The purpose of the party which Sherman headed was to confer with the
greatest of the hostile chiefs. Treaties were to be agreed upon if
possible. If negotiations for peace failed, the council would at least
act as a stay of hostilities. The army was rapidly reorganizing, and it
would soon be possible to mobilize enough troops to put down the
Indians in case they refused to come to terms peaceably.
The camp of the Kiowas and Comanches--the first Indians with whom
Sherman meant to deal--was about three hundred miles southwest of
Leavenworth, in the great buffalo range, and in the midst of the
trackless Plains.
By ambulance and on horseback, with wagons to carry the supplies, the
party set out for its first objective--Council Springs on the Arkansas
River, about sixty miles beyond old Fort Zarrah.
I was chosen as one of the scouts or dispatch carriers to accompany the
party. The guide was Dick Curtis, a plainsman of wide experience among
the Indians.
When we arrived at Fort Zarrah we found that no road lay beyond, and
learned that there was no water on the way. It was determined,
therefore, to make a start at two o'clock in the morning. Curtis said
this would enable us to reach our destination, sixty-five miles further
on, by two o'clock the next afternoon.
The outfit consisted of two ambulances and one Government wagon, which
carried the tents and supplies.
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