The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself Part 6

It was three days before the whole force of the Indians had arrived.

They mustered about one thousand warriors. It was a sight which few white men of the American nation have looked upon. Arrayed in their fantastic war costume and bedaubed with paint, armed with lances, bows and arrows, rifles, tomahawks, knives, etc., some mounted and some on foot, they presented a wild and fearful scene of barbaric strength and fancy. Soon after their last company had reported, the frightful war-dance, peculiar to the American savages, was enacted in sight of the trappers' position. The battle songs and shouts which accompanied the dance reached the ears of the whites with fearful distinctness.

Any other than hearts of oak with courage of steel would have quailed before this terrible display of savage enmity and ferocity. This dance, to men so well skilled in the ways of the Indian warrior, was a sure signal that the next day would be certain to have a fearful history for one party or the other and doubtless for both. The odds, most a.s.suredly, were apparently greatly in favor of the savage host and against the little band of hardy mountaineers.

The following day the expectations of the trappers were realized. The Indians, at the first dawn of day, approached the breastwork, eager for the battle. They were, evidently, very much astonished at beholding the invincibility of the trappers' position. It was what they had not calculated upon and seemed to cast a perfect damper upon their courage. After firing a few shots which did no harm, and seeing that nothing could be accomplished except by a charge, they commenced a retreat. The trappers, though only sixty strong, were filled with disappointment and chagrin at the course taken by their wary foes.

They began to shout to their enemies in derisive terms, hoping the taunts would exasperate and draw them into an attack. Nothing, however, would tempt them to face the danger, for they withdrew to a spot about one mile from the little fort and sat down in council. The speeches appeared to be generally opposed to risking an a.s.sault; for, after the council was dissolved, the Indians divided into two nearly equal parties and immediately marched off. One band took the direction of the Crow country and the other shaped their course in the direction from whence they came.

The trappers remained at their little fort during the winter and were not again disturbed by the Indians. Early in the following spring, they set their traps on one of the tributaries of the Missouri River and finished the hunt on the head of Lewis' Fork. They then departed for the rendezvous which was held on Green River near the mouth of Horse Creek, remaining there until the month of August and until the meeting was dissolved.

Kit Carson, on the breaking up of the camp at the rendezvous, accompanied by five other trappers, went to Fort Hall and joined a party attached to the "Northwest Fur Company." With this band he trapped to the head of Salmon River. Thence they went to Malade River, trapping down it to where it empties into the Big Snake River. They continued on up this latter river, and then, after trapping on Goose Creek and Raft River, returned to Fort Hall. Their stock of fur was quite extensive on their arrival here and, an opportunity offering to dispose of it, they sold out at a fair valuation. After recruiting their strength at the Fort for one month, Kit Carson, accompanied by most of the trappers, set out to join Bridger, who was still in the country of the Blackfeet Indians. Upon striking the Missouri River, signs of trappers were discovered, indicating that, whoever the party, or parties might be, they were now above the place where Kit and his party then were. With fourteen companions Kit started in advance of the main party to overtake, and report who these men were. Towards evening of the same day, the advance party came up with the trappers and found that they were under the charge of Joseph Gale and in the employ of Captain Wyatt.

Gale informed Carson that his command had recently been engaged in a closely contested fight with the Blackfeet Indians; that several of his party had been wounded, and one, by the name of Richard Owens, was at first thought to be mortally so; but, eventually, he had begun to recover and now was doing well.

Kit and his men remained one night with Gale. On the following day his party commenced setting their traps, intending to proceed up the river at a slow pace in order to allow the main party to overtake them. The men sent out to set their traps had not gone from the camp over two miles before they were fired upon by a party of Blackfeet Indians and compelled to retreat. They did so, succeeding in joining their comrades without the loss of a single man. The pursuit had been close and well sustained by the savages; hence, it became necessary to take instant measures in order to insure the safety of the advance. Kit Carson, who was the commander of the party, after quietly surveying the scene, gave orders for the men, with their animals, to conceal themselves, as best they could in the brush. His orders had been issued but just in time, for the concealment was barely attained, when the Indians were upon them. They were received with a well-directed volley from the rifles of the little party, which brought down several of the fierce a.s.sailants. They recoiled and retreated for a moment.

