h trace, or rather of the Indian trace which we had
followed into the mountains, thinking it to be the Spanish.

Turning back upon our own trace some little distance, we crossed over a
pass in the mountains to the southwest, and descending a small stream,
came upon what we thought to be the upper waters of the Red River. Here,
while our wretched, famished beasts were recruiting themselves upon a
favorable bit of pasture land, the Lieutenant marched with a small party
to explore upstream. At the same time Baroney and I marched down the
river, our mission being to kill game for the others, who were to follow
us in a day or two.

It was not, however, until three days later, on Christmas Eve, that our
party found itself reunited in one camp. After two days of unsuccessful
hunting, Baroney and I had at last killed four buffaloes, and young
Sparks had shot four more. In view of the fact that we had all been for
two days without food, the meeting brought us great happiness.

Yet I cannot say that Christmas Day, which we spent in camp, smoking and
drying our meat, was as merry as it might have been. The contrast with
all our previous experiences of that holiday was far too sombre. Some of
the men even drew unfavorable comparisons between this and the past
year, when they were at the head of the Mississippi. Though then in a
still colder climate and among the fierce Chippewas, they had at least
enjoyed far better food and shelter. As for our present food, though now
for the first time in weeks we had an abundant supply, it was limited to
the one item of meat, which we must eat without so much as a pinch of
salt. Our summery clothes were rent and tattered; many of our blankets
torn up for stockings; our outer footwear reduced to clumsy moccasins of
raw buffalo hide.

To these physical privations was added the consciousness of the grim
fact that between us and the nearest of our far-distant frontier
settlements lay all the mountain wilderness we had traversed, and more
than seven hundred miles of desert plains. Yet, taken all in all, we
managed to spend the day in fairly good cheer, despite the snow which
came whirling down upon us.

On the afternoon of the next day we marched down to where the mountains
closed in on the river valley. From here on, each succeeding day until
the fifth of January found our way rougher and more difficult. The
valley became ever deeper and narrower, so that we had to cross and
recross the river r