The command took up its march next day for the Cimarron, and had a hard
tramp of it on account of the snow having drifted to a great depth in many
of the ravines, and in some places the teamsters had to shovel their way
through. We arrived at the Cimarron at sundown, and went into camp. Upon
looking around next morning, we found that Penrose, having been
unencumbered by wagons, had kept on the west side of the Cimarron, and the
country was so rough that it was impossible for us to stay on his trail
with our wagons; but knowing that we would certainly follow down the
river, General Carr concluded to take the best wagon route along the
stream, which I discovered to be on the east side. Before we could make
any headway with our wagon train we had to leave the river and get out on
the divide. We were very fortunate that day in finding a splendid road for
some distance, until we were all at once brought to a standstill on a high
tableland, overlooking a beautiful winding creek that lay far below us in
the valley. The question that troubled us was how we were to get the
wagons down. We were now in the foothills of the Rattoon Mountains, and
the bluff we were on was very steep.
"Cody, we're in a nice fix now," said General Carr.
"Oh, that's nothing," was my reply.
"But you can never take the train down," said he.
"Never you mind the train, General. You say you are looking for a good
camp. How does that beautiful spot down in the valley suit you?" I asked
him.
"That will do. I can easily descend with the cavalry, but how to get the
wagons down there is a puzzler to me," said he.
"By the time you are located in your camp, your wagons shall be there,"
said I.
"All right, Cody, I'll leave it to you, as you seem to want to be boss,"
he replied, pleasantly. He at once ordered the command to dismount and
lead the horses down the mountain side. The wagon train was a mile in the
rear, and when it came up one of the drivers asked, "How are we going down
there?"
"Run down, slide down, or fall down; any way to get down," said I.
"We can never do it; it's too steep; the wagons will run over the mules,"
said another wagon master.
"I guess not; the mules have got to keep out of the way," was my reply.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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