The moment was golden to the few white men. Like men who were fighting for their lives but who were cool in danger, they made no mistakes in reloading their rifles. They were but just ready, however, for the second charge. This time the savages came on with unearthly yells and desperate courage, seemingly well satisfied that before them stood the men whose faithful rifle-talk they had heard before. Kit warned his men to keep cool and fire as if shooting game, a warning which was entirely unnecessary, for the result was that the savages were again driven back with a brave bleeding or dying for nearly every shot fired. It was very fortunate that Kit had chosen this position, for the engagement lasted nearly the entire day. The loss on the part of the Indians was very severe. They did everything in their power to force Kit and his party from their cover, but without avail. Every time they attempted to charge into the thicket the same deadly volley was poured in with never-failing aim, which invariably caused the savages to beat a hasty retreat. Before the next attack the trappers were ready for them with reloaded rifles. At last, as if driven to desperation, the Indians set the thicket on fire, hoping to burn out their foes. Most providentially, in this also they were foiled. After consuming the outer shrubbery, the fire died out. This was the last act attempted by the savages. Seeing the ill-success of their effort to dislodge the trappers by fire, they departed. They may have been hurried in this leave-taking somewhat by news brought in by their spies of the near approach of the main body of the trappers, which had arrived at a point about six miles distant from the battle ground.

They had been prevented from hearing the reports of fire-arms by adverse winds, and knew nothing of the fight until informed by the trappers engaged in it. When sufficient time had elapsed for the Indians to be well out of sight, Kit Carson and his companions left their cover and soon found their way into the camp of their friends.

Gale was so continually annoyed by these Indians that he joined the other trappers and together they concluded to leave their country.

Their combined forces, though able to cope with them so far as defensive measures were necessary, was utterly powerless to overawe them. This made it next to an impossibility for them to continue in their country with a hope of success in business. For the purpose of getting rid of them, they moved off, some distance, to a small creek where beaver were plenty. Trouble followed them, however. The first day of their arrival, one of the party was killed by the Blackfeet Indians within a short distance, only, of the camp. During the remainder of the stay made by the party on this stream, the rascals hovered around and worried them to such a degree that a trapper could not leave the camp without falling into an ambuscade and being forced to fight his way back again.

It became evident to all interested that so long as such a state of affairs existed they could not employ their time with just hope of advantage. After a short council, it was decided to abandon this region of the country and go to the North Fork of the Missouri. They soon accomplished their journey and began the business of trapping.

Proceeding up the river, on the fourth day, they came, suddenly, upon a large village of Flathead and Pondrai Indians who were encamped upon its banks. These Indians were friendly to the whites. A chief of the Flatheads and several of his people joined the trappers and went with them to the Big Snake River where they established their winter quarters. The winter pa.s.sed away so quietly that not a single incident occurred beyond the usual routine which the imagination of the reader can easily supply. It was quite cold that season, and the snow fell to a great depth. Everything however was arranged as best conduced to comfort, and the trappers found a pleasant and congenial exercise in hunting to supply their daily wants.

The winter seasons in the Rocky Mountains are usually fearful and severe. There, snow storms form mountains for themselves, filling up the pa.s.ses for weeks, even those which are low being impracticable either for man or beast. As a set-off to all this, the scenery is most grand provided the beholder is well housed. If the case is otherwise and he be doomed to combat these terrible storms, his situation is most critical. During the summer months the lofty peaks of this mighty chain of mountains, like those of the Alps, are covered with white caps of snow. As time, the bright sun and the south wind wear out these old-lady head-gearings, no matter what be the part of the year, whether the cold days of January, or the hot days of August, the snow storms are faithful in replenis.h.i.+ng them. It affords a contrast of the elements of the grandest conception to stand in the shade of some wavy verdure of the valley wiping off the unbidden perspiration from the brow, and, at the same instant, look upon a darkly threatening storm-cloud powdering the heads of the h.o.a.ry monster mountains from its freight of flaky snow. So far these American giant mountains are unsurpa.s.sed by their Alpine neighbors of Europe. Not so in the glaciers. Throughout the great range, there are none of those beautiful glaciers to be found that can compare with those possessed by their compeers in Europe.

