He wanted me to hurry on to Fort
McPherson and guide the Third Cavalry, under General Reynolds, on a
military expedition. The Indians had been committing serious
devastations and it was necessary to suppress them summarily. At the
dinner, which was given by Mr. Bennett, I told my New York friends that
I would have to leave for the West the next day. When the party broke
up I went directly to the Albemarle Hotel and told my cousins that we
would have to start early the next morning for Westchester. There I
would remain twenty-four hours.
When we reached Westchester, my uncle informed me that they had
arranged a fox hunt for the next morning, and that all the people in
the town and vicinity would be present. They wanted to see a real scout
and plainsman in the saddle.
Early next morning many ladies and gentlemen, splendidly mounted,
appeared in front of my uncle's residence. At that time Westchester
possessed the best pack of fox hounds in America. Captain Trainer,
master of the hounds, provided me with a spirited horse which had on a
little sheepskin saddle of a kind on which I had never ridden. I was
familiar neither with the horse, the saddle, the hounds, nor
fox-hunting, and was extremely nervous. I would have backed out if I
could, but I couldn't, so I mounted the horse and we all started on the
chase.
We galloped easily along for perhaps a mile and I was beginning to
think fox-hunting a very tame sport indeed when suddenly the hounds
started off on a trail, all barking at once.
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