An example of the enmity between the Indians and the traders may be seen in an occurrence of 1828. Two young men went to sleep on the bank of a stream a short distance from their caravan, and were fatally shot, it was supposed, with their own guns. When their comrades found them one was dead, and the other died by the time the caravan reached the Cimarron River, about forty miles farther on. During the simple burial ceremonies a party of six or seven Indians appeared on the other side of the river. It is probable that these Indians knew nothing of the crime committed or they would not have approached the white men. Some of the men took this view, but, against their advice, the others fired and killed all of the Indians but one, who escaped to carry the news to his tribe. The Indians of the wronged tribe then followed the caravan to the Arkansas River where they robbed the traders of nearly a thousand head of horses and mules. Other robberies and murders followed until it became necessary for the traders to petition the National Government for troops. The next year soldiers escorted the caravan nearly to the Cimarron River. Government protection was furnished again in 1834, and in 1843. In the other years the traders fought their own way, but the day of small parties was over. For mutual protection, the traders banded together. A single big caravan started out each spring as soon as the grass was sufficient to pasture their animals, and returned in the fall. =The Starting Point of the Traders.= For many years the city of Franklin, on the Missouri River, was the starting point of the traders, the place where they purchased their goods and their outfits. Later, Independence, Missouri, and finally Westport which is now a part of Kansas City, became the emporium of the Santa Fe trade. The tourists and traders began to gather about the first of May for the journey that would begin near the middle of that month. =Supplies Taken.= The ordinary supplies to be taken for each man were about fifty pounds of flour, fifty pounds of bacon, ten pounds of coffee, twenty pounds each of sugar, rice, and beans, and a little salt. Anything else was considered an unnecessary luxury and was seldom taken. The buffalo furnished fresh meat for the travelers. =Teams and Wagons.= After the first few years horses were little used on the Trail except for riding. A wagon was usually drawn by eight mules or oxen, though some of the larger ones required ten or twelve. The large wagons often carried as much as five thousand pounds of merchandise and supplies. The loading of the wagons for a journey of nearly eight hundred miles was a very particular piece of work.