A CHARGE OF THEFT. 215 



England, and out on a hunt ; " on this we shook hands, 

 and he wished me every success. He also confirmed the 

 news as to the outbreak of the Indians, and told me that 

 he had left Kansas city, as I understood him, shortly 

 before my arrival at St Louis, but that he had returned 

 on account of the ill-feeling among the redskins, which 

 was spreading through all the tribes, who were more or 

 less assuming a threatening attitude. 



The weather continuing intensely hot, I again halted 

 at noon to give the men their dinner and refresh the mules 

 at a place the name of which sounded like Neocio, Nun- 

 chio, or Nocio, about ten miles from Counsel Grove, 

 towards Fort Biley ; but though I wrote it down at the 

 time the letters have become effaced. We halted near a 

 little rill of water, but not where any fuel could be ob 

 tained ; my men, however, had provided themselves in 

 some unaccountable way with wood to boil their kettle, 

 and were in the midst of cooking interests when two 

 frontier settlers rode up, one of whom thus and rather 

 abruptly addressed me : 



" D'you let your men steal people's property as they 

 go along ?" 



" Steal !" I replied, not if I know it." 



" Wall, I reckon, then, they have stolen my rails, and 

 I'll swear there's some on 'em on that fire." 



On this I called to Mr Canterall, and said, " How is 

 this ? My men are charged with having stolen the wood 

 they are using ?" 



" Well,", said Mr Canterall, " I jest told the boys they 

 might pick up a bit of dead wood as they passed a settle 

 ment, that's a fact." 



" Yes," rejoined the frontier man, " and that piece of 

 dead wood, as you call it, I guess was one of my rails. I 



