WE FIND AN OUTFIT 



travelling east, just going into camp on the river 

 bank. 



Here, we thought, was an opportunity to get 

 along faster and travel more comfortably if we 

 could arrange for a transfer to the mule train. 

 Its days' drives were about twice as long as those 

 of the bull train, which seldom exceeded twelve 

 miles a day. We therefore sent Tom back to 

 the mule train, and he found in the wagon-master 

 of the train an old acquaintance, who cheerfully 

 agreed to take us on to Fort Leavenworth with- 

 out charge. Next morning, as the mule 

 train passed us, we bade good-by to our kind but 

 dirty friends the bull-whackers and tumbled our- 

 selves and our baggage into one of the empty 

 mule wagons and went on. 



At the Santa Fe crossing of the Arkansas, we 

 had begun to see a few buffalo; and the herds grew 

 larger as we went on until we reached Pawnee 

 Fork, near Fort Larned, which seemed to be about 

 the centre of their range. After we passed the 

 fort their numbers decreased until we came to 

 the Little Arkansas, where we saw the last of 

 them. Our old company, K of the First Cavalry, 

 had built the first quarters at Larned, in 1859. 

 When we passed it, in the autumn of 1 86 1, it was 

 garrisoned by two companies of the Second In- 

 fantry and one of the Second Dragoons and was 

 commanded by Major Julius Hayden, Second 

 Infantry. 



15 



