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diff --git a/old/67018-0.txt b/old/67018-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 89b885a..0000000 --- a/old/67018-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,4394 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of In the Rockies with Kit Carson, by John T. -McIntyre - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: In the Rockies with Kit Carson - -Author: John T. McIntyre - -Illustrator: Ralph L. Boyer - A. Edwin Kromer - -Release Date: December 26, 2021 [eBook #67018] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: D A Alexander, David E. Brown, and the Online Distributed - Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was - produced from images generously made available by the Library - of Congress) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE ROCKIES WITH KIT CARSON *** - -[Illustration: “IT’S AN INDIAN,” SPOKE THE TRAPPER] - - - - - IN THE ROCKIES - WITH - KIT CARSON - - _By_ - JOHN T. McINTYRE - - _Illustrations by_ - Ralph L. Boyer and A. Edwin Kromer - - [Illustration] - - THE PENN PUBLISHING - COMPANY PHILADELPHIA - 1913 - - - - - COPYRIGHT - 1913 BY - THE PENN - PUBLISHING - COMPANY - - [Illustration] - - - - -Contents - - - I. THE TRAPPER OF TAOS AND SANTA FÉ 7 - - II. AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE 24 - - III. THE TRAPPERS TAKE THE TRAIL 39 - - IV. INDIAN SIGNS--AND INDIANS! 53 - - V. WHITE MAN VERSUS RED ON THE COLORADO 67 - - VI. TWO NIGHTS OF DANGER 77 - - VII. HOW THE TRAPPERS RETALIATED 91 - - VIII. KIT REACHES SANTA FÉ ONCE MORE 102 - - IX. IN THE COUNTRY OF THE HOSTILES 124 - - X. A DESPERATE EXPERIENCE WITH GRIZZLIES 145 - - XI. THE BULLY OF THE TRADING CAMP 156 - - XII. LOPEZ RIDES INTO CAMP 175 - - XIII. THE VILLAGE OF THE BLACKFEET 191 - - XIV. THE LAST BATTLE 202 - - XV. SKETCH OF CARSON’S LIFE 212 - - - - -Illustrations - - - PAGE - - “IT’S AN INDIAN,” SPOKE THE TRAPPER _Frontispiece_ - - “WHAT IS IT?” ASKED THE BOYS 43 - - “SO YOU ARE HERE?” 113 - - “REDSKINS!” 137 - - - - -In the Rockies With Kit Carson - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE TRAPPER OF TAOS AND SANTA FÉ - - -Late one afternoon when the sunlight was slanting through the trees and -wavering upon the adobe walls of the Pueblo of Los Angeles, when the -only sounds were the whispering winds in the higher boughs, and the -thrumming of a stringed instrument from the soldiers’ quarters, a tall -Spanish mule came clattering into the village with two boys astride its -back. They were bronzed, sinewy looking youngsters; each held a long -barreled rifle. - -A barefooted sentry, his piece over his shoulder, looked up at the -sudden sound; and as the mule was abruptly checked beside him, and the -two lads slipped from its back, he whipped his weapon about and with a -brown thumb upon the trigger, cried: - -“Halt!” - -The elder of the two lads wiped his forehead with his sleeve; then to -the other he said: - -“Hold tight to that old chap, Joe; we may have further use for him, you -know.” - -“I hope not,” declared Joe, ruefully. “He’s got a back like a buck-saw, -and a gait like a dromedary. And between the two he’s the worst thing I -ever rode.” - -The elder boy saluted the sentinel. - -“We are strangers,” he said, in good Spanish. “We belong to the trading -schooner ‘Gadfly’ now off the coast; and we are in pursuit of a man -named Lopez who ran away.” - -The sentry grinned. - -“A deserter?” - -“He is. But we don’t object to that so much as we do the fact that he’s -a thief as well. He robbed us, swam ashore, and the last seen of him he -was heading toward this village.” - -The sentry placed the butt of his musket upon a stone and leaned -socially upon the barrel. - -“There are some strangers in the Pueblo now,” he said. “But they are -Americans. And they are not sailors, but trappers. They came from Taos -in New Mexico,” wonderingly; “they crossed the desert where they might -have died of thirst. And all to trap beaver.” - -“Lopez is a half-breed,” said the youth. “And he has a scar, made by -the slash of a knife, across his left cheek.” - -The sentry shook his head. - -“I saw no such man,” said he. “It may be that he went with the Hudson -Bay men who I hear were at work on the streams not far from here about -a week ago.” - -“The man we are after left the schooner only this morning,” said the -boy. - -“The señor captain may have seen him,” spoke the soldier, helpfully. -“It is his duty to ask all strangers for their passports.” - -“Where is the señor captain to be found?” asked the boy. - -The soldier shook his head, shouldered his piece and prepared to resume -his tramp up and down. - -“At this hour,” said he, “the captain is always asleep. It is his -habit. Later, you can see him.” - -Joe Frazier, from his post at the tall mule’s head, laughed. - -“The habit is a bad one,” said he in reply to an inquiring look from -his friend. “And I think the quicker the señor captain is broken of it -the better. So I think, Dave, it’s your plain duty to do it.” - -Dave Johnson turned soberly to the sentry. In careful Spanish he said: - -“I am grieved to hear that your officer is asleep. Also I am sorry that -under the circumstances we shall be forced to awaken him. Give him our -compliments and say that two Americanos are here in a matter of much -haste.” - -The sentry stared. - -“Wake the señor captain! Never! He would beat me!” - -Dave considered, still gravely. - -“That would be awkward,” he decided. “And I wouldn’t care to see it -done. So to save you trouble, I will awaken him myself.” - -And before the astonished soldier could prevent him, he strode to the -door of the adobe dwelling and began thundering upon the door. A sleepy -muttering was the answer. - -“Take care!” cried the dismayed sentry, apparently at a loss as to how -to deal with the situation. “He has an evil temper, señor!” - -As the knocking went on, the muttering within swelled into a roar; then -the door was flung open and a squat, heavy-faced man with small, angry -eyes, and a brass-hilted sword in his hand, appeared. He glared at -Dave, the little eyes seeming to snap. - -“And so,” said he, “you will come knocking, will you, my brave fellow! -Nothing will do but I must be disturbed, eh? Not a wink must I get -after all the labors of the day. Very well, señor; we shall see.” - -He spoke quietly, but there was a menace in his tone which did not -escape Joe Frazier. - -“Careful there, Dave,” he called in English. “I think he’s up to -something.” - -The little eyes of the Mexican officer now went to the sentry. - -“And my commands are worth nothing, are they, my man? I waste my breath -telling you that I must not be disturbed, and you allow the first -rascally Americano who comes along to come thundering at my door. Very -well! It will be your turn later!” - -Again his glance shifted to Dave. The young American saluted in stiff -military fashion. - -“Pardon me, señor,” he said. “It is my misfortune that I had to break -in upon your slumbers. The fact is----” - -But the man stopped him sharply. - -“Enough!” said he. “Who are you?” - -“We belong to the schooner ‘Gadfly.’” - -“What are you doing here?” - -Dave related in a few words the same story he had told the sentry. The -officer listened, all the time prodding the sun-baked earth before the -door with the point of his sword; there was a scowl upon his heavy -face, and the small angry eyes looked red and threatening. - -“A pretty story,” said he. “Your passports!” - -“They are on board the schooner. In our hurry to pursue Lopez we -forgot them.” - -The captain showed his teeth in what was meant for a smile. -Unquestionably this fact pleased him. - -“Give the sentry your arms,” he said. “You are under arrest.” - -Dave fell back a step or two. - -“He means business,” he called over his shoulder to his friend in -English. “And once he gets our guns there’s no knowing what will -happen.” - -“Well, we don’t give them up until we’re sure,” answered Joe promptly, -throwing his weapon forward as he spoke, and covertly preparing for any -action that might be forced upon them. “Talk to him, old boy; maybe you -can bring him around.” - -The Mexican had followed Dave with cat-like tread; his sword was now -held at arm’s length, the point not more than a foot from the lad’s -chest. - -“Halt!” commanded he. And as Dave turned his face toward him once -more, the man went on: “I have met with impudent Americanos before -this. And I know the way to deal with them. Lay down your rifles!” - -Instead of doing so, Dave’s grip tightened about the stock of his -weapon; the officer saw this and without another word his arm drew back -for a swinging cut. Dave threw up the barrel of his rifle to guard his -head; the barefooted sentry saw the motion and read in it peril for his -officer, for his musket lifted instantly, pointing at Dave. But Joe, in -his turn, saw this, leaped forward and grasped the sentry’s arm; the -muzzle of his piece was thrown up just as it exploded; and the captain -went staggering back, fear in his face. - -“Guard! Guard!” he shouted. “Help! Would you see me murdered! Guard!” - -From the soldiers’ quarters straggled the guard, as unkempt a lot -as one would wish to see; each grasped a musket, and each was much -excited by the shot and the sudden alarm. A horde of Indians, men, -women and children, also made their appearance and pressed toward the -scene of action. There was an excited hubbub of voices; the musket -barrels shone in the sun; and the tattered soldiery eagerly fingered -the locks as though anxious to take up their duties at once. At a word -from the excited captain they formed a slovenly line. - -“Disarm those Americanos!” directed the officer. “And put them under -a close guard. We shall see if our lives are to be threatened by -intruders in this way.” - -The grim mouths of the Mexican guns were turned upon the two lads who -now stood with their backs to an adobe wall; for a moment or two things -looked very bad for them; but then a new element showed itself which -put a new face upon things. - -Through the press of Indians, who made no offer to take a part in the -proceedings, a half dozen buckskin-clad men shouldered their way. From -their coonskin caps to their moccasined feet they looked a hardy lot; -and in their faces was that resolution which comes in time to all those -who are accustomed to face danger. - -Each carried a rifle in the hollow of his arm; and silently they placed -themselves between the two boys and the soldiery. One of them, a rather -small young man with sandy hair and mild gray eyes, stepped toward the -captain. - -“Just a moment, señor,” said he, in Spanish. “If you’d