To the traveler whose taste has led him to wander along the "Great back bones," or vertebrae, of the two hemispheres, preparing the mind to draw truthful contrast, his pleasantest reveries will find him drawing comparisons between them. He is never tired, for the subject he cannot exhaust. When, supposing that his conclusions are at last made and that the Alps have won the highest place in favor, some forgotten scene from America will a.s.sume the form and shape of a vivid recollection, rife with scenic grandeur and sublimity, restoring the Rocky chain to its counterpoise; then, an hour of peril and fearful toil will come to memory, and, until the same mental process shall bring them again to an equilibrium, the far-famed Alps will descend in the balance. Each have their attractions, each their grandeur, each their sublimity, each their wonderful, awful silence, each their long and glorious landscape views, while, to each, the general contour is the same. In the point of alt.i.tude, the Rocky chain, as is well known to science, has the advantage; but, in historical science and lore, the famous Alps stand preeminent. True, it is from ignorance that we are led to concede this, because no man can give to the world the reminiscences of the Rocky Mountains. Their history, since the first red man entered them, must forever rest in oblivion. In scenery these mountains of the Western Continent again carry off the palm; for, they strike the observer as being more bold, wild and picturesque than their formidable rivals. To the foot-worn traveler, who has journeyed thirty or forty days upon the level prairies, seeing nothing to break the monotony of a sea of earth, the dark outlines of the Rocky Mountains, gradually coming into the view, never fail to prove a refres.h.i.+ng sight both to the physical and mental eye. They appear as if descending from the heavens to the surface of the earth, perpendicularly, as though intended to present a perfect barrier over which no living thing should pa.s.s. This view never fails to engross the earnest attention of the traveler, and hours of gazing only serve to enwrap the mind in deeper and more fixed contemplation. Is there not here presented a field, such as no other part of this globe can furnish, in which the explorer, the geologist, the botanist may sow and reap a rich harvest for his enterprise? As yet scientific research, on questions concerning the Rocky Mountains, is comparatively speaking, dumb. But science will soon press forward in her heavenly ordained mission, borne upon the shoulders of some youthful hero, and once more the wise book-men of the gown and slipper, who, surrounded with their tomes on tomes of learned digests, are fast approaching the hour when they had better prepare their last wills and testaments, will again be distanced in the race and doomed to argue technicalities. To the hunter, the real lover of and dependent upon the chase, there can be no comparison between the mighty Alps and the huge Rocky Mountain Barrier of the American Prairies. The one is dest.i.tute of animal life while the other bears a teeming population of the choicest game known to the swift-leaden messenger of the white man's rifle. He who wishes to behold in the same gaze, beautiful valleys, highly cultivated by a romantic and interesting race, in rich contrast with wonderfully moulded ma.s.ses of earth and stone, covered with a medley of green foliage and white snow, let him go to the Alps.

In the following spring Kit Carson, accompanied by only one trapper, started out to hunt the streams in the vicinity of Big Snake River.

The Utah nation of Indians inhabit this country; and, with them, Kit Carson stood on a friendly footing. The business of trapping was therefore carried on without fear of molestation. The labors of the two were crowned with great success.

Loaded with a full cargo of fur they soon after set out for Robidoux's Fort, which they reached in safety, selling out their stock to good advantage.

Kit Carson made only a short stop at this Fort. As soon as his fur was disposed of, he immediately organized a small party consisting of five trappers and made a journey to Grand River. After thoroughly trapping this river, he established himself at Brown's Hole on Green River for the winter. Early in the spring he returned with the same party to the country of the Utahs and hunted there for some time. He then went to the New Park, where they finished their trapping operations and returned to Robidoux's Fort. Here Kit again found a purchaser for his furs; but, the prices at which he was obliged to sell them, did not at all please him. Within a few years, the value of beaver fur had greatly deteriorated. This was caused by the slow demand which had gradually ruled at the great emporiums of Europe and America. The skill of the manufacturer had subst.i.tuted a material for the making of hats which, while it was cheaper, pleased the great race of hat-wearers. The beaver itself was becoming scarce, owing to their being so diligently hunted. It was evident to Kit Carson and many of his mountaineer companions that their occupation was gradually becoming less profitable and that it would soon drive them into other employments. Acting upon this impression Kit Carson, accompanied by "Old Bill Williams,"[14] William New, Mitch.e.l.l and Fredericks, a Frenchman, started for Bent's Fort, which was then located on the Arkansas River near a large forest of cotton wood trees, and which is, even at this day, known as the "Big Timbers." The party struck the river at a point about one hundred miles above the Fort, where, in later years, was built a settlement called St. Charles.[15]

[Footnote 14: William Williams was a most celebrated character in the Rocky Mountains, where he lived for many years. At one time he was a Methodist preacher in the State of Missouri, which he frequently boasted of in after life. Whenever relating this part of his eventful career, he used to say that he was so well known in his circuit, that the chickens recognized him as he came riding past the farmhouses.

The old chanticleers would crow "Here comes Parson Williams! One of us must be made ready for dinner." Upon quitting the States, he traveled extensively among the various tribes of wild Indians throughout the far West and adopted their manners and customs. Whenever he grew weary of one nation he would go to another. To the Missionaries, he was often very useful. He possessed the faculty of easily acquiring languages and could readily translate most of the Bible into several Indian dialects. His own conduct, however, was frequently in strange contrast with the precepts of that Holy Book. He next turns up as a hunter and trapper; when, in this capacity, he became more celebrated for his wild and daring adventures than before he had been for his mild precepts. By many of his companions, he was looked upon as a man who was partially insane. Williams proved to be a perfect enigma and terror to the Mexicans, who thought him possessed of an evil spirit.

He once settled for a short time in their midst and became a trader.

