Part 12 (1/2)

In this affair three of the volunteers were wounded. With the two horses lost by Kit Carson's men, twenty-eight riding animals, belonging to the United States government, were stolen by this band of Camanches. But, had it not been for Kit Carson and his men, Lieutenant Mulony would have lost his cattle likewise.

Young oxen, when stampeded, are sometimes lost by the Indians. When not killed by wolves they usually join with the herds of buffalo and soon become wild. In this state, they are represented as being quite fleet of foot. More generally, they fall a prey to the wolves, and sometimes, again into the hands of the savages. A party was crossing the plains in the year 1854; the advance of the party sent back word that the first buffalo was in sight. Many amateur hunters eagerly volunteered for the chase, and soon, quite a squad of men were traveling at a good round gallop towards the supposed game. On approaching the game, it was found to be an old lame ox, which had been turned out by some caravan to die. The disappointment which prevailed in this crowd of neophyte hunters, on discovering this mistake, can be better imagined than described. The poor ox, apparently, had no idea of giving up the ghost quite yet. He was in good health and spirits, and showed signs of being pleased to see a white man again. The little birds of the prairies had used him as a perch. This office he appeared quite accustomed to perform, for he did not disturb the flock that was then occupying his back. How he had escaped the wolves is a miracle.

From signs discovered after the Indians had decamped, it became evident that several of the thieves had been mortally wounded; but, being tied on their horses, they were carried out of sight before they died. This is a fair sample of many of the Indian fights which have occurred, and are yet not unfrequent, on the prairies; the object of the savages is to plunder; therefore, an unguarded moment is selected for their attacks. In this instance, by the time the whites had got their firearms and men ready to commence the contest, the Indians had perpetrated their intended a.s.sault and were off.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CAMANCHE WARRIOR.]

The Camanches are excelled by no men in the world in their horsemans.h.i.+p, not excepting the famous Cossacks of Europe. The level prairies are beautiful fields for them to act on. It is in a skirmish similar to the one we have endeavored to describe, that they put these qualifications to the test. The arena where these scenes are enacted is a very undesirable place for a mere spectator. Kit Carson and party resumed their march the same day, and arrived safely at Santa Fe, without meeting with any other adventures. At this town he left his escort of fifty volunteers, and hired sixteen other men with which to perform the remainder of his journey. This was in obedience to the orders he had received at Fort Leavenworth. Pursuing his route on Muddy Creek, a tributary of Virgin River, he came upon a village of some three hundred Indians, so suddenly, as his route twisted about among the hills, that he had to make a bold matter of it, and go into camp, for the purpose of having a ”talk.” Kit Carson had learned some time before that these very red men had ma.s.sacred seven Americans. For this reason he determined not to trust them, even if they professed friends.h.i.+p. The Indians wished to come into his camp, but this privilege he would by no means grant to them. He posted his men and selected a place so that he himself could talk, and at the same time let them see that if the least hostile demonstration was made by their side, it would be answered by a volley of bullets from the rifles of the white men. Kit Carson harangued them and informed them that he knew of the murders they had committed on his people during the past year. He told them that they bore a treacherous character and could not be treated as friends, and wound up his discourse by adding, that he would not allow himself to be deceived, for he knew that their only object in gaining admission into his camp was to repeat their b.l.o.o.d.y acts. He now gave them a limited period of time in which to be off, at the expiration of which, several lounged about, apparently doubting his words. He now gave the order to fire. In consequence, a few shots were aimed at them, which killed one and wounded three or four others.

This had the tendency to hurry the movements of the remainder, who retired from the dangerous proximity to his camp. This was a case which required some nerve and great experience in the commander of the little party. Nothing but the personal courage and promptness of Kit Carson saved his command. The success of fifteen men against three hundred Indians in this manner, is chiefly due to their commander.

The party proceeded on their journey, but soon were troubled for food.

