Russell told us.
After they had heard our story, one of them said. "Well, boys, I'm
a goin' back to Missouri. What are the balance of you goin' to
do?"
They talked the matter over for some time and finally all
concluded that old Missouri was a pretty good country and they
would all start back in the morning.
One of the crowd said: "What will we do with our provisions? We
can't haul it back for our cattle are so tender footed now that
they can hardly travel." Another said: "What we do not want
ourselves we will give to those hand-cart men over there." But
another one in the crowd who perhaps was more like the dog in the
manger that could not eat the hay himself nor would not let the
cows eat it, spoke up and said: "No, we will not do any such
thing! What we do not want to take along to eat on our way back we
will throw in the creek."
The next morning after they had eaten breakfast two of them got up
into the wagon and selected what provisions they wanted to take
along with them, after which they threw the remainder out on the
ground and the other two carried it and threw it into the creek.
It consisted of flour, dried fruit, bacon, sugar, and I noticed
one ten gallon keg of molasses.
I was told that this was an everyday occurrence. As we had seen
the elephant and had about all the mining we wanted, for awhile,
at least, we saddled up our horses and started for Taos, by the
way of Bent's Fort.
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