Soon after he had established himself, he had a quarrel with some of his customers about his charges. He appeared to be instantly disgusted with the Mexicans, for he threw his small stock of goods into the street of the town where he lived, seized his rifle and started again for the mountains. His knowledge of the country over which he had wandered was very extensive; but, when Colonel Fremont put it to the test, he came very near sacrificing his life to his guidance. This was probably owing to the failing of Williams' intellect; for, when he joined the Great Explorer, he was past the meridian of life. After bequeathing his name to several mountains, rivers and pa.s.ses which were undoubtedly discovered by him, he was slain by the red men while trading with them.]

[Footnote 15: Five years ago this settlement contained, about thirty inhabitants, mostly Mexicans. It was frequently subjected to various kinds of annoyances from Indians. On one occasion it was attacked by the hostile Utahs and Apaches, who killed and carried off as prisoners a total of sixteen settlers. Among the slain was a Canadian who fought so skillfully and desperately before he was dispatched, that he killed three of his a.s.sailants. When his body was found, it was literally pierced through and through with lance and arrow wounds, while the hand, with which he had caught hold of some of these weapons, was nearly cut to pieces. Around his corpse, there were a dozen horses'

tails which had been cut from the horses which were owned by the dead warriors, and left there, as a sign of mourning, by the Indians.]

On reaching the river, two of the party, Mitch.e.l.l and New, concluded to tarry awhile in order to gratify their humor for hunting. But Kit Carson, with the remainder of the mountaineers, continued on their course, and, in three days time, were safely lodged within the walls of the Fort. One week subsequently, Mitch.e.l.l and New followed their companions to the Fort, but in a sad plight. They had not suspected danger, and, consequently, had failed to guard against it. They had been surrounded by Indians and deprived of everything they possessed except their naked bodies. In this denuded state they arrived at the Fort. They were kindly received and provided for by its n.o.ble-hearted proprietors; and, for some time enjoyed a respite from all their troubles.

This mountaineer Mitch.e.l.l, full of eccentricities of character, has seen the ups and downs of a frontiersman during a long and eventful life. He once joined the Camanche nation and became one of their braves.[16]

[Footnote 16: White men have frequently enrolled themselves as warriors among the American Indians; but they have rarely gained the full confidence of the Indians, who, naturally very proud of their birthright, view with a jealous eye all intruders.]

In this capacity he won great renown by the efficient and active part he took in several engagements between the tribe of his adoption and their enemies. His real object in turning Indian was to discover the locality of a gold mine which was said to have an existence in some of the mountains of northern Texas. Having convinced himself that the story of the gold mine, like many of the tales and traditions which gain currency in Indian countries, was entirely without foundation, Mitch.e.l.l, with some plausible excuse, bid his red friends good bye and sought out his old comrades, the trappers, to whom he ever afterwards proved faithful. About two years since, Mitch.e.l.l paid a trading visit to the States. On his route, it became necessary that he should pa.s.s over the Kansas Territory, just at a time when political difficulties there were exciting the people to the highest pitch of anxiety. The consequence was, that his views upon the all-absorbing questions at issue were frequently asked for by members of both parties. To all these queries he invariably replied, professing his ignorance of everything that appertained thereto. This caused him to be regarded as a dangerous man, and one not to be trusted. He was accordingly treated with indifference and silent reserve. This to a mountaineer, who, during a long period of years, had met every "pale face" as a brother, was insupportable usage. In all haste he finished his business, relinquished his contemplated journey through the States, and started to return to his home in New Mexico. While upon the road, he accidentally fell in with a friend; and, in reply to the question, where have you been? said:

"After a lapse of many years, I thought I should like to see the _whites_ again; so, I was going to the States. But the sample I've seen in Kansas is enough to disgust _a man_ with their character. They do nothing but get up war parties against one another; and, I would much rather be in an Indian country than in civilized Kansas."

Mitch.e.l.l is full of dry humor and commands the faculty of telling a good story, which makes him a pleasant traveling companion.

Since the time when Kit Carson first joined a trapping expedition, up to the time of his arrival at Bent's Fort, a period of eight long years, he had known no rest from arduous toil. Not even when, to the reader, he was apparently idle, buried in the deep snows of the Rocky Mountains and awaiting the return of Spring, has he rested from toil.

Even then his daily life has been given up to bodily fatigue and danger, frequently in scenes which, although of thrilling interest, are too lengthy for this narrative. It has been our purpose thus far to present Kit Carson undergoing his novitiate. We regard, and we think a world will eventually regard, this extraordinary man as one raised up by Providence to fulfill a destiny of His all-wise decree.

