up the mountain to the mines or becamediscouraged and turned around and went home, and I do not believe thatone out of ten ever left the creek to go up the mountain. 

The way from Clear creek to the mines at Russel's gulch was throughthe mountains, with nothing but a trail to travel on and the roughestcountry to try to take wagons over I ever saw. 

I do not know how many miles it was, but I do remember that we had ahard day's ride from Clear creek to Russel's gulch, and we did not ridea half a mile without seeing more or less wagons that had been leftbeside the trail, and in many of the broken wagons the outfit that theowner had started with was in the wagon. 

[Illustration: I bent over him and spoke to him, but he did not answer. ]

CHAPTER XII. 

The night we struck the mines, we camped near the head of Russel'sgulch. The next morning, after we had eaten our breakfast, we startedout to take a look around, and Bridger said, "Where in the name ofcommon sense do these people come from?" For look in any direction wewould, there was a bunch of men with pick and shovel slung over theirbacks, and every little while we came on a bunch of men digging a holdin the ground. 

Later in the forenoon we went to Green Russel's cabin, he being the manwho had discovered the gold in that country. He had never met Uncle Kitbefore but had heard a great deal about him. When Carson told him hisname, he invited us into his cabin. After we had talked with him awhile, he said, "I suppose you all think that I am to blame for all of thisexcitement, but if you think so, you are mistaken, so I will clear yourmind and vindicate myself. A year ago last spring my brother, myself, and five other men came out here to prospect for gold. After we hadprospected all over the country, we discovered this gulch, and we struckgood pay dirt in the first hole we sank. We fixed up a couple of rockersand went to work, and the first week we took out a hundred dollars to arocker. I told the boys that this was good enough for me, so each one ofus staked off a claim, and to prove that each of us had a good claim, wesank a prospect hole on every claim, and we found that one claim was asgood as another. There was only one of the party who had a family, thatwas my brother, the doctor, and as we all thought that we had a goodthing, my brother concluded that he would go home and fix up his affairsthis winter and bring his family out here in the spring, and he agreedto keep our finding a secret from everyone but his own family, but itseems that he did not keep his word but spread the news of our luckbroadcast as soon as he struck the first white settlement, and the wasteand destruction which you saw all along the trail from Clear creek tothe gulch are the effects of his folly, although I believe that thereare other mines as good as this in other parts of this country, butmining for gold is like other kinds of business. Only one man out of ahundred makes a success out of it. "

The next day we were looking around, and we came upon two young men whosaid they were brothers, and they were so excited when we came near themthat they could scarcely talk. They had been sinking a prospect hole andhad just struck pay dirt. 

We watched them pan out a couple of pans, and they certainly had struckit rich. After they had staked off their claims, Bridger asked them whatname they would give their new discovery. They said, "There is aspring at the head of this ravine where we have often drunk and cooledourselves, so we shall call our mine 'Spring gulch, '" and I was told byminers afterwards that these brothers had surely found a rich mine, forit extended the whole length of the ravine. 

I met one of the brothers a number of years after the time I saw thempanning out the gold, and he told me that he and his brother took twentythousand dollars apiece out of that mine. 

The next day we were knocking around the mining camp, and we ran acrossa man whose name was Gregory. He was from Georgia, and he had justdiscovered a quartz lead which proved to be very rich in gold. 

He showed us some of the quartz that he had taken from it, and we couldsee the gold all through the rock. He said that when he sank down ahundred feet, it would be twice as rich in gold as it was at the top. 

There was a town built at this place, and it was called Gregory, and intwo years there were a half a dozen quartz mills built in that vicinityand quite a number more quartz ledges had been discovered, and they allpaid well. 

We had been in this region about two weeks, when I met one of the menthat came with Capt. McKee. We were both surprised to see each other. I asked him what he was doing, and he said he was mining. He said thewhole company was mining together on a claim they had taken up on southClear creek about twelve miles from Russel's gulch, and they had fiftyfeet of sluice boxes and were taking out from five to seven dollars aday to a man, and had ground enough to last them two years. 

