Now He Spoke Out
Frankly And Said We Had Been 21 Days Coming 40 Miles When The Road
Was Good; We Were Now Coming To Very Bad Roads And Had To Go As
Far Again.
These horses could not do it, and get him back to Fort
Smith for July 1 - and back at any price he must be.
He was willing to take the whole outfit half a day farther westward,
or, if we preferred it, he would go afoot or on horseback with the
pick of the men and horses for a hasty dash forward; but to take
the whole outfit on to the Buffalo country and get back on time
was not possible.
This was a bad shake. We held a council of war, and the things that
were said of that Indian should have riled him if he understood.
He preserved his calm demeanour; probably this was one of the
convenient times when all his English forsook him. We were simply
raging: to be half-way to our goal, with abundance of provisions,
fine weather, good health and everything promising well, and then
to be balked because our guide wanted to go back. I felt as savage
as the others, but on calmer reflection pointed out that Pierre
told us before starting that he must be back for Treaty Day, and
even now he was ready to do his best.
Then in a calm of the storm (which he continued to ignore) Pierre
turned to me and said:
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