EARLY DAY STORIES. 39 



horses, which they would do if they got a chance — that the 

 Indians did not want our cattle and had no use for them — 

 that there were plenty of buffalo which were fatter and 

 better than the cattle, and which the Indians preferred. We 

 were cautioned not to let the horses straggle away from 

 camp, and to secure them at night. We were told to use 

 always the water of the Platte river or of some pure running 

 stream, and never to drink the water from shallow wells. 

 It is proper to explain that we had often found wells that 

 had been dug where the ground was low, whenever the road 

 was far from the river. These wells were from four to six 

 or eight feet deep, and contained a foot or two of water. 

 We had not often used any of this well water because our 

 guide books had cautioned against it. 



About this time there was a change made in the plan 

 of camping. The wagons were still drawn up in the form 

 of a circle on forming camp for the night, and at about 

 nine o'clock the few horses belonging to the train were 

 either brought inside and secured, or tethered with picket 

 ropes near by outside of the circle of the wagons, but no 

 guard was placed over the camp. The cattle were driven 

 quite a distance from the camp to some place where the 

 grass was good and watched by the guards until they quit 

 feeding and began to lie down, when the guards too lay 

 down with the cattle and went to sleep. The cattle guard 

 from this time on was not changed during the night but re- 

 mained with the cattle all night, bringing them in soon 

 after sunrise. By the time the guards came with the cattle 

 breakfast was over ,and while the men were yoking up the 

 oxen and preparing to break camp, the guards ate their 

 breakfast which had been kept warm for them. The people 

 of our train were having a pretty good time. There had 

 been no sickness nor accidents, there was no prospect of 

 any trouble with the Indians, and the fear of them had 

 about all subsided, the weather was nearly always pleas- 



