Part 14 (1/2)
When thus provided for, it is no wonder that Kit's workmen loved their employment and labored with good will. While thus engaged Kit Carson's weather eye was always open for Indian signs. His horses, cattle and sheep which he had bought since the last depredation were watched with great vigilance, as no one could foretell what the next hour would bring forth. In his mountain home Kit was often visited by Indian friends who came to smoke the pipe of peace with him and enjoy his hospitality. When thus surrounded by rival hunters worthy of his steel, who had sprung up, like oaks of the forest, he felt truly happy. This happiness was greatly enhanced and augmented by the thrifty appearance of everything that pertained to him.
He saw himself in the possession of fine lands, well watered and well timbered. Also plenty which was ready for the plow. It was almost a farm, made to order by the most perfect Workman. The soil, unsurpa.s.sed in richness and fertility, was a safe and sure depository for his seeds, telling him, in its silent, but unmistakable language, of the rich harvest in store for him. His stock was the best which heart could wish; and last, but with him not least, he was within a stone's throw of splendid hunting grounds, which, to his unerring rifle, as the reader has already seen, proved as safe an a.s.sistant, as would have been a Wall street bank with a large credit side to his account.
We have here a picture of Kit Carson enjoying the rewards of a home congenial to his taste and knowledge of life, while around him are gathered the objects which his manly soul had learned to love and live for. The painting is one which we find beautiful to the sight and which is rich in its lessons of life. But these deductions must be left for the sensitive and honest hearted imagination to draw. It is not fitting to add them to these pages, however truthful they may be, until the last sad rites which are measured out to all, shall have been performed for the brave man of whom we write, and his n.o.ble soul shall have winged its flight to the happier hunting grounds of eternity.
The duties of farming and hunting were only once interrupted during the summer which Kit Carson thus enjoyed with his family. The exploit which called him, on this occasion, from his home, was caused by an effort to save the lives of two well known traders. To accomplish this, he a.s.sumed the character and duties of a detective police officer. The circ.u.mstances of the case were as follows.
An American, by the name of Fox, had organized a party to accompany as a guard over the plains, and, while professedly engaged in this duty, to murder Messrs. Brevoort and Weatherhead, two gentlemen who were traveling into the United States, as the rascal and party supposed, with a large sum of money which they expected to expend in the purchase of goods to be used for trading purposes. Fox played his part so well that when he offered himself and men as an escort, the offer was accepted by the intended and unsuspicious victims, as if it had been a mark of particular favor. Before the route was entered upon, Fox visited Taos for the purpose of enlisting among his band of desperadoes, a fellow who resided in that town. He was a person who bore a very bad character, but for some reason, which has never transpired, he refused to go; yet, proving true as a wicked confidant, he waited until he thought his friend Fox was sufficiently advanced on the road to accomplish his h.e.l.lish purposes without any chance of his being overtaken and arrested. He then saw fit to divulge the plot.
Every new country is the favorite place of resort for desperadoes and rascals of all grades, who cannot live in their native districts on account of their many crimes.
Until the machinery of law and order begins to work smoothly, these fellows, in their new homes, have every thing their own way unless they go to too great excesses, when their neighbors will rise for their own protection and treat them with summary and severe punishment. Often, by thus making an example of a few, large numbers are prevented from doing further mischief. In the early history of nearly every one of our western territories, escaped convicts, murderers, thieves and the worst sort of humanity, mingled in with good men, have commenced their nefarious practices on a grand scale.
These things have brought such sections of our country into bad repute abroad. It needs but time for communities to ferret these human monsters out and visit upon them a just retribution. The inland position of New Mexico and the consequent difficulty of intercourse with the General Government of the United States, made it an inviting place, from time to time, for men of this stamp to visit; but, as they have met on most occasions with a reception from the friends of order, not in the least suited to their tastes, they have almost ceased their coming, thereby showing what a few resolute men can accomplish at the commencement of such trouble. The reforming work of mitigating the evil, which is sure to result among a mixed population under the best regulations, is slowly progressing, and the day is not far distant, when New Mexico, in this respect, will compare favorable with her sister (and older) territories.
The purport of this diabolical plot accidentally came to the ears of an officer in the army, who chanced to be in Taos at the time. This gentleman was one of the first to hear of it, and at once sought Kit Carson; but instead of directly telling him what he had just heard, from some strange reason of his own, he demanded of Kit whether he would be willing to pursue and apprehend Fox for debt. To this proposition Kit Carson replied in the negative.