like to listen, -we’ve got a word or two to say for the boys, before your men carry the -matter further.” - -For a moment it seemed as though the Mexican officer would order his -guard to fire upon the intruders; but the cool, resolute air of the -men in buckskin caused him to alter his mind. Holding up a hand in a -gesture which bid his men await his further commands, he said surlily: - -“Well, señor, and who are you?” - -The young spokesman of the party smiled. - -“What! and is it possible that you’ve forgotten me so soon?” said he. - -“Are you the Hudson Bay man?” - -“No.” - -A light seemed to break upon the Mexican. - -“You are of Young’s band of trappers,” said he with a smile which held -an under-current of cunning. “To be sure. I had all but forgotten you.” - -The young spokesman nodded, good-humoredly. - -“That you’d done so, señor, shows that we’ve been giving you little -trouble,” said he. “And now,” with a certain bluntness of manner, -“let us come to the present matter. As it happened, we saw the affair -between you and these lads. As far as I can see they are in no way to -blame. It was your sentry who fired the shot, and----” - -“Wait!” interrupted the commander of the village. To the sentry he -said: “Rascal, did you fire your piece?” - -“My officer,” replied the man, “I thought you were----” - -“Enough!” snapped the captain. “I will see to you later.” - -With a wave of the hand he dismissed the guard; the men went straggling -back to their quarters; the group of Indians, puzzled and disappointed, -also melted away; then the captain turned to the spokesman of the -trappers. - -“You see, señor, I am fair. I want to do only what is right. Please so -inform your comrades, for I see they know little Spanish. And then----” -here he leaned forward, with a cunning look in his eyes, and whispered -the remainder of the sentence into the young trapper’s ear. - -But the latter, a frown wrinkling his forehead, cut him short. - -“No,” said he, “nothing like that.” - -“But consider,” pleaded the captain; “out of good fellowship.” - -The young man paid no heed; to his comrades he said: - -“Now, boys, back to camp.” Then to Dave and Joe he added, “Get your -mules and come along. I reckon you’re not just what I would call safe -in this village.” - -The two lads, Joe with his arm through the bridle rein of the tall -mule, trudged along at their new friend’s side. - -“I’m a thousand times obliged to you,” said Dave Johnson. “There’s no -telling what might have happened to us if you hadn’t come along.” - -The trapper smiled boyishly. - -“Well,” said he, with a little drawl in his voice, “I reckon the -captain was a trifle anxious about you two.” Then inquiringly, “Know -much about these parts?” - -“No,” replied Joe Frazier. “We’re just from on board ship.” - -The other nodded. - -“I thought it was something like that,” he said. “If you had known the -lay of the land, you’d not have been so ready to tackle the captain. -He’s just the very person you’d ’a’ fought shy of. You see, the Mexican -government has these pueblos, or Indian villages all along here, and -they don’t like Americans to come prowling around and finding out -things. If you haven’t a passport they’ll arrest you, steal everything -you’ve got and drive you out of the country. Or it might even be worse.” - -“We knew that passports were needed, but we left the schooner in a -hurry, and never gave them a thought. And,” added Dave, “they were very -difficult to get in the first place.” - -The trapper chuckled. - -“I don’t know much about getting them,” said he. “Fact is, I never -tried. None of Young’s men have ’em, and the captain back there’s -been walking on thorns ever since we’ve been here trying to find a way -of arresting us.” Seeing the boys’ inquiring look, he added, quietly, -“There’s eighteen of us in all, and each one knows a trifle about -shooting. So you see, the captain hasn’t found the job an easy one.” - -They had walked on some little distance, when he continued: - -“A couple of days ago the captain hit on a neat little plan. You see -some of our men,” and his voice lowered a trifle so that the trappers -in advance might not hear, “are a kind of a rough lot, and they’ll -drink if they get the chance. The captain’s plan is to give them -liquor, and then when they’re helpless, take away their rifles and -hatchets and knives, and pen them up somewhere. Young got wind of it, -and we’re keeping our eyes skinned until we’re ready to take the trail -back to Taos.” - -About a mile south of the Pueblo of Los Angeles they came upon the -trappers’ camp, a row of huts made of boughs, sod and bark. A number -of buckskin-clad men lay about upon blankets or buffalo robes; others -were cooking the evening meal at the camp-fire; while others again were -cleaning their rifles or honing their broad-bladed hunting knives. - -“There’s Young, the trader who took out this expedition,” said the -young trapper. “What are your names, boys? I’ll introduce you.” - -“Mine’s Dave Johnson; I’m from Boston,” announced that young gentleman. - -“And I’m Joe Frazier, from Charleston,” said the other. Then, -curiously: “What’s yours?” - -“My name’s Kit Carson,” the trapper informed them; “once of Kentucky, -later of Missouri, but now of Taos and Santa Fé.” - - - - -CHAPTER II - -AROUND THE CAMP-FIRE - - -The two lads were warmly greeted by Mr. Ewing Young, the Taos trader -and leader of the trapper band. - -“A rather narrow squeak,” was his comment, when told of their -misadventure; “the captain back there at the Pueblo is anxious to get -his revenge upon an Americano because of the trouble he’s had with us, -and you lads would have pleased him well enough.” - -Ewing Young was a very well-known trader and trapper. Some time before -he had sent out a company in search of fur from Santa Fé toward the -Colorado River country. On their way they were attacked by an Indian -war party; after a desperate fight against great odds, the hunters -were forced to fall back and make their way toward New Mexico once -more. - -“But that just made me fighting mad,” said the trapper chief to -the boys, “so I got together a party of forty Americans, Canadians -and Frenchmen. At about the head of the Salt River we came on that -identical war party which had so roughly handled my first company.” - -Kit Carson laughed as though at some amusing reminiscence. - -“I never saw any parsel of humans so tickled as those redskins were,” -said he. “They had licked us once, and they figured they’d do it the -second time even quicker than the first.” - -The boys were seated upon a bearskin which one of the men had thrown -upon the ground for them; night was settling and the camp-fires blazed -cheerily; strips of venison, from the tenderest portions of bucks which -had fallen before the rifle that day, were being roasted at each fire, -and the savory smell filled the air. The horses and mules belonging to -the outfit were safely picketed a little distance off; the adventurers -laughed and chatted and performed the duties of the camp in high good -humor. - -“I reckon, Cap’n,” said one old grizzled fellow with a wrinkled, -weather-beaten face and the clear eyes of a boy, “that them thar reds -hadn’t any idee how many there was of us. If they had they’d not been -in such a precious hurry to come to hand grips.” - -“And the captain didn’t want them to know,” Kit Carson informed the -boys. “He picked out a nice likely place and put about twenty-five men -there in ambush. The Indians off there in front noticed us halt to do -this, and got it into their heads that we were kind of chicken-hearted -in the matter. And as the rest of us started toward them they made a -charge. We fell back until they were well into the trap. Then the boys -in the ambush jumped up and gave them one volley; and away went the -whole band of warriors as fast as they could go, and never once looked -back to see what had happened to them.” - -“I counted fifteen braves who’ll never draw another bow ’cept in the -Happy Hunting Grounds,” said the grizzled old trapper. “And besides -that, there were the wounded. That’s the way to hit at the varmints; -and it’s the only way to make it safe for a white man to set his traps -along the streams in this region. Teach ’em a lesson, says I; and make -it one that they’ll not forget, while you’re about it.” - -But while the savages were defeated they were not altogether -discomfited; for they doggedly held to the trail of the trappers. Along -the Salt to the San Francisco River, they had pursued them, and all -the way along this stream to its very head waters; their depredations -were secret and under cover of darkness; the men learned to avoid -the camp-fires, for at any moment a deadly arrow might come hissing -from the darkness; horses and mules were killed and maimed; traps were -stolen constantly. - -“The loss of the traps crippled us,” said Kit, “and at the head of the -San Francisco, Mr. Clark split the party in two; only what you see -here continued on through the desert; the others took what pelts we’d -trapped and turned face about for New Mexico.” - -During all the talk of the company’s adventures and through the supper -which shortly followed, Kit Carson noticed that the two boys were -strangely silent. Now and then they showed an interest in what was said -by the trappers about them; but for the most part they sat looking -into the fire or talking in a low tone. But when the meal was done and -the men broke up into small knots about the fires, the two approached -the young trapper. They talked for a space upon different topics, and -finally, after some little hesitation, Dave Johnson said: - -“Being from Taos, you might know a half-breed Mexican named Lopez.” - -Kit Carson smiled. - -“Well,” said he, “seeing that half the Mexicans down that way are -half-breeds, it would be a hard way to pick a man. But the name Lopez -is not the same as Smith or Jones,” he added thoughtfully. “What kind -of a man is your half-breed for looks?” - -“Rather well made, wears rings in his ears and has a knife cut across -his left cheek.” - -A gleam of surprise came into Kit Carson’s face. - -“Has the man anything to do with your being here?” he asked. - -“He has,” said Joe Frazier. “We are in search of him.” - -“I thought something was wrong from the way he acted when I saw him at -noon.” - -“You saw him!” Both lads came to their feet, their rifles in their -hands. “Where?” - -“Sit down,” said the trapper, quietly. “Don’t get excited. It’ll do you -no good, for you couldn’t go looking for him to-night, anyway.” - -And as the boys resumed their seats on the bearskin, he went on. - -“I didn’t know this breed by the name of Lopez. I’d seen him often at -the trading posts and the Indians called him Spotted Snake. To-day as I -was riding back to camp here, with some small game that I’d been after, -I met him on a badly winded horse. I was surprised to see him so far -away from his usual hunting grounds. - -“‘Hello, Spotted Snake,’ says I to him. ‘What are you doing here?’ - -“At first he set out to make believe he didn’t know me and that I must -have made some kind of a mistake. But in a couple of minutes he saw -that it wouldn’t do, and climbed down to real facts. - -“‘You with some trappers?’ says he. - -“‘Young’s crowd,’ says I. - -“‘Does he want another man?’ he says. - -“Now I know that Spotted Snake is a good trapper, so I says to him: - -“‘Maybe.’ - -“‘Good,’ says he. And then: ‘Going away from here soon?’ - -“‘Not for a week,’ says I. - -“And with that,” said Kit Carson, his eyes on the boys, “he lost all -interest in joining us. A few hours later I saw him headed south with a -band of Pueblos and Mexicans who had been making ready for a big hunt.” - -There was a moment’s silence; then Dave Johnson asked: - -“What sort of a country is it to the south?” - -“Fine country if you stick to the water-courses. Lots of game; and,” as -an afterthought, “lots of redskins.” - -“To-morrow,” said Dave to his friend, “we’ll send the mule back to the -man we borrowed it from. Then we’ll each buy a horse and some other -things that we need, and we’ll be off to the southward after Lopez.” - -Kit Carson regarded the lads quizzically. - -“It’ll take a good trailer to follow that party with any chance of -overtaking them,” he said. “And outside that, it’s a mighty dangerous -thing for two people to get out there without anything to back ’em up. -The reds would gobble ’em quicker’n it takes to tell it.” He studied -them for a moment longer and then said quietly, “If the thing’s not too -much of a secret, let’s hear it. You’ve got a reason for wanting to -come up with Spotted Snake; and, who knows--maybe if it’s a good enough -one--I might be able to help you.” - -“It seems to me,” said Joe, sturdily, “every person we’ve met to-day -has to listen to our troubles. But I guess,” comically, “we’ll have to -saddle you with the story, too, Mr. Carson, if you’re to understand -how we came here and what we’re after.” - -“It has been all of six months ago,” spoke Dave, “though I’ve about -lost track of the time, that we left New Orleans in the bark ‘Gloria -Santos.’ She traded all along the coast until we came to Rio Janeiro; -then we shifted to the English square rigger ‘North Star,’ which -carried us around the Horn and to Valparaiso. At that city we got -passage on the trader ‘Gadfly,’ which worked along until we reached the -mouth of the Los Angeles River.” - -“You came alone on this trip?” asked the trapper. - -“No,” replied Joe. - -“That’s what I thought,” said Kit. “But go on.” - -“My father’s been thinking of making the voyage for the past five -years,” said Joe. “And he thought he’d wait until Dave and I were old -enough to join him. Dave and I are cousins, you see.” - -“But we never knew what his object was until we reached this coast,” -said Dave. “Then we found that he had a sort of map or plan of a -particular place on a California river, which had been given him by an -old seaman for whom he had done an important service while they served -under MacDonough on the Lakes in the last war with England.” - -“Plan of a place on a river, eh?” spoke Kit. “Well, I’ve trapped along -all these streams and while they’re good for beaver and other fur -bearing critters, still I don’t see anything about them that would take -a man all that way a-looking for them.” - -Dave glanced about at the groups of trappers as though to make sure -that he was not overheard; bending forward he whispered something in -Kit Carson’s ear. - -“No!” exclaimed the trapper, incredulously. - -Both boys nodded a vigorous affirmative. - -“The old seaman who gave my uncle the map,” said Dave, “had visited -the country years ago. He was sure that there were great quantities of -gold in the beds of all the streams. He was very old when my uncle met -him, and that is why he didn’t make the venture himself. The map was -made by him on a spot where he had seen the Indians washing out gold to -make ornaments.” - -“It may be so,” said Kit, slowly. “They find it just that way, I’m -told; so why not in California as well as any other place?” - -“The captain of the ‘Gadfly’ was short handed when we got to a village -down the coast, and he hired a Mexican and this half-breed, Lopez, to -help work the schooner. The Mexican deserted at the next stop, but -Lopez remained with us. In a little while we found why this was. Things -began to be missed. Two nights ago as I came on deck I found him lying -on his stomach looking down the open skylight into my uncle’s cabin. -There was a light burning in the cabin and my uncle sat at a table -with a small metal box before him, going over its contents. It was -in this box that he kept the map and his other valuables. I spoke to -Lopez; he got up, muttered something and walked away. This morning the -half-breed was missed; a half hour later the box was also discovered -to have disappeared. It took us only a moment to put the two things -together; then Joe and I put out on board the mule, looking for him.” - -“Your father didn’t join in the hunt?” said Kit to Joe, and there was -an inquiring note in his voice. - -“My father,” said Joe, “isn’t able to ride. He’s a cripple; lost his -right leg by a cannon shot at the engagement on Lake Champlain.” - -“I see,” said Kit. “And if the map was to be recovered, it was for you -two boys to do it.” There was a short silence; then the trapper spoke -again. “I see now why Spotted Snake was so anxious to get away from -this section as soon as he could.” Then inquiringly, “Is it your idea -that he took the box just because of the money value of the things in -it?” - -“He couldn’t have known of the map----” began Joe breathlessly. But the -trapper interrupted him. - -“Don’t be too sure of that,” said he. “You are never sure of what a -fellow like that knows. He goes sneaking about, peeping and listening, -and often he finds out more than he’s given credit for.” - -Dave was about to make a reply to this, when suddenly there was a -commotion in the darkness. The voice of one of the trappers posted to -the north of the camp as a guard was heard calling sharply: - -“Halt! Stand where you are!” - -Instantly the groups about the fires melted; each man seized the -ever ready rifle and fell back out of the red glow. The chief of the -trappers, Mr. Young, went forward, and voices were heard in a sort of -parley. Then the two boys saw the captain of the Pueblo advancing, a -half dozen of his soldiers at his back. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -THE TRAPPERS TAKE THE TRAIL - - -“Pardon!” cried the Mexican, jovially, as he advanced. “I hope I do not -intrude, gentlemen.” - -The chief of the trappers, who had approached the fires with him, bid -him welcome. - -“Sit down,” said Mr. Young. “Glad to see you.” - -The officer did so; and his men squatted within the circle of light, -blinking like so many owls and holding their muskets across their knees. - -“Soon you will be leaving the Pueblo,” said the captain. “I am sorry. -Not once have you accepted my hospitality.” - -The grizzled old trapper who had spoken to the boys when the company’s -venture was being related, laughed at this declaration when it was -translated. - -“Trouble with that Greaser is that he is too public in his -invitations,” grinned he. “If he wants to treat us so consarned bad, -why don’t he do it privately? I reckon nobody here’d refuse.” - -There was a laugh at this; and one of the Americans who spoke some -Spanish called to the captain across the firelight: - -“Very well, señor, if you want to be sociable, we’ll not discourage -you.” - -The Mexican smiled in an oily fashion and rubbed his thick, strong -hands. He spoke English very badly, but at once entered into a -conversation with some of the men. - -Kit Carson, who, with the two boys, had not returned to the camp-fire -at the officer’s approach, stood leaning upon his rifle, watching the -strangers. - -“Up to some of his games,” the lads heard him mutter. Then to them he -said: “Move quietly and follow me; I reckon I’ll be able to show you -the reason for the captain’s visit.” - -Softly he stole away westward from the camp, the boys following in his -steps; when about two hundred yards distant he made a détour toward the -south and after some little time paused. - -“I think the Greasers took this way when they approached,” said he. - -Then slowly he stepped along in the direction of the distant -firelight; the night was a moonless one, but the stars twinkled in the -light-colored sky and they were enabled to see without difficulty. -Quietly they paced along among the trees, until at length the trunk of -a giant cottonwood reared itself a little to one side. - -“Ah!” said the trapper, “I think I noticed that tree before.” - -They approached it; upon the far side it showed a large hollow at the -base. The long rifle barrel was poked into this and struck something -that gave out an unusual sound. - -“I thought so,” said Kit, and with that he put down his gun, reached -into the crevice and rolled out a heavy looking keg. - -“What is it?” asked the boys, in a breath. - -“Liquor!” replied the trapper. “And put here by that Greaser a while -ago. And before he leaves camp to-night he’ll see to it that our men -know where the stuff is hidden.” - -“But what is his object?” asked Joe, puzzled. - -There was a little pause; the trapper’s moccasined feet prodded the -keg; then he said: - -“You see, all this region is claimed by the Mexican government. A -license is needed to hunt and trap hereabout. And they refused to grant -one to an American. When we reached here the captain undertook to -arrest us, but we showed fight. Ever since then he’s been trying to -get our fellows intoxicated; once let him succeed, and the rest will be -easy for him.” - -[Illustration: “WHAT IS IT?” ASKED THE BOYS] - -He drew a heavy, short-handled hatchet from his belt. With one blow the -head of the keg was stove in; the strong liquor rushed out and sank -into the ground. - -“And so,” said Kit, humorously, replacing the hatchet in his belt, -“there’s that to set against the captain’s little game. There’s not -enough left to make even a tarantula feel lively.” - -They took the same way back to camp; no one had missed them; and they -found the Mexican officer all smiles and ready to leave. - -“Good-night, Señor Young,” he was saying to the leader of the trappers, -as he