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Show [ 174 J 18 mcnt to others. Even their stock of tobacco, that sine qu~ non of a voy·· · 1 t )1'cl tltc niol 1t fire is n-loomy, was lorlr ett1' Wit lOll w I l ~ ' 0 cntncIIl y cxhIa nf. tctl. ,~er we shortened their hom wnrJ joumcy by a sma snpp Y rom. onorw oew n. p' rov1.s 1. on. 1'1Jc·' y oq ave us file' welcome intclliq':) ence ctl lwt tdh e buf-· fa.lo were abtuHl::wt some two days' march in atlvancc, ::w mn ~e t~ s n. pn~se nt or s~> me choiec piece', which were a very acceptable cltnnge ft om our ~a It pork. In tile in t~rchange ?f IJ <'w~, _aml the rencwa.l .of o;J ac: uaintanrc~llips, we fonnd wll•'H'Wt tlwl to Jtll a busy h?ur , tl ~ n w ~ ~wnutcd om J10rs ,, and they shouldered thc tr packs:, ~\tH.l \\ e hool, hell~~" aud parted. A nu)ng t h<'nt, I had found an old c~rn p attlOll on.' he nnrtllu n pnu· ne, a J1".-.' 1·c] ".. 11cd " tid l1·1rdly se t ved veteran oi the mountatll!';, who lwu u ' • 1 ' ,, Jd been us mnclt hackt·J a11d ~ca r H'U as an oiJ mou;;;to~·/, c of 1\i:.lp.n <'O tl s o guard." lie floun I ted in thn sob riquet o~ La Tultpe,, nmJ Ius real '} am~ 1 llCVL't knrw. Fiudnw tlwt lte wa, gomg to tltn States only because his Cl)tnpnuy was Lotlll(.{' in tlwt cli~·ection,. an.d that lte w~•· rather ~~~rc willi 11 (1 to retum with me, I took hull agau1 mto my servtce. We ti ,lV-- cllctl tol us day hilt Sl'Vetll ecn nu' l cs. . . At nm evc tting cuwp, about sunset, three fi gnre.s were, :ltscov~te~ np .. proacl1i11g, which our glas cs made out t ~ be lmlwns . 1 bey ptov~d to be Ch<'yenues-two mcll, and a boy o~ tlllrte.cu. ~bout a tnolltll smce, ·they lwJ lert their people ou the south fork ot tl!e n ~cr, snme' t.hr~c hun-dred mtle~ to the wt·srward, aml a pa rty of ou ly fo11.r 111 nuntbct 1.1"'d been to tlte P.twtt c villages on a lt orse-ste,lling ex.cu r·ston, from winch tl1 ~y wcl\} retul'llitlg UtJsuccc sfu l. T hey were nnscrably mountl·d on wii<l horses fnml tlte Ark.lllsas plaius, aud had no other W<'ap<~lls tltau bows and lu11g ~pear. ; a11d had they beeu di~covered by the. I .l Wttecs, c.ou~d 110t, by nny ptJ~~thility, have escaped. 'I hey were mortified ~y tlletr ~t.l ·ucec::;s, awl sa id the Paw11ces were cowards, who. hut 11p tlletr hor~cs 111 their Jod gl's itt ttight. [ invited them to s up~f'r wllh me, at1d H~n.d o lp h tu:d tllC yotlllg Clleyemw, wlto lwJ bceu cyc1ng each ot lwr su~ptcwusly· and cm i ou~ly, soon becau1c jutitlJUie frir.11ds. After supper, we s.at. down on the gw~s, :111d I placed a sheet of paper hctw<~eu us, 011 wluch they tract>d rudely, Lut w11 11 a ce rt ain de~rce uf r e l <~ tiv ~ tr uth, the watcrco~usc~ of the couutry which Jay between u.s aud tbetr v!IIHges, and of wh1ch I dc::-ired to have ~o me illformatinn. Their compuniolls, th ry tokl us, had taken a ue uer route over tlte !tills; but thry bad moH11t< d ouc of tl1e snmmirs to !'PY ont the couutry, whellcc tltey had r.ang llt a glimpse of our pa rty9 and, cotd1dent of good treatment at the hands of tbc whites, hastened to join company. Lat itnde of the camp 40° 39' 5 1". We rn:HJe the 11ext mor11ing six teen miles. I remurkcd tlmt tite ground was covered in man~r places with an effiurPscencc of salt, a11d the plants were not lllnnerons. In the bottoms was frtlfllelltly sc~ n trurlescanh'av aud on the ury lenrhcs were ca'rduvs, crLcl?ts, a11d amorpha. A high wind Juring the morn ing had increased to a vwlent gale lrom the nortllwest9 which made 0ur uftcmoou riJe cold anJ unpleasant. We !tad tbe welcome sight of two buff docs 011 one of tile large tslanJs, and et:campcd at a clump of timber ahout seven miles from our noon halt, after a day's murcb. of twenry.two miles. The air was ke,m the next moming at sunrise, the thermometer standing at 44°, and it wns sufficiently cold to altakc overcoats very comfortable. A few miles brought us into the nddst of the hntfalo, swat n1it1g in immcJlse numbers over the plains, where