Edwards, John N. (2013-11-07). Shelby and His Men or, The War in the West (Trans-Mississippi Musings Classics) (Kindle Locations 7300-7310). . Kindle Edition.

The 6th , 7th, 8th, and 9th were passed with only two rations of beef for the army, and it was no fault of theirs that the men got wolfish and desperate. Shelby believed something was necessary to keep his soldiers from actual starvation, and so on the 9th of November, knowing that it was General Price’s intention to continue his desolate march to Boggy Depot, and knowing furthermore that nothing whatever to eat could be obtained upon the road, he waited upon the General and asked permission to halt upon the Canadian River where there were wild cattle in abundance, kill and jerk sufficient beef to last until supplies might be reached, and come on after him in a week when the horses were rested and his division fed. General Price consented after much reluctance. Shelby turned off squarely upon this beautiful , solitary river, and the Arkansas troops struggled on, starving and dying at every step, toward their homes far away from this depopulated Choctaw Nation.

Upon the lone and tree-crowned banks of the Canadian River, and where the feet of white men had probably not trodden for years, were found the finest, fattest, and wildest cattle ever seen perhaps on earth. But the cunning of soldiers who had outwitted Yankees and outguessed true Connecticut men soon circumvented these lords of the forest. A brigade at a time deployed in regular line of battle, sent skirmishers ahead, started the game in droves, when the deep , silent woods thundered like a battlefield until hundreds of steers were dead upon the ground. The first night the various companies, engaged in the hunt bivouacked by their prizes, and did nothing but cook and eat continually. Splendid grass and cane were also found in abundance, and the horses improved wonderfully during the six days General Shelby remained upon the river. This Canadian bottom seemed a hunters’ paradise. Turkeys, deer, pheasants, partridges, rabbits , raccoons , opossums, bears, and wild cattle filled the woods as far as one might walk or ride, while black and red haws, walnuts, luscious grapes, delicious persimmons, and apples about the abandoned houses of the Choctaws furnished all the bread and dessert desired.

No one but hungry soldiers, weeks and weeks without salt or bread, as was the case often on this expedition, can appreciate the blessings of these wild fruits and nuts, and the delightful flavor hickory ashes and gunpowder give to beef broiled upon the coals . Indeed, nature has so many secrets learned only through dire necessity, that one must think often before saying there can be any condition in life unaccompanied by something of comfort and pleasure.

Six days of welcome feasting and rest rolled swiftly by. General Shelby sent back a reliable detail of men to gather up the bones of the dead soldiers and bury them carefully, together with the bodies not devoured by the wolves. After all this had been done the division, in high spirits and health, reached Boggy Depot after several days of marching through intense cold and bitter, freezing rains, where Dr. Russell generously supplied it with a large amount of medicine and many hospital supplies. General Shelby had lost his horse several days before halting at the Canadian, and for almost a week marched on foot at the head of the division to encourage the dismounted soldiers, although any and every horse was at his service, and many were persistently and pressingly offered to him.