thirty soldiers for an escort. I told him that if we should have trouble
with the Indians thirty soldiers would be just as good as a thousand,
and that I had rather take my chances with thirty soldiers than more.

We left Fort Larned a little before noon and arrived at Big Coon Creek,
twenty-two miles from Fort Larned, where we stopped for supper at about
four o'clock in the afternoon. A lieutenant of my escort in charge of
the soldiers put out a guard. While we were eating supper the guards
shot off their guns and came rushing into camp with news that a thousand
or more Indians were hidden along the banks of Coon Creek. The
lieutenant placed double guard and came out to me and gravely suggested
that we go back to Fort Larned and get more soldiers before attempting
to cross farther into the Great Divide.

I told the lieutenant to take his soldiers and go back to Fort Larned
and I would go on. He asked me why I did not go alone in the first
place. I told him that I needed him NOW, and he asked me how that was, I
told him that if he would take his soldiers and go back to Fort Larned
the Indians would follow him and let me alone. He said he would go with
me. We finished our dinner and I went to the soldiers' wagons and got
two big armfuls of bread, about sixty pounds of bacon and a large bucket
of coffee. I took them down to our camp, spread a newspaper upon the
ground, laid the bacon, bread and coffee on the spread, placed a handful
of matches near the bread, then went to our own mess and took several
cans of coffee and bread from it, left them one of our buckets and an
extra coffee pot that I carried with me, and got a large camp kettle
from the soldiers and left it for the Indians. Then I gathered a few
more buffalo chips and placed on the fire to keep it from going out, and
my plan was complete.