It is premature for us, at this stage of our work, to advance the argument upon which this conclusion, so irresistibly to our mind, is deduced. We have yet before us an array of historical fact and incident to relate, without parallel in the history of nations, and in which Kit Carson plays no insignificant part. For these eight years of stirring practical life, Kit Carson, relying upon his beloved rifle for his sustenance and protection, had penetrated every part of the interior of the North American Continent, setting his traps upon every river of note which rises within this interior, and tracing them from the little springs which originate them to the wide mouths from which they pour their surcharged waters into the mighty viaducts or drains of the vast prairies, and the mighty leviathan ranges of the Rocky Mountains. In this time he had wandered over a wild territory equal in its dimensions to nearly all of the empires, kingdoms and princ.i.p.alities of Europe combined. His journeys, as it has already appeared, were made sometimes on foot and sometimes on horseback. By themselves, his travels will be called no trivial undertakings.

Each fresh adventure led him into regions where but seldom, and more frequently never, had a white man trod the soil. He was, therefore, now an explorer in every sense of that distinguis.h.i.+ng word, with the single exception that he had not produced the results which the early culture and advantages of a scientific and cla.s.sical education might have brought about. But the history of the world furnishes few examples, if indeed any, where the physical training, practical skill and knowledge of a country, as possessed by Kit Carson, have been united with scholastic lore. At all events, in the wisdom of that special Providence which was intending the gold mines of California to be consecrated to the advancement of American civilization, with its religious freedom, personal liberties and sacred literature, the novitiate of Kit Carson was decreed to be wholly of a practical nature. But while Kit Carson, with his rifle, was thus reared up in character, courage and experience, the same All-wise hand was directing the pathway of a mind, equal to accomplish His call, through all the labyrinths of Science, History and the Arts, endowing that mind with a keenness of intellectual grasp in strange contrast with the practical skill of its future guide. Those who see no G.o.d in nature, no G.o.d in events, may batter away at this proposition. The record of Kit Carson's future tasks will prove it to be an invincible stronghold of theory.

Kit Carson's mind had now become well stored with facts and localities which were destined to be made known to the world through his connections with others. It is not detracting from the merits of any one to a.s.sert that, without frontiers-men like Kit Carson, the numerous scientific expeditions which have been sent out by the United States Government to explore the far West would have returned but sorry and meagre records for their employers. After reading some of the many printed accounts which parties of a more recent date have gathered from their experience while making their way overland to the Pacific, and also the sad fate of some brave men with n.o.ble hearts who have fallen a sacrifice upon the altar of science under the fatal blows of hostile savages, attributable no doubt in some measure to bad advice, we can thus more easily form a correct judgment of the hards.h.i.+ps which Kit Carson has been called upon to endure and the wisdom or skill which he has displayed in surmounting every obstacle on his wild and solitary pathway. The hards.h.i.+ps which fell to the lot of the "trappers of olden time" also stand out in bolder relief. Out of the whole catalogue of labors, from which man, to gain an honest livelihood has selected, there is not one profession which presents so many formidable obstacles as that under consideration; yet, it was with difficulty that the mountaineers could wean themselves from their calling even when forced by stern necessity.

CHAPTER VII.

Kit Carson is employed as Hunter to Bent's Fort--His Career for Eight Years--Messrs. Bent and St. Vrain--The commencement of his Acquaintance with John C. Fremont on a Steamboat--Is employed as a Guide by the Great Explorer--The Journey--Arrival at Fort Laramie--Indian Difficulties--The business of the Expedition completed--Return to Fort Laramie--Kit Carson goes to Taos and is married--He is employed as Hunter to a Train of Wagons bound for the States--Meeting with Captain Cook and four companies of U.S.

Dragoons on Walnut Creek--Mexicans in Trouble--Kit Carson carries a Letter for them to Santa Fe--Indians on the Route--His safe Arrival--Amijos' advance Guard ma.s.sacred by the Texians--The one Survivor--The Retreat--Kit Carson returns to Bent's Fort--His Adventures with the Utahs and narrow escape from Death--The Texians disarmed--The Express Ride performed.

It has already appeared that Kit Carson was now at Bent's Fort. Also, that his occupation as a trapper of beaver had become unprofitable.

His services were however immediately put into requisition by Messrs.

Bent and St. Vrain, the proprietors of what was called Bent's Fort, which was a trading-post kept by those gentlemen. The position which he accepted was that of Hunter to the Fort. This office he filled from that time with the most undeviating fidelity and prompt.i.tude for eight consecutive years. During all of this long period not a single word of disagreement pa.s.sed between him and his employers, which fact shows better than mere words, that his duty was faithfully and satisfactorily performed. It is but seldom that such a fact can be stated of any employee, no matter what the service. Here, however, was an example in which, the nature of the employment would of itself, at tunes, present cause for discord, such as scarcity of game, bad luck, and men hungry in consequence. But Kit Carson was too skillful in his profession to allow such reasons to mar his fortunes. With the effort the game always was at hand; for, it was not his custom to return from his hunts empty handed.

