He insisted on my going back with him to see the mine and said that I could have an equal interest with the others of the company if I would join them, and I have always regretted that I did not go and make them a visit at least for I never saw Capt.  McKee again.

I was told afterwards that he made quite a good stake, and then went back to Texas and married and bought a home and lived and died on it about seven miles northeast of where Mineral wells is now, and I will say here that Capt.  McKee was like many of his noble statesmen.  He was brave, kindly, honest and true.  One of nature’s noblemen.  He did not interfere with any man’s business and allowed no one to meddle with his business, and if he professed to be a friend, he was a friend indeed, one that could be trusted in foul weather as well as fair.

Carson, Bridger, and I remained at Russel’s gulch about three weeks, and we visited many claims and heard the shouts of the successful and the groans of those who failed, and we all three decided that we had got enough of mining by looking on without trying our hand at it, so we left the mining camp and pulled out for Denver, and from Russel’s gulch to the foot of the mountain.

We were never out of sight of teams of every description, and nearly every person we met asked us how far it was to Russel’s gulch.

We were about ten miles on the trail towards Denver when a man asked us this question, and Jim Bridger answered that if we were anywhere else in the United States it would be ten miles to Russel’s gulch, but by that trail he reckoned it was about fifty.

The man said, “Doesn’t the road get any better?”

Jim said, “I don’t call this path a road, but if you do I will tell you that it gets worse all the way up.”

When we reached the foot of the mountains at the crossing at Clear creek, we found more campers there than when we had left three weeks before.  As we were riding along, Bridger said, “Where, do you suppose all these people came from?” Kit Carson answered, “Oh, they have come from all over the east.  This excitement has spread like wild fire all over the country.”

Up to this time we had seen but very few families in the crowds of gold seekers, but when we got to Denver on our return from the mines, we saw that a great many of the emigrants had their whole families with them, and it was surprising to see the number of cabins that had been built in so short a time, and we saw a number of teams hauling logs from the foot of the mountains to build more cabins, and there had been several little buildings built and furnished with groceries and dry goods since we had left there.

The evening we got to Denver we went a little ways up the Platte river to find a place to camp, and whom should we meet but our old friend Jim Beckwith.  As Carson shook his hand, he said, “Why, Beckwith, I thought you had more sense than to be caught in a scrape like this.”