Having used up all the game they could find, they were obliged to kill two mules, on which they lived until they arrived at Los Angelos. Kit Carson, finding that the officers to whom he was ordered to deliver his dispatches were at Monterey, journeyed thither, and having reached that town in safety, gave the doc.u.ments to Col. Mason, then of the First Regiment of United States dragoons, who was in command. Obeying orders, Kit Carson, now an acting lieutenant in the United States army, returned to Los Angelos and was a.s.signed to do duty in the company of United States dragoons commanded by Captain Smith. Kit was allowed little time to recruit, but his restless disposition did not ask, nor his habits require it; consequently, he remained at Los Angelos only a short period. With a command of twenty-five dragoons, he was ordered to proceed to Tajon Pa.s.s, the main outlet through which hostile Indians went out of California, bearing the proceeds of their incursions, such as cattle, horses, sheep and captives. Kit Carson's duty in this place was to intercept the Indians and examine their _papers_ and _cargoes_. He spent the winter in doing much good in this service. In the spring, he was again ordered to proceed overland to Was.h.i.+ngton, with dispatches. An escort being furnished him, he was soon under way, and had reached Grand River without encountering any serious difficulty. At this place an accident happened to his party while crossing the river on rafts.

During the early part of summer, the fording of streams which have their source in the Rocky Mountains is no safe or easy task. When the sun and the warm south winds begin to melt the immense piles of snow and ice in the mountains, the water comes tumbling down in torrents; and, having overflowed the rivers' banks, floods the adjacent country.

By this means, new gullies and ravines are continually forming, which, when the melting process ceases, are converted into dry beds. With this rush of angry water, large rocks and ma.s.ses of earth are swept from their natural seat, leaving a wreck behind that is fearfully grand to behold. The roaring of these torrents as they come leaping past and over every obstacle, resembles a low, rumbling thunder, which is reechoed through the deep forests and canons. Sometimes travelers are compelled to wait weeks before these rivers fall sufficiently to allow a safe transit. Heavy rains have the same effect to enlarge them; and, in one instance, a body of soldiers, while crossing the plains, were overtaken by these rains, which fell with such rapidity and in such quant.i.ty as to make the level prairies almost one sheet of water, while every ravine was converted into a river, swift and deep.

To cross these, the men were obliged to use their best exertions with very poor means to guard against loss; and, even with the best care, one man was drowned, while several mules shared the same fate. In the prospective construction of bridges for highroads and railroad tracks across the continent, in certain seasons of the year, this sudden acc.u.mulation and explosion of water may cause trouble by sweeping them suddenly away.

