p281  Homeward Bound

In two or three days Houck and others, some thirty or forty in number, marched north by way of Corralitos and the copper mines (now Arizona) to Socorro, in order to avoid going through El Paso. The troops marched south, several Americans — Magoffin, Speyer, Messervy, and several others — going with them, leaving me still in suspense.

In about a week Mr. Doan arrived in town, greatly to the satisfaction of both of us. [He] had made the round trip without accident or interruption, and had a good stock of Mexican goods to dispose of. After consultation we decided to take them to New Mexico for a market; and as the goods consigned to Zacatecas were yet unsold, Mr. D. would remain in Chihuahua, and I would take the train in charge and proceed on my return to the U. S. Mr. Aull was also desirous that he should remain and assist him in the disposal of his stock. I think the wagons only remained one day in Chihuahua and were started off in charge of John Devoe, who had one wagon, making five wagons in all and about ten or twelve men. I decided to take the direct route through El Paso, and if necessary we all resolved to stand by each other to the last, hoping that the presence of our troops in New Mexico and the possibility of the retaking of Chihuahua from the south would deter the authorities from any measures of detention or outrage.

Our teams were strong, and we fed [them] grain  p282 whenever it could be obtained, and made good time to El Paso. [We] camped for the night at the usual camping ground south of the town. In the morning while at breakfast, my mule boy, Antonio, came and informed me that there was a man among the mules with a lot of branding irons and claimed two or three mules. I requested him to come to the camp fire, when I recognized our old acquaintance of the year before and asked him if he expected we would submit to the same treatment as last year. He replied that his brands fitted the brands on the mules and there was no venta, or sale brand.

"My friend," [I said], "just look across the river. Do you see those hills? They are, or soon will be, in the U. S. — and even El Paso may be — and you had better look out. We shall not give up the mules without a fight. Tell your officers that if they must have the mules, to prepare to fight for them. We shall, as soon as through breakfast, 'catch up' and proceed on our journey and go directly through El Paso without stopping, unless the attempt is made by the authorities to detain us, when we shall defend ourselves to the last man. Boys, see that your guns are in order and plenty of ammunition in your shot pouches."

He rode off, and the word was soon given to "catch up," and we passed through the town without molestation or annoyance and crossed the river.

My journey to Doña Ana and through the jornada was made in good time and without adventure or accident, except when •some six or seven miles from Fray Cristóbal. And about ten o'clock at night, word was passed to the lead wagon: "Hold on!"

"What is the matter?"

 p283  "Tire run off."

We stopped, took off the wheel, wedged on the tire and in less than half an hour word was given to go ahead. [We] arrived at Fray Cristóbal and camped for the night. [We] rested a part of the next day and proceeded to Valverde and camped for the night. The night was chilly — dark and cloudy with some sleet. I called Don Juan (Devoe) on guard, and he answered promptly, rose from his bed, took up his gun, wrapped himself in his blanket, and with several grunts and groans followed me to the herd. When I was about to leave, he relieved himself as follows:

"Dese dam Ingens! Dey make me loose a heap sleep."

The time, associations, and dangers surrounding this camp, with [the] mode of expression of this old Frenchman, who never shirked any responsibility or failed in the performance of any known duty, left an impression never to be forgotten. And after a lapse of more than forty years and many experiences of a far more exciting character, I can repeat his exclamation in full sympathy with him.

Here the Navajo Indians ran off one hundred and fifty mules from Mr. Speyer in 1844, and in 1846 a large number from Colonel Doniphan, which led to his delaying his trip to Chihuahua for a time and following them to their country to show them that they could not with impunity depredate on the Americans. Here many depredations and murders have been committed by not only the Navajo, but by the Gila and Mescalero Apache.

