Page:Thirty-One Years on the Plains and in the Mountains.djvu/310

238 night we came to a little stream running across the valley, that we had looked at through the glasses the evening before. Here we went into camp for the night, and on looking across the valley on the opposite side of the river we could see through the field glasses a number of little wreaths of smoke curling up into the air, and they were scattered along the foothills here and there for several miles.

I knew at once they were not from Indian fires, for I could not see a lodge, and they were too badly scattered to be an Indian village.

Just what it was we could not make out, but we stopped on the little stream that night, which is now called Shasta river. I slept but very little, as my broken shoulder was commencing to bother me again from riding. I was up and down all night long, and was around among the horses many times.

The next morning we were up and had our breakfast and started very early. We had not gone more than two miles, when, on looking ahead, we saw twelve men coming on horseback. Through my glasses I saw they were white men, and told the boys so. George Jones could not believe they were white men until he looked through the glass, when he said: "Well, I'll be d d if they ain't white men."

We altered our course so as to meet them, and less 'than a half hour's ride brought us face to face.

There was a man by the name of Wm. McConnell riding in the lead, and on meeting us the first word uttered by any of the party was by McConnell. He said: "Where in the name of God did you get those horses?"