Of course Kit Carson's duties were to supply the traders and their men with all the animal food they wanted, an easy task when game was plenty; but, it would often happen that bands of Indians, which were always loitering about the trading post, would precede him in the chase, thereby rendering his labors oftentimes very difficult. From sunrise to sunset and not unfrequently during the night, he wandered over the prairies and mountains within his range in search of food for the maintenance, sometimes of forty men who composed the garrison of the Fort and who were dependent on the skill of their hunter; but, rarely did he fail them. He knew, for hundreds of miles about him, the most eligible places to seek for game. During the eight years referred to, thousands of buffalo, elk, antelope and deer fell at the crack of Kit Carson's rifle. Each day so added to his reputation that it is not to be wondered at, considering the practice of his previous life, that he became unrivalled as a hunter. His name spread rapidly over the Western Continent until, with the rifle, he was the acknowledged "Monarch of the Prairies." The wild Indians, accustomed to measure a man's greatness by the deeds which he is capable of performing with powder and lead, were completely carried away in their admiration of the man. Among the Arrapahoes, Cheyennes, Kiowas and Camanches, Kit Carson was always an honored guest whenever he chose to visit their lodges; and, many a night, while seated at their watch-fires, he has narrated to them the exciting scenes of the day's adventures, to which they have listened with eager attention and unrestrained delight. When arrayed in his rough hunting costume and mounted upon his favorite charger Apache, a splendid animal, Kit Carson was a picture to behold.

The buffalo were his favorite game, and well were they worthy of such a n.o.ble adversary. In the eyes of a sportsman, the buffalo is a glorious prey. To hunt them is oftentimes attended with great danger; and, while thus engaged, many a skillful man has yielded up his life for his temerity.

The American bison or buffalo seems to demand at our hands a short episode from the narrative of Kit Carson's life. This animal has several traits of character peculiarly his own. If alarmed, he starts off almost instantly and always runs against the wind, his sense of smell appearing to be better than his eyesight. What is a most remarkable fact, a herd of buffalo, when grazing, always post and maintain a line of sentinels to warn the main body of the approach of danger. When a strange object comes within sight or smelling distance, these sentinels immediately give the alarm by tossing up their heads and tails and bellowing furiously. The whole herd instantly heed the warning and are soon in motion. Buffalo run with forelegs stiff, which fact, together with their ugly-looking humps and the lowness of their heads, gives a rocking swing to their gait. If a herd, when in full motion, have to cross a road on which wagons are traveling, they change their course but little; and, it sometimes happens, that large bands will pa.s.s within a stone's throw of a caravan. At night they are quite systematic in forming their camps. In the centre are placed the cows and calves; while, to guard against the wolves, large numbers of which always follow them, they station on their outposts, the old bulls. The age to which a buffalo may attain is not known; but, it is certain that they are generally long-lived when not prematurely cut off. When their powers of life begin to fade, they fall an easy prey to the small, carnivorous animals of the plains. The attempt has been made to domesticate and render them useful for agricultural purposes.

Hitherto such efforts have invariably failed. When restrained of their freedom, they are reduced to mere objects of curiosity.

In hunting buffalo the most important matter for the attention of the hunter is to provide himself with a suitable horse. The best that can be selected is a trained Mexican or Indian pony. Their familiarity with the game and the prairies, over which the hunter must ride at full speed, renders these horses quite safe. On the other hand a green horse is sure to be terribly frightened when called upon to face these ugly-looking animals, and the rider will find he has his hands full to manage him without thinking of his game. One great danger to be apprehended is the being led into a prairie-dog town. Here a horse needs experience to carry his rider through with safety. Upon reaching the herd, the hunter dashes in at the cows, which, are easily recognized by the fineness of their robes and their smaller forms. The white man hunter, of all weapons, prefers a revolver; but, the red man uses the lance, and bow and arrows, which he handles with remarkable dexterity. The place of election to make the deadly wound is just behind the fore shoulder where the long, s.h.a.ggy mane of the hump is intersected by the short hair of the body. The death-wound being given, the blood gushes out in torrents and the victim, after a few bounds, falls on her knees with her head bunting into the ground. If, by chance, a vital organ is not reached, the pain of the wound makes the stricken animal desperately courageous. She turns upon her pursuer with terrible earnestness ready to destroy him. It is now that the horse is to be depended upon. If well trained, he will instantly wheel and place himself and rider out of harm's way; but, woe to both horse and hunter if this is not done. The lives of both are in imminent danger. In case the buffalo is killed, the hunter rides up, dismounts and makes his lariet fast to the horns of his game. He next proceeds to cut up the meat and prepare it for his pack animals which he should have near by. By their aid he easily carries it into camp.