He insisted on my going back with him to see the mine and said that Icould have an equal interest with the others of the company if I wouldjoin them, and I have always regretted that I did not go and make them avisit at least for I never saw Capt. McKee again. 

I was told afterwards that he made quite a good stake, and then wentback to Texas and married and bought a home and lived and died on itabout seven miles northeast of where Mineral wells is now, and I willsay here that Capt. McKee was like many of his noble statesmen. He wasbrave, kindly, honest and true. One of nature's noblemen. He did notinterfere with any man's business and allowed no one to meddle with hisbusiness, and if he professed to be a friend, he was a friend indeed, one that could be trusted in foul weather as well as fair. 

Carson, Bridger, and I remained at Russel's gulch about three weeks, andwe visited many claims and heard the shouts of the successful and thegroans of those who failed, and we all three decided that we had gotenough of mining by looking on without trying our hand at it, so we leftthe mining camp and pulled out for Denver, and from Russel's gulch tothe foot of the mountain. 

We were never out of sight of teams of every description, and nearlyevery person we met asked us how far it was to Russel's gulch. 

We were about ten miles on the trail towards Denver when a man asked usthis question, and Jim Bridger answered that if we were anywhere else inthe United States it would be ten miles to Russel's gulch, but by thattrail he reckoned it was about fifty. 

The man said, "Doesn't the road get any better?"

Jim said, "I don't call this path a road, but if you do I will tell youthat it gets worse all the way up. "

When we reached the foot of the mountains at the crossing at Clearcreek, we found more campers there than when we had left three weeksbefore. As we were riding along, Bridger said, "Where, do you supposeall these people came from?" Kit Carson answered, "Oh, they have comefrom all over the east. This excitement has spread like wild fire allover the country. "

Up to this time we had seen but very few families in the crowds of goldseekers, but when we got to Denver on our return from the mines, we sawthat a great many of the emigrants had their whole families with them, and it was surprising to see the number of cabins that had been built inso short a time, and we saw a number of teams hauling logs from the footof the mountains to build more cabins, and there had been several littlebuildings built and furnished with groceries and dry goods since we hadleft there. 

The evening we got to Denver we went a little ways up the Platte riverto find a place to camp, and whom should we meet but our old friend JimBeckwith. As Carson shook his hand, he said, "Why, Beckwith, I thoughtyou had more sense than to be caught in a scrape like this. "

Beckwith laughed and answered, "Well, Kit, I see I am not the onlydurned fool in the country. You seem to be caught in the same scrapewith me, " and for the next half hour it was amusing to hear the jokesthese three old friends tossed at each other, for, of course, Bridgerjoined in. 

After they had their fun with each other, Carson asked Beckwith what hewas doing there. Beckwith answered, "I have staked off a claim here, Kit. It is not a claim either. It is a farm, " and he pointed to a littlebunch of timber a short distance from our camp. "I intended to build acabin in that grove of timber, " which he afterwards did, and he livedthere about thirty years and died there about fourteen years ago as Iwas informed a year ago, when I was in Denver for the first time sinceCarson, Bridger and I camped on his claim. 

When Jim Beckwith told us that he had taken up land and was going tobuild on it and make himself a home there, I wondered what he would doto make a living. The land seemed to be fertile enough, but I did notsee any chance to sell what he might raise if he tried farming, but Iwas told that he cultivated the land for awhile and then it was toovaluable. So he cut it up into lots and sold it, and now it is coveredwith business houses and residences, and all this change has taken placein forty-nine years. 

As I stood and looked at the streets and blocks of houses, I foundmyself almost doubting that that was the spot where we had campedforty-nine years ago. When memory called back to my mind what a barren, desolate country it was at that time, it almost seemed incredible thatsuch a large city could be built and such a vast change be made in lessthan fifty years, and not only in this particular spot but for miles andmiles all through the surrounding country. 

While we were in camp, I was down on the banks of Cherry Creek one day, and there were fifteen or twenty Indians sitting on the bank, and amongthem was a squaw who had a pistol in her hand. She seemed to beplaying with it when several white men came along, and one of them wasintoxicated. This one went up to the squaw and, taking hold of thepistol, tried to wrench it from her hand, and in the struggle thepistol was discharged and the man dropped dead. Some of his companionsthreatened to take vengeance on the Indians, but there were so manyother white men standing around that had witnessed the whole affair andknew the Indians had done nothing to be molested for, they would notallow the Indians to be troubled. So the men took the body away, andthat was the end of the affair. 

