Three years among the Indians and Mexicans . ing afterValles arrival, Colter came in unhurt, with a fewothers, and said there were no Indians near theFort. Col. Menard despatched Dougherty andBrown, on the same day, to us with the request thatwe should hasten to the Fort to assist in its well mounted, they came up to our camp as wewere preparing dinner. Their faces were pale withfright, and in great trepidation they told us they hadseen Indian signs on the route from the Fort—that a horse with a rope about his neck had run upand snuffed around them as if in search of his mas-ter,
Three years among the Indians and Mexicans . ing afterValles arrival, Colter came in unhurt, with a fewothers, and said there were no Indians near theFort. Col. Menard despatched Dougherty andBrown, on the same day, to us with the request thatwe should hasten to the Fort to assist in its well mounted, they came up to our camp as wewere preparing dinner. Their faces were pale withfright, and in great trepidation they told us they hadseen Indian signs on the route from the Fort—that a horse with a rope about his neck had run upand snuffed around them as if in search of his mas-ter, and then disappeared—that an Indian dog hadperformed the same action. Every thing indicatedthat Indians were near, and we hastened to departfor the Fort. We proceeded up the creek near whosemouth we had encamped, and were screened fromview on the north by the willows on our right. Wehad gone very cautiously four miles, when we leftthe river, and I perceived a small herd of buffalo inthe creek bottom far to our right, start bounding off. Irom miniature presented to Missouri Historical Societyby Mrs. Minnie \alle Fairtield. [i8io] 71 as if from pursuers In the rear, and immediatelyafter, I descried through an opening in the willows,eight Indians, walking rapidly across the plain in thedirection of our late camp. I informed the othersof my observation, and Ware horror stricken pro-posed immediate flight. I protested against thiscourse and no one seconded him, but we were allalarmed and the chins and lips of some quivered asthey spoke. I said that we could not all escape, hav-ing but two horses among us, that we had, perhaps,seen the whole force of the Indians, and that theymight not have seen us at all; that we could fighteight with success. I proposed that if attacked weshould make a breast-work of our horses and twoof us should fire upon them at a hundred yards, thatthe other two should fire at fifty yards, that the re-loaded guns should despatch the third couple, andour kn
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