shook his hand. “Good-night and pleasant dreams. To-morrow, in -the morning, I will come again.” He said this with an unpleasant smile -which made Kit Carson nudge Dave Johnson meaningly. “In the morning I -will come again; and from then on, señor, I hope to see much more of -you.” - -“Good-night,” said Young. - -The Mexican hitched his sword belt into a more comfortable position. - -“Good-night, gentlemen,” said he, with a wave of his hand to the -trappers. “You are all brave fellows; and like brave fellows the whole -world over, you accept all that circumstances put in your hands.” - -As this was put into English for them by the comrade who knew Spanish, -the men laughed and exchanged mysterious nods and winks. - -“You see,” said Kit, “he’s got them primed to fall into his trap. And -they’d do it as sure as shooting--if”--and he laughed softly--“the trap -was not already sprung.” - -With a final wave of the hand, the Mexican officer strode away followed -by his men; and no sooner had he disappeared than Kit was at the side -of his employer telling of the plot. Mr. Young’s face grew dark with -anger. - -“I’d like to repay him for that,” said he. “But,” with a gesture, -“what’s the use? I suppose, after all, it’s his way of doing his duty.” -Then with sudden resolve, “There will be a constant danger of that kind -all the time we are here; so at sunrise to-morrow we break camp and -head for the Gila River.” - -As the leader turned away, Kit Carson turned swiftly to the boys. - -“And, so there you are!” said he. “You have the luck with you, boys. -It’s the best chance that could turn up. Come with us and you’ll be -following right in the trail of Spotted Snake.” - -“But my father,” cried Joe, as he caught his breath. - -“We’ve got an Indian boy here that’s been hanging around camp,” said -Kit. “He’s to be trusted. Send him back with your mule, and also write -a message to your father. Tell him to come ashore and hire a couple -of Pueblo Indians to carry him in to the Mission of San Gabriel. The -priests will look after him; they have good food and he’ll be safe.” - -“But,” said Dave, “couldn’t we start for the coast now and make -arrangements with him in person? It’s only a little more than thirty -miles there and back. We could make camp again by sunrise.” - -This seemed to strike Kit as a good notion; he sought out Mr. Young and -put the case of the boys before him. The chief trapper nodded, slowly. - -“I don’t like the idea of greenhorns,” said he. “And then we’re out to -catch fur, and not to trail thieving half-breeds. But if the thing’s -important and there’s no other way of doing it, all right.” - -“Well,” said Kit, to the boys, “as there isn’t any time to lose, -let’s see to your mounts.” He led them to the place where the horses -were picketed; the animals lifted their heads at the approach of the -trapper; some snorted and pawed the ground as though anxious to be -off on the trail once more. Mr. Young pointed to a pair of fair sized -mustangs which stood side by side. - -“They ought to do,” said he. “They are sound, not excitable and have -speed.” - -“Couldn’t have made a better pick if you’d gone over the entire lot,” -said Kit, approvingly. - -“But won’t we be depriving some one of a mount?” asked Joe. - -“Horses are plenty in this country; and cheap, too. You can have these -for the price we pay for the ones we buy to replace them.” - -This was eagerly agreed to; there was little more said; the mustangs -were led out, bridled and saddled; and the boys, good riders both, -swung themselves upon their backs. - -“By daylight,” cried Dave, as he waved his hand. - -“And if we’re a little late,” called Joe, his impatient mount prancing -under him, “we’ll try and pick up your trail.” - -“Good lads,” laughed Kit Carson; and then with another salute they were -gone into the darkness. - -A strong guard of trusty men was kept about the trappers’ camp that -night; Mr. Young was an experienced frontiersman and so took no chances -with an enemy of the Mexican captain’s type. No one was permitted to -leave camp for fear that the keg discovered by Kit was not the only -one “planted” by the cunning official. At the first streak of dawn the -trappers were astir; breakfast was cooked, traps and other equipment -packed upon the horses used for that purpose, and everything was ready -for the start. - -“Looks as though our young friends were going to fail us,” spoke Mr. -Young. “If they do, I’m out the price of two good ponies.” - -“They’ll not fail unless something happened them on the way,” said Kit -Carson, who had taken a fancy to the cousins. “They are a clean-looking -pair, and I think I’d back them to do more than hold to a bargain.” - -The trappers, with their packhorses in the center of the column, moved -off down the Indian trail; they had gotten entirely out of sight of -the Pueblo of Los Angeles, when a distant shout caught the ear of Kit -Carson; his sharp eye swept the hills which rose about them; across a -ridge to the north two horsemen were coming like the wind. - -The trapper wheeled his mustang and dashed back; the newcomers were -Dave and Joe, weary and sore from the unaccustomed labor of the night, -but both game and willing, for all. - -“It was all right,” proclaimed Joe, delightedly. “Dad didn’t take to -the thing at first, but we had him talked over in half an hour. The -captain of the schooner knows a priest at San Gabriel; they are going -to get a party of the mission Indians with ponies and a litter as you -suggested; and he’ll stay at the mission till we return, or he hears -from us.” - -The cavalcade reached the Mission of San Gabriel in the afternoon. This -mission was the most wonderful sight in the Californias of that period. -It had farming land stretching for miles about, tilled by the thousand -Indians which it maintained; over its ranges wandered seventy-five -thousand head of cattle, also huge herds of horses, mules and sheep. -Mr. Young had no difficulty in replacing the ponies sold to the boys; -horse-flesh was low as he had said, and, especially at San Gabriel, -very plenty. - -Kit Carson earned the friendship of a young Pueblo, loafing on the -steps of the mission building, by presenting him with a small trinket. - -“Some Mexicans and Indians went through here yesterday,” said he. - -“Trap!” said the youthful savage, laconically. “Much hunt on Gila -River.” - -“A man was with them--much cut on face,” and the trapper illustrated -the character of the scar. - -The young Indian nodded. - -“Big cut!” agreed he. “Long time ago.” - -Kit nodded to the boys as they turned and rode after their party. - -“We’re right behind them! If we have good luck, Lopez, or Spotted -Snake, as we called him in Taos, will be where we can get our hands on -him by sundown to-morrow.” - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -INDIAN SIGNS--AND INDIANS! - - -That night the trappers camped upon the banks of a small stream; their -supper was of game shot during the day and corn-cakes made from the -meal in one of the packs. - -Both boys noticed that much care was taken as to the picketing of the -horses, also a guard was placed over them. The camp was laid out with a -plain regard for defense as well as for comfort. - -“You never can tell in the wilderness just what is going to happen,” -said Kit Carson, in answer to a question of Joe’s. “The Pueblo Indians -are mostly a mild lot, and never go upon the war-path; and the other -redskins are too well fed around the mission to make trouble. But war -parties of one nation or another are apt to be met with any time.” - -The trappers placed their saddle pads on the ground and threw their -blankets over them; these, with saddles at one end for pillows, were -their bed. The boys followed their example. - -“But keep yourself out of the firelight,” warned Kit. “It’s a dangerous -habit to get into, this hanging around the camp-fire. And always keep -your rifle where you can reach it the first grab. Seconds count in a -night rush of these copper-colored varmints; so always fix yourself -right before you go to sleep.” - -The men talked and smoked their pipes about the fire for an hour or -two after supper; then, after a guard had been set, they, one by one, -rolled themselves in their blankets and soon were asleep. For some -time, however, the boys lay awake; the crackling of the logs on the -fires, the stamping of the horses, and the stirring of the breeze in -the trees was new to them; and then from the hills and the forests the -faint voice of the wilderness called to them as it calls to every one, -telling of its rushing rivers, its trackless wastes, its splendid game, -its breathless dangers. And, also, somewhere ahead was Spotted Snake, -and as they grew heavy eyed and slow of thought, they seemed to realize -for the first time what the pursuit of him in such a region as this -might mean; months might go by without a sight of him, and many and -nameless perils might be met by the way. - -At dawn on the following day the camp was astir; breakfast was cooked -and eaten, packs were adjusted and made fast; then the party mounted -and began the day’s journey. It was a picturesque cavalcade; each man -led or rode beside a packhorse or mule; across his back was slung -his rifle, in his belt was his hunting knife, his whetstone and his -hatchet; his clothing was of soft buckskin, fringed and ornamented -with porcupine quills, dyed in many and brilliant colors. - -The country through which they passed was an ever changing one; streams -were crossed; paths were forced through green ravines; mountainsides -were conquered; thick woods were encountered everywhere. - -Toward the middle of the day the boys found themselves riding ahead of -the trapper company, with Kit Carson; after a time he grew silent and -seemed to be studying the ground as they went along. At length he drew -in his pony and waited until Mr. Young came up. - -“The signs say that a company of trappers went over this route not long -ago,” he said to his chief. “And I think it might be Spotted Snake and -the party he engaged with.” - -“Like as not,” replied the other, his eyes searching the ground. - -“The trail leads away to the left a little piece on,” observed Kit. “I -think I’ll have a look at it with the boys. We’ll bring up with you in -a little while.” - -Upon a nod from Mr. Young he rode forward, the two eager lads at -his side; they also studied the ground; hoof marks there were to a -certainty; but what told Kit they had been made by a trapping party, -they were puzzled to know. - -“It’s plain enough,” said the young man when Joe had put the question -to him. “Each man in the party rode a pony and led a pack-mule; no -other