Page:Don Coronado through Kansas.djvu/137

126 12G. KANSAS NATURAL, VEGETAEL,!',::;. ous enemies through whose territory Ll:?.y liacl come. But the ultimatum of the commander and his advis- ers prevailed, so the question of precedent arose as to who were to accompany the party, and so patent was the fitness of Lieutenant Perez that he was one of the first designated. Of course, he insisted on his servant being permitted to remain with him, to which no one could object, for Monte's mule was tlis best fitted for the trip, it being in better condition than any other of the pack animals. And now began preparations for the departure — one towards home, the other, God then only knew. Quite a time was taken to rest up while camped on the beautiful bottoms adjoining the river. In the meantime hunting and fishing were resorted to so as to recuperate the men, and the animals were permit- ted to browse on the ideal pasture; so that when the time arrived for each party to start on its journey, they were in the best condition they had been in for some time. As you know, it was beautiful summer; vegetation was at its best; there were many natural plants which Ysopete taught the use of, and he made it a point to help Monte keep in reserve some corn to grind for meal. This knowledge by Ysopete had been known to Alonso and Monte for many weeks and was the reason for their being in such good con- dition physically, for their Indian friend had every day seen to it that they had native vegetables; he gathering them himself and assisting Monte in cook- ing -them. Hence the meat of the buffalo and deer did not become obnoxious to our three fast friends; in fact, they were in prime condition. To the uniniti-