who
had lost the horse had caught his animal in the herd. He was standing,
holding it, near by.

"Partner," I said to him, "take your horse and go back home."

"Now, boss," I said to the other man, "let me give you a little advice.
Be careful when a stranger gets into your herd and the owner overtakes
you and demands it. You may run into more trouble than I have given
you, for you ought to know by this time that horse-stealing is a
hanging offense."

He said: "I didn't care a blank about your being justice of the peace
and constable combined, but when I found out you were Buffalo Bill it
was time to lay down my hand."

"All right, old fellow," I said, "good-by."

As he rode off he called: "It was worth a hundred and fifty dollars
just to get a good look at you," and the other men agreed.

By the time I got back to the fort, guard-mount was over, and a number
of officers were in the club. When they learned how I had disposed of
my first case, they told the general, who was very much pleased.

"I want it noised about among the outside civilians how you handle your
court," he said. The story soon became known all over the surrounding
country. Even the ladies of the Post heard of it, and told my wife and
sisters, to whom I had never mentioned it. They looked upon it as a
great joke.

CHAPTER VIII

Early in the month of September, 1874, word was received at Fort
McPherson that General Sheridan and a party of friends were coming to
the Post to have a grand hunt in the vicinity. They further proposed to
explore the country from Fort McPherson to Fort Hays in Kansas. They
arrived in a special car at North Platte, eighteen miles distant, on
the morning of September 22.

In the party besides General Sheridan were James Gordon Bennett, of
_The New York Herald_, Leonard Lawrence Jerome, Carroll Livingston,
Major J.G. Heckscher, General Fitzhugh, General H.E. Davies, Captain M.
Edward Rogers, Colonel J. Schuyler Crosby, Samuel Johnson, General
Anson Stager, of the Western Union, Charles Wilson, editor of _The
Chicago Journal_, Quartermaster-General Rucker, and Dr. Asch, of
General Sheridan's staff.

They were met at the station by General Emory and Major Brown, with a
cavalry company as escort and a sufficient number of vehicles to carry
the distinguished visitors and their baggage.

At the Fort they found the garrison, under the command of General Carr,
on parade awaiting their arrival.

A train of sixtee