But we knew that he would continue down the river, and the
general gave orders to take the best route down-stream, which I found
to be on the east side. Before we could make any headway with our wagon
trains we had to leave the river and get out on the divide.
For some distance we found a good road, but suddenly we were brought up
standing on a high table-land overlooking the beautiful winding creek
that lay far below us. How to get the wagons down became a serious
problem for the officers.
We were in the foothills of the rough Raton Mountains. The bluff we
were on was steep and rugged.
"Cody," said General Carr, "we're in a nice fix now."
"That's nothing," I replied.
"But you never can take the train down."
"Never mind the train, General. You are looking for a good camp. How
does that valley suit you?"
"That will do," he said. "I can easily descend with the cavalry, but
how to get the wagons down is a puzzler."
"By the time your camp is located the wagons will be there," I said.
"All right," he returned. "I'll leave it to you, inasmuch as you seem
to want to be the boss." He ordered the command to dismount and lead
the horses down the mountain. When the wagon-train, which was a mile in
the rear, came up, one of the drivers asked:
"How are we going to get down there?"
"Run down, slide down, fall down--any way to get down," I told him.
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