t we had to say, he thought that the Mexicans were as much to blame
as we were.

It is not to be denied that Wild Bill and myself had been partaking too
freely of "tanglefoot" that evening; and General Carr said to me: "Cody,
there are plenty of antelopes in the country, and you can do some hunting
for the camp while we stay here."

"All right, General, I'll do it."

After that I put in my time hunting, and with splendid success, killing
from fifteen to twenty antelopes a day, which kept the men well supplied
with fresh meat.

At length, our horses and mules having become sufficiently recruited to
travel, we returned to Fort Lyon, arriving there in March, 1869, where
the command was to rest and recruit for thirty days, before proceeding to
the Department of the Platte, whither it had been ordered.

CHAPTER XX.

AN EXCITING CHASE.

General Carr, at my request, kindly granted me one month's leave of
absence to visit my family in St. Louis, and ordered Captain Hays, our
quartermaster, to let me ride my mule and horse to Sheridan, distant 140
miles, where I was to take the cars. I was instructed to leave the
animals in the quartermaster's corral at Fort Wallace until I should come
back, but instead of doing this I put them both in the care of my old
friend Perry, the hotel-keeper at Sheridan. After a twenty days absence
in St. Louis, pleasantly spent with my family, I returned to Sheridan,
and there learned that my mule and horse had been seized by the
government.

It seems that the quartermaster's agent at Sheridan had reported to
General Bankhead, commanding Fort Wallace, and to Captain Laufer, the
quartermaster, that I had left the country and had sold a government
horse and mule to Mr. Perry, and of course Captain Laufer took possession
of the animals and threatened to have Perry arrested for buying
government property. Perry explained to him the facts in the case and
said that I would return in a few days; but the captain would pay no
attention to his statements.

I immediately went over to the office of the quartermaster's agent, and
had Perry point him out to me. I at once laid hold of him, and in a
short time had treated him to just such a thrashing as his contemptible
lie deserved.

He then mounted a horse, rode to Fort Wallace, and reported me to General
Bankhead and Captain Laufer, and obtained a guard to return with and
protect him.

The next morning I secured a horse from Perry, and proce