Everything being understood and arranged to the satisfaction of all hands, we separated and turned in for the night.
Next morning we were all up in good season and got an early start on the road.
Late that evening just before we went into camp we saw a few Buffalo feeding near the river. I asked the Capt. where he was going to camp that night. He pointed to a little ravine about a half a mile from us, and answered, "We will camp on that ravine." I said, "Take my pack on your saddle in front of you, and I will kill a calf for supper."
He took my pack, saying, "All right, we surely will enjoy some fresh meat," and the company moved on, and I struck out to kill the Buffalo. I rode around the herd so if they became frightened they would run towards the place where we were to camp. They saw me before I had got in gun shot of them and started to run directly towards where the Capt. had gone into camp.
As soon as I saw the direction they were taking, I commenced to shout to the men at the camp to look out, for the Buffalo were coming, and they did not get the news any too quick before the Buffalos were there. The men grabbed their guns and commenced shooting, and that was all that saved the camp from being overrun with Buffalo. They shot down three calves and two heifers right in camp.
The boys had the laugh on me for several days. When anything was said about getting fresh meat, some of them would say, "Will can go and drive it into camp, and we will shoot it," and the Capt. would laugh and say he reckoned that was a good way to save me from packing it.
I do not think I ever saw men enjoy a meal more than these did that night. We had all ridden hard that day and had only a light lunch at midday, so we were all very hungry and young and hearty and just at the time of life when food tastes best, and every one of us knew how to broil Buffalo meat over sage brush fire.
The next morning the Capt. told the men to all cut enough meat from the Buffalos to last until the next day and to put it in their packs, for, he said, "We may not meet with as good luck again as we did today, and if we take the meat with us we will be provided for anyway."
We were on the road early in the morning and traveled without stopping until noon, and we saw numerous small bands of Buffalo all along the way. We stopped on the bank of a little pearling stream of cold water, where there was plenty of grass for the horses, and ate our luncheon and rested about an hour. We were about ready to continue our journey when I discovered a small band of Indians coming up the trail.
I sang out to the Capt., "There come some of our neighbors." He looked at them and said, "Boys, mount your horses and be ready, for we are going to have fun right here." I said, "Hold on, Capt., and let me see if I can't settle this thing without a fight." He said, "How will you do it?" I said, "I believe I know all those Indians, but I will ride down and meet them and see, and if I am acquainted with them we will have no trouble with them."