Next morning after breakfast our horses were brought in, saddled
up and we were off on our journey again to Cache-la-Poudre.
It might be of interest to our readers to know how this stream
acquired its name. There was a Frenchman by the name of Virees
Roubidoux camped on the stream spoken of, with a little squad of
men; they were attacked by a band of Indians, and the first word
uttered by Roubidoux was "Cache-la-poudre," which means in
English, "hide the powder," and from that time on the stream has
been so called.
We arrived at our proposed trapping field, and after looking over
the country we found plenty of beaver sign along the streams and
game in abundance, and Uncle Kit decided that there was room
enough for four camps.
We returned by the way of Bent's Fort, as Uncle Kit wished to
employ the best men he could get to trap for him the coming
winter. On our way to the fort, which was four hundred miles from
the proposed trapping ground, Uncle Kit told me that he would have
to leave me in charge the coming winter, as he was going to the
City of Mexico on business, but said that he would come out and
get the camps established and return to Taos with the horses
before going there.
We found plenty of men at Bent's Fort, and, as usual, they were
all broke, having squandered the money earned the winter before
for whiskey and card playing.
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