One said he owned a piece so steep he had to tie a pole across the lister to keep it from tipping over. Another claimed that when he plowed out his potatoes he rolled them right on down into a cellar. A third maintained that the only way he could graze his goats was to hang them two by two across the ridges. Colonel Dodge left Fort Leavenworth May 29. He followed the west bank of the Missouri nearly to the mouth of the Platte, traced the Platte to its source, went south to the head-waters of the Arkansas, and returned through that valley.
Fort Dodge is on the return trail.
Every quarter section was taken within 24 hours. The War Department had turned the reservation over to the Secretary of Interior. Squatters had first rights to purchase the land at appraised value.