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that afternoon and got down to Grand Island at sunset We now had our choice either to take the road through Kansas or by continuing on down the Platt reach the Missouri River at Platts mouth after making inquiries possible we made up our minds to take the former route. The buffalo were now around us in swarms in every direction on both sides of the Platt far as the eye could reach was covered black with cattle. You could not from description form any idea this great mass of moving life. They were seemingly intirely regardless of our presence all the afternoon they crossed the road going down to the river to drink sometimes they would crowd on us so that we had to stop the horses to avoid a mixing up with them, After we had camped about ten double teams ? to the Fort and loaded with timber passed us they broke through the buffalo at a gallop scattering them right and left the drivers yelling at them like tame cattle, We were afraid they might stampede over us in the night for they were unpleasantly close to us we built a great fire trusting that that would keep them off for we were so wearied out by suffering from misquitoes and starvation that we were unable to keep watch, I was woke several times during the night by a herd bellowing seemingly right by the side of our camp. I always looked out to see that our horses were safe, they were in deadly fear and trembled all the night. Yet if they once got loose with the buffalo when on a stampede it would be impossible to ever get them again, the lowest spirited critter that ever crossed the plain will run off with them and it requires the greatest precaution on the part of the traveler to keep his cattle from getting away from {blotch} with the wild herd.