The inventor of this most excellent tent was a private soldier in the Second Dragoons, whom I often saw at Fort Bridger, Utah, in '58, but whose name I have forgotten. The next day we drove down-town and bought our supplies and on returning to camp loaded the wagon for the trip to the plains, as Tom directed. "Put the heaviest truck, such as the sacks of corn and flour, in the bottom an' well toward the forward end," said he, "an' such things as the mess box an' stove--that we'll be using a good deal on the road--in the hind end, where they'll be handy to git out of the wagon. The tent an' our bundles of bedding can go on top. The camp-stools, buckets, an' camp-kettles can be tied on outside. An', mind you, everything must be stowed away snug or we won't be able to get our truck all on the wagon." Stripping the wagon-sheets off the bows, we packed the wagon to the best advantage, leaving at the hind end a vacant space to receive the mess-chest and stove. Replacing the sheets, we tied them down snugly to the wagon-box, all around, to be prepared for rainy weather. Tom, who once had served as hospital steward, had learned something of the use of medicines, and during our stay in Leavenworth he fitted up a small medicine-chest and stocked it with such remedies as he knew how to use, to be prepared for emergencies. "You may not need 'em very often," he remarked; "you may never need 'em; but, as Wild Bill says of his pistols, when you do need 'em you'll need 'em bad." As we were to pull out in the morning, Wild Bill rode out to our camp that evening to take supper with us. The evening was pleasantly passed with music from Jack's fiddle, singing by all hands, and wound up by a jig danced by Wild Bill which astonished and delighted us all. As Wild Bill was mounting his horse to return to town, Tom took the precaution to chain the dog, Found, to a wheel of the wagon, to prevent him from following his master. Our commander, old Tom, had given orders for an early start next morning, and before daylight his call, "Turn out, men!" routed us out of our blankets. Tom got breakfast, while Jack and I fed the team and then groomed and harnessed them while they ate. We intended to feed them well on grain as long as we were in the settlements, where it was plenty and cheap; but after getting beyond Council Grove there would be no more settlements, and consequently no grain to be bought along the road, and, as the grain we were hauling would be needed later to carry our animals through the cold of winter, they would have to depend on the grass after leaving the settlements. Daylight was upon us when we had finished eating, and, all hands turning to, the dishes were soon washed and packed away, the wagon loaded, the team hitched up, the fire put out, and we were off.