they had left ,.,carcely a ulade of 19 [ 174 J grass. standing. Mr. Prenss, who was sketching at a little distance in the rear, lwd at first noted them a large groves of tin1hcr. Iu the sight of snell a mass of life, the travt>ller fpc!" a ... lran ~<' emotion of grandeur. \Ve had ltl'arcl f'r0111 a di:-tat1ce a dull and rcm(u ed nutnnurin!!', aud, wiJeu we ramc in iew of tltcir cl::trk lltasst',, there wa, unt one un10llg u,s who dtJ not fed his ltc•nrt beat quicl\ r. It wa.., the early part of the day, whl!ll tiH? herds arr rt•cdin~; allu evl'ry wli<'le ti ll'Y were in motiou. llcre allcl thl~re a hnge old Lull was rolling in tile p-rass, and clonu" of du~t rose in the air from vnrit>tls parts of tltc lw11ds, t•aeh tile sce11u of some ob~tinnte figltt. Indwus and hu1litln m:~ke tltc poetry and liic of the pruiriP, arH.I Ott!' C0.rllp wus full of tlteir 1,! \.ltil nration. lll placP. of tile quiet nwtwtot.y of t!1c march, relleVt'd only by the nnckin!{ of the whip, aud au '' tll'iiJlC" rlouc .' ,.,~(ant de ~urce !" "honts and :wttgs resounded from <'Very part of tile littl' ;uJu onr eveni~tg camp was alway~ the <'OIHmcuccntetlt of a feast, \\'lliclt tt·nllill:ltcJ otdy with our d(•pnrttlrl' on the followiug morning. At <lll) time of the uiglrt nti~ltt be seen pieces of the most t1elicate and ciJoice~t mutt, roasting en ttppolu8, on sticks aron11d tile iire, al!cl the guard \\'cte llevcr without company. Wllh pleasa11t wcuther and no ettctuy to fear, au abundll tJcc of tlH· mo~t e.·celll!nt tnrat, atld no scarcity of ure:1,1 or toba cco, they were enjoying the OllSl-> of a voyngcur's ltfe. Three CO\\~ were killed to dny. Kit Carson had shot otw, and wns continuittg the cltasc in the n1id, t of another herd, when his horse fell hcadlollg, but spr.u1n- up alld jnincod th Dying balld. Thotrgh cotJSiucrably hu rt, he ltacl the ~rooJ for·ttllW to Lreak 110 bone·; and J\Jaxwcll, who was mouutcJ 011 a ll~.·l'l iltltller, captnrcd the r~uwway after a hard chase. Jl~ was on the point of ::-bout !II~ him, to nv< id the lo ·s of his bridle, (a hant1- somely tUOllltted ~;pantsil one,) wheu IH' found thnt 111~ horse was able to come up with him. Attimal~ a1e frN]IICJttly lost itt tins way; anti it 1: ncccssru y to krrp close watelt ovc>r· them, in li te vicinity of the buflido, in tile mid::-t of wltif·IJ th C'y :-.cnnt otr to the pl:lins, anJ ;nc ran•ly rerakcu. One of our tllltlcs took a sudden freak into ltis lwnd, and j\)itwu a ucin·hboring balld to-Jay. As we were not i11 a condition to lose horses, I s~nt several men in pursuit, anu rcmaillcd in camp, m the hope of rccovPrincr him; but l0:-'t tlw af'lrrttOOtt to 110 purpose, a~ we Jid 110t sec htm aaait~ Astronomical ob. ervations placcJ us in longitude 100° 05' 47", latiTude 40° 4~)' 55". Ju ly 1.-AiolJO' onr rnad to·dny the prairie bottom was more elevated ancl dry, nnd tll8 hills wlttch bordt>r the right sicln of the river l1igher, and mor~ brokc11 and pictnrt..:sf]IW in the outline. The conntry, too, was better tuubcred. As we were riding qnietly along the baul<, a grand herd of bulfa~o, some seven or eight hundred in nnml·cr, came crowdit1g up from the nver, whew tht!y had been to drink, a11J conllneuced eros itJO' the plain slowly, eating as they went. The wind wu ·favorable; the coglness of th~ morning illvited to exercise; the grouncl wa apparently good, and t~c dtstar1ce across the prairie (two or tltree miles) gave us a fina opportumty to charge·them before they could got among the river hills. lt was too fine a pro poet for a cha. e to be lost ; anu, halting for a few moments, the hunters were brought up a11d saddled, and Kit Carson, lVIaxwell, and I, started toge:hcr. Tlwy were now somewhat less than half a mile distant, and we rode ea. il y along until within about three hundred yards, when a sudden agitation, a wavering in the band, and a gallopmg to and fro of some which were scattered aloug the skirts, gave us the intimation ' |
