substituted for the oxen, and we averaged forty miles a day returning,
almost itching for an Indian attack, as we had supplied ourselves with
ammunition from the post sutler. The trip had been a financial success
(the government was paying ten cents a pound for beef on foot),
friendly relations had been established with the holders of the award,
and we hastened home to gather and drive another herd.




CHAPTER III

A SECOND TRIP TO FORT SUMNER


On the return trip we traveled mainly by night. The proceeds from the
sale of the herd were in the wagon, and had this fact been known it
would have been a tempting prize for either bandits or Indians. After
leaving Horsehead Crossing we had the advantage of the dark of the
moon, as it was a well-known fact that the Comanches usually choose
moonlight nights for their marauding expeditions. Another thing in our
favor, both going and returning, was the lightness of travel westward,
it having almost ceased during the civil war, though in '66 it showed
a slight prospect of resumption. Small bands of Indians were still
abroad on horse-stealing forays, but the rich prizes of wagon trains
bound for El Paso or Santa Fé no longer tempted the noble red man
in force. This was favorable wind to our sail, but these plainsmen
drovers predicted that, once traffic westward was resumed, the
Comanche and his ally would be about the first ones to know it. The
redskins were constantly passing back and forth, to and from their