RECRUIT OF BREAD. 95 



selv^ Not long after, this band of Capt. 

 Sublette very narrowly escaped a total destruc- 

 tion. They had fallen in with that immense 

 horde of Blackfeet and Gros Ventres, with 

 whom we afterwards met, and, as the traders 

 were hterally but a handful among tlieir thou- 

 sands, they fancied themselves for awhile in 

 imminent peril of being virtually * eaten up.* 

 But as Capt Sublette possessed considerable 

 experience, he was at no loss how to deal 

 with these treacherous savages; so that al- 

 tliough the latter assumed a menacing atti- 

 tude, he passed them without any serious 

 molestation, and finally arrived at Santa Fe 

 in safety. 



^ But to return to our Ciholero. He was de- 

 sirous to sell us some provisions, which, by 

 the by, were welcome enough ; for most of 

 the company were out of bread, and meat 

 was becoming very scarce, having seen but 

 few buffalo smce our first encounter T\ith the 

 Indians on the Cimarron. Our visitor soon 

 retired to his camp hard by, and, with several 

 of his comrades, afterwards brought ns an 

 abundance of dry bufialo beef, and some 

 bags of coarse oven-toasted loaves, a kind 

 of hard bread, much used by Mexican travel- 

 lers. It is prepared by opening the ordinary 

 leavened rolls, and toasting them brown in an 

 oven. Though exceedingly hard and insipid 

 'while dry, it becomes not only soft but pala- 

 table when soaked in water — or better stiU iii 

 * hot coffee.* But what w-e procured on this 

 occasion was unusnally stale and coarse, pre- 