On hearing Kit's indignant refusal to be employed in such a menial undertaking, the officer concluded to lay the true state of the case before him, who, he naturally enough thought, could, above all others in that territory, devise some plan that would result in rescuing Brevoort and Weatherhead from their impending fate. Here it may be proper for us to add that the officer who had thus indiscreetly acted, must have had previously a very slight acquaintance with Kit Carson, or he would not have selected him as a man ready and anxious for any dirty job which might offer, as it is entirely foreign to his true character. Kit Carson, on being apprised of the facts, became interested, and took the management of the affair, for the most part, into his own hands; and, on investigating it more thoroughly, he came to the conclusion that Fox and his companions contemplated committing the crime on the Cimaron River.
This river is nearly east from Taos; and the point at which Carson antic.i.p.ated overhauling the party was between two and three hundred miles distant. At this time, the Mountain Indians were unusually hostile; but Kit Carson was always well informed of their movements--as much so as it was in the power of any one to be. With the little command under him he was willing, where so weighty a matter as saving the lives of two of his countrymen demanded his services, to march anywhere--even if he had to contest his way. One hour was sufficient time for him to make ready for the undertaking, but not so with the soldiers. They had to put their horses and themselves in trim, for it might be severe and taxing duty. The route taken by the party was a trail, which leads direct to Rayado, and on which, just before reaching the last-named place, there are many curious piles of stones, which are scattered over the side of a mountain, and have formed a puzzle to many an inquiring mind. By some they are supposed to be Indian graves; but, by others, they are thought to have been made as a sort of landmark by the older inhabitants of the plains, when they started into New Mexico on some marauding incursion. These latter persons believe that the Indians were unacquainted with the country they were invading, and had left these marks to a.s.sist them in making their way out again. Most likely the first hypothesis is true, and that the stones were thus heaped up to protect the corpses from being devoured by the wolves. On quitting Rayado Kit Carson struck out on the open prairies.
By making an expeditious march, Kit Carson felt that the traders could yet be saved. His party consisted of ten picked men of the dragoons, and it was splendidly mounted on horses furnished him to a.s.sist in the undertaking. The pace which Kit commanded and required was one which would try the nerves and courage of most good hors.e.m.e.n. Onward, over the level prairie, the party galloped--every man feeling proud of the guide, whose spirit they caught and imitated. The second night out from Taos they came upon the camp of a detachment of United States recruits who were under the command of Captain Ewell, and who were bound for New Mexico, where they were to reinforce the regiments of the army which were stationed in that territory.
It is customary to send out, each year, detachments of recruits to the different departments of the West. These men are enlisted and collected at the depots within the States; and, whenever a sufficient force is collected to fill up the requisitions, they are dispatched, at the proper seasons, to their respective regiments. Those intended for New Mexico set out during the summer months. They are rarely sent at the same time, or as the same command of men. These recruits are a hard set to manage, especially when traveling through the States, where they are exposed to temptation. On arriving at the commencement of their hards.h.i.+ps, on the plains, it is usually found that many have deserted, and also that many might have done so with benefit to the government. Military service with recruits, and the same with old soldiers, are two different things. With the former, officers are obliged to command, threaten and punish, to accomplish in one day, what the latter would perform without much trouble in half the time.
Recruits know little or nothing about marching or camp duty; and, in taking care of them, an officer has his hands full. Even the most minute items have to be looked to; for example, they are men rarely used to fire-arms, being, for the most part, foreigners by birth, and are just as apt to load a gun with the ball of the cartridge first down, as with the powder. Old soldiers look upon these new comers as verdant in the extreme, and the pranks they often play upon them are very humorous. With patient discipline, they become serviceable men, and are an honor to the standard which they carry; and, what appears to be the strangest fact of all, frequently the poorest looking recruit may make the best soldier. This is a fair picture of the men Capt. Ewell was commanding.
Kit Carson at once informed the captain of the duty he was on, when that distinguished officer, generously determined to a.s.sist in putting a damper on the wicked designs of the wretches. Taking with him twenty men, Captain Ewell joined Kit Carson, and together they proceeded in the pursuit. By using every precaution in their power, and forcing their marches, they entered into the camp of the traders, and arrested Fox before he had time even to suspect the business upon which the party had come. After Fox was secured, Messrs. Weatherhead and Brevoort, were informed of the dangers through which they had pa.s.sed.
These gentlemen, at first were astounded, but they soon became a.s.sured of the truth of what they heard. They then selected fifteen men whom they knew to be innocent, and ordered the remainder of their escort, numbering thirty-five souls, to leave their camp instanter, which command was promptly obeyed. To Kit Carson, they offered any sum of money that was in their power to bestow, in return for the invaluable service he had rendered them. Kit Carson replied, ”that it was reward sufficient for him to have been instrumental in saving the lives of two worthy citizens, and that he could not think of receiving one cent of money.”
