Chapter 3 A
Second Trip to Fort SumnerOn the return trip we traveled mainly by night. The proceeds
from the sale of the herd were in the wagon, and had this fact been
known it would have been a tempting prize for either bandits or
Indians. After leaving Horsehead Crossing we had the advantage of
the dark of the moon, as it was a well-known fact that the
Comanches usually choose moonlight nights for their marauding
expeditions. Another thing in our favor, both going and returning,
was the lightness of travel westward, it having almost ceased
during the civil war, though in '66 it showed a slight prospect of
resumption. Small bands of Indians were still abroad on
horse-stealing forays, but the rich prizes of wagon trains bound
for El Paso or Santa Fé no longer tempted the noble r