This was formerly the headquarters of Don Pedro Armendariz, the former proprietor of the Armendariz Grant. I became acquainted with him while in Chihuahua,  p284 and he told me he once made the attempt to occupy it, but the Indians were [so] bad (or perhaps, according [to] the present morbid sentimentality, he was so bad and the Indians so good) that he had to abandon it. Lately it has fallen into the possession of a syndicate, which, for the purpose of advancing civilization and christianity, is about asking a national appropriation for a canal •a hundred miles or more long to carry the water from the Río Grande for irrigating and other purposes for the public good, and of course governed by no selfish or personal motives.

We traveled up the Río Grande valley as rapidly as possible for two reasons: in order that we might overtake the company of Houck and Branham, and because the feed was scarce and high, and we were anxious to get rid of our loads and onto the prairie before our animals gave out. I went to Santa Fé in advance of the train and sold our goods, and arranged with Houck's company to overtake them at the Moro river and travel with them to "the States." Here, for once during the trip, we were in luck. No trains could be expected from "the States" for a month or more, and sugar was nearly exhausted from the market. I sold out the first day of my arrival at forty cents a pound, and the Mexican goods, rebozos, etc., at a fair profit. The profits on this adventure were sufficient to cover all losses accruing previously, and afforded a small profit on the trip.

It now seems a long way to wagon goods from Guadalajara, Mexico, to Santa Fé in New Mexico, nearly or quite •1,800 miles, and make a profit on them. But that was forty‑two years ago, and then there was no railroad or telegraph west of the Mississippi river; and today — well, look at the maps.

 p285  When the wagons arrived in Santa Fé, the teams were much exhausted; but we unloaded and sent them forward with but a day's delay. And [we were] unable to procure grain of any kind in Santa Fé, and were assured that we could get no corn or grass till we reached San Miguel, •fifty miles [distant]. I overtook the wagons at old Pecos, •twenty-five miles [away], and found the teams used up.​275 Several mules [had been] left behind, unable to travel, and the last half day's travel [they] had to change some mules in the teams every •mile or so. I had engaged to haul the baggage and provisions for some twenty-five or thirty volunteer dragoons​276 whose time was about expired, and they were going to "the States" to be discharged. And as we had the assurance that all the Indians on our route had "concluded to unite and avenge their wrongs!" we were glad to take some risk of delay through the mountains in order that we might have a stronger force for the protection of our property and scalps in case the much abused Comanche might want them for their personal benefit. . .

From the report of the men and the condition of the stock, I became satisfied that something must be done to get feed for the mules, or many would be lost, and we would be unable to overtake Houck. I went forward •about six miles to a ranch (some distance from the road) owned by Señor Ulibarri, and bought about twelve bushels of corn at five dollars per bushel and hired him to pack it to camp. This enabled us to get to Ojo Pajarito (Bird spring), where we sent the mules into the valley for water. They drank freely, but many were so weak they were unable to ascend the hill to  p286 camp, and we were obliged to assist them by having a man walk [on] each side and hold them up while a rope was thrown around their hams, and two men taking hold of each end of the rope would pull them up. A second feed of corn was given them, and they were turned into the bosque​277 to pick up what they could find in the way of grass, sprouts, etc. The next morning one was missing, and after quite a search he was found dead in a bunch of brush and nearly eaten up by wolves — not more than a dozen yards from camp. It was asserted by many that if the carcasses of dead animals within •four rods of the road were placed in a line, head and tail to meet, it would form a complete line to San José, •about forty-five miles from Santa Fé. My opinion was that it was not an extravagant estimate.

Arriving at San José, we got all the men we could, out cutting willows (which were just coming in leaf) and bringing them to camp for the mules. And I saw an old pile of straw (which had lain on the ground all winter) which was brought and fed to the mules before giving them their corn (which was all fed out before leaving for San Miguel, where we secured corn and straw for perhaps half a ration), [and] which, with what we secured at Tecolote and Las Vegas,º carried us comfortably to the prairie.