That evening a band of Kiawah Indians came into the town and campedwhere the statehouse now stands. I happened to meet some of them, andbeing acquainted with them I stopped and talked with them, and they toldme that they were going to have a peace smoke and a dance next day, andthey wanted me to join them, which, knowing it would not be wise todecline, I promised to do. 

When I went back to camp, I told Uncle Kit and the others of theinvitation I had received and accepted. Uncle Kit said, "I guess we aretoo old to take a part in the dance, but we can go and look on and watchthe fun. " We did not go to the Indian camp until near noon the nextday; and I think there were two or three hundred white men, women andchildren standing around the camp when we got there, and the majority ofthem had never seen an Indian before. 

As Uncle Kit and Bridger and Beckwith did not wish to take a part in theperformance, they kept out of sight of the Indians, and I went into thecamp, and as soon as I arrived the Indians commenced to form the circlefor the peace smoke. 

We had all just taken our seats, and the head chief was in the act oflighting the pipe when he sang out, "O Wah, " at the top of his voice, and in an instant every Indian sprang to his feet and started to run. Icould not think what was the matter until I looked around and saw a mana short distance from us with a camera in the act of taking a photo ofus, but he never got the picture, for not an Indian stopped runninguntil his wigwam hid him from view. 

The man with the camera looked the disappointment he felt as he came tome and asked if I were acquainted with those Indians. 

He said, "What in creation was the matter with them? What made them getup and run? I would rather have given fifty dollars than miss takingthat picture. "

I could scarcely answer him I was so choked with laughter. But I managedto tell him that I reckoned the Indians thought that he had someinfernal machine pointed at them that would blow them all to the happyhunting grounds. 

He asked me if I would go and tell the chief that the camera would nothurt them and try to make them understand what he was doing with it. Hesaid, "If you can persuade them to let me take a photo of them, I willpay you well for your trouble. "

I told him I would try, but I was doubtful of his getting the picture. 

So I went to the chief's wigwam and tried to explain to him and topersuade him to have him and all the band sit for their pictures to betaken. 

The chief shook his head and said, "Hae-Lo-Hae-Lo white man heap devil, "which meant "I will not that the white man would do them some evil, " andthen he said he was afraid that the white man with the big gun wantedto kill all his warriors, and all that I could say would not change hismind. 

Carson, Bridger and I staid at Denver three weeks, and then we went backto Bent's Fort, and when we left Denver, the town and the country inevery direction was covered with wagons belonging to emigrants thatthe excitement about gold having been discovered in the mountains hadbrought to Denver and the surrounding country. 

We reached Bent's Fort late in the afternoon and had not been there overan hour when three men and a boy came in on foot and brought the newsthat the Indians had attacked a train of emigrants and killed them all. The emigrants were on their way back east, from Cherry Creek, where theyhad been led to believe that gold had been discovered. 

The men that brought the news of the massacre were so excited that theycould not tell how many people had been killed or how many wagons werein the train. They said that the train had just broke camp and startedon their way when they heard the report of guns at the head of thetrain, and in a moment more the Indians came pouring down upon them, shooting everyone they met with their bows and arrows. "And, " continuedthey, "when we saw them shooting and yelling, we broke and run beforethey got to us, and we did not stop until we got here. " They said allthis in a frightened, breathless way, that showed how excited they were. 

Col. Bent sent the men and boy into the dining room to get somethingto eat, and Uncle Kit followed them, to try to get some more definiteinformation regarding the massacre. After awhile Uncle Kit came back, and Col. Bent asked him what he thought of the news the men had brought. Carson answered that the men in the dining room did not know anything, and that he thought they were a party of emigrants who were disappointedand angry at their luck, and they had tried to vent their spite on someIndians they had met by firing on them, and had got the worst of thefight. 