party but a trapper’s is ever made up like that.” - -Off to the left they turned, following the trail as it led toward a -distant range of hills. - -“It’s rather a peculiar move,” spoke Kit after a time; “and no -direction for a company to take which aims to trap on the Gila River.” - -For a full hour they rode in the track of the strange preceding -expedition; they had reached a section covered by small knolls or -hillocks, some crowned by growths of dwarfed trees, others bald and -desolate. Suddenly Kit Carson reined in his pony and swung himself from -the saddle; without waiting to be told, both boys did the same. They -quickly led their mounts behind one of the knolls; and when the trapper -halted, Dave Johnson asked: - -“What is it?” - -“Tie up your mustangs,” was the only reply. - -The boys did so; then, following the cautious example of the trapper, -they scrambled up the steep sides of the hillock; it was one of those -upon which the dwarf trees grew so thickly; they lay among these and -looked toward the east. - -“Take a steady look now, off toward the southeast,” said Kit, one hand -pointing in that direction. “Do you see a hill which looks something -like a horse’s head--right against the sky?” - -The thick mass of dark growth which topped a distant knoll was -unmistakable; and both lads replied in a breath. - -“Yes!” - -“Well, strike a line to the left again--on a hill farther away--a bald -hill something higher than the others.” - -Joe Frazier was the first to catch the object indicated. - -“A horseman,” said he. - -“An Indian!” cried Dave Johnson, an instant later, and with a keener -vision. - -“An Indian it is,” spoke the trapper, his eyes holding to the distant -figure. - -There was something in his manner which caught the attention of the -boys. - -“There were Indians a-plenty back at San Gabriel and at the Pueblo,” -said Joe, “but you did not pay much attention to them.” - -Kit Carson smiled. - -“No,” said he, quietly. “Those redskins didn’t call for much attention. -But this is one of a very different kind. You never catch his sort -planting or plowing or tending cattle; he’s a warrior, and if you were -close enough to him I think you’d find that he is armed with lance, bow -and arrow and tomahawk.” - -The savage horseman was so far away that he made but a tiny speck -against the sky; but for all that he was an ominous figure in that -desolate land, a sort of symbol of the danger it held for the intruding -paleface and an unspoken threat of what would befall if he dared to -press further into a region never meant for him. - -For some time the warrior sat his horse in perfect stillness; it was as -though he were surveying the country round about for signs of danger, -or, more probably, for signs of prey. Then he suddenly turned his horse -and disappeared from the summit of the knoll. - -The three mounted once more and continued in the trail they had been -following; the boys noted that the trapper looked at the priming of -his rifle, and they did the same. They had no notion of what to expect -ahead; but that their guide considered it more or less serious was -plain. Another hour went by; then they reached the bald hillock upon -which they had seen the solitary brave. In a hollow about a hundred -yards away was the remains of a large camp, the fires of which were -still smouldering; all about it the ground was trampled by the hoofs of -hundreds of horses. From the top of the hillock Kit Carson studied the -scene. - -“There must have been four or five hundred redskins camped here up to a -few hours ago,” said he. “The brave we saw was about the last to leave.” - -“But the trappers with Lopez, or Spotted Snake, are among them,” said -Joe. “They have walked right into a trap, for their trail leads into -the Indian camp.” - -But the trapper shook his head. - -“There were Indians and half-breeds in that company of trappers,” he -said, “and they are mostly on good terms with the others of their kind. -And the fact that they left the track that would have taken them to -their hunting grounds, and took one leading straight to the big redskin -camp, shows that they knew of it and made for it of their own accord.” - -“But why?” asked Dave. - -The trapper shook his head. - -“I don’t know,” said he. “There may be a thousand reasons for it; but -we’d never guess one of them, like as not, if we tried for a month.” - -They spent a few minutes examining the Indian camp; then they rode back -at a smart pace until they struck the trail of their own party. When -this was overtaken it was found to be encamped for the night. - -After supper, Dave and Joe noticed Kit in earnest conversation with -the chief trapper. The two men talked in low tones, but now and then -the boys caught a disconnected word. “Indian” was one of frequent -occurrence, “war party,” “trail,” and such fragments gave them -something of the color of the conversation. - -“They seem to think that there’s danger in the air,” said Joe in a -whisper. - -The two, having in mind Kit’s warning, sat beyond range of the -firelight; the trappers were as usual gathered in groups; a vigilant -guard was stationed off in the darkness upon each side of the camp. - -“I suppose it’s the size of the Indian party,” spoke Dave to Joe. “Here -there’s only a score of us; what chance should we have against, say -five hundred, if they made up their minds to attack us?” - -“Not much, I guess,” replied Joe, soberly. “But, after all,” with a -hopeful note in his voice, “it’s not likely that the redskins know -we’re around. And their trail as they left their camp led directly away -from us. I noticed that particularly.” - -However, the trappers’ camp was one of precautions that night; the -horses were not only picketed, but hobbled as well to prevent a -stampede. - -“That’s a fav’rite little game with the reds,” the grizzled old -trapper, whose name was Matthews, informed Dave. “You see, we couldn’t -get along without horses to carry our camp stuff and traps and pelts; -so if they can scare the critters and set ’em off wild with fright, -they’ve broke up our trip and got us at their mercy.” - -But the night passed peacefully enough, as did the next and the next. -Nine days after leaving Los Angeles, the company sighted the Colorado -River. All thought, or all fear at least, of redskins had left the -trappers; a camp was pitched near the river and the traps were made -ready for an operation against the beaver. - -“I’ll send a party of seven up-stream and the same number down,” said -Mr. Young on their first night on the Colorado. “The others with the -two boys I’ll leave with you to guard the camp.” - -“Right,” said Kit Carson, quietly. - -Next morning the parties, taking a few of the horses, set out to range -the river according to the leader’s plans. When they had gone, Kit, -with the help of old Matthews, the boys and the two other men left -behind, picketed the horses upon one side of the camp; the small bales -of fur were built up in a complete circle, forming a sort of breastwork. - -“An arrow would never get through these bundles of pelts,” said Kit as -he regarded the “walls” of the camp with critical approval. “Even a -bullet would have something of a job doing it.” - -Everything belonging to the expedition, except the horses, was brought -into the circle of hides. This had scarcely been done when the camp was -startled by a sudden shout from old Zeke Matthews. He had been seeing -to the mules, and now ran toward the enclosure, his rifle ready in his -hands. - -“Injuns!” he shouted. “A whole tribe of them!” - -Startled, the little party leaped upon the rampart of hides. Advancing -at a slow, swinging gallop across the soft turf that stretched away -from the river was a perfect cloud of redskins. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -WHITE VERSUS RED ON THE COLORADO - - -The feathered head-dress of many colors waved gaily above the advancing -braves; the streamers of their long lances danced in the breeze; their -lithe ponies covered the ground in cat-like leaps. - -“Not a war party!” said Kit Carson, as he eyed the horde keenly. “But -that makes little difference in this country; they use the Mexicans -they come upon much as they please--rob them--make them prisoners, or -turn them adrift unarmed. Sometimes even worse has happened.” - -“Well,” said old Zeke, grimly, as he looked to the priming of his -rifle, “we ain’t Mexicans, and I reckon there’ll be nothing like that -happen here.” - -With one accord, as they reached a point within a hundred yards of -the camp, the Indians threw their mounts back upon their haunches and -leaped to the ground; then about a dozen of them came forward, signaled -the whites, and with much ostentation laid aside knife and tomahawk, -long bow and quivers of arrows. Then with upraised hands and every -gesture of good-will used by the red men upon such occasions, they came -toward the fort. As no protest came from Kit Carson, old Zeke Matthews -looked at him with eyes of wonder. - -“I say, Kit,” said he, “when do you reckon it’ll be time to wave them -varmints back?” - -The other shook his head. - -“I’m thinking of letting them come in,” said he. - -The old trapper’s eyes grew bigger than ever. - -“Wal,” said he, “I’ve lived most of my life with Injuns near at hand; -but I ain’t never got so as I could trust ’em. These braves look as if -butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths; but give ’em a chance and they’ll -have their scalping knives at work amongst us, quicker’n you could say -Jack Robinson.” - -“I think,” said Kit Carson, to the boys, “this is the band our friend -Spotted Snake and his friends joined some days ago. If it is, we may -have a chance of getting back your map. And if it isn’t, why, we’ll try -to see that no harm is done, anyway.” - -The half dozen or so redskins who formed the “talk” party were now -close at hand; Kit called to them to halt, and spoke to them in one of -the several Indian dialects which he knew. In after years this great -frontiersman could hold a conversation in their own language with any -of the nations which roamed the plains. He was but twenty years of age -during the trapping venture of Ewing Young to the Californias, and so -had not become as familiar with the red men as was the case later. - -And so when the “talk” party failed to understand him, he tried them -in another tongue. This too failed; and so he invited them within the -enclosure so that he might converse with them in the sign language -which almost all Indians know. A tall brave, evidently a chief, was the -first to enter the fort; he was a sullen-browed fellow enough, flat -nosed, and with a face pitted by smallpox. But he gestured