This experience shows the difference between horses and mules for teaming over the arid prairies or mountain regions of the West. Horses require the best of forage and plenty of it, with a long rest, while mules will do good work on short rations and [with] much less time for rest; and when brought to good rations, [the mules] will in a day or two recuperate to the performance of full labor.

 p287  We found our friends waiting for us at the Río Moro, where we organized by voting Solomon Houck as captain, with the soldiers forming a front and rear guard, and several of the best mounted among us as scouts.​278 I think the first train we met was on the Cimarrón river. They had been much annoyed by the Indians and cautioned us to keep a good lookout, as they [the Indians] were in large numbers and unusually daring. From this [point] on, we met many trains, not one until we passed the Big Bend of [the] Arkansas but what had been attacked, and nearly all had lost one or more men.

Before reaching the Arkansas, we met F. X. Aubry,​279 who warned us of the danger from Indians. He said he had one man killed a few rods ahead of the train. The man was walking along, not apprehending any danger, when an Indian shot an arrow from his ambush in the grass, ran and lanced and scalped him, and escaped before his men could recover from their surprise sufficient to shoot — and this within gunshot of the train. With him were two men (one of whom had crossed the plains as driver for me the year before), who, in attempting to overtake a train in advance of them, were  p288 surprised by Indians and succeeded in getting into Fort Mann​280 and defended themselves for nearly two days until Aubry came up and released them. The Indians could have killed them, but not without the loss of at least an equal number of lives, and there was not sufficient booty (aside from the scalps) to justify the risk. . .

Every train we met, we were warned to look out for the Indian on a white horse. And after crossing the Arkansas, [we] were more cautious in keeping well together, and [had] scouts far enough in advance to give the train sufficient time to corral and secure the animals and form in line for defense. We were all, of course, under considerable excitement and constant apprehension, and often we would discover something to arouse our suspicions, and frequently result in ludicrous mistakes.

While traveling up the river between the crossing and the point of leaving to take the Coon creek route, the scouts (Captain Houck, Lieutenant Elliott,​281 and myself) discovered a suspicious object in the far distance and stopped to ascertain its character. It was a white object with something black upon it, and as we were constantly on the lookout for the "man on a white horse," we felt it to be of the greatest importance to be  p289 assured of its character. The wind was blowing quite fresh, and the dazzling rays of the sun over a slightly depressed surface in the prairie rendered it difficult to decide whether it was large or small, [and] far or near in distance. We examined the object with the naked eye and the spyglass, and for some time were unable to decide its character. At length, on a second or third look through the glass, I thought I had got a sufficiently accurate view to give a decided opinion, and closing up my spyglass and putting it in the case, with perfect assurance and decision, said,

"It's a man on a white horse, or I'm a liar."

My comrades thought the same, but could not hold the instrument sufficiently steady on account of the wind to become fully convinced. At this moment a raven rose from the white object, and we were all convinced that our man on a white horse was only a raven on a buffalo skull, and not over forty or fifty yards off. The joke was a good one and frequently told at my expense.​282 But anyone who has traveled over the plains will admit that it is a mistake easily made, and that one  p290 is liable to over­estimate, as well as to underestimate, distance.

While crossing a hill, or break, in going down the river, we saw in the bottom on the other side, a horse, but could see no person about, or anything to indicate whether it was a wild or a stray horse. Again the spyglass was used, and a close examination convinced us that it was an American horse and picketed. The conclusion we came to was that it was a horse stolen from some train and was picketed there to induce some of us to cross the river to obtain a prize, and instead to lose our hair and whatever other property we might carry with us which a good Comanche would value. As the train drove up, several of the boys saw the horse and claimed him by right of discovery, under the rule of the prairie that to the first discoverer and claimant belongs the property. They all saw the trap, but as we were in a hurry and not spoiling for a fight, [they] decided not to cross either individually or in force.