"You know, Colonel, that the Comanches have not troubled any whitepeople in a number of years without they were aggravated to do so. "

Col. Bent said, "Well, Kit, are you going down there to investigate thematter?"

Carson answered, "Yes, and won't you send three men along to bury thedead?"

Col. Bent said, "Certainly, Kit, and anything else you want. When do youwant to start?"

Carson said, "We will start now. "

Carson, Bridger, myself and three other men left the fort for the sceneof the massacre, which we reached at the break of day the nextmorning, and the sight that met our eyes was a horrible one. We foundtwenty-three dead bodies close together, apparently where the attack hadcommenced, and down near the river, in the brush, we found five more, and also four living men who were not hurt, but frightened nearly todeath. 

After Carson had talked with these men a while and they had recovered alittle sense, they told how the dreadful thing occurred. 

They had just pulled out from camp that morning when they met theIndians. There were several men on horseback riding on ahead of thewagons. When they met the Indians, they commenced to shout "How-How, "and the horsemen began to fire on the Indians without the Indians doinga thing to provoke them, and then the Indians had turned on them andkilled every white person they could find, but that they had not beenseen by the Indians, as they ran down the river and hid in the brush. 

We searched thoroughly the brush all around for quite a distance, but wecould find no more living or dead. 

We could not find out by these men how many there were in the train anymore than we could of the men that came with the news to the fort. 

We began to bury the dead, and the four men commenced to look after theteams and wagons. 

In a little while they came back driving three teams, and said they hadfound them hooked together, feeding along quietly, and they found thatnothing had been touched or carried away from the wagons. 

After Uncle Kit had learned the cause of the massacre, I think he wasthe most out of humor that I ever saw him. He said, "Such men as theones who fired on those Indians deserve to be shot, for they are not fitto live in any country, " and turning to Bridger he said, "Jim, it hasalways been such men as they that has made bad Indians and caused mostall the trouble the whites have had with them, and still the Indians areblamed for it all, and have to suffer for it all. I hope I shall live tosee the day when these things will be changed in this respect, and theIndians will have more justice shown them. "

But I am very sorry to say that Uncle Kit did not live to see thisaccomplished. It was fifty years ago that Kit Carson expressed that wishin regard to the Indians, but it has never been gratified, for in allthat time the Indians have been driven from one place to another and notallowed to rest anywhere long at a time, and in my opinion certainlyhave not had justice done them by the white race, and I will say thisfrom my own experience, that when an Indian professes to be a friend heis a friend indeed, in storm as well as sunshine. 

I will tell an instance that occurred four years ago when I was inIndian Territory. I was sitting on the street in one of the towns whenan old Kiawah Indian came along, and looked at me quite sharply andwalked on a few steps, then turned and looked at me again, and then hecame back to me and slapped me on the shoulder and said, "A-Po-Lilly, "which meant "Long time ago me know you. " I looked at him and said, "No, you are mistaken, I do not know you, " and then he told me where hehad met me and what I had done for him, and as he recounted what hadhappened I remembered the incident. 

The time I had first met him I was out hunting and met him in theforest. It was in the Territory of Wyoming, and he had had a fight withthe Sioux, and they had shot his horse, and he was hungry and tired andfootsore. I took him to my camp and fed him and kept him all night, andthe next morning I gave him a horse so he could ride back to his tribein more comfort, and I had not seen him since that morning, and thishappened forty years before I saw him again, and he remembered me. Heshook hands with me, which is a custom the Indians have not outgrown, and left me, but in a few minutes he returned with at least forty of histribe with him, and I had to shake hands with every one of them. Some ofthem could speak good English, and they told me the story he had toldthem about my being kind to him, and they all called me their friend. This incident shows that the Indian appreciates kindness. 

After we had buried the emigrants, which took nearly two days to do, Carson asked the men who had escaped being massacred where they weregoing and what they intended to do. 

One of them answered, "If you men will stay with us all night, we willtalk it over and decide what we had better do. "

Carson said we had better stay with them that night, so we made a fireand prepared supper, and while we were eating we saw several more wagonscoming down the trail near the river. 

