ty-four
dollars and gave it to us, which was a much larger sum than we expected
to receive. After thanking them for their generous payment and refusing
their invitation to stay with them longer, we bid them all good bye and
continued on our journey to Fort Worth, which had been interrupted by
the Indian raid on the settlement.
We had ridden to within ten miles or so of Fort Worth when we met an old
acquaintance of Capt. McKee. His name was Reese. There were two other
men with him, and they all three wanted to purchase horses. They
examined all the horses we had, and then they asked Capt. McKee what we
would take for the entire lot. The Capt. asked me what I thought would
be a fair price. I answered, "Let the men make an offer before we set a
price."
When the Capt asked them what they would give for them, they said they
would give a hundred dollars apiece for them if we would help them drive
the horses to Dallas.
I told the men that we would let them have the whole bunch and help
drive them to Dallas for a hundred and ten dollars apiece. The three men
rode off a few yards and consulted together a few minutes. When they
came back, they said they would take the horses on my terms.
Capt McKee then told his men to go on to Fort Worth and go into camp,
and he told them where to camp and to wait for us and we would come to
them as soon as we could. The Capt. then told Mr. Reese to lead on and
we would follow.
We drove the horses to Dallas without any trouble and delivered them at
Mr. Reese's stable. He paid us the money for them, and we lost no time
in pulling out for Fort Worth. It was thirty-two miles from Dallas to
Fort Worth, and we passed two houses on the way from there to Fort Worth
at the time of which I am writing. I think there were about fifty houses
in Fort Worth. I do not know the number there were at Dallas. The place
was somewhat larger, but it was a small town.
[Illustration: I took the lead.]
CHAPTER IX.
When we reached Fort Worth, the news met us that the Indians were on the
war path in western Texas and were raiding all the white settlements,
killing the people and driving off their stock throughout all that part
of the state.
We laid in a supply of provisions and tobacco, enough to last three
months, and struck the trail for western Texas. The fourth day after
we left Fort Worth, we came to a settlement, and all the people were
natives of Tennessee, and as that was my native state,
|