The next day about ten o'clock, while traveling by way of the cut‑off or dry route, we saw two men approaching from the river bottom and soon discovered that they were Americans, and one of them in army dress. They proved to be Lieutenant Love,​283 of the army, and Old Fitzpatrick,​284 an old mountaineer and  p291 trapper who was traveling with the lieutenant as guide and scout. They informed us that the caravan consisted of three government trains of about twenty-five wagons each, with a paymaster's outfit with over $100,000 in specie, under escort of two companies of dragoons under [the] command of Lieutenant Love; and the morning previous the Indians had attacked them and drove off the stock of one train. Traveling with the train was a merchant with two wagons who had lost all his cattle and was unable to move. The officer was unable to render him any assistance. Seeing us passing in, light and with a large number of extra mules, they thought we might make some arrangement to furnish him teams to proceed with the caravan, leaving the teamless train behind until the government could send teams from Fort Leavenworth.

We turned off our road and went to their camp on the river, and found a confused condition of affairs: a trader who was without teams, mourning not only the loss of teams, but unable to get his goods of the market, and not only great delay, but bankruptcy in prospect; a government train to be left on the prairie until teams could be sent to move them, which was no great matter  p292 to the government, but [it was to] the teamsters left on the prairie for a long and uncertain time and exposed to be scalped by Indians if they leave the camp to procure fresh meat or cross the river for wood; one or two of the soldiers killed and several in their tents suffering from wounds more or less severe, one of them having been shot through the lungs with an arrow which remained in the body until withdrawn by cutting off the feathered end and pulling it out. The man was alive when we left on the night of the day after. So many Indians appeared across the river that the lieutenant thought it imprudent to leave the camp without defense, and only sent one company to make the attempt to recover the stock.

The wagon master of this train told me that before turning his stock from the corral, he got upon a wagon wheel and looked over the prairie for a long distance, as far as he could see up and down the river, and saw no signs of horses or people, except several of the picket guards on the hills over­looking the valley. He gave the order to let the cattle out, and they passed out slowly and in a string, marching a long distance towards the hills, when all at once large numbers of Indians sprang up as if from out of the ground, mounted, yelling, and with rattles of some kind in their hands and tied to the tails of their horses. They charged among the cattle, lancing a few. The immense racket and smell of the blood so frightened them that none were saved. After it was all over, he [the wagon master] went out and found the prints in the grass where the horses and Indians had lain down during the night, inside the picket lines, ready to rise and charge at the earliest opportunity.​285

 p293  We soon began to lay plans to assist the trader (whose name I forget)​286 from Arrow Rock, Missouri, and soon came to the conclusion that we could help him out. A merchant from Taos who had the winter before been broken up in his business, [and who had] saved his [own] life by escaping to the mountains and his money by burying in the ground, [had] asked to join my mess, and [had requested] that I should transport his baggage to "the States" with the purpose of buying a new stock. During the afternoon he [the merchant from Taos] bargained for the goods and wagons [of the trader from Arrow Rock], and we began refitting the wagons from oxen to mule teams, bargaining for mules, harness, etc. And by noon the next day both parties had made arrangements to return to their homes and families very well satisfied with their opportunities and bargain. The buyer was Peter Joseph, father of the delegate in congress from New Mexico.

Having accomplished our object, and in a manner far more satisfactorily and profitably to our friends than any of us had anticipated, we prepared an early supper, and as soon as it was dark left camp, intending  p294 to travel as far and as long as the mules would stand it to travel without feed or rest — running from Indians! Our camp was but a few miles above the mouth of Big Coon creek, and when we arrived at the crossing but a short distance from the Arkansas, we discovered tracks of horses in large numbers where they had crossed the stream, and the bank on the opposite side still wet with water shed from their feet in passing out of the creek. We interpreted this sign to mean that the Indians had anticipated that we would travel through the night and stop at Pawnee Fork for breakfast, and they would precede us and await us in ambush. We, of course, kept a good lookout for signs and tracks, and by great labor and caution, dismounting and crawling upon our hands and knees, we were enabled to keep ourselves posted as to their course and probable intentions. We found they had divided into two parties in [on?] the way, and after crossing Ash creek, •six miles from Pawnee Fork, they had taken their course to that stream, so that one party might strike it some distance above the crossing and the other some distance below, thinking we would cross the stream and stop for breakfast, and they could, while [we were] taking our rest, charge upon our animals and drive them off with comparatively small risk.

