Capt McKee then told his men to go on to Fort Worth and go into camp, and he told them where to camp and to wait for us and we would come to them as soon as we could. The Capt. then told Mr. Reese to lead on and we would follow.
We drove the horses to Dallas without any trouble and delivered them at Mr. Reese's stable. He paid us the money for them, and we lost no time in pulling out for Fort Worth. It was thirty-two miles from Dallas to Fort Worth, and we passed two houses on the way from there to Fort Worth at the time of which I am writing. I think there were about fifty houses in Fort Worth. I do not know the number there were at Dallas. The place was somewhat larger, but it was a small town.
[Illustration: I took the lead.]
CHAPTER IX.
When we reached Fort Worth, the news met us that the Indians were on the war path in western Texas and were raiding all the white settlements, killing the people and driving off their stock throughout all that part of the state.
We laid in a supply of provisions and tobacco, enough to last three months, and struck the trail for western Texas. The fourth day after we left Fort Worth, we came to a settlement, and all the people were natives of Tennessee, and as that was my native state, I soon made many friends.
The people of the settlement had met together that morning to try to plan some way to stop the depredations of the Indians, but they did not know what to do or where to commence, and they were glad to see the Capt., he being well known as an Indian fighter all over Texas.
When they asked him what he thought best to be done, he said that he could not advise them what to do, but he had come to that part of the State to protect the settlements from the outrages of the savages for the next six months.
We rode to the edge of the settlement and went into camp, thinking we would stay there until towards evening. We had just eaten our dinner when two of the settlers came to our camp and in a very excited manner told us that a small band of Indians had just gone into camp a few miles from the settlement.
We asked them how they got the news. They said that two of the men had been out hunting and saw the Indians when they went into camp.