" After that my time was spent in the chase,
and I had fine success. I killed from twenty to twenty-five antelopes
every day, and the camp was supplied with fresh meat.
When the horses and mules belonging to the outfit had been sufficiently
recruited to travel, we returned to Fort Lyon, reaching there in March,
1869. The command recruited and rested for thirty days before
proceeding to the Department of the Platte, whither it had been
ordered.
At my request, General Carr kindly granted me a month's leave of
absence to visit my family in St. Louis. He instructed Captain Hays,
our quartermaster, to let me ride my mule and horse to Sheridan, 140
miles distant. At Sheridan I was to take the train for St. Louis.
I was instructed to leave the animals in the quartermaster's corral at
Fort Wallace until I should come back. Instead of doing this, I put
them both in charge of my old friend Perry, the hotel-keeper at
Sheridan.
After twenty days, pleasantly spent with my family at St. Louis, I
returned to Sheridan. There I learned that my horse and mule had been
seized by the Government.
The quartermaster's agent at Sheridan had reported to General Bankhead,
commanding at Fort Wallace, and to Captain Laufer, the quartermaster,
that I had left the country and had sold the animals to Perry. Laufer
took possession of the animals, and threatened to have Perry arrested
for buying Government property.
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