Note II-24 — Chapter II · ITINERARY, CONTINUED: FROM THE PAWNEE VILLAGE THROUGH KANSAS AND COLORADO TO PIKE'S PEAK, OCT. 1ST-NOV. 30TH, 1806.

Taking Pike past the site of old Fort Dodge and of present Dodge City, nearly to the boundary between Ford and Gray cos.—say halfway from Dodge to Cimarron, and thus about opp. Howell station of the A., T., and S. F. R. R. Dodge started on the N. bank, but has overgrown the river, and is now built up on both sides, with two bridges across. Dodge is 17 m. by rail above Ford, and almost exactly on the 100th meridian—probably some of the houses are built on each side of this line of longitude. At or near Dodge were the long-noted "Caches," of which most of the early travelers speak, but which seem to have been latterly lost sight of. I cannot locate the exact spot, but it ought to be easily recoverable by those who have the data I happen to lack. The place used to be spoken of as near the meridian just said—though that does not help us at all, as the maps of those days were mostly 30´ out of the way in longitudes. Thus, even Gunnison and Beckwith's route-map of 1853 runs the line E. of the mouth of Mulberry cr. where Ford now stands, and thus about 99° 40´. Gregg's is much closer than this, though it is on a much smaller scale; his 100th line runs midway betwixt the mouth of Mulberry cr. and the "Caches." Wislizenus' route-map, accompanying his report to Congress (Senate Misc. Doc. No. 26, 30th Congr., 1st Sess., pub. 1848) is closer still; for the "Caches" are marked scarcely W. of 100°. Wislizenus gives us another clew, as he marks "Fort Mann" at the "Caches." The "Caches" were also about the place where the dry cut-off, described in note18 above, reached the Arkansaw—in short, everything points to the immediate vicinity of Fort Dodge as the place where these caches were located. "The history of the origin of these 'Caches' may be of sufficient interest to merit a brief recital," as Gregg says, Comm. Pra. I. 1844, p. 67, where, and on p. 19, we have the account. In 1812 was fitted out the first expedition which attempted to reach Santa Fé by following the account of Pike's journey now before us. This consisted of about a dozen men, among them two named Beard and Chambers, who had succeeded in reaching Santa Fé with the others, and had returned to the United States in 1822 (Chambers had done so by way of the Canadian r.). These two interested some St. Louis capitalists to join an enterprise in the Santa Fé trade, and then undertook to return to Santa Fé in the fall of 1822 with a small party and an assortment of merchandise. "Reaching the Arkansas late in the season, they were overtaken by a heavy snowstorm, and driven to take shelter on a large island. A rigorous winter ensued, which forced them to remain pent up in that place for three long months. During this time the greater part of their animals perished; so that, when the spring began to open, they were unable to continue their journey with their goods. In this emergency they made a cache some distance above, on the north side of the river, where they stowed away most of their merchandize. From thence they proceeded to Taos, where they procured mules, and returned to get their hidden property. Few travelers pass this way without visiting these mossy pits, many of which remain partly unfilled to the present day."