his perfect -good-will, as did his companions, holding out their empty hands to show -that they were unarmed. - -Curiously they inspected the enclosure; the great quantity of furs -plainly interested them; the pack-mules, the arms and camp equipment -excited nods and grunts of appreciation. - -Kit was engaged with the chief, endeavoring to make him understand his -signs; the savage comprehended slowly, his mind apparently being more -given to the treasures of the camp than what the trapper was saying to -him. As Kit was asking for information with regard to Spotted Snake, -both Joe and Dave were eagerly interested, watching the signs and -trying to interpret the chief’s replies. - -In a little while the trapper felt a hand placed upon his fringed -sleeve; looking around he saw Zeke Matthews at his side. - -“Judging from the indications,” spoke the old trapper, “I reckon this -here chief don’t know English. And that being the case, I make bold to -tell you in that language that there’s about forty more of them come -inside the fort since you began to talk.” - -That the men would admit any more of the savages to the enclosure, -or even allow them to approach the wall, had never occurred to Kit; -however, now that he was aware that they had done so, he showed no -signs of haste or alarm. His quiet gray eyes ran around among the -Indians who had adroitly wormed their way within the circle of pelts; -coolly he took in all the details of the scene; calmly he gauged its -possibilities. - -The savages, grinning and with growing aggressiveness, were thronging -up and down within the little enclosure; a second glance showed the -trapper that though the “talk” party may have entered unarmed, the -others had only made the appearance of doing so. Under their clothes -they carried hatchet and knife, sure testimony of their intentions. The -swift, cool brain of the young trapper took in this fact and valued it -properly in an instant; and almost as quickly his plans were made to -meet the peril. - -The odds were overwhelming; within the fort there were ten redskins to -each white man; in all, the savages outnumbered the hunters almost a -hundred to one. But this fact had little effect upon Kit Carson; his -arrangements were as quiet and methodical as they would have been had -the numbers been equal. - -“Go quietly among the men,” said he to old Zeke. “Get them over here -with all their arms; but, whatever you do, don’t let the bucks get an -idea of what’s going on.” - -The veteran trapper nodded and leisurely made his way through the -throng of savages. - -“It looks bad,” said Dave Johnson. “There’s enough of them to crush us -into the ground just by sheer weight.” - -Kit Carson nodded. - -“If they were white men,” said he, “there wouldn’t be anything to do -but wait till we were sure of what they were going to do--and then -surrender. But, they being Indians, the thing’s something different. -Redskins will never take a chance with death, and that’s a fact that’s -saved the lives of many a band of trappers. Let them be sure that some -of them are to die, and they’ll begin to play ’possum. Their style of -fighting is to always have the upper hand. Otherwise there’s no fight.” - -Old Zeke passed the word calmly to his comrades; and one at a time the -men sauntered across the circle and joined Kit and the boys. It was as -though they had no object in the movement except to dawdle about, talk, -and encourage their visitors to make themselves at home. When all six -of the whites were finally together, rifles in hand, alert and ready -for the desperate chance which meant life or death to them all, Kit -Carson said quietly: - -“Now, boys, when I give the word, each pick out a head man and cover -him with your rifle. I’ll take the chief with pock-marked face. At the -slightest movement that looks like resistance--fire!” - -The men nodded; the steady gripping of the rifle stocks alone told of -their purpose; their thumbs were on the triggers; their eyes were upon -the redskins. Then Kit’s soft, drawling voice said: - -“Now!” - -As he spoke his rifle came to a level, the muzzle within a few feet of -the stalwart chief; the three trappers and the two boys followed his -example; each of the grim black tubes stared a savage in the face. - -With dismay the Indians fell back into a huddled mass at one side; not -for an instant did the long rifles waver; in the barrel of each was a -messenger which meant death; they knew the deadly aim of the palefaces -of the border and that they seldom missed their mark. The chief with -the pitted face now found a fund of halting Spanish, and he addressed -the trappers. - -“We come as friends! Are not the white men our brothers?” - -With his cheek against the stock of his rifle and his gray eye glancing -down the barrel, Kit Carson replied: - -“Leave this camp! And leave it at once. Stay and you are all dead men.” - -There was an instant’s pause--an instant full of suspense; then the -chief spoke to his braves. They made no answer, but gathered their gay -colored robes about them and sullenly filed out of the little fort; and -they never paused or looked behind until they were safely out of rifle -shot. - -“There will be a grand pow-wow,” said Kit, as they watched the great -band of savages join those just expelled from the fort. “And if the -chief who spoke has the say, I wouldn’t wonder if we had a little fight -on our hands before sunrise. He had fire in his eye as he left.” - -One by one a chief or head man harangued the redskins; suddenly there -was a chorus of shrill yells and a scattering for their ponies; then, -mounted, they formed a half circle, and with lances held high and bows -ready for deadly work, they sat facing the camp of the whites like so -many graven images. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -TWO NIGHTS OF DANGER - - -At sight of the great array of armed and mounted savages facing the -little fort, the two lads from the East felt that sinking sensation -which usually comes to those not bred to physical danger. At the crisis -within the camp neither had felt the slightest fear; the thing was so -sudden and so desperate that they had no time to think of themselves. - -But this new situation was different; their minds had time to grasp the -consequence of the attack and they felt uneasy. It is probable that Kit -Carson understood something of what they were feeling; more than likely -he had once gone through it himself; at any rate, he said: - -“This doesn’t mean much, lads; the reds are going to run rings around -us, maybe, and do a little fancy shooting. But they’ll keep out of -range of our guns, and so, of course, we’ll be out of reach of their -bows. They are great fellows for that kind of exhibition.” - -But Kit was mistaken. Instead of making the attack expected, a man -rode out the half circle of horsemen and approached the camp--one hand -uplifted, the palm toward the whites. - -“It seems to me,” said Kit, his eyes upon the horseman, “I know that -gentleman.” - -Dave Johnson uttered a cry. - -“It’s Lopez!” exclaimed he. - -“Down, lads, behind the wall; don’t let him see you; I’ll palaver him -and maybe strike some kind of a bargain for your property.” - -Accordingly the boys crouched behind the bales of pelts; Lopez advanced -easily upon his pony until he was within a dozen yards of the camp. -Then he drew rein and sat grinning amiably at the trappers. - -“Well, Spotted Snake,” said Kit Carson, leaning upon his rifle and -quietly surveying the half-breed, “how is it I find you in company with -a band of hostiles?” - -Spotted Snake grinned more widely than ever. - -“They are not hostiles,” he said, in Spanish. “Very good Indians. Mean -no harm. You got frightened.” - -“They may be very good redskins, as you say,” replied Kit; “but good or -bad I’d rather not have many of them around with hatchets and scalping -knives hidden in their blankets.” - -The half-breed laughed. - -“They didn’t know you’d take anything they did in bad part,” said he. -“They are not used to dealing with white men, and so don’t know their -ways.” - -Kit pointed to the crescent of armed warriors facing the camp. - -“I suppose that, too, is a sign of good-will,” said he. - -“Red Cloud is a big chief,” said the half-breed, “and he is very angry -at the way you’ve treated him. He’s mounted his men and put them in -fighting formation just to show you what he would look like if he -really wanted to do you harm. He told me to tell you that his five -hundred braves would dash over you as the waters of a mountain stream -dash over the rocks in the time of freshets.” - -“You’ve lived long enough among whites and have enough white blood in -you, Spotted Snake, to know that talk of that sort won’t carry very -far. If Red Cloud wants to see how far his young men can dash over us -let him have them try it on. We can guarantee him twenty-five dead, and -himself among them.” - -The half-breed grinned and nodded. - -“I’ve told him that already,” said he. “But he was bound to have me -come and ‘make talk.’ If he could have scared you in the first place -your furs, traps, horses and rifles would have satisfied him, I think. -He’s not a half bad sort of fellow when you come to know him.” - -“A while ago I asked you how you came to be in company with this band,” -said Kit. “I don’t think you answered me.” - -“The trapping party I went out with fell in with them about ten days -ago. They made us a good offer of pelts if we’d join them in a big -buffalo hunt, they not having any rifles. As it was good business, the -chief trapper agreed.” - -“The last time I saw you was at Taos,” said Kit. “How is it I find you -away up here?” - -“I got out on the coast,” said the half-breed, “and joined a ship. But -the work was too hard,” with his ever present grin. “I left them at Los -Angeles.” - -“Ah! you were the fellow, then,” spoke the trapper as though surprised. -“I heard about your desertion.” - -“You heard?” and even from that distance Kit saw the man’s lids narrow -into slits through which his sharp eyes peered. - -“A couple of the ship people were looking for you; they hinted that -you’d sort of clung to some property which wasn’t altogether yours, -when you left.” - -The half-breed nodded. - -“They told you that, eh? Well, maybe it was true and maybe it wasn’t. -But, anyway, I’m not sorry for my little voyage on the sea; it promises -to be something that will pay very well; and that’s the kind of thing -Manuel Lopez is looking for these days.” - -“Suppose,” said the trapper, “the ship people were willing to pay -something down for what was taken. Would you consider it?” - -Lopez, or Spotted Snake, snapped his fingers airily. - -“This is a