Say what?

Colorado winters in the Rockies can be harsh with scarce chance of finding game.
The Beale Papers state that they were hunting buffalo, but never mentions if they ever got any...
especially after the gold discovery.
I provided average March temps ( first day of March ,with temps climbing each day after.)
To take it a step farther..following buffalo is what led to the gold discovery , with mention of buffalo being " securing many".
Some buff killers took only hides, others tongues and wasted the rest. However with breaking camp/ winter quarters approaching,securing meat for the party would be about the only reason for a captain of a disciplined party to allow splitting the party at such time.
However, refer to those temps and all the other game already procured , then the logistics of a single buffalo/ bison kill.
Large game means great enough muscle mass and large bones that in addition to a bisons superbly insulating hide means great heat retention.
Get the hide off bone the meat out and chill it that first night.
If for preserving ,get it back to camp and let the rest of the party jerk it. Or pack in salt , or whatever.
A bison averages around 12to 1400 pounds on the hoof.
Even if they targeted calves or young ones ,in addition to previous game secured . The mention of " securing many" in the Beale papers meant one heck of a load,and work.
Temps( feel free to find them in 1818 early March or more likely April as bison were killed just before gold discovery) ,if meat was cared for properly it might have allowed a week before getting funky. Another week beyond that if kept below forty degrees. But then trimming the dried outsides of it would be tedious . Piling it in a wagon at above forty for very long would not do good things to it...if they even took a wagon or wagons on their few day hunt.
Research might indicate if bison were in the area a couple hundred miles north of winter quarters during that time of year.
They do move with the seasons ,often forage related.