42 REFLECTIONS—-MORE COMANCHES. 
So young, so robust, and so healthy, little did 
we suspect that the sound of that voice which 
shouted so vigorously in responding to our 
parting salute in the desert, would never greet 
our ears again! But such was Fate’s decree! 
Although he arrived safely at Fort Gibson, in 
a few short weeks he fell a victim to disease. 
There were perhaps a few timid hearts 
that longed to return with the dragoons, and 
ever and anon a wistful glance would be cast 
back at the receding figures in the distance. 
The idea of a handful of thirty-four men 
having to travel without guide or protection 
through a dreary wilderness, peopled by thou- 
sands of savages who were just as likely to be 
hostile as friendly, was certainly very little 
calculated to produce agreeable impressions. 
Much to the credit of our men, however, the 
escort was no sooner out of sight than the 
timorous regained confidence, and all seemed 
bound together by stronger ties than before. 
All we feared were ambuscades or surprise ; 
to guard against which, it was only necessary 
to redouble our vigilance. 
On the following day, while we were en- 
joying our noon’s rest upon a ravine of the 
Canadian, several parties of Indians, amount- 
ing altogether to about three hundred,souls, 
including women and children, made their ap- 
pearance. They belonged to the same band 
of Comanches with whom we had had so | 
agreeable an intercourse, and had brought 
several mules in the expectation of driving a 
trade with us. The squaws and papooses 
