Thus it transpired that from 1815 onward, there were troops of horse, and fleets of batteaux frequently traversing the great valley of the North Platte.

There was always plenty of driftwood for their small needs, as the trips were made quickly. The boats traveled about seventyfive miles per day, and the horses about thirty, so that five or six days would take the boat to the island rendezvous, and twelve or fifteen would bring the horses back to Laramie's fork.

At this time of the year the Indians south of the Platte, particularly the Arapahoes, were following buffalo herds northward The Ogallalas and Tetons who claimed the territory north of the Platte always resisted the progress of the southern tribes into their hunting

grounds, and the river was the halting line. Above the fork of the Laramie, that river was the line of resistance.

Arapahoes were always distrustful of the white people, and continued hostile until 1832, when Captain Gant established a post on the Arkansas, and won their friendship. The Cheyennes, also south of the river, were of the same unreliable nature, and about 1815, they joined the Arapahoes, and operated with them for several years.

On the other hand, the Tetons and Ogallalas were always friendly up to this period. Even in the later wars, Spotted Tail, the famous chief of the Ogallalas, was a peace loving Indian, and regretted the necessity of fighting the whites, but he could not do otherwise than "throw in with his people," when the eloquence of Red Cloud won them over to war.