Arriving at the west bank a little after daylight, we found some wagons abandoned, buffalo robes scattered over the prairie, wagon sheets and everything that a war‑party would desire and could carry off, gone, [and] one old ox near the wagons, alone and disconsolate, waiting for some friend to come along [to] take him in charge and set him to work. An acquaintance named Coolidge, a native of New Hampshire [who] had spent the winter in Pueblo trading with the Ute,  p295 Cheyenne, and Arapaho, had here been attacked, his stock driven off, and he and his men compelled to shoulder their blankets and provisions and march •three hundred miles to the next house. Perhaps, if still living, he loves the Indians, sympathizes with them, and laments the wrongs and injustice done them by his ancestors; but I don't believe it. We were going in empty, and by stopping a day or two we might have packed the robes and loaded them into our wagons and taken [them] to a shipping point, thus perhaps saving something for him; but the danger we foresaw prevented [this]. And we told the men to gather robes enough for each a good bed, if they so desired, but [they] should not stop a wagon.

We crossed the river, and instead of stopping, traveled on till we came near Pawnee Rock, where we found water in a depression of the prairie, and where we could see an enemy for a long distance and prepare for defense; and [we] concluded to camp for food and rest for ourselves and animals. Our Arrow Rock friend, in relating his late experiences, told us we were still in danger, although out of the usual range of the Comanche. The border Indians sometimes when out in the buffalo range would join the Comanche and have some fun and take some scalps, and return as friendly Indians, having won trophies and honors among their people, under the name of another nation at war with the whites. The Osage (Wazhazhe) were frequently suspected of pursuing this course. Mr. [Miller] told us that there were large numbers of Indians — Osage, Sauk and Fox, etc. — not far from the Big Bend on a hunt; and when on their way out, while [they were] camped at Walnut creek, several Osage came to their  p296 camp, took dinner, smoked the pipe of peace, and when [they] moved out, the Indians left them, as they said, for their village. Among the Indians who ran off their cattle, he was sure [that] he [saw] some of these same Indians disguised in war dress and paint, but [with] the same horses and trappings; and notwithstanding the change in personal appearance he was sure they were the same Indians. This was a sort of border ground raided by war parties of the Pawnee, occasionally by Comanche and Kiowa, and the hunting grounds of the Kaw, Osage, [and] Sauk and Fox; and I once met the Iowa •some forty miles east from here on their return from their hunt.

We took a short rest and traveled to Walnut creek, where we stopped for supper and another short rest, intending to "catch up" and travel in the night to Big Bend. But before we were ready to start, there came up a bad rain, which compelled us to remain over night. The next morning, after stowing away our wet bedding, and firing off, cleaning, and reloading our guns, we renewed our journey, and had not proceeded far before we saw a man on horseback ascend a butte some distance on our right, near the breaks of the Arkansas; and another, and others at short intervals, until the butte was covered with Indians. We immediately corralled securely our riding and loose animals inside the corral, and unhitched the four pair of led mules from the point of the tongue and corralled them, staked the wheelers to the ground; and very soon every man was in line on the south side of the wagons, armed and equipped to receive the Indians, whether friends or enemies. The warning often repeated by our friend was,

"Now boys, you've got to fight. They'll say 'Wazhazhe,' but don't be fooled."

 p297  It was arranged that if they appeared claiming to be friends, Messrs. Houck and Elliott would meet two of the Indians some distance in advance but under protection of our rifles.

Very soon Indians left the butte [and] came towards us on the run, with others following, which appeared as if they meant war. But on our making the sign for them to halt, they halted in line. We signed them to send two men in the advance, while our two would advance and meet them for a parley.

The first sound greeting our ears was "Wazhazhe."

The next [sound] was from our own side: "Yes! Dam Wazhazhe! Boys, don't be fooled by 'em. We've got to fight. They're treacherous devils."