thing that could hardly be paid for,” he said. “It’s only a -chance, of course, but it’s such a big one that ready money is not much -temptation.” - -“It happens that the folks who lost this property on the ship are -friends of mine,” said Kit. “And being friends, I’m willing to help -them out. Maybe, if money can’t buy back the things you’ve stolen, lead -can.” - -As he spoke he threw forward his rifle, the stock against his hip, the -muzzle covering the half-breed. But the latter calmly sat his horse and -looked at the trapper. - -“Don’t forget,” said he, “I came here under what the Indians regard as -a flag of truce; don’t forget that I am their spokesman, and that if -anything happens to me they will take their revenge.” - -This result was very well understood by Kit; to shoot or otherwise harm -a man sent forward to parley by the savages was a very great indignity -and one which would excite them to the limits of their fury. But that -he held the matter at all seriously was kept hidden from Lopez. - -“You saw us drive them out of camp a while ago,” said he, coolly; “that -ought to have shown you how much we fear them.” - -“Another thing,” said the half-breed, equally calm, “even if I had -taken the things you speak of, would I be so great a fool as to carry -them about with me? If they were of value, wouldn’t I have cached them -somewhere along the trail?” - -Kit Carson knew that Spotted Snake was a cunning, covetous fellow, -brave and willing to go a long way to carry out his desires. As the -matter stood, he feared that he had spoiled any chance that the boys -might have had to recover the map, by putting the man on his guard. He -was considering what he had best do under the circumstances, when the -half-breed shook his rein and rode nearer the barrier. - -“In Santa Fé,” said he, “there is an old man by the name of Diaz--Goat -Beard, the Indians call him. He keeps a storeroom at one side of the -town, buys furs and sells goods of all sorts to the Indians.” - -“I know him,” said the trapper. “An old rascal.” - -Lopez grinned. - -“Maybe,” said he. “But he is very useful at times. He has often -transacted little matters of business for me in a very capable way.” - -The trapper got a glimmer of the man’s meaning, but more by his manner -than his words. He nodded, as though he understood; but he said nothing. - -“Maybe,” proceeded the half-breed, “if you were to go to old Diaz -during the summer when the trapping season is done, some arrangements -could be made in any matter that you care to speak of.” - -Again the trapper nodded. - -“California is a fine country; but I don’t care as much for it as I do -for New Mexico,” said Lopez. “And, then, trapping is my business and -not----” but he stopped short, as though not willing to commit himself -to anything that would definitely incriminate him. “Anyway,” he -continued, “look for old Diaz in the hot months; he may have something -to say to you.” - -Here he wheeled his horse, calling over his shoulder: - -“And remember, Red Cloud is a friend to the paleface. His brother does -him wrong when he thinks Red Cloud means anything but good feeling.” - -The spotted pony which the man rode raced back to the solid crescent -of braves. Whatever Lopez reported had the effect of dismounting them; -they picketed their horses and went into camp, outside the range of the -white man’s fire. - -The fire at which the supper of the six was cooked after nightfall was -masked so that the light might not attract a flight of arrows from any -of the bucks who might be lurking in the darkness. The horses were well -within rifle shot and were hobbled so that to stampede them would be -impossible. However, a guard was kept over them; and during the night -not more than one of the whites slept at a time. - -Morning dawned, and they saw the smoke ascending from the redskins’ -camp-fires; apparently the warriors had remained all night as they -had been at sunset. During the day Red Cloud and one of his braves -visited the fort and were admitted; the chief in his halting Spanish -protested the utmost friendship; but all the time the whites noted his -evil little eyes coveting everything he saw in the camp, and so their -suspicions were not abated. The second night passed much as the first; -the little party did not dare sleep, for there was no telling at what -moment the quiet of the night would be broken by the yells of the red -horde, a sleet of arrows, and the leaping of demon figures over the -barricade. At the beginning of the second day there was a stir in the -Indian camp; preparations were being made for a movement of some sort. - -“They mean either an attack, or to break camp,” said Kit Carson, as he -watched them for a space. “I am not sure which.” - -The braves swung themselves upon the backs of the ponies, fully armed -as before; in a sweeping line they faced the little fort, the ponies -snorting and prancing, the grim riders as still as death. - -“Fire when they reach a distance of seventy-five yards,” said Kit, -resting his rifle barrel upon the wall of furs, and throwing himself -upon the ground. “You’ll then have time to reload. And make every shot -tell.” - -The five remaining rifles were also rested upon the wall, and the -five riflemen sought cover behind it. The air was charged with the -electricity of a coming struggle; and when the very moment seemed -to have arrived, there was a shout from the river, the sound of -hoof-beats, and up dashed the chief trapper, Young, and his six -buckskinned followers. At the sight of these reinforcements the -redskins fell into a sort of confusion. And while this lasted Kit -explained the situation to Young. - -“I don’t think they’ll make any movement against us now,” said the head -trapper. “What do you say?” - -“I think you’re right,” replied Kit Carson. “If they took two days to -make up their minds to tackle six men, it’ll take ’em a week to get to -the point of facing twice that many.” - -“Well, by that time,” said Young, grimly, “there will be still more of -us; for I mean to break camp, move down the stream, pick up the rest of -the boys and then strike for the Gila.” - -Half the party set to work, adjusting the bundles of pelts upon the -backs of the mules; the remainder, with ready rifles, watched the -Indians. When everything was in marching shape the trappers started -along the river bank. The band of savages followed in their track -during the entire day; but one by one the remaining trappers were -picked up; and when at last the sun went down it showed the hostile -band encamped upon a hillside not more than a half mile away. But now -instead of six there were a full score of deadly rifles between them -and their prey. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -HOW THE TRAPPERS RETALIATED - - -The Indian band lighted large fires upon the hillside that night; -the tall figures of the braves could be seen flitting to and fro in -mysterious activity. The trappers watched the unusual spectacle for -quite a long time without comment. - -“They are fixing up some kind of a disagreeableness for us,” spoke old -Zeke Matthews, at length. “And I opine, Cap’n Young, that I’d better -take a little scout out in that direction and see what it is.” - -“All right,” said the head trapper. “If you care to take the risk, -Zeke, go ahead. But I’m not asking you to do it, mind you.” - -“I’m going to do this little pilgrimage for my own private amusement,” -said the veteran, humorously. “I always did get a lot of fun out of a -passel of redskins when they were getting downright serious at their -work.” - -He took up his rifle; and a heavy pistol was stuck in his belt. Then he -crept out of camp and away into the darkness. - -Two hours had elapsed when he returned. He put down his gun and warmed -his bony hands at the cheerful blaze. - -“The varmints are having a mighty interesting time of it,” he said. -“That’s a council fire you see blazing up there on the hill; and -they’re sitting all around it, smoking their pipes and making speeches -to each other. Old Red Cloud is anxious to get his hands on our outfit, -I guess; but his braves want to see their way to getting it without -being hurt.” - -“Council, eh?” said the chief trapper. “Well, we’ll have some kind of -action before long. It will be either one thing or the other.” - -A powerful guard was placed all about the camp; but the night went by -without any hostile sound from that of the Indians’; toward dawn the -council fire upon the hillside died down; when the sun finally showed -its great, round, red face over the top of a distant mountain, the -whites, to their astonishment and relief, saw the camping ground of the -foes deserted. Not a savage was to be seen anywhere. - -“It was a good council!” spoke Kit Carson, grimly. “Either Red Cloud is -a wise chief, or his young men have good eyes for danger.” - -But there was no trusting the red men, who were known to be cunning -foes; a party of the trappers set out upon their trail and followed it -for some hours. There was no sign, by the end of that time, that the -retreat was a ruse; so the trailers returned to camp. The mules were -burdened with their packs of furs and camp equipment once more, and -again the outfit moved down the river. - -“It seems a hardship to move away from the place where I know Lopez to -be,” said Dave Johnson to Kit, as they rode side by side. - -“I feel the same way,” said Joe Frazier. “In the last hour I’ve had -it on my tongue a dozen times to say to you: ‘Let’s stay where we are -until we make that rascally half-breed give up his plunder.’” - -Kit Carson shook his head. - -“I understand just how it is, I think,” said he. “But to stay behind -here, just the two of you, would be to throw your lives away.” He -regarded them seriously for a moment, and then continued: “I’ve been -thinking over this little affair of yours, and about what Spotted Snake -had to say; and I’ve made up my mind that the best thing you both could -do would be to go right on to Santa Fé.” Again he paused for a moment, -then continued: “Your father’d be willing to pay a little to have this -map returned, wouldn’t he?” - -“Yes,” said Joe. “That is, if we couldn’t get it any other way.” - -The trapper laughed. - -“Of course,” he said. “And we’ll try that other way first. I think it -is wrong to knuckle down to the half-breed’s demands. But Santa Fé is -the place to get in touch with him again, one way or the other; and I -think you can ease your mind and leave this section, knowing that it’s -the best thing you can do.” - -This sounded like logic to the boys; and so they put all uneasy -thoughts behind them, and gave themselves up to the labor and -excitements of the