Books: The Life of Kit Carson

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After burying their dead, looking after the wounded and setting
matters to rights, the hunters resumed trapping through the Blackfoot
country. They were scarcely disturbed by their old enemies who
dreaded rousing the resentment of such a formidable body of daring
and unerring marksmen.

Our friends were very successful, and, when they made their way
to the rendezvous, a week's journey away, they carried with them
an immense stock of peltries. When the trading was finished, the
parties made new combinations and departed in different directions.
Instead of attaching himself to a large company, Kit Carson and
seven choice spirits started for a trading post known at that time
as Brown's Hole. They reached there just in time for the leader to
join an expedition, numbering only two beside himself, which went
into the Navajoe country for purposes of barter. The venture proved
a great success and Carson drifted back again to Brown's Hole.
There such liberal offers were made him to serve as hunter for the
fort, that he accepted and entered upon his rather singular, but
exceedingly congenial duties.

These, as the reader must know, simply consisted of keeping
the garrison supplied with all the meat they needed. Though the
country was noted for its fine game, it required much time, skill
and patience for Carson to make sure that none of the vigorous
appetites at the post suffered. No one could have done better
and very few as well as he. When spring came, and he gave up his
position, he was complimented by those whom he left behind on the
admirable manner in which he had met all requirements.

During those years there was much similarity in the life and
experience of Kit Carson. He had become known all through the west
and southwest as the most daring, sagacious and brilliant leader in
that country. His services were in demand wherever he went, and as
he was in the enjoyment of perfect health, overrunning with life
and activity, he made money rapidly and showed his wisdom by laying
aside a respectable sum for a rainy day.

In the spring following his engagement at Brown's Hole, he went with
a small party to the Black Hills, where they were quite successful
in hunting. Later in the summer they joined the main body of trappers
on Green River. All meeting at the general rendezvous on a branch
of the Wind River. Still later, the majority of the trappers went
into winter quarters on the Yellowstone. They were again in the
country of their bitter enemies, the Blackfeet, and were certain
of a fight with them; but several months passed without molestation.

One day, however, several of the trappers who were making the
rounds of the traps, came upon signs which showed they were close
to a strong force of the Blackfeet. The men lost no time in hurrying
back to camp with the news, where it was agreed that trouble was
at hand.

Forty men were selected at once to hunt out the Indians and engage
them in battle. It goes without saying, that Kit Carson was made the
leader and there was not a moment's unnecessary delay in starting
out to find the enemy.

They were successful in their search. They suddenly found themselves in
the presence of a scouting party, who were undoubtedly looking for
them; but perceiving the strength of the whites, they began retreating.
Carson and his men pressed them hotly, when, as anticipated, they
fell back on the main body and one of the old fashioned battles
between trappers and Indians began.

The Blackfeet always fight bravely, and, for a time, they held
their ground well, but they were forced to give way and retired to
a small island in the Yellowstone, where they had thrown up rude
fortifications and felt able to hold their own against a much
superior force.

Darkness closed in upon the contending forces, and the assailants
ceased firing and encamped for the night on the bank of the river.
They were on the qui vive through the still hours, and so eager
for the attack that with the earliest streakings of light in the
east, they plunged into the stream and made for the barricades. It
was not to be supposed that the Blackfeet would be taken off their
guard, and the trappers expected to reach the defences through a
hot fusillade from the dusky defenders.

To their surprise, however, not a single gun was discharged and
they rushed pell mell over the rugged fortifications to engage
the enemy in hand to hand conflict. To their chagrin, however, not
a solitary Blackfoot was visible. Despite the watchfulness of the
white men, the entire Indian force had withdrawn during the night
without arousing the least suspicion on the part of the watchers.

But the trappers were too wise to misconstrue the action of the
Blackfeet. Their withdrawal was a strategic movement, and did not
by any means signify they were afraid of the large force or that they
would prefer not to molest them. The signs around the fortifications
showed that the Indians had suffered severely and they would never
content themselves until full retaliation had been made.

