On to Santa Fe

The way Flint MacKeithan had it figured out, a Tennessee mountain man needed three things to make him happy and to keep him that way. He needed a good long rifle in the hoop of his left arm, a sharp hunting knife in his belt, and plenty of land all around him so that he could take a deep breath and stretch his arms without fear of knocking another man's eye out. So he and fellow Tennessean Otey Higgins were aboard the General Jackson steaming toward Westport Landing heading for the western frontier.