On the assurance that we would not be fooled by them, but would be ready for them as friends or enemies, he quieted down. The four men soon met and began to talk as well as they could by signs, when an Indian advanced from their line as if to take part in the negotiations. This, he knew, was not in order, and to impress upon the minds of him and his friends that we would not permit it, I advanced a rod or so and signed for him to stop — which he did, but soon started again to advance. I cocked my rifle, raised [it] to my shoulder, and aimed so he could see that if I pulled the trigger he was sure to be hit. He made no more moves to advance, and all parties on both sides remained in their positions until the talk was closed.

These were Osage on a buffalo hunt [we were informed], and the Sauk and Fox were encamped on the Arkansas below the Big Bend, and all were friendly to the whites. They would travel with us as far as Plumb Buttes, and we would be convinced that they were not deceiving us, and we would separate as friends. We  p298 consented, but on condition that they should not approach our wagons, but travel at a distance from our wagons.

Everything arranged, we hitched up and started on our route, and had not traveled far before everything indicated that there [were] large parties of Indians on their spring hunt, as they had told us. Many dead carcasses of buffalo were scattered over the prairie on each side of the road as far as we could see for several miles on our way. Soon numbers of Sauk and Fox came from their camp on the Arkansas, and we soon felt assured that there were so many from the frontier tribes they would not presume to attack us under the guise of hostile Comanche or Pawnee, and we permitted nearer approach and greater familiarity. Between Plumb Buttes and Cow creek they left us, and we saw no more Indians or buffalo except a few Kaw. We now breathed free and felt a great relief, as we were so near out of the land of our enemies.

A day or two after passing Council Grove,​287 we met Colonel [Alton R. Easton],​288 who was going out with five companies of troops for New Mexico. They had met the messengers sent by Lieutenant Love to Fort Leavenworth with his report of the attack of the Comanche on his camp, and we camped for dinner but a  p299 short distance apart. While we were eating, some of the men came to interview us and get an account of our adventures. After talking some time and asking many questions about the country and our adventures on the route, one of them, who seemed to have become convinced of our cowardice and our incapacity as prairie men, asked if we thought they would find any Comanche on the road out. I told him I thought, as they were a pretty strong party, they probably would not; but unless they were very cautious, the Indians would find some of them. He, in a low tone, but not so low but what I understood him, said to his friend he "did not see how so cautious and timid a man should ever venture upon the prairies." I made no remark to indicate that I had overheard him, but told him that prudence and caution on the prairies was the most effectual way to carry the hair across them.

Some time after my arrival in St. Louis, I read an account of the loss of several men from Colonel [Easton's] party on the Arkansas. It seems they camped on the bank of the river on the north side, and several of the men went across the river for wood, when the Indians raised from their ambush in the grass and killed and scalped them before assistance could reach them. They found all the bodies but one that night, and carried them to camp.​289 The next morning a party was sent over to make another search, but did not succeed in finding him. After breakfast and as the troops left camp, a large party was sent across to make a last search, and succeeded in finding the man still alive, but badly wounded [and] all the hair scalped from his head. I  p300 afterwards heard that he recovered and for some time remained with the troops in northern New Mexico and about Pueblo.

We reached Independence​290 without further adventure, made arrangements for the care of our stock, and left our wagons with Mr. Stone (the maker) for repair, expecting to make another trip to New Mexico that season. The wagons were a curiosity. The running gear and bodies [were] so dilapidated that repair seemed impossible. They had run •eight thousand miles without the repairs of a blacksmith. Many breaks [had been] repaired by extra parts and timber carried for the purpose, and others made secure by wrapping with rawhide in the green state, which, when dried, would shrink so tight as to make them as secure as iron bands for the time; and when they gave out, were renewed with the same material. Mr. S. measured some of the wheels and told me they were •three to four inches lower than when new, caused by the tire becoming loose and wedging up, cutting out the fellows, and forcing the spokes into the hub; so that it frequently became necessary to cut them off inside the hub with a chisel. No iron axles were run on the prairie for carrying freight until 1848.