The trappers returned to camp, where a long council was held. The
conclusion was that the Blackfoot village was near by, and when they
learned of the severe punishment received by the scouting party,
they would lose no time in entering upon a campaign of revenge.
As the Blackfeet nation included several thousand warriors, there
was reason to fear they would overwhelm the trappers, despite
their bravery and skill. Barricades were thrown up and the best
men stationed as sentinels. One of them hastened to the top of an
adjoining hill, which commanded an extensive view of the surrounding
country.

The sentinel had been in position but a short time when he signalled
to his friends the approach of a large body of Indians. The hunters
immediately began strengthening their defences, and before the
redskin arrived, they had rendered their position almost impregnable
against any force that could be gathered in the country.

As the Blackfeet approached, the sentinel hurried down from the
hill and joined the main body. Shortly after, the advance party of
Blackfeet came in sight and made a reconnaissance which apprised
them of the nature of the defences. They did not fire a shot but
waited until the arrival of the main band.

When that came in sight, it was enough to strike dismay into every
heart. There were few if any less than a thousand warriors. Dr.
Peters, the biographer of Carson, says:

"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 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 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 assuredly, were apparently greatly in favor of the savage host
and against the little band of hardy mountaineers."

CHAPTER XVII.

The Morrow -- Withdrawal of the Indian Army -- At Fort Hall -- In
the Blackfoot Country -- The Ambush -- The Trappers Decide to Withdraw
-- Trapping in Other Localities -- Carson Decides to Abandon the
Business -- Visits Bent's Fort Where He Serves as Hunter for Eight
Years.

Having gone through what the red men consider the necessary
preliminaries of such a grand campaign, the vast number of warriors
awaited the dawn that was to witness the annihilation of the entire
force that had dared to venture upon their hunting grounds without
so much as asking permission.

It was scarcely light when the imposing array advanced upon the
mountaineers, who coolly awaited their approach. When the Blackfeet
came close enough to see the fortifications thrown up by the
whites, they were astonished. They knew from previous experience
the strength of such means of defence and suddenly lost their
eagerness to make the attack.

After a full survey of the work before them, they concluded the
task was beyond accomplishment. The magnificent force, therefore,
began withdrawing. It was the turn of the trappers to feel disappointed.
They had not thought of any such issue and were enraged. They
shouted and made tantalizing gestures to the Blackfeet, in the hope
of goading them to stand their ground, but they were too wise to
do so. They retreated to a safe point where a council of war was
held. It was not to be expected that after such an abrupt withdrawal,
they could summon enough courage to make the assault.

When the conference was over, the Indian army, as it may be called,
broke into two divisions, one of which went back toward their own
village while the other set their faces toward the Crow country.
Uncertain whether they would not reappear when they believed there
was hope of surprising the mountaineers, the latter maintained
their vigilance day and night.

It may have been that the red men made several reconnaissances,
but, if so, they concluded it would be imprudent to attack the
mountaineers who held their position and continued trapping as
opportunity presented through the winter.

After trapping in various localities, Kit Carson and several
friends visited Fort Hall, where they joined a party in the employ
of the Northwest Fur Company. They trapped around the head of Salmon
River and other streams, and finally returned to Fort Hall, where
the peltries were sold for a fair valuation. Then Carson and a few
others set out to join a party which he knew was trapping in the
Blackfoot country. Upon coming up with them, he was told that they
had had several sharp skirmishes with the Indians, in one of which
a trapper was severely wounded. The following morning, Carson and
his comrades parted from the rest and were trapping slowly up stream,
when they were fired upon by Blackfeet and compelled to retreat.
They hurried back and succeeded in escaping a serious danger; but
the pursuit was so close that Carson hastily stationed his men in
ambush. A hot fire dropped several of the warriors and caused the
others to hesitate.

