The next morning we pulled out early, and we traveled without interruption all day, and we did not see an Indian and but very few Buffalo.

That night we camped on a little stream called Cotton Wood Creek.  There was fine water and the best of grass for the stock.  That evening I told the Capt. and the wagon boss that the three main Buffalo crossings were within thirty miles of us, and we would probably have more trouble with the Buffalos than we would with the Indians.  “At this time of the year it is no uncommon thing to see a herd of Buffalo from eight to ten miles long, and from a half to a mile wide, and if we meet with such a herd, all we can do is to stop and wait until they pass, for we could no more get through them than we could fly over them, and, Capt., we now have two dangers to avoid.  The Indians and Buffalos.  If you see a band of Buffalo coming and I am not with you, have the wagon master corral the train as quickly as possible, and as close as he can get them together.  I have considerable influence with the Indians, but I have none with the Buffalos, so we must give the latter their own way and a plenty of room, or they will tramp the train under their feet and us with it.”

We were on the road in good season the next morning, and every thing went smoothly until about eleven o’clock in the morning, when I saw a large band of Buffalo coming from the north and heading directly for the river.  I rode back and met the train and told the wagon master that he must corral the train at once, and he did not have time to get it corralled too soon before the herd was near us, and I will say I had seen a great many large herds of Buffalo before and have since that time but never saw anything that equaled this herd.  We waited until three o’clock in the afternoon before we could move on our journey, and after they had all passed us, one could see nothing but a black moving mass as far as the eyes could see.

I asked the Capt. how many Buffalos he thought there were in that band.  He answered, “I think the number would run into millions.  How many Buffalos would it take to cover a half a mile square?”

I thought a moment and answered, “That is a difficult question to answer, Capt.  The way they were crowded together here I believe there would be a hundred thousand on every half a mile square.”

Capt.  McKee said, “Yes, and on some of the half a mile square there would be more than that number.  I was in Texas nine years, and I saw a great many bands of Buffalo in that time, but I had no idea that they ever traveled in such immense bodies as the one that passed us today.”

We proceeded but a short distance that afternoon but made an early camp on account of water.  While we were at supper, I was amused at some of the remarks made by the teamsters.  One of them said, “Boys, if I live to get home, you will never catch me any farther west than the state of Missouri again.  Who would live in such a country as this is?  Good for nothing but Indians, Buffalos, and Coyotes, and any of the three is liable to kill you if you get out among them.”  And another said, “How in creation are we going to get home?  If this train don’t go back, we are sure in for it.”