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Show 92 TEAVELS AND ADVENTUEES IN THE FAE WEST. desire that the men should not sell, barter, or give away a. single grain of gunpowder, on pain of his severest displeasure. The Indians then threatened to attack us. Col. Fremont defied them. After considerable parleying, we succeeded in pacifying them. As it was the intention of Col. Fremont to leave camp at an early hour, I unpacked my daguerreotype apparatus, at daylight, and made several views. While engaged in this way, one of the UtahLndians brought into camp a beautiful three-year-old colt, and offered to trade him with me; he was a model pony- dark bay color, in splendid order, sound in wind and limb, and full of life and fire. My poor buffalo Pungo had, three days before, been shot down for food, and in consequence I was literally on foot, although I was using one of the baggage animals for the time. With permission of Col. Fremont I traded for him; I gave him in exchange one pair of blankets, an old dress coat, a spoiled daguerreotype plate, a knife, hah an ounce of vermilion and an old exhausted pony, which we would have been obliged to leave behind; previous to the trade, I had never mounted him, but I saw the Indian ride him, and his movements were easy and graceful. The Indian saddled him for me, as I was otherwise engaged, and did not notice him during the operation. By this time the rest of the party were all mounted, and I never jumped on him until the last moment ; he winced a little under the bit, the first one he ever had in his mouth, but cantered off at a round pace, I would not at that moment have taken $500 for him. I considered myself safely mounted for the rest of the j ourney. |