Uncle Kit said to the men that were with us, "Now is your chance, boys. You can join this train and go home with them. "

When the teams drove up, the three men and the boy we had left at thefort were with them. 

They all camped there with us, and after talking with the men, we foundout that none of them claimed the teams and wagons that had been found. The owners of them had all been killed. The survivors did not know whatto do with the wagons and their contents, and they appealed to Uncle Kitfor advice in the matter. 

Carson said, "I do not see that you can do better than take them alongwith you. If you leave them here, somebody will come along and takethem, and they belong as much to you as to anyone. "

So the next morning they rigged up five wagons with three yoke of cattleto a wagon, leaving eight wagons with their contents standing wheretheir owners had left them when the Indians had killed them. 

As they were ready to pull out, Uncle Kit went to them and asked them togive him their names and where they lived, "for, " he said, "if I everhear where any of the people lived who owned the property you havetaken with you, I want to write to you so you can give them to theirfamilies. "

We then bid them all good bye, and they started on their journey home, Carson having advised them not to molest the Indians no matter how manyor how few they might meet on their way, and then the Indians would notmolest them, as they were a friendly tribe, and that was the last weever saw or heard of that party. 

We now turned back to Bent's Fort and reached there just before night. Col. Bent's herder took care of our horses. 

That night Carson, Bridger and I consulted together, and Bridger and Idecided to go with Uncle Kit to his home at Taos, Mexico, and stay amonth with him, but fate seemed to step in and change my plans. 

The next morning when the herder went out to get our horses he found aman crawling along, trying to get to the Fort, who was nearly starvedand so weak that he could hardly speak. 

The herder put him on his horse and brought him to the Fort, and we gavehim some food. He said this was the first time he had broken his fast infour days, and then he went on to tell that he and his comrades, whichwere four altogether, had been among the first to come out to CherryCreek in search of gold the spring before, and after they got there, they were so disappointed to find that there was not enough gold thereto pay them to stay that they concluded to go and prospect on their ownhooks. Each of them had taken as much provisions as he could carry, withhis gun and blanket, pick and shovel, and they had struck out into themountains. They had kept on at the foot of the mountain until theypassed the Arkansaw river, and here they went up into the mountains andsoon lost their way. 

"How long we were traveling or where we went, I do not know, " continuedthe unfortunate man, "and finally we forgot the day of the week. As longas our ammunition lasted, we did not lack for something to eat, andfoolishly we sometimes shot game we did not need, and after a while ourammunition gave out, and when that happened it was not long until allthe other stuff was gone, and we could not tell where we were until wegot out of the mountains and saw Pike's Peak, as we knew what directionPike's Peak was from Cherry Creek. 

"We knew then what direction to take to get back. The second night afterwe left the mountains, one of the boys was taken very sick, and as wecould not think of leaving him to die alone, and we had nothing to eatfor him or for ourselves, and I being the strongest, they picked me togo and try to get relief. It has been four days and nights since I leftthem, and I do not believe I have slept over two hours at a time since Istarted, I was so anxious to find help to go to them. And besides, I wasso hungry I could not rest. Many a time I have walked as long as I couldkeep my eyes open, and I would drop down beside a log and fall asleepbefore I struck the ground and slept an hour or two, and then awoke withthat dreadful gnawing in my stomach. Then I got up again and struggledon, but I could not have gone much farther when the herder got up to me, for my strength was nearly gone, and I should have given up and diedvery soon. Nobody knows what I have suffered on this trip, except theythat have gone through the same ordeal. We have about one hundreddollars between us, and we are willing to give it to anyone who will goand carry something to eat and help my comrades to come here. "

The looks of the man and the pleading way he talked and the faithfulnessto his friends in trying to get help to them was more pathetic than anyromance could describe it, and could not help but appeal to the heart ofany man. 

With the light of deep sympathy in his eyes, Uncle Kit stepped forwardand, stretching out his hand toward the unfortunate, exclaimed, "Do notworry another moment; your comrades shall have assistance at once, or assoon as I can reach them, " and turning to me, Uncle Kit said, "Willie, come outside with me a moment, " and when I looked at him after I hadfollowed him, I saw the tears on his cheeks. I had known Kit Carsonseveral years, but this was the first time I had seen him moved totears. He said, "Willie, my boy, can't you find these men as well asanyone?"

