en and sun-tanned boyish face, and I
knew he accepted it as an emblem of my sorrow for being the innocent
cause, in a measure, of his cruel misfortune. Thus, by the flip of a
pebble was my life spared, but at the expense of a true friend.

CHAPTER VI

ON TO LEAVENWORTH

[Illustration: T] The next summer I was not very well, and so I made a
trip to Leavenworth, Kansas, by the Southern or Smoky Hill route. We
made the trip by mule train of twenty wagons with six mules hitched to
each. The driver rode the nigh mule and with one line guided the team.
If he wanted the leaders to go to the right he simply jerked fast or
slow, depending on how quick he wanted to make the turn; if to the
left, a steady or quick pull. The Indians on this trail were more
numerous than on the Platte and scarcely a day passed that they were
not to be seen, and continually trying to drive off our stock. We did
not receive any great scare until we reached the Big Blue River where
on the fourth day of July at ten o'clock in the morning a large
Concord coach filled with passengers and a small guard of the United
States soldiers, which had previously passed us, were awaiting our
arrival before daring to proceed. On reaching the crest of the bluff
leading to the valley of the river we saw hundreds of Sioux Indians,
in war paint and feathers, camped on the opposite side in the
underbrush and woods, and in the main trail directly in our path.

We at once went into corral. Thirty men against a horde of savages, if
they were there to dispute our right of progress, was not a pleasant
position to be placed in nor a fitting manner in which to celebrate
the glorious Fourth. Consultations were numerous and all took part.
The redskins, camped in plain sight, were hurrying to and fro,
evidently in council like ourselves. To the right of the trail was a
dense wood close to the river bank; on the left was a high
perpendicular bluff, its sides unscalable, so our route was a genuine
death trap, should they attack us. After grub all gathered in a circle
and with pipes we proceeded with our last council. The situation was
talked over from every point as to what the Indians might do or might
not do. We finally arrived to the conclusion that they had the best of
us whatever move we made. A majority vote decided to proceed with
every man for himself in case of attack. Our wagons were empty which
was a little in our favor as we could go on a mule trot or gallop.