[I] arrived in St. Louis,​291 and settling up our indebtedness, I concluded to take a rest of a month or so and enjoy the freedom from care and anxiety I had so long suffered — anticipating a good time in corresponding with friends at home with whom I had had no communication for fourteen months. But the change was too great, and my anticipations were not realized. A  p301 week or two after my arrival I was attacked with jaundice and suffered extreme depression of bodily and mental infirmity, which continued for a month or more.

I was anxious to make another trip that year, as there appeared to be a fine prospect for trade, and felt willing to take the risk of another trip through the Indian country. Mr. Doan had engaged to remain in Chihuahua and assist Mr. Aull, the partner of Mr. Owens who was killed at the Battle of Sacramento, in selling out his stock, and I was desirous of finding another partner. I made proposals to a young man with whom I had some acquaintance, and whose reputation for steady habits and business capacity was good; and he, after considering the matter, about consented to join me. We were to draw articles of copartner­ship and commence purchasing goods on Monday. But the mail from Independence on Sunday brought news that a train was attacked by Indians on the Arkansas and sustained a serious loss of men and animals, and that a mail had been cut off and nearly all the men killed — which so discouraged my friend that he declined the adventure. Unable to find a partner, and it getting late in the season for the forming of a strong company, I abandoned the trip for that year.

---

The Author's Notes:

275 Webb left Santa Fé about June 13, 1847. Weekly Reveille, July 19, 1847.

276 The Laclede Rangers, of St. Louis. Daily Missouri Republican, July 19, 1847.

277 Grove.

278 The company consisted of eight wagons, about seventy men, and a number of loose mules. Weekly Reveille, July 19, 1847; Missouri Statesman, July 23, 1847.

279 François Xavier Aubry, a native of Maskinongé, Canada, was a Santa Fé trader, an explorer, and the fastest long-distance rider the frontier ever produced. His quickest trip on horseback was performed in September, 1848, when he rode •about seven hundred and eighty miles over the Santa Fé trail from Santa Fé to Independence in five days and sixteen hours. This record was never equalled or exceeded. He was nicknamed "Skimmer of the Plains." On August 18, 1854, after returning to Santa Fé from one of his journeys, he engaged in an argument with Richard H. Weightman, who, in self-defense, stabbed Aubry to death with a bowie knife. Daily Missouri Republican, Sept. 10, 1854; "Letters of William Carr Lane, 1852‑1854" (Bieber, ed.), New Mexico Historical Review, VI.190.

280 Fort Mann was situated near the north bank of the Arkansas river a short distance west of the present Dodge City, Kansas. It was built by Captain Daniel Mann in the spring of 1847, because, according to Garrard, "a station, equidistant from Fort Leavenworth and Santa Fé, was needed by the government, at which to repair the wagons and recruit the animals, by rest, in safety." Garrard, Wah‑To‑Yah, 296‑297. See also Philip G. Ferguson, Diary, Aug. 3, 1847, MS., Missouri Historical Society.

281 Richard S. Elliott was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania, July 10, 1817. In the forties he moved to St. Louis, where he practiced law. At the outbreak of the Mexican war he enlisted in the company of volunteers known as the Laclede Rangers. Elliott, Notes Taken in Sixty Years, 2, 7, 214, 216‑220.

282 One of Webb's companions sent an account of this incident to the St. Louis Weekly Reveille, which published it on July 26, 1847: "By the way, I had almost forgotten one of our adventures on the way. On the second day out from crossing of the Arkansas, all on the look‑out, of course, one of the gentlemen owners of the train saw some objects in the plain rather suspicious in appearance. Men they certainly were, one mounted, the other on foot. He drew a spy‑glass on them for a moment — it was enough: 'A man on a white horse, or I'm a liar!' he exclaimed, and galloped off towards them for a closer view. The glass was soon levelled again, and after a long, steady view, the glass was lowered. As it came down the 'man' rose up, accompanied by his companion, and off they 'flew.' The white horse remained quietly in the prairie. The two men were two crows — one sitting on an old buffalo head, the other on the ground. An old buffalo head, so white as you know it to be, passes very well for a white horse on the plains; but if you think we hadn't a good joke on the gentleman owner, I advise you not to back your opinion with a wager! I won't tell his name now, as we expect him to come down handsomely on the way to St. Louis."

