It was a pleasant late-summer day when the war party sauntered out. Each warrior was mounted on a travel horse and led behind him his war horse, painted and fitted with a fine, beaded bridle and saddle. Beckwourth surmised that their tails were cut shot so that an enemy could not grab them. Most of the warriors carried guns called fusees; short-barreled, smooth-bore weapons that came by way of the Hudson Bay Company traders. Mountaineers regarded these inaccurate weapons with disdain. All warriors carried quivers of arrows and bows along with their shields slung over their backs. Some carried lances and war clubs to round out their armament. Beckwourth’s pistol, knife, and rifle had been restored to him, and Big Bowl had presented him with a stone war club. Might be closer combat than he h