I answered, "Yes, sir; if this man can give me any clue to follow, Iwill find them in short order, for I have been all over those mountainsand through the valley several times, and know the country well. "

He said, "Well, I thought you could fill the bill if any one could, Willie; and now go and have three horses saddled, and I will have somegrub fixed up, and by that time the man will have finished eating andwill be more fit to talk to you. "

My horses were soon ready, and I went in to see the man. When I wentinto the room where he was, I found him lying on a cot, and after I hadtalked with him a few moments, I decided in my mind he had left hiscomrades not far from where the city of Trinidad now stands. He gave methe description of nearly all the mountains and streams he had crossedon his way to the Fort after he had left his friends, and I thought ifhe had been correct in his description of his route I could find thesuffering men without much difficulty. When I went out to where thehorses were waiting for me, I found Uncle Kit had packed about fortypounds of grub on one of the horses. Col. Bent handed me a pint flask ofwhiskey, saying, "Now, if these men are alive when you find them, givethem a small quantity of this, but be very careful not to give them toomuch at a time, and the same care must be taken in giving them food. "

As I was starting, Uncle Kit said, "Now, Willie, if you are successfulin finding the men, I hope to hear from you in two or three weeks. Jimand I will leave here today for Taos, and you will find us there whenyou come home, " and he gave me his hand, and with a lingering pressuresaid, "Goodbye, and God speed you on your errand of mercy, my boy. "

And I mounted my horse and left the Fort, and was off on my long, lonelyjourney over trackless prairies and through mountain passes that hadperhaps never been trodden by a white man beforehand. No one can realizehow lonely this journey was. I did not think much about it myself untilI made my camp the first night. After I had staked out my horses andbuilt a fire, I began to realize what a dreadful state the lost men mustbe in, for if I was so hungry, who had eaten a good meal at noon, whatmust they be suffering who had had nothing to eat in five days? Thethoughts of the suffering men whom I hoped to rescue from death kept meawake most of the night, and I fully decided that this was the last timeI would try to sleep until I knew whether they were living or dead. Iwas up with the dawn the next morning, and on the way, and I thought ifI did not meet with any bad luck to detain me I would be in the vicinityof the men I sought by night. 

From this time out I knew I must be very careful to look for signs ofthe lost men, as hunger might drive them to leave the place where theircomrade had directed me to look for them. When I was a little westof where the city of Waltzingburge now stands, and the darkness wasbeginning to close down, I saw the glimmer of a little fire off to theright, at what looked about a half mile from me. I thought it might bean Indian camp and directed my course that way, but when I was withinsight of it and was within a hundred yards or so of the fire, I couldnot see a soul stirring around it, but I kept on up to the fire, andsuddenly my horse came near stepping on a man who lay on the ground withbare feet and nothing under or over him. I sprang from my horse and bentover him and spoke to him, but he did not answer or move. I then tookhold of his shoulder and shook him gently, and he seemed to rouse up alittle. I said, "What are you laying here for?" and he murmured in avoice so weak I had to bend my ear close to him to hear, "I have laiddown to die. "'

I pulled the flask of whiskey from my pocket and raised him on my armand wet his lips with a few drops of the whiskey. I repeated thisseveral times, as he seemed to have relapsed into unconsciousness, andI was afraid I was too late to save him or bring him back toconsciousness. 

I laid him down and built the fire anew and unpacked my horse and got myblankets and made a pallet and lifted him on it. Lifting him seemed torevive him, and the firelight showed me that he had opened his eyes, andhe put his hand on his stomach and whispered, "Oh, how hungry I am. "

I gave him a small sup of whiskey, and, taking a piece of buffalo meatfrom my pack, I soon had it broiled, and with some bread I began to feedhim in small morsels. I continued to do this for perhaps half an hour, as he was too weak to swallow much at a time, and I had to wait somemoments before giving him another morsel, and between times I gave hima taste of the whiskey. Up to now I had no idea he was one of the men Iwas hunting for. 