It would doubtless afford many a page of exciting interest could we carry the reader through all the varied scenes of the chase in which Kit Carson has been the princ.i.p.al actor. To transmit to our narrative a choice fight with the fierce old grizzly bear; or, perchance, a fine old buffalo bull turning on his destroyer with savage ferocity; or, a wounded panther, with its inevitable accompaniment in the shape of a hand-to-hand encounter for dear life, each of such could not fail in giving interest to the general reader. We are forced, against our own conviction of the duty we owe the public as Kit Carson's chosen Biographer, to pa.s.s by all such acts of his personal daring and triumph because of his own unwillingness to relate them for publication. Notwithstanding our urgent requests, backed up by the advice and interference of friends, Kit Carson is inflexibly opposed to relating such acts of himself. He is even more willing to speak of his failures, though such are few, rather than of his victories in the chase. While the description of these adventures could not fail to furnish useful and interesting data, most unfortunately, Kit Carson considers that they are uninteresting minutiae which have pertained to the every-day business of his life and no persuasion can induce him to enter upon their relation. Not so when he is entertaining some of the brave chiefs of the Indian nations whose friends.h.i.+p he has won by his brave deeds. If they are his guests, or he himself theirs, then their delight to hear kindles a pride in his breast to relate. He knows that he will not, by them, be called a boaster.

Before quitting the mountains, Kit Carson married an Indian girl to whom he was most devotedly attached. By this wife he had one child, a daughter. Soon after the birth of this child, his wife died. His daughter, he watched over with the greatest solicitude. When she reached a suitable age, he sent her to St. Louis for the purpose of giving her the advantages of a liberal education. Indeed most of Kit Carson's hard earnings, gained while he was a hunter on the Arkansas, were devoted to the advancement of his child. On arriving at maturity she married and with her husband settled in California.

The libertine custom of indulging in a plurality of wives, as adopted by many of the mountaineers, never received the sanction, in thought, word or action, of Kit Carson. His moral character may well be held up as an example to men whose pretensions to virtuous life are greater.

Although he was continually surrounded by licentiousness he proved true to her who had first gained his affections. For this honoring of virtue he is indebted in a measure to the present sway which he holds over the western Indian races. While their chiefs are seldom men of virtuous act or intent, they are high in their appreciation of, and just in their rewards to those whose lives are patterns of honor and chast.i.ty. The Indian woman, concerning whom no truthful tale of dereliction can be told, when she arrives at the requisite age, is invested with great power in her tribe. One of their ancient customs, well authenticated, was to honor the virtuous women of their tribe with sacred t.i.tles, investing them, in their blind belief, with power to call down the favor, in behalf of the people, of their Manitou, or Great Spirit. But every woman who aspired to this honor, was required upon a certain day in the year, to run the gauntlet of braves. This was sometimes a terrible scene. All the warriors of the tribe, arrayed in their fiercest war costume and armed at every point with lance, bow and arrow, knife, tomahawk, etc., were drawn up under command of the princ.i.p.al chief, in single line. At the head of this line was placed a kind of chaplet, or crown, the possession of which by any woman was supposed to confer the power of necromancy or magic, rendering her able to heal diseases and to foretell events. The line having been formed, all of the young maidens of the tribe were drawn up in a body at the further extremity and any of them who aspired to the possession of the chaplet was at liberty, having first uncovered her back and breast as far as her waist, to march before the line of warriors within ten paces of their front and, if she lived to reach it, take possession of the crown. On the other hand, it was the duty of any warrior, who knew aught by word or deed against the virtue of the advancing maiden, to kill her upon the spot. If one arrow was shot at her, the whole band instantly poured a flight of arrows into her bare and defenceless bosom until life was extinct. Again, it was the belief of the untutored savage that whatever warrior failed to make his knowledge apparent, if he possessed any, by sending his arrow at the aspirant, would always be an object of revenge by the Great Spirit both here and hereafter; and, that he would always live in the hereafter, in sight of the Happy Hunting Grounds, but never be allowed to enter them. This latter belief made it a rare thing for young girls to brave the attempt; but, sometimes, the candidates were numerous and the horrible butchery of the young girls which took place formed a terrible expose of their lewdness. To kill an innocent girl was equally a matter which would be forever avenged by the Great Spirit.

The warm friends.h.i.+p which sprang up between Kit Carson and the proprietors of Bent's Fort, under whom he held his situation as Hunter, is a sufficient index of the gentlemanly conduct and amiability of heart evinced towards him on their part. The names of Bent and St. Vrain were known and respected far and near in the mountains, for, in generosity, hospitality and native worth, they were men of perfect model.