This accident crippled the resources of Kit Carson's party very much and caused them afterwards great suffering. The accident occurred something after the following manner. One division of the men, with their leader as a companion, had constructed a float of logs, on which they had crossed the stream in safety; but the second branch of the party, under charge of Lieutenant Brewerton, then of the United States army, and who was traveling in company with Kit Carson, were not so successful with their raft; for, no sooner did they get it into the swift current than it became unmanageable, and finally precipitated its contents, among which were included several of the men and their luggage, into the water. The wrecked men with great difficulty saved their lives by swimming to the sh.o.r.e from which they had started. The day was far spent and no attempt to succor them could be made that evening; so, in their semi-state of nudity, and without the means of making a fire, they pa.s.sed a miserably cold night; but, early the next morning, one of their friends recrossed and carried them an axe, by the aid of which a new raft was made, on which they embarked a second time and were soon safe with their companions. Among the very useful articles that were lost by this mishap there were several saddles and six valuable rifles. What made this loss peculiarly unpleasant was, that they could not be replaced until the party could reach the settlements. The owners of the saddles were now in a sad plight; for, neither to the rider or his horse is it a very pleasant prospect to make a long journey without these useful articles. After repairing their damages as best they could, they struck out afresh. Setting aside hunger and the suffering experienced from exposure to cold, they were not again incommoded in any way until they had come to the vicinity of the Mexican towns. Here they met several hundred Utah and Apache Indians. These red skins showed some warlike symptoms which Kit Carson did not in the least fancy; but, to make the best of his situation, he ordered his men to post themselves in a neighboring thicket and be ready to act on the defensive. Kit Carson then informed the Indians that they must keep at a proper distance, or otherwise he would direct his men to fire into them. He told them that if they were disposed to be friendly, which they professed to be, towards the white men, they could show it by leaving and not annoying his party, who, being nearly naked and in a dest.i.tute condition, could give them nothing. Evidently the savages saw this was true, and so did not hazard a fight, but departed. Kit Carson traveled that night ten miles further. It was late in the day when he again ventured on the trail, but this distance was all that his animals could accomplish without food and rest, for they were fatigued and poor. His object in thus resuming his march, was to separate himself and men as far as he could from the Indians, fearing that they might change their minds and conclude to attack him. Being too weak, his party was in no condition for an engagement. At the end of this distance he fortunately met with a party of volunteers, who had been out in search of these very savages, in order that they might punish them for some rascality they had been recently guilty of. The next day Kit Carson reached Taos, where he allowed himself a short respite for the purpose of recruiting, and also to have the pleasure of a visit to his family and friends. These were privileges which, during his life in the mountains, had been seldom granted to him, though his feelings of attachment for relatives and intimate acquaintances are not exceeded by those of any living man. Indeed, his love for his children is unbounded. We have several times heard him a.s.sert, that if there was any one thing that could make him a coward, it would be the thoughts of his little ones. When his party was sufficiently recruited, Kit Carson left Taos and proceeded to Santa Fe. At this time Colonel Newby, of the Illinois Volunteers, was in command of the United States forces stationed there. This gentleman informed Kit Carson that his appointment as lieutenant, made by President Polk, was not confirmed by the United States Senate. Many of Kit's friends, on hearing this, came to him and advised him not to carry the dispatches any further; but, instead, they counseled him to deliver them to the commanding officer of the post he was at, advising him that he was doing duty as an officer in the army and yet was not recognized by government. The language used by Kit Carson on this occasion, in reply to his friends, is so much to his credit and is so like the man, that every American citizen ought to know it. It was as follows: ”I was intrusted with these dispatches, having been chosen in California, from whence I come, as the most competent person to take them through safely. I would try to fulfill this duty even if I knew it would cost me my life. It matters not to me, while I am performing this service for my country, whether I hold the rank of a lieutenant in the United States army, or am known merely as an experienced mountaineer. I have gained some little honor and credit for the manner in which I have always conducted myself when detailed on any special and important business, and I would on no account now wish to forfeit the good opinion formed of me by a majority of my countrymen because the United States Senate did not deem it proper to confer on me an appointment which I never solicited, and one which, had I been confirmed, I would have resigned at the termination of the war.”

The reasons why the wishes of the President were not carried out by Congress in this instance, we know not; but, certain it is, that the lucky aspirant who eventually received this office at the hands of the same United States, had no credentials to present that could, as far as merit was concerned, compare with those held by Christopher Carson.

It is fair to infer, that Kit Carson had but few friends at court, though it cannot for one moment be supposed that his name was not well known at Was.h.i.+ngton, when for five long years he had been the right-hand man of John C. Fremont in his explorations. The privates and the hards.h.i.+ps which that commander and his guide willingly submitted to during those years, it is impossible to describe through reports. The whole newspaper press of the United States, together with several volumes of well-written books, have attempted it, but all have failed in giving a true picture of the reality. These things availed nothing when brought in contact with political moves; and Kit Carson was doomed to go by the board. He had, however, met, during his eventful life, with too many disappointments to be much chagrined at this, and we find him, soon afterwards, making inquiries in relation to the state of feeling among the Indians who inhabited the country through which he had to pa.s.s.

The appointment of civilians to the responsible duties of a command in the United States army has, of late years, become, in many instances, very unfortunate. Perhaps it is this that has taught our legislators a lesson. But there is a truth which lies above this difficulty. The severe ordeal necessary to be gone through with at West Point, in order to make military men of the proper standard, has very naturally raised a jealousy between these two cla.s.ses of men. This is very healthy for the country, as it stimulates each to n.o.ble exertions.