It was perhaps an hour from the time that I commenced to feed him whenhe seemed to come to himself, and I thought that he was strong enoughto answer me, so I asked him how he came to be here in the weak, almostdying condition that I had found him in, and then he told me who he wasand how he came to be there, and I knew he was the only survivor leftalive of the three whom I had started out to find. 

He said that he had not had a bite to eat in seven days, only whatnourishment he could get by chewing his moccasins. 

He had soaked them in water until they were soft and then broiled themon the coals and eaten them. 

I told him how his comrade had been picked up near Bent's Fort in anexhausted condition, and how he had begged someone to go to the reliefof those he had left starving, and that I had started out to find themif I could. 

He said the one who first fell sick died the same night their comradeleft them to get help, and that the other one and himself were notstrong enough to dig a grave to bury him in, so they left him just as hehad died and crawled away, and they kept on together until near the nextnight, when the one that was with him took sick and could go no further. 

"And, " said he, "I built a fire and we lay down, and I was so weak thatI fell asleep and slept until morning, and when I awoke my companion wasdead and cold. So I was all alone. I could do nothing for him any morethan he and I could for the other one. I left him also and started onalone, but I could not go far, for I grew so weak. Then the thought cameto me that I could eat my moccasins if I soaked them soft and broiledthem over the coals. After I had eaten them, I was a little stronger andkept on until I reached this place, when my strength gave out again, andI built a fire, as I thought for the last time, for I did not expect toever leave here. When you came, I heard your voice, but I thought I wasdreaming. "

After I had listened to his sad story, I gave him some more to eat andmore whiskey, which seemed to revive him, and he gained strength veryfast, and when the morning came he could sit up and seemed quitecomposed, although he was no more than the shadow of a man. But by noonhe could walk around and seemed very anxious to be moving. Late thatafternoon I saddled the horses and assisted him to mount one of them, and we left the place. He said he had thought that place would be hislast resting place. 

We had ridden slowly for about five miles when we came to a stream ofcool water, and where we could have a shady place to lie down andrest, and I made a camp there and spread a blanket for my sick man andprepared some supper for us both. I had to remind him many times to becareful and not eat too much in his weak state, for he was so hungry andthe food tasted so good that he found it difficult to restrain himselffrom eating more than was good for him. 

For two days it seemed almost impossible for him to get enough to eat, and although I pitied him, I knew I must not give him all he would haveeaten. 

The morning of the third day after I found him, he seemed more rationalthan he had since I had been with him. That morning he asked where wewere going, and when I told him we were going to Bent's Fort, where hiscomrade was waiting for us, he seemed surprised. He did not rememberthat I had told him how the herder at the Fort had found him, and thatit was through his faithful struggle to get help for his starvingfriends that I had started out to find them. When I told it all to himagain, he sat and cried like a child. 

He said: "How can I ever pay this friend for suffering so much forme, and you, a stranger, for seeking to find me in the tracklesswilderness?"

And then he told me what each of his comrades said before they died. 

He said they were all raised together in one town in Missouri and wereas dear to each other as though they had been brothers, and all theirparents were in Denver, Colorado, where the four sons had left them whenthey started out prospecting for gold, and he said with tears in hiseyes, "How can I ever tell their mothers what we all suffered, and howthe two died and their bodies left laying unburied?"

After we had talked as long as I thought was best for him to dwell onthe sad events, I cheered him up as well as I could. I assisted him tomount the horse I had selected for him to ride, and we pulled out on thetrail for the Fort. 

He was so weak that we could not ride over ten miles a day, and we wereseven days going back the same distance that I had traveled in two whenI struck out to find them. 

The day before we reached Bent's Fort, I shot a young deer just as wewere going into camp, and as he was eating some of it, he said it wasthe sweetest meat he'd ever eaten. 

We landed at Bent's Fort on the evening of the seventh day after Istarted back with him. His comrade was sitting outside of the Fort whenwe came in sight, and when he saw us he hurried to meet us, and when wewere in speaking distance of each other he said:

"Bill, I had given up all hope of ever seeing you again, " and he did notwait for his friend to dismount, but reached up and took him off in hisarms, and men who were used to all kinds of sights turned away withtears in their eyes at the sight of that meeting. 

