were taken along, so as to provide against loss in that respect.
In addition, they had four oxen intended to serve as a reserve in
the event of provisions running short.

It was the custom to arouse the camp at daybreak and turn out the
animals to graze; breakfast followed and the march was begun. The
noon halt lasted from one to two hours and the afternoon's march
ended a short time before sunset. The tents were then pitched, horses
hobbled and turned out to graze, and the evening meal prepared.
When it became dark, all the animals were brought in and picketed,
the carts arranged so as to serve as barricades and guard mounted.

An Indian guide conducted the expedition for the first forty miles
along the Kansas, when he departed and the responsibility was turned
over to Carson. The pilot had guided the steamer out of the harbor
and upon the great ocean, and henceforth the hand of Carson was to
be at the helm.

The soil over which they journeyed for many miles was of the most
fertile character. Numbers of Indian farms were seen, and one could
not but reflect on the possibilities of the future for the red man,
who should abandon war and give his energies to the cultivation of
the ground.

Such an expedition could not go far without a taste of the trials
that awaited them. On the second night, the four spare horses
seemed to become disgusted with the whole enterprise, and turning
their heads eastward started on a rapid gallop for the States.
Their loss was too serious to be borne, and a number of men were
dispatched in pursuit. The chase was a long one and the animals