In the summer of 1871, while driving cattle on the Chisholm Trail to Abilene, Kansas, Hardin is reputed to have fought Mexican vaqueros and cattle rustlers. Towards the end of the drive, a Mexican herd crowded in behind Hardin's and there was some trouble keeping the two herds apart. Hardin exchanged words with the man in charge of the other herd; both men were on horseback. The Mexican fired his gun at Hardin, putting a hole through Hardin's hat. Hardin found that his own weapon, a worn-out cap-and-ball pistol with a loose cylinder, would not fire. He dismounted and managed to discharge the gun by steadying the cylinder with one hand and pulling the trigger with the other. He hit the Mexican in the thigh. A truce was declared, and both parties went their separate ways. However, Hardin borrowed a pistol from a friend and went looking for the Mexican, this time fatally shooting him through the head. A firefight between the rival camps ensued. Hardin claimed six vaqueros died in the exchanges (five of them reportedly shot by him), although this claim appears exaggerated—only three Mexican vaqueros were killed. Hardin also claimed to have killed two Indians in separate gunfights on the same cattle drive. The first instance was when an Indian tried to shoot an arrow at him on the South Canadian River. Hardin shot him and then had the body buried to avoid retribution from the man's tribe. The second incident, at Bluff Creek, Kansas, occurred when Indians wanted to collect a "tax" on the cattle. Hardin hit over the head an Indian who he claimed had stolen a silver bridle from him. He then forced a war party to flee after he shot a second Indian who had killed a beef cow.