Summary

In Part 2, Chapter 1, the hunting party sets out from Butcher’s Crossing in late August. They ride west toward Colorado. The four men ride horses, and two oxen pull their wagon of supplies. They have a supply of water with them, which they refill in the Smoky Hill River, along which they travel. Andrews, having never ridden a horse before, is quite sore and weary after the first day’s ride. They ride over a vast expanse of plains and camp in the evening. As they prepare to go to sleep for the night, they hear a wagon passing in the night. Miller judges that it is another hunting party. He says the other party is moving quickly and therefore probably does not have many hides.

In Part 2, Chapter 2, the party continues to move westward over the vast expanse of plains...