A long colloquy was held that night around a good camp fire, that was freely fed with ”buffalo chips.”[21] At midnight, most of the party were asleep, and nothing could then be heard except the barking of wolves and the heavy tread of the guard, as they walked to and fro on their respective beats. On the first appearance of day-light, all hands were up and preparing to strike their tents. Soon after the parties separated, but, before doing so, the traders again expressed their thanks, and then resumed their journey. Fox was first taken to Captain Ewell's camp, then he was turned over to Kit Carson, who conveyed him to Taos, where he was imprisoned for some time; but was finally released, as nothing positive could be proved against him, chiefly because he had committed no overt act, but had only, thus far, engaged in plotting the double murder and robbery. This is always a difficult crime to establish. In this instance, the difficulty was greatly augmented from the fact that the witnesses in the case, as soon as they heard of Fox's capture, scattered and left for parts unknown. He was finally set at liberty.
[Footnote 21: Buffalo chips form the princ.i.p.al fuel of the plains. It is dry buffalo manure.]
At that day the keeping of a prisoner in close confinement in New Mexico, or of having him continually under the surveillance of the military was no ordinary, or easy matter. The only places which could be converted into jails, were the common _adobe_ houses of the inhabitants. From these a wide awake and determined prisoner with the free use of his hands, and the a.s.sistance of the smallest kind of a tool, as a jack-knife or pair of scissors, could dig out of his dungeon in five or six hours. The large majority of the criminals who were thus incarcerated, managed to effect their escape. In the case of Fox, however, he had a man to deal with who was seldom thwarted in any of his undertakings. With so much convicting evidence of his wicked intentions, and with so much trouble to bring him to trial, it was greatly regretted, that he did not receive a suitable punishment. As soon as he was set free, Fox made his way out of the country; but his further history is not known.
The general impression left upon the minds of the people who were familiar with the minutiae of this affair was, that Fox was guilty.
As he was known to be a finished villain, it was universally believed that, after murdering and plundering the two traders, he intended to grasp the ”lion's share,” and with his portion, to proceed to Texas, where, as he was there entirely unknown, he hoped to enjoy the rewards of his rascality.
This valuable service rendered to Messrs. Brevoort and Weatherhead, was most gracefully and handsomely rewarded by them. In the course of the following spring, they presented Kit with a pair of magnificent revolvers. Upon the silver mountings, there were engraved a very few, but expressive words, indicating the obligations which the donors considered themselves laboring under towards their deliverer. Such a testimonial to an unselfish heart like that which beats in the breast of Kit Carson, is a prize of greater value than any more substantial gift, which money could purchase. These beautiful weapons, Kit Carson prizes very highly; and, the donors may here learn the fact that, in the hands of their owner, they have since been duly initiated into active service, and found to perform their necessary duties most admirably.
After the task of the arrest of Fox was thus successfully undertaken and consummated, by his being securely lodged in jail and placed under suitable guard, Kit Carson returned to Rayado, where he spent the winter in a very quiet manner. We use the term quiet manner: it should be qualified with the phrase, quiet manner for him. He found plenty of employment in looking after his animals, besides spending a large share of his time in hunting. This, however, although always attended with paying practical results, he did as much for pleasure as from necessity. He always found a large number of hungry mouths ready to relieve him from any superabundance of game; and, as his hospitality to all cla.s.ses is unbounded, he took especial delight in feeding and liberally bestowing his bounties upon his poor Mexican neighbors, to whom powder and lead were more of a desideratum than to himself, and with whom his experience and skill as a hunter, were a source of support which they could only wish for.
Early the next summer Kit Carson, in charge of a train of wagons belonging to himself and his friend Maxwell, set out for the United States. After an unusually pleasant journey, he reached the Missouri River, and proceeded down it, in a steamboat, to St. Louis. Here he purchased a large stock of goods. With this freight, he returned to Kansas, where he had left his caravan, into which, on his arrival, he transferred his merchandise. He then started on his return trip to New Mexico. In order that his animals might take advantage of the fine gra.s.s to be found there, he chose the route, known to all traders on the plains, as well as to the reader, as the road by Bent's Fort. He was progressing on his journey quite happily, when unfortunately, at a point that is located about fifteen miles above the fording of the Arkansas, he fell in with a village of Cheyenne Indians who were just at that time violently hostile towards the whites and were waiting an opportunity to wreak their vengeance on them. This state of feeling had been brought about only a few days previous, and was due to an officer who was attached to a command of recruits that some ten days before Kit Carson's arrival had pa.s.sed by. He had flogged a warrior for some liberty which the fellow had taken while he was in the camp of the soldiers. These Cheyennes are very fond of dress and show; but, as a body, they are as n.o.ble and athletic looking men as tread this earth. Singular though the contrast may appear, a greater set of rascals never went unhung; yet, they are Indians, and, as such, they ought to command sympathy and forbearance.