283 John Love was born in Virginia. Upon graduation from the United States Military academy in 1841, he was promoted in the army to brevet second lieutenant in the First regiment of dragoons. He served at the frontier posts of Fort Gibson, Fort Scott, and Fort Leavenworth, and in 1845 accompanied Colonel Kearny on his expedition to the South pass. On June 30, 1846, he was commissioned first lieutenant. During the Mexican war he engaged in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Rosales, March 16, 1848. He died on January 29, 1881. George W. Cullum, Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy, at West Point, N. Y. (New York, 1868), II.13; Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, I.643.

284 Thomas Fitzpatrick was one of the most famous trappers and guides in the Far West. A native of Ireland, he migrated to the United States at the age of sixteen. He was engaged in the fur trade at least by the early twenties, and continued his interest in this business for about twenty years. In the forties he not only led emigrant parties to Oregon, but also guided some of the government expeditions of Frémont, Kearny, and Abert. As trapper and guide, he became well acquainted with the character and wants of the Indians of the Far West. In August, 1846 when the War Department, following the recommendations of Colonel Kearny, created an Indian Agency for the tribes of the Upper Platte and Arkansas, Fitzpatrick was appointed as the first agent. He served the United States government in this capacity until his death, February 7, 1854. Daily Missouri Republican, Feb. 13, 1854; LeRoy E. Hafen, "Thomas Fitzpatrick and the First Indian Agency of the Upper Platte and Arkansas," Mississippi Valley Historical Review, XV.374‑384.

285 The attack on Lieutenant Love's command occurred at dawn on June 26, 1847. the Indians, well armed and mounted, began the attack by stampeding the cattle of one of the trains. "About twenty of the dragoons started to recover the cattle, if possible," wrote an eyewitness. "They followed about a mile, when a regular engagement took place. The Indians appeared to be on the retreat; but this was only done to get the men as far as possible on the prairie. About one hundred Indians had been stationed on the opposite bank of the river, and they now charged across, came up in the rear of the dragoons, and completely surrounded them. They now had it hand to hand — six to ten Indians upon one man at a time. The engagement lasted twenty minutes, and five of our men were killed and six wounded. . . They [the Indians] scalped three of the men. Some of them had as many as twelve to fifteen wounds from the lance, and were horribly mutilated; the throat of one was cut from ear to ear — the ears of another were cut off." Daily Missouri Republican, July 17, 1847. See also Thomas Fitzpatrick to T. H. Harvey, Sept. 18, 1847, MS., Missouri Historical Society.

286 Mr. Miller, Weekly Reveille, July 26, 1847.

287 Webb arrived at Council Grove on July 7, 1847. Since his last visit, several buildings had been constructed at this place. Under a huge oak tree on the western side of the grove was a small blacksmith shop which had been built by the government in the summer of 1846. Near‑by stood a trading establishment erected by Boone & Hamilton in the spring of 1847. It consisted of a store and a dwelling constructed of logs and roofed with shingles. Boone & Hamilton, who had a similar establishment at Westport, traded with the Indians and sold supplies to travelers over the Santa Fé trail. Weekly Reveille May 3, July 26, 1847; Daily Missouri Republican, July 31, Sept. 25, 1847; Garrard, Wah‑To‑Yah, 8; Ruxton, op. cit., 309.

288 Daily Missouri Republican, July 19, 1847.

289 On July 21, 1847, the Indians killed eight and wounded four of Colonel Easton's battalion of infantry, Ibid., Aug. 12, 16, 1847; Weekly Reveille, Aug. 16, 1847.

290 The traders arrived at Independence on July 13, 1847. Missouri Statesman, July 23, 1847.

291 Webb arrived in St. Louis on July 19, 1847. Daily Missouri Republican, July 20, 1847.

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