f which looked like pack
horses. Supposing the camp, if there was one, must be up in the hills,
we followed a bridle path up stream in search of it, and soon came
upon four men, placer mining on the banks of the creek.

When we made our errand known, one of these placer miners, an elderly
man who seemed familiar with the country, expressed some doubts about
our leaving the trail, though he said there was a bridle path with
which he was acquainted across to the military road. Flood at once
offered to pay him well if he would pilot us across to the road, or
near enough so that we could find our way. The old placerman
hesitated, and after consulting among his partners, asked how we were
fixed for provision, explaining that they wished to remain a month or
so longer, and that game had been scared away from the immediate
vicinity, until it had become hard to secure meat. But he found Flood
ready in that quarter, for he immediately offered to kill a beef and
load down any two pack horses they had, if he would consent to pilot
us over to within striking distance of the Fort Benton road. The offer
was immediately accepted, and I was dispatched to drive in their
horses. Two of the placer miners accompanied us back to the trail,
both riding good saddle horses and leading two others under pack
saddles. We overtook the herd within a mile of the point where the
trail was to be abandoned, and after sending the wagon ahead, our
foreman asked our guests to pick out any cow or steer in the herd.
When they declined, he cut out a fat stray cow which had come into the
herd down on the North Platte, had her driven in after the wagon,
killed and quartered. When we had laid the quarters on convenient
rocks to cool and harden during the night, our future pilot timidly
inquired what we proposed to do with the hide, and on being informed
that he was welcome to it, seemed delighted, remarking, as I helped
him to stake it out where it would dry, that "rawhide was mighty handy
repairing pack saddles."

Our visitors interested us, for it is probable that not a man in our
outfit had ever seen a miner before, though we had read of the life
and were deeply interested in everything they did or said. They were
very plain men and of simple manners, but we had great difficulty in
getting them to talk. After supper, while idling away a couple of
hours around our camp-fire, the outfit told stories, in the hope that
our guests would become reminiscent and g