CHARLES L. YOUNGBLOOD. I(^'7 



as well off without them. I have helped 

 several men out of bad scrapes that they had 

 Si-otten into by trusting poor pilots, and would 

 recommend everyone to be careful to get one 

 that understands his business. 



I remember once when I was hunting neai- 

 Lakin Station, on the Atchison and Topekii 

 railroad, and while there a couple of men asked 

 me to pilot them across the country to the 

 south of the Arkansas River. We soon struck 

 a bargain and set out. I took a saddle horse 

 with me, and they had a good team of mules. 

 We traveled about twenty miles the first day, 

 and camped at night on a small lake where 

 there was plenty of water, and, when ready 

 to start the next morning, I told them that 

 they had better take some water along, as it 

 was nearly twenty-five miles to the next water 

 on our route. They had a barrel in the wagon, 

 and I wanted them to put some water in it, 

 but they said they. could stand it, and besides 

 the water would soon get warm and unfit to 

 drink anyway. So they contented themselves 

 with drinking as much as they could, and 