After they were seated together in the Fort and were more composed, theybegan talking about how they should tell the parents of the comrades whohad died in the mountains. 

One said, "I can never tell them, " and the other said, "We must, forthey will have to be told, and who else will do it?"

They now turned to me and asked if I would take them to Denver, and whatI would charge them for doing it. I said, "Boys, I will take you toDenver, and when we get there you can pay me whatever you can afford topay, be it much or little. "

So it was decided that we should leave the Fort in the morning, and, aswe were nearly ready to start, the man who had brought the news and hadremained at the Fort while I went to find his comrades asked Col. Benthow much his bill would be for the time he had staid there. Col. Bentsaid, "You do not owe me a cent, " and taking a twenty-dollar gold piecefrom his pocket, the Colonel handed it to one of the men, saying as hedid so, "But you can give this to Mr. Drannan, for he is the one thatdeserves this and more for what he has done. " We mounted our horses andleft the Fort and struck the trail for Denver. 

Nothing occurred to impede our journey, and we arrived at Denver on thethird day after we left Fort Bent. 

We camped on Cherry Creek on the edge of town. 

I said: "Now, boys, I will take care of the horses and cook supper, andyou two can strike out and see if you can find your folks, and if youhave not found them by dark, come back here and get your supper and staywith me tonight. "

They had not been gone more than half an hour when I saw them comingback, and an elderly man and woman and a young lady were with them. 

When they came to me, the man whom I had found unconscious in themountains said:

"Father and mother, this is the man who sought and found me and saved mylife. "

The father took my hand, and, in a voice that trembled with emotion, said, "I can never thank you enough for what you have done for my boyand his mother and me, for he is our only son, and I think our heartswould have broken if he had shared the sad fate of his two comrades. "

The mother gave me her hand without speaking, but her tear-stained faceand smiling lips thanked me more than words could have done. The younggirl, whom the elder man presented as his daughter, thanked me in asweet voice for bringing her brother back to them, and when all gotthrough, I felt almost overpowered with their gratitude. 

They insisted on my going home with them to stay all night, which I did, and the next morning I had the pleasure of meeting the father and motherand two brothers of the other man. 

After I had talked with them all a while, one of the young men asked mewhat they should pay me for all the trouble I had taken upon myself intheir cause. 

I told them that I would take the twenty dollars that Col. Bent hadgiven him for me, and as the morning was wearing away, I bid them goodbye and left them and started on my journey to Taos, New Mexico, and mymuch-looked-forward-to visit to Uncle Kit, and that was the last timeI ever saw any of these people. But a year ago I was at Denver and hadoccasion to call at the office of _The Rocky Mountain News_, which, bythe way, is the oldest newspaper published in the state of Colorado, andwhile I was talking with the editor, he alluded to the incident I havejust spoken about and said that the man whom I had found unconscious atthe camp fire in the mountains lived and died at Denver, and that he wasalways called "Moccasin Bill, " from the fact that he ate his moccasinswhile trying to find his way out of the mountains, and that for severalmonths before he died he seemed to dwell upon that event and alwaysmentioned how I'd rescued him from certain death on that to himnever-to-be-forgotten occasion. 

When I arrived at Taos, I found Uncle Kit and his family all in goodhealth, and I found Jim Bridger there having what he called a grand goodrest. 

As soon as I had been greeted by Uncle Kit and the others of the family, he asked me how I had succeeded in my quest of the lost, and when I toldhim all the particulars, he said:

"Willie, my boy, that was one of the best things you have ever done, andit is something for you to be proud of doing, and I am proud of having ashare in directing you what to do, and I am very proud of my boy. "

I answered, "Uncle Kit, you have always taught me to do my duty on everyoccasion, as I have noticed you always do yourself, and it has been theexample you have set before me as well as the instruction you have givenme from my boyhood until now that has made me what I am, and I should bevery sorry to do anything to make you ashamed of or cause you to regretthat you took the little homeless, wandering orphan and gave him afather's care and protection, and I shall always try to make you love mewhether I can do what will make you proud of me or not. "

THE END.