mrades hauled the unfortunate
ones forth, and fires were hastily built under shelter of the south
bank. Those who reached the landing dry shared their extra clothing
with those water-soaked, and hot coffee was hastily served to all
alike. Eager as the men were to push forward, more than an hour was
lost in passage, for the stream was bank full, the current rapid and
littered with quantities of floating ice. Some of these ice cakes
startled the struggling horses and inflicted painful wounds, and it was
only by a free use of ropes and lariats that the entire command finally
succeeded in attaining the southern shore. Shivering with the cold,
the troopers again found their saddles and pressed grimly forward on
the trail. Hamlin, with five others, led the way along a beaten track
which had been trampled by the passing herd of Indian ponies and
plainly marked by the trailing poles of numerous wicky-ups.

This led straight away into the south across the valley of the
Canadian, on to the plains beyond. The snow here was a foot deep on a
level, and in places the going was heavy. As they advanced, the
weather moderated somewhat, and the upper crust became soft. Before
them stretched the dreary level of the plains, broken by occasional
ravines and little isolated patches of trees. No sign of Indians was
seen other than the-deserted trail, and confident that the band had had
fully twenty-four hours' start their pursuers advanced as rapidly as
the ground would permit. The very clearness of the trail was evidence
that the Indians had no conception that they were being followed.
Confident of safety in their winter retreat, they were making no effort
to protect their rear, never dreaming there were soldiers within
hundreds of miles. Whatever report Dupont had made, it had awakened no
alarm. Why should it? So far as he knew there were but two men
pursuing him into the wilderness, and both of these he believed lying
dead in the snow.

Steadily, mile after mile, they rode, and it was after dark when the
little column was finally halted beside a stream, where they could
safely hide themselves in a patch of timber. Tiny fires were built
under protection of the steep banks of the creek, and the men made
coffee, and fed their hungry horses. The silence was profound. It was
a dark night, although the surrounding snow plains yielded a spectral
light. Major Elliott, drinking coffee and munching hard-tack with the
troop captain