WARLIKE NEWS CONFIRMED. 209 



ing of the attack on the Government mail, one of them 

 exclaimed, " That he had some right to know all about 

 it, as a brother or a brother-in-law of his (I forget which) 

 was one of the two men who were murdered while in 

 charge of the mail, and that the third man, who had 

 fallen wounded into the long grass, but had contrived to 

 escape with his scalp, had conveyed the news to the 

 military station at Fort Kiley." They all advised me 

 not to proceed, and we then continued on our respective 

 ways. 



Thus, then, I had gained some important tidings 

 which obviously demanded serious consideration, and 

 during the rest of that day's journey I pondered well 

 over the matter. To return whence I came was in no 

 way a part of that consideration, for I had set out with a 

 resolution to kill buffalo within a limited time, and, 

 therefore, nothing that could be so accomplished should 

 be abandoned. Mr Canterall having been present at the 

 delivery of the news, I called him up to hear what he 

 had to say, but to act, in regard to his opinions in the 

 matter, with just as much attention as I thought they 

 deserved. This fellow made light of the news, and 

 advised my going on direct for Pawnee Fork ; and when 

 I asked him if, in giving this advice, he disbelieved the 

 news, for if the news was true it was obvious folly to risk 

 a difficulty with a large body of Indians with so small 

 and ill-armed a force as mine, he said he did not suppose 

 the news was all false, but we might, perhaps, escape the 

 Indians, or perhaps, if we gave them what we had, they 

 would not hurt us. Now that I know the man, my 

 opinion is, that had we got into any difficulty, he would 

 have been the first to desert me, and, if I had been over- 



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