“Mr. Beckwith, I wish to say a few words to your friend, Mr. Drannan, in behalf of myself and the other officers present.”  Jim told him to go ahead, which he did, telling how faithful I had been and what valuable services I had rendered both to him and the emigrants.  He went on and made quite a lengthy speech, in conclusion of which he said:  “Mr. Drannan, as a slight token of our appreciation of your services while with us, I now present to you this pair of glasses,” whereupon he handed me a fine pair of field glasses which he took from his overcoat pocket, “and here are two navy revolvers that Capt.  Mills and Lieut.  Harding wish to present to you as a token of their friendship.”

This took me wholly by surprise, as I had not expected anything of the kind, and I was so dumbfounded that all I could say was to thank them for the presents, the thought never having entered my head that my services had been so highly appreciated by the officers of those four companies.

Col.  Elliott said that in case he should go out on the plains the following summer, which in all probability he would, he wanted me to go with him without fail.  I promised him that I would, provided I was in the country when he started out.

After Col.  Elliott had closed his remarks and taken his seat, Jim Beckwith arose and made quite a speech in his plain, rude language, addressing his remarks principally to Col.  Elliott, in which he said:  “Colonel, I would not have recommended this boy to you so highly if I had not been with him long enough to know that when he starts in to do a thing he goes at it for all there is in him, and, as I told you, he has been with Kit Carson ever since he was a boy, and I knowed that if he didn’t have the everlasting grit in him, Kit Carson wouldn’t have kept him around so long.  I am very glad indeed, Colonel, that he has filled the bill, and now the Injun fightin’ is all over for this season and ’twill be some time before we all meet again, if we ever do.  I have nothing of value to present to you, but such as I have is as free as the water in the brook.”

At this he produced a gallon jug of whiskey, set it on the table, gave us some glasses and told us all to help ourselves.  This wound up the evening’s exercises, and after each had tipped the glass about three times we broke up the lodge and each went on his way rejoicing.

Before the Colonel left that night he told me that we would divide the captured horses the next morning.  I told him that all I wanted was the five horses that I had captured from the five Indian scouts when I first started in to scout for him, but the next morning [Transcriber’s note:  unreadable text] out when the horses were brought in and made the division.  There were sixty-three of them, and he left fifteen to my share.