“If I let you go, sir, will you leave the post at once and not bother my agent at Sheridan again?”
“No, sir;” I replied, “I’ll do nothing of the kind. I’ll remain in the guardhouse until I receive an answer from General Sheridan.”
“If I give you the horse and mule will you proceed at once to Fort Lyon?”
“No, sir; I have some bills to settle at Sheridan and some other business to transact,” replied I.
“Well, sir; will you at least agree not to interfere any further with the quartermaster’s agent at Sheridan?”
“I shall not bother him any more, sir, as I have had all I want from him,” was my answer.
General Bankhead thereupon sent for Captain Laufer and ordered him to turn the horse and mule over to me. In a few minutes more I was on my way to Sheridan, and after settling my business there, I proceeded to Fort Lyon, arriving two days afterwards. I related my adventures to General Carr, Major Brown, and other officers, who were greatly amused thereby.
“I’m glad you’ve come, Bill,” said General Carr, “as I have been wanting you for the last two weeks. While we have been at this post several valuable animals, as well as a large number of government horses and mules have been stolen, and we think that the thieves are still in the vicinity of the fort, but as yet we have been unable to discover their rendezvous. I have had a party out for the last few days in the neighborhood of old Fort Lyon, and they have found fresh tracks down there and seem to think that the stock is concealed somewhere in the timber, along the Arkansas River. Bill Green, one of the scouts who has just come up from there, can perhaps tell you something more about the matter.”
Green, who had been summoned, said that he had discovered fresh trails before striking the heavy timber opposite old Fort Lyon, but that in the tall grass he could not follow them. He had marked the place where he had last seen fresh mule tracks, so that he could find it again.
“Now, Cody, you’re just the person we want,” said the General.
“Very well, I’ll get a fresh mount, and tomorrow I’ll go down and see what I can discover,” said I.
“You had better take two men besides Green, and a pack mule with eight or ten days’ rations,” suggested the General, “so that if you find the trail you can follow it up, as I am very anxious to get back this stolen property. The scoundrels have taken one of my private horses and also Lieutenant Forbush’s favorite little black race mule.”
Next morning I started out after the horse-thieves, being accompanied by Green, Jack Farley, and another scout. The mule track, marked by Green, was easily found, and with very little difficulty I followed it for about two miles into the timber and came upon a place where, as I could plainly see from numerous signs, quite a number of head of stock had been tied among the trees and kept for several days. This was evidently the spot where the thieves had been hiding their stolen stock until they had accumulated quite a herd. From this point it was difficult to trail them, as they had taken the stolen animals out of the timber one by one and in different directions, thus showing that they were experts at the business and experienced frontiersmen, for no Indian could have exhibited more cunning in covering up a trail than did they.
I abandoned the idea of following their trail in this immediate locality, so calling my men together, I told them that we would ride out for about five miles and make a complete circuit about the place, and in this way we would certainly find the trail on which they had moved out. While making the circuit we discovered the tracks of twelve animals—four mules and eight horses—in the edge of some sand-hills, and from this point we had no trouble in trailing them down the Arkansas River, which they had crossed at Sand Creek, and then had gone up the latter stream, in the direction of Denver, to which place they were undoubtedly bound. When nearing Denver their trail became so obscure that we at last lost it; but by inquiring of the settlers along the road which they had taken, we occasionally heard of them.
When within four miles of Denver—this was on a Thursday—we learned that the horse-thieves had passed there two days before. I came to the conclusion they would attempt to dispose of the animals in Denver, and being aware that Saturday was the great auction day there, I thought it best to remain where we were at a hotel, and not go into the city until that day. It certainly would not have been advisable for me to have gone into Denver meantime—because I was well-known there, and if the thieves had learned of my presence in the city they would at once have suspected my business.
Early Saturday morning, we rode into town and stabled our horses at the Elephant Corral. I secured a room from Ed Chase, overlooking the corral, and then took up my post of observation. I did not have long to wait, for a man, whom I readily recognized as one of our old packers, rode into the corral mounted upon Lieutenant Forbush’s racing mule, and leading another government mule, which I also identified. It had been recently branded, and over the “U.S.” was a plain “D.B.” I waited for the man’s companion to put in an appearance, but he did not come, and my conclusion was that he was secreted outside of the city with the rest of the animals.
Presently the black mule belonging to Forbush was put