The halt was just long enough to allow the trappers to reload
their pieces, when the Blackfeet made a fiercer rush than before;
but with that pertinacious courage for which the tribe is noted,
they kept up the fight through the rest of the day, determined
to throw away no advantage they might gain. Had Carson chosen his
position with less judgment, he and his command must have been
overwhelmed, for nothing could have exceeded the daring of their
assailants, who in their desperation set fire to the thicket in
which the mountaineers had ensconced themselves; but the shrubbery
was too green to burn well, and, after a little while, it died
out. Then it must have been the red men concluded it was useless
to strive further, and, learning that the main body of the trappers
were not far off, they departed.

The annoyance from these Indians was so great that it was decided
to leave the country. While the trappers were able to hold their
own against them, yet it was impossible to make much progress in
taking furs, when their attention was mainly taken up in fighting
the warriors, who varied their shooting by destroying the traps
that were set for the beavers.

The next scene of operations was the North Fork of the Missouri
where they had been engaged only a short time when they came
upon an extensive village of Flathead Indians. These showed their
friendliness to the trappers by sending one of their chiefs and a
number of warriors who helped them hunt along the different streams.

The following spring Carson and a single companion set their traps
in the vicinity of Big Snake River. This was the country of the
Utah Indians, who were well disposed towards the whites. Thus,
while furs were plenty, the couple were enabled to devote their
whole time to taking them, without fear of being fired upon every
time they ventured out of sight of camp. As a consequence, they
succeeded beyond their own expectations, and, making their way to
the nearest post, sold the stock for a fair sum.

The peltries were scarcely disposed of, when Carson organized
another expedition which visited the Grand River, over which they
trapped until winter, when they returned to Brown's Hole, where
Carson remained until spring. Then he trapped once more in the land
of the Utahs and at New Park, taking their furs to the post where
he was obliged to sell them for a much less sum than he had ever
received before.

The transaction had an important bearing on the fortunes of Kit
Carson, for it was proof of an unpleasant truth that had been forcing
itself for a number of months upon him: the days of remunerative
trapping were ended.

For years, the demand had been growing steadily less both in Europe
and America. The ingenuity of the manufacturer showed itself in
the make of cheaper substitutes, while the beavers that had been
hunted so persistently were becoming scarce: there were few regions
in which trapping could be pursued with any success.

Nothing could be plainer, therefore, to Carson than the fact that
he must soon give up the business and engage in something else to
gain a livelihood. What should it be?

Carson and several veteran trappers started for Bent's Fort, located
on the Arkansas, near an immense forest of cottonwoods, known as
the Big Timbers. Messrs. Bent and St. Vrain, the proprietors, no
sooner learned that Carson contemplated a change of occupation, than
they offered him the position of hunter for the fort, his duties
being to keep it supplied with all the game that was required.

Carson was more willing to accept the offer than he would have been
under other circumstances. He agreed that the large number of men
should never want for animal food, and, having given his promise,
he kept it most faithfully for a period of eight years.

This statement includes a great deal, for it means that his
wonderful rifle brought down thousands of deer, antelope, elk and
bisons; that he tramped over hundreds of leagues of wilderness;
that his splendid health never failed him, and that his knowledge
of the woods and its inhabitants was as full and complete as it
could be.

Furthermore, it is stated by Dr. Peters, that during that entire
period, not a single impatient word passed between Carson and his
employers. He attended to his duties with such regularity, promptness
and skill that the only comments they could make on his work were
in the nature of strong compliments.

Inasmuch as we have claimed that Carson was the superior in every
respect of those with whom he was associated, we must dwell for a
moment on this fact. Let the reader ask himself how many cases he
knows where the term of service has been so long, in which not a
single unkind word has passed between employer and employee.

His occupation as hunter was not monotonous, for where there were
so many to provide for, difficult and dangerous work was required
and the journeys which he often made through the long stretches of
wilderness were sometimes attended with much personal danger.

But the surrounding tribes, including the Arapahoes, Kiowas,
Cheyennes, Comanches and others, looked upon the great hunter with
affectionate admiration and no guest was more welcome and honored
in their lodges than he.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Carson Visits his Old Home in Missouri -- He Goes to St. Louis --
Voyage up the Missouri -- Makes the Acquaintance of Lieutenant John
C. Fremont -- Is engaged as a Guide for Fremont's First Expedition
-- The Start Westward -- Various Mishaps -- The Emigrants -- The
False Alarm.

