THE MARE AND THE MULE. 1 39 



less race of freebooters and horsemen probably on the face 

 of the earth, who are at war with every one, and prize noth- 

 ing so much as a white man's scalp. Knowing such to be 

 the case, it behooved me to keep my weather-eye open when 

 separated from my newly-formed acquaintances ; but for all 

 my watchfulness I several times had narrow escapes. Still, 

 time fled pleasantly onward, and as I write this I look back 

 with delight to the happy, free, thoughtless hours passed 

 either in the saddle or watching the movements of the wild 

 animals that knew no bounds to their demesne. The In- 

 dians seldom troubled my thoughts, for I had a mare that 

 I daily rode, handsome as a picture, and as game, fleet, and 

 enduring as any animal I had ever thrown a leg over; thor- 

 ough-bred, I believe, and as sagacious as a dog ; also a bat 

 mule, between both of which existed a most extraordinary 

 affection. I had but to go ahead, and the latter was certain 

 to follow ; so if I did not fall into an ambuscade, I knew 

 full well I could distance most Comanche braves till I re- 

 gained camp, where, behind the wagons, backed by the stal- 

 wart Missourian teamsters, who knew well the use of their 

 rifles, I would be safe. Unfortunately the principal of the 

 expedition was a most unpleasant and unpopular person, so 

 that between his bullying and unpleasant manner, a mutiny 

 arose among his retainers, and the consequence was that 

 the majority started en masse on their own hook to seek 

 another employer, or find their way back to their native 

 State. 



My education and antecedents had been such as to give 

 me a horror of mutiny; moreover, up to this date, I had 

 nothing to complain of, so I determined to stick to the 

 wagons, and use every effort in rny power to save the 

 owner from the only alternative that appeared left, desert- 

 ing his property in the wilderness. Ere long, however, I 

 was compelled to change my resolution, for no one could 



