I then told the men to furnish themselves with four day's ration and also to take blankets to use at night, and to be ready to take the trail at sun rise in the morning. They all promised to be ready at the time I specified, and we separated for the night.
I found Uncle Kit in the dining room writing a letter to Capt. McKee. He gave the letter to me, saying, "Give this letter to Capt. McKee, and if you want to go to Santa Fe with him, do so, or if you had rather be with me, you will find Jim and me on the Cache-La-Poudre; just suit yourself, Willie, in regard to this matter, and I shall be satisfied."
The next morning we were up and on the road by the time the sun was up. We rode hard until about eleven o'clock, when we dismounted, staked our horses out to grass and ate our luncheon. We let our horses feed about an hour, and then we mounted and were on the road again. A little before sunset we came in sight of Rocky Ford. As soon as I saw where we were, I pointed it out to the boys, and said, "There is Rocky Ford, and we are ahead of time."
We had ridden but a short distance when one of the boys remarked, "We are not much in the lead, for there comes Capt. McKee's company just across the river," and as we reached the Ford, Capt. McKee and his men were crossing. So we both met on time. I had never met Capt. McKee but knew him from the fact that he was in the lead of his men.
I rode up to him and saluted and asked if this was Capt. McKee. He said it was. I told my name at the same time I gave him Carson's letter.
He read the letter and then said, "Let us go into camp. My men and horses are tired, and we will talk business after we have had supper."
We rode perhaps a quarter of a mile from the Ford, where we could get plenty of sage brush to make fires, dismounted and staked our horses out to grass, and it was not long until our meal was ready to eat. As soon as the meal was over, the Captain came to me and inquired if I had ever been over this country before. I told him I had a number of times. He said, "I am a stranger in this country; will you please tell me where the main body of the Comanches are at this time of the year?"
I told him that the main body of the Comanche tribe was at least a hundred miles down the river.
"They go down there to shoot the Buffalo as they cross the river on their winter's feeding ground. You will find the Indians very numerous all through that part of the country. Sometimes there are from two to three hundred wigwams in one village, and the Indians will stay there for nearly a month yet before they go farther south."
The Capt. then asked if I was acquainted with any of the Comanche Chiefs. I told him that I was, and that I had traded with pretty near all of them.