Independence, and struck out upon the almost trackless
prairie.

Our equipment was that in general use among prairie travelers, and
consisted of a "Concord" wagon, covered with white canvas, and drawn by
six mules, in the management of which rather intractable animals my
father was an adept. In the wagon were stored our few household goods
and scanty supply of provisions, and in it rode my wife and mother. My
brother and myself figured as a mounted guard, and presented a not
unpicturesque appearance in our tunics of dressed deerskin, and leggings
of the same material; our revolvers in our belts, and rifles slung over
our shoulder, or resting on the pommels of our Mexican saddles.
Everything seemed propitious; the wagon moved off smoothly, the morning
was clear, and the great red disc of the sun just rising in the east had
scarcely dispelled the haze that enveloped nature as in a fleecy mantle.
We little dreamed, alas, of the dreadful fate soon to overtake us. That
fate which was to dissever a loving and united family, causing three of
its members to pass through the valley of the shadow of death, and
subjecting the survivors to suffering that often made them cry out in
the bitterness of their hearts "why was I spared to suffer such torture,
when death would have been such a welcome relief!"

CHAPTER II.

THE CAPTURE.

We were now fairly started on our journey, and but for a singular
feeling of depression which weighed down my spirits and seemed a
presentiment of evil to come, I should have had little doubt of our
ability to overtake the train and travel safely with it to our
destination. This feeling, however, caused me to become taciturn and
apprehensive, so much so, that I was frequently rallied upon the subject
by my companions.

For many days, however, we followed the trail without special incident;
the tracks of wagons giving us an easy guide. We found grass, wood and
water in abundance, and traveling light and unimpeded by others, felt
confident that we were gaining upon the train and would undoubtedly
overtake them shortly.

We crossed several rivers and streams, most of them fordable, but one or
two we found wide and deep and were compelled to float our wagon across.
We saw some game, antelopes and deer, and shot a few, forming a welcome
addition to our larder; but they were generally shy and kept out of
reach, without wandering too far from the track. For two days we had
been journeying through