ans and myself, I would have a good three-quarters of a
mile the start of them, and could then make a run for Fort Larned, as my
mule was a good one.

"Thus far my cattle story had panned out all right; but just as I
reached the opposite bank of the river, I looked behind me and saw that
ten or fifteen Indians, who had begun to suspect something crooked, were
following me. The moment that my mule secured a good foothold on the
bank, I urged him into a gentle lope toward the place where, according
to my statement, the cattle were to be brought. Upon reaching a little
ridge and riding down the other side out of view, I turned my mule and
headed him westward for Fort Larned. I let him out for all that he was
worth, and when I came out on a little rise of ground, I looked back and
saw the Indian village in plain sight. My pursuers were now on the ridge
which I had passed over, and were looking for me in every direction.

"Presently they spied me, and seeing that I was running away, they
struck out in swift pursuit, and in a few minutes it became painfully
evident they were gaining on me. They kept up the chase as far as Ash
Creek, six miles from Fort Larned. I still led them half a mile, as
their horses had not gained much during the last half of the race. My
mule seemed to have gotten his second wind, and as I was on the old
road, I played the spurs and whip on him without much cessation; the
Indians likewise urged their steeds to the utmost.

"Finally, upon reaching the dividing ridge between Ash Creek and Pawnee
Fork, I saw Fort Larned only four miles away. It was now sundown, and I
heard the evening gun. The troops of the small garrison little dreamed
there was a man flying for his life and trying to reach the post. The
Indians were once more gaining on me, and when I crossed the Pawnee Fork
two miles from the post, two or three of them were only a quarter of a
mile behind me. Just as I gained the opposite bank of the stream, I
was overjoyed to see some soldiers in a government wagon only a short
distance off. I yelled at the top of my voice, and riding up to them,
told them that the Indians were after me.

"'Denver Jim,' a well-known scout, asked me how many there were, and
upon my informing him that there were about a dozen, he said: 'Let's
drive the wagon into the trees, and we'll lay for 'em.' The team was
hurriedly driven among the trees and low box-elder bushes, and there
secreted.

"We did not have to wait l