Kit Carson had left his home in Missouri when only a boy and he
was now in the prime of a vigorous young manhood. The years since
he turned his back upon his old home had been busy and eventful
ones and now, as is often the case with those placed as was he, he
longed to visit the scenes of his childhood, and to meet and shake
the hands of those of his old friends who were still among the
living.

In the spring of 1842, Carson went eastward with a train of wagons,
carrying goods to the States. When the borders of Missouri were
reached, he bade his companions goodbye and made his way back to
his old home. His experience was touching. His parents were dead,
the old building which would ever linger in his memory, had tumbled
down and nearly every one whom he met was a stranger. The cheeks
of the hardy mountaineer were wet with tears, and with a sigh, he
turned his face away forever.

Carson had never seen a large city, and he made his way to St.
Louis, where he spent more than a week in sight seeing. Before the
end of that time, the old yearning for the mountains, prairies and
streams of the West came back to him, and he engaged passage on a
steamer up the Missouri.

On the same boat John C. Fremont was a passenger. He was two years
younger than Carson and had been commissioned Second Lieutenant
in the Corps of Topographical Engineers, in 1838. Four years later
he projected a geographical survey of the entire territory of the
United States from the Missouri River to the Pacific.

Carson was attracted by the fine, manly and intellectual appearance
of Fremont, and, learning he was in search of a skilful mountaineer,
he introduced himself, referring in a modest fashion to his experience
in the west and expressing the belief that he could be of service
to the explorer.

Fremont was an excellent judge of character and was favorably
impressed with Carson from the first. The answers to the inquiries
which he made concerning the famous guide and mountaineer, were
satisfactory in the highest degree. He engaged Carson as his guide,
agreeing to pay him a salary of one hundred dollars a month.

The party of explorers were mainly gathered in St. Louis. It was
composed mostly of Creole and Canadian voyageurs, Charles Preuss,
a learned German, a young son of Colonel Benton (which statesman
was the father in law of Fremont), several other friends, including
a noted mountaineer named Maxwell, who was employed as the hunter
of the party. Including the commander, the entire company numbered
twenty-eight.

With this party of explorers Fremont ascended the Missouri until
the mouth of the Kansas was reached, when they disembarked and
made their preparations for the long and dangerous journey before
them. The march westward began June 10, 1842.

The course lay along the banks of the Kansas. All the party were
well armed and well mounted, excepting eight men, each of whom
drove a cart, drawn by two mules. These carts contained the stores,
baggage and instruments of the expedition. A number of spare horses
were taken along, so as to provide against loss in that respect.
In addition, they had four oxen intended to serve as a reserve in
the event of provisions running short.

It was the custom to arouse the camp at daybreak and turn out the
animals to graze; breakfast followed and the march was begun. The
noon halt lasted from one to two hours and the afternoon's march
ended a short time before sunset. The tents were then pitched, horses
hobbled and turned out to graze, and the evening meal prepared.
When it became dark, all the animals were brought in and picketed,
the carts arranged so as to serve as barricades and guard mounted.

An Indian guide conducted the expedition for the first forty miles
along the Kansas, when he departed and the responsibility was turned
over to Carson. The pilot had guided the steamer out of the harbor
and upon the great ocean, and henceforth the hand of Carson was to
be at the helm.

The soil over which they journeyed for many miles was of the most
fertile character. Numbers of Indian farms were seen, and one could
not but reflect on the possibilities of the future for the red man,
who should abandon war and give his energies to the cultivation of
the ground.

Such an expedition could not go far without a taste of the trials
that awaited them. On the second night, the four spare horses
seemed to become disgusted with the whole enterprise, and turning
their heads eastward started on a rapid gallop for the States.
Their loss was too serious to be borne, and a number of men were
dispatched in pursuit. The chase was a long one and the animals
were not recovered for several hours. One of the men lost his way
and was forced to spend the night on the open prairie. At midnight
it began to rain, and then the exceedingly unpleasant discovery was
made that the tents on which the explorers relied for protection
and shelter were so thin that they were drenched as if the water
came through a sieve.