In order to make the army less secluded, it is necessary to appoint a certain per-centage of men from the walks of private life, and therefore the most meritorious should be selected. West Point men, as a body, are a great credit to our country; and, as a scientific corps, they cannot be surpa.s.sed; but, the fact is incontrovertible, that many, if not most of the leading officers of the United States army, are self-educated, and have risen to their exalted positions by untiring industry and distinguished services. For frontier work, men, to be capable of taking command, are required to have great experience in Indian strategy, and to become accustomed to endure privations and vicissitudes. These cannot be taught by schools or books. For these positions those are best fitted who have been trained to the mountains from earliest boyhood, and where is the man in North America who has battled in this service longer or more successfully than Christopher Carson? But Kit Carson could see no reason why the votes of the United States Senators, refusing to confirm the President's effort to reward him for his services to his country, should cause him for one moment to swerve from his duty. He pocketed at once his disappointment, and went to work. Colonel Newby informed him that the Camanches had of late been very hostile, and that they were then roaming in war parties, numbering from two to three hundred, scattered along the old Santa Fe road, on which their depredations had, so far, been mostly committed. On learning this, Kit Carson determined to make a trail of his own, and endeavor thus to avoid them. He reduced the number of his escort to ten trusty followers. With them, he returned to Taos, and after a halt there of two days, once more was on the march. At first, he traveled to the northward, until he reached a tract of country which these Indians seldom visited; then, changing his route by compa.s.s, he struck the Bijoux River, which is a tributary of the Platte River, and followed it down stream. At about twenty-five miles from the mouth of the Bijoux, he quit that stream, and struck out diagonally across the prairies, and soon reached the Platte itself, down which he journeyed to Fort Kearney. Here he again changed his course for the Republican Fork. On leaving this last-named stream, he traveled direct to Fort Leavenworth, finally reaching that post with his men and animals in fine condition, for the journey had been as pleasant as could have been expected. Here he left his escort, and set out alone for Was.h.i.+ngton. After reaching the land of railroads and steamboats, he was but a few days in bringing the latter part of his journey to an end. Handing his dispatches to the proper authorities, Kit Carson turned right about and made his way to New Mexico, where he arrived in the month of October, 1848.

It will be seen by following on a map the route which Kit Carson planned on this occasion, that it was very circuitous, and led him a great distance out of his way. Indeed he was, at times, far beyond the roaming grounds of the Camanches, but this was necessary. He was not, however, free from danger; but was obliged to be on the lookout for their allies, the Kiowas, who are usually at war whenever the Camanche nation is. His trail led him through a country which is celebrated as abounding in game, and also in being well watered, and last, but not least, the desideratum of finding gra.s.s of a good quality, whenever he desired it, was proved a valuable a.s.sistant on the march. It may be well to mention here, that one of the most curious of the phenomena of the plains, to the inexperienced traveler, are those mirages which, on every clear day, are sure to meet and delude his eyes. So wonderful are these deceptions, that often the vision leads one to believe he is beholding, in the distance, a beautiful city which is located on the banks of some attractive lake. The outlines of the palaces, spires of cathedrals, and even the lesser buildings themselves, all surrounded with trees, bearing luxuriant and green foliage, together, form an imaginary picture which throws into the background any of the realities which are the work of man. The shading is oftentimes very captivating, and on it the traveler can be entertained for hours, until a change in the rays of light or intervening clouds, or else by approaching the delusion itself, the magic scene fades away. A mirage and a prairie on fire, seen by night, the one a delusion, the other a fearful reality, are two of the grandest sights to be seen in the far West; we might add, on the American continent.

CHAPTER XIII.

Kit Carson at his Home--The Apache Indians become hostile--An Expedition sent against them--It is not successful--Another is organized, with which, Kit Carson goes as Guide--Two Indian Chiefs captured--Other Incidents of the Trip--Colonel Beall attempts to force the Indians to give up Mexican Captives--Two thousand Savages on the Arkansas River--The Visit to them--Kit Carson emigrates and builds a Ranche at Rayado--Description of the Valley--The Ma.s.sacre of a Santa Fe Merchant--His Wife is made Prisoner--The Expedition sent to rescue her--The Indians overtaken--Bad Counsel and Management--The commanding Officer wounded--Mrs. White's Body found--Severe Snow Storm on the Plains--One Man frozen to Death--Kit Carson returns to Rayado--The occupation of a Farmer resumed--The Apaches steal from the Settlers nearly all their Animals--Kit Carson with thirteen others in the Pursuit--The Surprise--A running Fight--The Animals recovered--A gallant Sergeant and his Fate--Kit Carson and Goodel go on a Trading Expedition to meet California Emigrants at Fort Laramie--Humorous Adventures--The Dangers that beset the Road to New Mexico--Hair-breadth Escape--Arrival at Taos.