Mr. Bent was appointed, by the proper authority, the first Civil Governor of New Mexico, after that large and valuable country was ceded to and came under the jurisdiction of the United States Government. He held this distinguished position however only a short time; for, in the year 1847, he was most foully and treacherously murdered by the Pueblo Indians and Mexicans. A revolution had broken out among this turbulent people, and, in his endeavors to stem it, Governor Bent was frustrated. At last, being driven to his own house, he barricaded the doors and windows. The rascally rioters, after a severe contest, succeeded in breaking open his doors; and, having gained access to their victim, murdered him in cold blood in the midst of his family. The only crime imputed by the mob against this benevolent and just man was, that he was an American. His untimely death, which was mourned by all the Americans who knew him, cast a settled gloom over the community in which he resided. The Mexicans were afterwards very penitent for the share they took in the committal of this black crime. Although several of the guilty party are still living, they have left the country; for, the mountaineers have not forgotten the friend whom they esteemed and respected, and will avenge his death if ever the opportunity offers.

Cerin St. Vrain, the surviving partner of this celebrated trading firm was equally noted. Upon the declaration of war between the United States and Mexico, St. Vrain took an active part on the side of his country, and, from his extensive knowledge of the Mexican character, was enabled to render important services. At the close of the war, he became extensively engaged in mercantile pursuits within the New Territory, and, by his untiring industry ama.s.sed a large fortune. He was the first man who discovered and recognized the superior skill of Kit Carson as a hunter; and, for his subsequent success in life, Kit Carson is much indebted to him. St. Vrain is one of the oldest mountaineers now living; and, as such, he is viewed by his old and new a.s.sociates in the light of a father.

As the reader can now easily compute, sixteen years had elapsed since Kit Carson commenced his exploits in the Rocky Mountains. During this long period, as frequently as once every year, he had sat down to a meal consisting of bread, vegetables, meat, coffee, tea, and sugar.

When dining thus sumptuously, he considered himself as greatly favored with luxuries of the rarest grade. Few men can say, with Kit Carson, "During sixteen years, my rifle furnished nearly every particle of food upon which I lived." Fewer can say with equal truth, that "For many consecutive years, I never slept under the roof of a house, or gazed upon the face of a white woman."

It was after such an experience as we have endeavored to paint by the simple tale of his life thus far, that Kit Carson longed, once more, to look upon and mingle with civilized people. For some time before he determined to visit the United States, this desire had taken possession of his mind and had been growing stronger. The traders of the Fort were accustomed, yearly, to send into the States a train of wagons, for the purpose of transporting their goods. The opportunity, therefore, presented for Kit Carson to gratify his wish. In the spring of 1842, one of these caravans started with which Kit Carson traveled as a supernumerary. When it arrived within the boundary lines of the State of Missouri, he parted from his _compagnons de voyage_ and went in quest of his relatives and friends, whom, now, he had not seen for over sixteen years. The scenes of his boyhood days, he found to be magically changed. New faces met him on all sides. The old log-cabin where his father and mother had resided was deserted and its dilapidated walls were crumbling with decay. The once happy inmates were scattered over the face of the earth while many of their voices were hushed in death. Kit Carson felt himself a stranger in a strange land--the strong man wept. His soul could not brook either the change or the ways of the people. While he failed not to receive kindness and hospitality, to which his name alone was a sufficient pa.s.sport among the n.o.ble-hearted Missourians, nevertheless, he had fully allayed his curiosity, and, as soon as possible, bid adieu to these unpleasant recollections. He bent his steps towards St. Louis. In this city he remained ten days; and, as it was the first time since he had reached manhood that he had viewed a town of any magnitude, he was greatly interested. But, ten days of sight-seeing wearied him. He resolved to return to his mountain home where he could breathe the pure air of heaven and where manners and customs conformed to his wild life and were more congenial to his tastes. He engaged pa.s.sage upon the first steamboat which was bound up the Missouri River.

We cannot resist the impulse which here struggles for utterance. Look upon that little steamboat as it ascends the mighty Missouri bearing in its bosom the man who was destined to point out the hidden paths of the mighty West; to mount and record the height of the loftiest peak of the American monster mountain chain; to unfold the riches of the interior of a great and glorious empire to its possessors, and, finally, to conquer with his good sword, preparing the way for its annexation to his country, the richest soil and fairest land on earth, thus adding one more glorious star to the original thirteen of 1776; a star, too, of the very first magnitude, whose refulgent brightness s.h.i.+nes clear, sparkling and pure for the Truth of Sacred Writ and American Liberty. On the deck of that little steamboat, the two men, the one the master mind, the giant intellect, the man of research and scholastic strength, the scientific engineer; the other, than whom his superior as an American mountaineer was not living, stood, uninterested spectators of each other; and, each, unconscious why they had been permitted to enter the same cabin. The Christian student of American history cannot pa.s.s by this simple circ.u.mstance without seeing Heaven's wisdom in such a coincidence; namely, Kit Carson for the first time in sixteen years bending his steps to his boyhood home just as his sixteen years of mountaineer skill and experience were required by one of the master workmen of American Engineering, about to enter upon the exploration of inland North America.