The morning, however, brought clear weather and bright sunlight, and
all were in high spirits. The scenery for a time was of a pleasing
and picturesque character, and they pushed contentedly forward,
until they arrived at the ford of the Kansas, one hundred miles
from the point where it emptied into the Missouri.

The stream was found so swollen from recent rains that it could
not be forded. Accordingly several of the mounted men forced their
animals into the stream and swam them across to serve as guides
for the rest. They succeeded quite well, excepting the oxen, which,
after floundering awhile, landed on the same side from which they
started. The following morning they succeeded in crossing.

Among the useful articles with which Fremont had provided himself,
was an India rubber boat, twenty feet long and five feet wide.
This was very buoyant and the carts and baggage were carried over
piecemeal in it, with the exception of the last two carts. Laden
with these the boat left the shore but had not gone far when the
man at the helm, who was exceedingly nervous, managed to capsize
the craft, with all its precious cargo. The hunters were so dismayed
over the prospect of losing their stores that nearly all plunged
into the stream and made frantic efforts to save what they could.
Several did not stop to remember that they could not swim, so that
the principal efforts of some of the others were directed to saving
them.

Most of the goods were recovered, but nearly all the sugar dissolved
and every grain of coffee was lost. It would be hard to imagine any
deprivation greater than that to which this misfortune condemned
the explorers. Carson and one of the others made such strenuous
efforts in the water that they were ill the next day, and Fremont
remained in camp for twenty-four hours with a view of giving them
time to recruit.

The journey westward progressed without any special incident. A
large party of emigrants on their way to Oregon were several weeks
in advance of the explorers. Bad fortune seemed to have followed
them from the start, and numerous freshly made graves were seen.
One of the emigrants who had been peculiarly unfortunate, came into
camp with a hunter on his way home. He took charge of the letters
which the explorers desired to send to their families.

The party soon reached the Pawnee country where they were forced to
unusual vigilance, for those Indians have long been noted as most
persistent horse thieves. Game was abundant. Large flocks of wild
turkeys were found roosting in the trees along the streams; elk,
antelope and deer were plentiful, and as for bisons, they were
beyond all computation.

One day a member of the company happened to be riding at the rear
galloped up in hot haste, shouting, "Indians!" He declared that
he had seen them distinctly and counted twenty-seven. An immediate
halt was called, and Carson, leaping on one of the fleetest horses,
crossed the river and galloped over the prairie.

"Mounted on a fine horse without a saddle," says Fremont, "and
scouring, bareheaded, over the prairies, Kit was one of the finest
pictures of a horseman I have ever seen. He soon returned quite
leisurely, and informed them that the party of twenty-seven Indians
had resolved itself into a herd of six elk who, having discovered
us, had scampered off at full speed."

CHAPTER XIX.

On the Platte -- A False Alarm -- The Cheyennes -- Fremont's Account
of his Buffalo Hunt -- Division of the Party -- Fremont's Journey
up the South Fork -- The Band of Indians -- Arrival at St. Vrain's
Fort -- The Journey to Fort Laramie.

Fremont and his party, after traveling something over three hundred
miles from the mouth of the Kansas reached the Platte river, where
they encamped in a charming place near Grand Island. The country
was most beautiful, though they suffered somewhat from the violent
storms which frequently broke over them.

The noon halt was made and all were lounging about the camp, when
one of the men on guard called an alarm. Everybody sprang to his
feet and grasped his rifle, expecting an attack from Indians. A
strange wild looking company were seen approaching, but, as they
came closer, they were discovered to be white men. They were a
striking sight, numbering fourteen, in the most ragged and woebegone
condition imaginable. They had been on a trapping expedition, but
having met with nothing but disasters from the beginning, were now
straggling back to St. Louis on foot.

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