Being comfortably housed in his own pleasant home at Taos, Kit Carson made up his mind to treat himself to a more lengthy stay there than he had for some time enjoyed. While he was quietly enjoying the pleasures of home, active operations were transpiring about him, for the neighboring Indians had dug up the tomahawk and buried the calumet, and were holding in defiance the United States forces, which had been stationed in New Mexico to protect its inhabitants. Colonel Beall was at that time commanding officer of the district, and had established his head-quarters at Taos. The colonel, soon after a.s.suming the command, being a resolute man, saw that there was but one way to deal with these Indians, and that was to bring them to a strict account, and make them amenable for their many crimes. This tribe of Apaches has given the government of the United States almost as much trouble as have the Seminoles in Florida, and I hesitate not in saying, that before they are exterminated, which is the only sure plan of making a peace with them, they will have surpa.s.sed their red brethren of the swamps of the South in the number and enormity of their crimes. Before New Mexico came under the jurisdiction of the United States, the Apaches, for many years, had committed all kinds of heinous offences against the Mexicans; and, for a period of ten years after that event, these same savages were continually on the war path, notwithstanding military expeditions, one after another, were organized and sent out against them. Their mountain retreats are almost inaccessible to white men, while the Indians, apparently, play about in them like rabbits.

The amount of physical endurance and the length of the journeys these red men can make, appear very astonis.h.i.+ng to one not accustomed to them. The Apaches, as an Indian race, are not wanting in bravery, the best evidence of which statement is, that nearly all their warriors _die in battle_. Their country is the healthiest in America.

Besides waging war against the whites and Mexicans, they have their differences to settle with their neighboring tribes, with whom they are punctilious in vindicating their national honor. Colonel Beall commenced his operations against these Indians by dispatching a junior officer, backed by a strong force, with orders to pursue, overtake, and chastise them. This expedition started; but, on coming to the mountains, the guides reported that there was too much snow on them for the command to pa.s.s through in safety; so the undertaking was given up, and the men were marched back to Taos.

The most famous war chief of the Apaches, during these troubles, was called by the Mexicans _Chico Velasques_, and his name, for many years, was a terror to the surrounding country. His savage brutality knew no bounds, and he was truly in his element, only when he was tearing the b.l.o.o.d.y scalp from his half-lifeless victim. He was the sworn enemy of the Americans and Mexicans, and his hunting-knife was rarely clean of human blood, until his cruel life, by the wise decrees of an all-seeing Providence, was suddenly cut short. He fought against his disease (small pox) with that rashness that had been his ruling spirit through life, and thus ingloriously terminated his days. The pride of this man was to strut through the Mexican towns and gloat over his many crimes. To the gazing crowd, he would point out the trophies of his murders, which he never failed to have about him. To his fringed leggins were attached the phalanges (or finger bones) of those victims whom he had killed with his own hands. On the one side, he proclaimed to his auditors, were the fingers of the Mexicans, while on the other, were the same tokens from the Americans; and it gave him great delight, ironically, to dwell upon the latter name. With whip in hand, he struck out right and left when anything displeased him.

He met one day more than his match in the person of the famous Mexican hunter, Armador Sanchez, of whom we have previously spoken. The circ.u.mstances of this rencounter were as follows: The bold Indian, with but few followers, was on a visit of pleasure to the Mexican town of Culebro. He had agreed to a temporary peace, to suit his convenience and ends; and, taking advantage of it, he made his appearance in the settlements, to lord it over the peaceable inhabitants. After indulging in a little fire-water, his wicked propensities could be controlled no longer, and broke forth in minor cruelties. At last he found himself in the house belonging to Sanchez, who was quietly conversing with his aged father, for whom he had great veneration, and also with his son. The Indian peremptorily demanded that some whisky should be given him. He was informed by Sanchez that he did not keep the article. A second demand was now made, with the threat that if it was not forthcoming immediately, he would whip the person who refused him. This had the effect of bringing Sanchez to his feet, when the following colloquy, in Spanish, between him and the Indian transpired: ”Chico Velasques, you have long been accustomed to treat our people almost as you please. You have robbed and murdered us at your will, notwithstanding we have given you no cause thus to act.

