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Show 84 FORTY YEARS AMONG THE INDIANS. We helped them out and guided them into the fort. It was a bitter cold night but we had good houses with rousing fires. After unhitching and turning out Jesse said, " I am glad to get here." I replied, " I am as glad to see you." " Why are you so glad to see us?" he asked. I told him we had not a mouthful of anything to eat, nor had we tasted food that day. " Then what are you stopping here for?" I replied, " We were waiting for you to bring our supper." He laughed and said, " Well you shall have it if it takes the last bite we have got." He gave to our cook all of his provisions. About ten o'clock twenty- six hungry men sat down to about as thankfully a received supper as was ever partaken of by mortal man. In January when this party passed through to Platte bridge, I sent word by them to the mountaineers there that we would pay a good price for meat brought to us. Two of the best hunters, Messrs. Maxim and Plant, made the attempt to get us meat, but failed, almost starving themselves on the hunt. They never reached our fort but returned to their homes on the Platte. When Jesse Jones left us going down we had but little provisions on hand. Maxim and Plant's failure to reach us with food caused the people at Platte bridge to suppose we had all perished. Jesse told me he fully expected to find our skeletons. Some may ask why we did not leave. There was no time during the winter but what the attempt would have been certain death to some of us. The company at no time was strong enough to make the trip to Platte bridge, neither did we wish to abandon our trust that we had accepted with our eyes wide open to the perils around us. |