This Indian village was situated at Pawnee Rock, on the Arkansas
river, in a beautiful valley, in what is now the southwest corner
of Benton Co., Kan. The wick-i-ups were made of poles set on ends,
gathered together at the top, and covered with buffalo skins from
which the hair had been removed.

The Kiowas were, at that time, the most numerous tribe of Indians
in the United States.

Early the next morning after our dog-feast and peace-smoke, our
party was up and off, and I was particularly glad to get away,
feeling that I would rather camp out and feed on buffalo,
antelope, jack-rabbits and wild turkey than dwell in the lodges of
Kiowas and be "honored" with banquets of the nicest dogs in all
that region.

We took the Santa Fe trail and the buffalo were so numerous along
the way that we had to take some pains to avoid them, as when they
were traveling or on a stampede, nothing could turn or stop them
and we would be in danger of being ground to atoms beneath their
thousands of hoofs.

In two days more of travel we reached another Indian village, on
another beautiful plain, in what is now Pawnee Co., Kan. Here the
country was so level that one could see for miles in any
direction, and the sun rising or setting, seemed to come up or go
down, as a great golden disk, out of or into the earth. We could
see many bands of wild horses feeding on the luxuriant grasses,
and little did I think, then, that I would live to see the day