Jacob catches up with Fletcher and trapping party captain Jedediah Smith who once again rebuffs him but he convinces them to take him in. Jacob stitches Smith's scalp after a bear attack and prefers Smith's company rather than fraternizing with a Mojave tribe they trade with for horses in the Sierra Nevadas. Eventually he becomes a trusted member of the party. Jacob accompanies Smith's party to California Fred where they are arrested by the Mexican Capitan de Salamanca (Francesco Quinn) for trespassing and held at the San Gabriel Mission. The party is charged with stealing the horses they bought from the Mojave(a brand is shown). The Mexicans fear that if they are freed, the party will show other Americans how to go to California. Smith negotiates their expulsion promising they would never return to California under pain of death. On the way back, they return to the Mohave camp and are attacked; many are killed, including Fletcher who guards Smith and Jacob's narrow escape through a cave. Loved by the Buffalo undergoes a Sun Dance.