CHAPTER XII

THE NORTH FORK

There was never very much love lost between government soldiers and
our tribe, so we swept past Camp Supply in contempt a few days later,
and crossed the North Fork of the Canadian to camp for the night.
Flood and McCann went into the post, as our supply of flour and navy
beans was running rather low, and our foreman had hopes that he might
be able to get enough of these staples from the sutler to last until
we reached Dodge. He also hoped to receive some word from Lovell.

The rest of us had no lack of occupation, as a result of a chance find
of mine that morning. Honeyman had stood my guard the night before,
and in return, I had got up when he was called to help rustle the
horses. We had every horse under hand before the sun peeped over the
eastern horizon, and when returning to camp with the _remuda_, as I
rode through a bunch of sumach bush, I found a wild turkey's nest with
sixteen fresh eggs in it. Honeyman rode up, when I dismounted, and
putting them in my hat, handed them up to Billy until I could mount,
for they were beauties and as precious to us as gold. There was an egg
for each man in the outfit and one over, and McCann threw a heap of
swagger into the inquiry, "Gentlemen, how will you have your eggs this
morning?" just as though it was an everyday affair. They were issued
to us fried, and I naturally felt that the odd egg, by rights, ought
to fall to me, but the opposing majority was formidable,--fourteen to
one,--so I yielded. A number of ways were suggested to allot the odd