The young men who belong to the Cheyenne nation, are fond of dress, and when arrayed in full costume one of them is a picture to look upon; when thus gilded no man could be prouder. These Indians wear their hair in a long cue a la Chinese style. They take great pleasure in ornamenting this cue with innumerable pieces of silver, which are made from half dollar pieces, and are beat out in the shape of small s.h.i.+elds. With their blue, or red blankets, long ribbons of different colored flannel, fancy leggins and bead decorations, and finally (as I once saw one) with a red cotton umbrella, they represent the very Paris tip of Indian fas.h.i.+on. Their squaws do not possess as regular and fine features as the men; but, this may be said to be true of most of the wild tribes of savages in North America, for it requires an enormous stretch of the imagination to call them handsome, while many of the men are fine looking. Hard work spoils the beauty of the Indian women. To admire an Indian woman one must seclude himself from the society of other females; under such circ.u.mstances it may be that a person might be inclined to change his opinion and think the race lovely. The lazy brave considers it beneath his station to work; therefore all camp labor and the packing, saddling and looking after the ponies devolves upon the squaw. When there is a scanty supply of horses, she is obliged to give her lord the preference in taking his ease, and go herself on foot and carry her pappoose. In fact it is lowering to the Indian's pride to do else than hunt and fight.
Owing to the scarcity of timber on the western prairies the Indians transport their lodge poles from camp to camp. This is done by attaching them to the sides of the pack animals while the free ends drag on the ground, and in time of war this const.i.tutes one of the signs of the trail by which to follow when in pursuit of them.
The reason why the commanding officer of this party of recruits inflicted the summary punishment referred to, is not known to the writer; but, it surely does appear as if the person who ordered its execution or perhaps courageously performed it himself, might have reflected, that a savage, least of all men, allows a supposed injury done to him or his tribe to pa.s.s by unrevenged, and also that it is a matter of perfect indifference to him as to who the victim is, if he only gets the chance to strike a blow on the same nation. This revenge will quench his cruel thirst for blood quite as effectually as if he had the satisfaction of scalping the perpetrator of his real or supposed injury. It is a fact--alas too frequently true--that the parties who are strong in numbers, courage, and equipment, while crossing the plains, are p.r.o.ne to treat, in an overbearing and insolent manner, the bands of Indians with whom they chance to come into contact. For these insults and injuries weaker parties who travel upon the same road are held to a strict and revengeful account by being made to suffer even with their lives, as well as effects. Kit Carson and his small force, unfortunately, or rather, fortunately, so far as Kit himself was concerned, for no man could be better fitted to deal with such a crisis of trouble than he, were the first white men who came along after the flogging of their warrior had wrought up the temper of the Cheyenne nation to a degree which nearly bordered on frenzy.
As soon as the whites were discovered, the Indians went into council evidently to decide on the best mode of attacking and making away with them. Kit Carson, though he did not know that this tribe had declared war, and much less their reasons for so doing, when he first saw them, was not long in coming to a conclusion, from their actions, that there was a screw loose somewhere. He, therefore, began to act with more than usual sagacity and caution. He ordered his men to keep their wagons close together, to have their rifles in good trim and be ready for an instant fight. In this manner, with every man on the watch, he pushed on for a distance of twenty miles. Although he had left the Indians far behind, he did not relax his vigilance, being still impressed with the belief that a storm was brewing. His surmises began to be verified soon after, for the Indians, in parties of two, three, and four, appeared in sight, arrayed and painted in their full war costume. Having approached some of them to within a distance sufficiently near so to do, Kit Carson commenced talking to them in a conciliatory manner. They were inclined to heed his words; and, in order to make it appear that he was not intimidated by their actions, he went into camp, and invited these advance parties of the Indians to come in and have a talk and smoke with him. The savages accepted the invitation and were soon seated in a circle. After the pipe had pa.s.sed from one to the other, until all present had had a puff or two from it, they began to talk loud among themselves.
At the time we now speak of, several years, as the reader can readily compute, had elapsed since Kit Carson was a hunter at Bent's Fort, and then well known to most of the Cheyenne nation; but, these few years had so altered him, together with his new style of dress, that it is no doubt that, at first, not one of the Indians remembered ever having seen him before.