He is the only literary
person in the command and we are quite proud of him. He is a great
comfort to Faye and me, for his cooking is delicious. The doctor has a
camp appetite now and is not as finicky as when we started on the
trip.
FORT MAGINNIS, MONTANA TERRITORY,
September, 1880.
IT is almost one week since we got here, but I have not written before
as no mail has been sent out. I hope that the letter left with Junot
has been received, also the two or three notes that were given to
horsemen we met on their way to Fort Benton.
At first, Faye did not tell me all that he knew about those horse
thieves in the Judith Basin, but it finally came out that the trader,
Junot, had told him a most blood-curdling tale of events to come. He
had declared most positively that the desperadoes were planning to
attack the command, the very next morning while crossing the Judith
Mountains, with a hope, of course, of getting the animals. He also
told Faye that one of them would be in camp that evening to ask
permission to go with him to Maginnis. Faye said the whole story was
absurd, particularly the attack, as those horse thieves would never
dare attack government troops.
