Where Old Fort Larned Stood
We ran a fairly straight line, bearing a little to the west, to the head of Ash Creek, which we found here to be only a prairie hollow destitute of water and timber. Before reaching Ash Creek we had begun to see plenty of buffalo in every direction except toward Fort Larned.
On reaching the high prairie north of Ash Creek we could see away to the north the distant line of timber that marked the course of Walnut Creek. A heavy body of timber was seen right ahead, and in line with our course, that Tom rightly conjectured was at the mouth of the little creek emptying into the Walnut, where French Dave had told him we would find a suitable location for a winter camp. Toward this we directed our course.
It was but little past noon when we reached the edge of the timber near the junction of the little branch and Walnut Creek, and we found here an ideal spot for our purpose—a snug camp and good hunting and trapping ground.
"We'll camp here for the night," said Tom as he dismounted, "an' to-morrow we'll look the neighborhood over thoroughly an' decide where to pitch our permanent layout."
As we had found no water on the road we had made this drive from Pawnee Fork without our usual halt for noon and decided to have our dinner and supper in one about the middle of the afternoon. After turning out the stock, bringing wood and water, and pitching the tent, while Tom was preparing the meal, Jack and I separately rambled off to do a little exploring of our immediate neighborhood. In doing so I found a prairie ravine, not far from our camp, in which there was considerable standing water at a distance of about three hundred yards from the timber on Walnut Creek. I wondered at this water, but on following the ravine down to the creek I discovered a beaver dam built across the creek, in which a number of the dome-shaped huts were standing, and saw other evidences of the presence of a populous colony of these industrious animals. The water I had seen up the ravine was backwater caused by the dam.
At Tom's call of "grub pile" I hurried back to camp to acquaint my comrades with my discovery, only to learn that Jack had found the beaver dam before I had and, having rushed back to the wagon, was now busy getting out our steel traps preparatory to setting them for beaver.
As we sat around the mess-chest eating, Tom, between mouthfuls, explained his ideas about the establishing of our winter camp.