Had you asked for bread, I would have given it to you, for the door of my house is always open to the friendly red man; but, as for whisky, you can have none from my hands. Raise that whip but once to strike me, and I will dash your brains out with this ma.s.s of lead.” Suiting his actions to his words, Sanchez drew forth from the pocket of his hunting-s.h.i.+rt a slung shot that weighed nearly four ounces, which he always carried to dispatch his game with when it was in the last agonies of death. With uplifted hand, the Indian hesitated; for, he knew the character of the man who stood before him, as they had hunted together during many moons gone by, on the same mountains and on the same trail. At last, using his own savage dialect, in order that his words could not be understood by others about him, the savage answered the Mexican hunter by saying, ”that by chance they might some day meet again;” a threat which fell harmless at the feet of Sanchez. As he took his departure, the chief added, in Spanish, ”I will tell these things to my father,[20] Kit Carson,” as if further attempting to intimidate the hunter; but Sanchez knew that his own and Carson's opinions were the same in regard to this man; therefore, he smiled at the rascal's knavery. _Chico Velasques_ was followed in his chieftains.h.i.+p by _Blanco_, who did his utmost to walk in the footsteps of his ill.u.s.trious predecessor; but, he was not so cunning, and was less successful in his encounters with the Americans and Mexicans, and therefore had not that influence with his tribe which the former possessed. Still, he performed his quantum of mischief, and yet lives to play his part in the great drama of Indian life. An Apache Indian is rather small in stature, but everything about him denotes symmetry and strength. His limbs are almost straight, and their muscles are as hard as iron. The elasticity of his movements, when in the least excited, shows a high degree of physical training. His coal-black eye exhibits an amount of treachery rarely seen elsewhere, proving the truth of the Chinese adage, that ”the tongue may deceive, but the eye can never play the rogue.”

[Footnote 20: This expression of ”father,” with these Indians, means their agent.]

But to return to the narrative. The commanding officer of the party sent out against these Indians, on arriving again at Taos, reported to Col. Beall that the reason he had returned was because, at the present time, it was impracticable to cross the mountains. That brave and experienced officer replied, ”that there was no such word as impracticable in the soldier's vocabulary, and that nothing ought to be impossible for the 1st regiment of United States dragoons to accomplish.” Suiting his actions to his words, Col. Beall reorganized the command, took charge of it himself, and employed Kit Carson as his guide. When everything was in proper trim, this expedition set out, and after surmounting many obstacles and privations, finally accomplished the feat of crossing the snow-clad mountains, and after a long and fruitless search for the Indians, the men were obliged to turn about, because their stock of provisions was running low. As the command emerged through the ”_Sangre de Christo Pa.s.s_,” on their return route, they came suddenly into view of a village of Apaches.

As soon as the Indians were discovered the charge was sounded, but the animals of the dragoons were too much jaded to obey the summons with the celerity wished for by their riders; the result was that, besides a considerable amount of plunder, only two persons were taken, but they, fortunately, proved to be no less than two important chiefs. In order to impress these Indians with the fairness and liberality which his government wished to show to the red men, after a long talk, in which the colonel exacted promises of good behavior, he let the prisoners go. They departed, to forget as quickly as possible all their vows and promises; for, seemingly, they will act in no other way than as their own savage instinct teaches. After this affair, Col.

Beall made a direct march for Taos, where he remained for some time, attending to the ordinary duties of his garrison.

In the treaty between the United States and New Mexico, entered into at the close of the Mexican War, a clause was inserted binding the former to turn over to the latter all the Mexican captives then held by the Indians who inhabited territory belonging to the first named government. The carrying out of this provision of the treaty involved the United States government in a large and constant bill of expense.

This was, undoubtedly, unavoidable, for even had the clause not been inserted in the treaty, the maintenance of about the same frontier military forces would have been necessary. It would have proved a difficult matter to carry out this treaty to the letter.