“In 1816”—­we didn’t stop to think how far back 1816 was—­ “I had been to Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River with a company of fur traders, and had been trapping in that country for two or three years, and by that time the party had made up their minds they would start back to the States, across the mountains.  They were headed for the Missouri River, and when they got there, they intended to build a boat and float down to St. Louis.  As they were coming across the Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains, had reached the eastern slope, and were coming down one of the tributaries of the Stinking Water, some one of the party discovered what he thought to be gold nuggets in the bed of the stream.  The water was clear.  Every man went down to the water prospecting.  The stream was so full of gold nuggets that they all jumped off their horses, leaving them packed as they were, and commenced throwing gold nuggets out on the banks.

        “They abandoned everything they had with them, provisions and
        all, excepting their rifles, and prepared to load the gold.

        “Then they started for the Missouri River again, and when they
        reached the spot where this grave was, a man was taken suddenly
        ill, died in a very few minutes, and they buried him there.”

        Old Joe gave a sly wink, as much as to say, “We buried the
        money with the man.”

At this time quite a number of officers gathered around where the advance of the command had halted, and there may have been thirty or forty soldiers listening to this story; there were some who took it to be one of Joe’s lies that he usually told for tobacco.

The colonel ordered the bugler to sound “forward.”  The command moved on and within five or six miles went into camp.  But every man who had listened to Joe’s story of this grave, feeling that there was some hundred thousand dollars buried in it, gave it a look as they passed by.

We moved on and went into camp.  Joe was messing with me, and after we had supper he said, “Bill, would you like to see a little fun to-night?” I said, “Yes, I am in for fun or anything else.”  He said, “As soon as it gets dark you follow me.”  I said, “You bet I will follow you,” thinking all the time that he was going back to dig this fellow up.

As soon as it was dark he started and motioned me to follow him, but, instead of going back on the trail, he went in the direction that we intended to go in the morning.  Thinks I to myself, “That is good medicine, we won’t go directly back on the trail but follow another.”

        I asked him if we did not want to take a pick and shovel with
        us, and he said, “What for?” I said, “We will need it.” 
        He said, “No, we won’t need it; you come on.”