trappers’ life. Day by day the expedition continued -down the Colorado, setting their traps and reaping a big harvest -of beaver fur. When they reached tide-water they changed the scene -of their efforts to the Gila River, which enters the Colorado at -about this point; and they trapped along the Gila day after day with -wonderful success until they came to the mouth of the San Pedro. - -At this point the saddle-horses of the trappers had been pressed into -service to carry the treasure of furs. So fortunate had the trappers -been that with hundreds of miles of stream before them they had already -reached their transporting capacity. - -“It is a hardship for us to have to let this great chance slip,” said -Young one night at the camp-fire. “Beaver has never been so plentiful, -and I feel sure that it will continue so all the way up the river. But -there is no sense in our going on taking furs if we have no way of -carrying them; so the only thing I can see to do is to take the trail -for New Mexico and sell what we’ve got.” - -Old Zeke Matthews sat listening to the head trapper, honing the edge -of his great hunting knife and nodding his head in agreement with him. -But at the proposition that they leave the remainder of the stream -untouched, and make for their market, he protested. - -“It’s just flying in the face of Nature, that’s what it is,” said he, -earnestly. “Here we have luck raining down on us; and we’re going to -turn our backs on it.” - -Kit Carson smiled at the old man’s indignation. - -“Well, Zeke,” said he, “what else is there to do? If we have no horses -to carry the pelts, what’s the use of taking them?” - -“Get horses,” returned the old fellow, laconically. - -There was a general laugh from the men lounging about the fire. - -“Where can we get them?” asked Young, good-naturedly. - -“The Injuns have ’em,” declared Zeke. “There’s a village less than two -hours’ ride from this camp where there’s a whole drove of horses and -mules that the reds have stolen from the Greasers.” - -There was a silence; Zeke rubbed away at his knife and went on: - -“They’re a thieving lot, and it’d be a just punishment on ’em to lose -the nags. And that ain’t all! When we set out on this trip who went -for us tooth and nail but this same gang of varmints? We punished ’em -for it, but we didn’t punish ’em enough. If white men are to come into -this country the redskins must be taught to go easy on the bow and -arrow, and the hatchet and knife. So I’m for giving ’em a lesson before -we strike this camp.” - -A murmur went up from the men. The idea pleased them. They had not -forgotten the attack of the Indians upon their venturing into the -wilderness; and to strike a blow in retaliation, more especially such a -businesslike blow as that suggested by Zeke, appealed to them. - -Long and earnestly the matter was discussed; and finally it was agreed -upon. It was a savage country and a rough time; and the thoughts and -opinions of men are always moulded by their surroundings and their -needs. However it may look to us to-day, to impress the herd of mules -was not from the trappers’ point of view at all contrary to the laws -of justice. They regarded it in the same light as the commander of an -army did the requisitioning of supplies in the country of the enemy. - -Next day a half dozen men were left to guard the camp; the balance -of the party, with Dave and Joe pressing joyously on in their midst, -set out upon their errand. After a ride of a couple of hours the band -sighted a large mixed herd of horses and mules. These were grazing some -little distance up the San Pedro; and a scout or two was sent to locate -the Indian village. - -“It’s off to the west, there,” said old Zeke. “I was there once, -trading; and the varmints robbed us of everything we had.” - -After a short time the scouts returned. The village, a clutter of -dirty huts, lay in the direction indicated by Zeke; and the band of -buckskin-clad trappers rode toward it under cover of the timber. - -“There it is,” said Kit Carson, at length pointing through the trees. - -The village lay quietly in the sun; it was a barren, neglected place; -the bucks lolled in the doorways of the low huts; in the narrow fields -the women were preparing to plant the scanty crops. - -At a word of command the trappers shouted to their mounts; at full -speed they dashed into the village, their firearms rattling and -snapping briskly. Yells of fear and rage went up from the savages; they -grabbed up their arms, and their deadly arrows began to hiss through -the air. - -“Open order,” called the chief of the trappers. “Don’t ride so close -together. Load and hold your fire until I give the word!” - -The horses were brought to a standstill outside the town; the trappers -reloaded their rifles and looked to the state of their pistols. During -this pause in the attack the savages recovered from their surprise; -and upon a sort of plain, stretching away to the river, they rallied -their forces. The village was quite a large one; several hundred -warriors faced the trappers, and from their furious actions it was -plain that they meant to make a most desperate defense. - -“Ready?” called the head trapper. - -“All ready,” was the answer from his men. - -“Hold your fire till I give the word,” said the leader, once more. Then -lifting his hand: “Charge!” - -Down rode the trappers upon the redskins; and the latter bent their -bows with practiced hands, the keen eyes of each selecting a mark. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -KIT REACHES SANTA FÉ ONCE MORE - - -The open order of the whites and the rifle fire which came like a -thunder clap at the command of their leader discomfited the savages; -the arrows flew wild, and as the horsemen came plunging at them, their -small arms crackling, they broke and ran toward the river. - -For perhaps a mile the trappers pursued them, more to keep them on the -run and discourage another rally than anything else; then at a shout -from Young they wheeled about and made for the herd on the other side -of the village. - -Calmly the victors selected the best of the animals, some of their -number watching for the possible approach of the redskins. But the -latter were too completely demoralized to venture an attack, so the -trappers rode away to their camp leading a full score of pack animals, -sufficient to carry all the fur they’d be likely to take, even with the -best of luck, during the remainder of their work upon the Gila. - -“That kind of a little lesson ain’t lost on the reds,” said old Zeke, -after they had reached camp and were settled down watching their meat -cooking over the coals. “They won’t be so ready to pitch into every -company of whites they see for some time to come.” - -From then on the party continued up the Gila River until they reached -New Mexico; luck had continued to favor them and when they finally -entered Santa Fé they had two thousand pounds of beaver fur. - -“At twelve dollars a pound,” said Kit Carson, “that’s about----” - -“Twenty-four thousand dollars,” spoke Joe. - -The trapper looked at him admiringly. - -“I never had any schooling,” said he, “except what I got from old -Kin Cade one winter up north of Santa Fé. It’d take me some time to -calculate that; and here you do it in your head, like a shot.” - -“Was this Kin Cade a schoolmaster?” asked Dave. - -The trapper laughed. - -“No; he was an old fellow I stumbled on once, away up in the hills when -I first came here. He lived all alone in a hut; and he knew more about -the mountains, about Indians, animals and fish than anybody I ever met. -He taught me Spanish and a couple of the Indian languages; also he -showed me how to tan deerskins so that they would be soft and pliable, -to dye them, to make them into hunting shirts, leggins and moccasins. -Indian feather and bead work I also got from him. Kin was a wise old -man.” - -The trappers who had followed Ewing Young so hardily through all the -perils of the mountains and deserts, of field and flood, were now -given their share of the money brought by the pelts; they at once -proceeded to Taos and there the company disbanded. - -However, Kit Carson and the two boys remained in Santa Fé. - -“Spotted Snake is or will be here,” said the trapper. “So we’ll just -look around a little and see what we can see.” - -Santa Fé then had a mongrel population of some three thousand; its -sun-baked adobe buildings, its gaily clad Mexicans in trousers slashed -to the knees and adorned with rows of buttons, great sombreros and high -colored mantles; the barbarous peoples from around about, who came in -to trade, the half-breeds, the picturesquely clad frontiersmen from the -north, all served to give this city, renowned in the history of the -Great West, a most unusual appearance. - -The first morning there Kit Carson sought out a bronzed old trader who -was outfitting for a trip among the Indians. - -“Buck,” said the trapper, after they had greeted each other, “have you -seen anything lately of that ‘breed’ they call Spotted Snake?” - -“What do you want of him?” demanded the trader, surprised. “I should -think you’d be well satisfied to let varmints like that alone.” - -“This is a little matter of business,” said the trapper. “I’m not -hunting him from choice, but because I must.” - -The trader grunted. From his manner it was plain to the boys that he -held Spotted Snake in no great esteem. - -“Well, if you must see him, I’ll do my best for you,” he said. “The -Snake was seen in the town only a few nights ago; a couple of my men -met him and heard him doing a lot of wild talking about making a -fortune--about gold which came so thick that you could gather it up -in buckets. The sun must have struck through his sombrero,” added the -trader, drily. - -The trapper looked at the boys, and they returned the look with -troubled eyes. - -“I reckon though,” went on the trader, “if he did have anything -valuable, he’d put himself in the proper company to get rid of it. -Remember that fellow they called ‘Moccasin’ Williams up in Taos? Well, -he was one of them; and,” with a nod of the head, “I think that speaks -for itself.” - -Kit and the two lads walked slowly down the narrow street. - -“Moccasin Williams, eh?” said the trapper, thoughtfully. “Yes, as Buck -Morgan says, he speaks for himself. There’s not a bigger rascal in the -southwest. Once was a miner in old Mexico, I believe; and later lived -among the Blackfeet and the Comanches. I’ve even heard it said that -he was a renegade and took part with the redskins in attacking many a -wagon train.” - -That the man had been a miner interested both Dave and Joe vitally. -A chill struck their hearts as they thought of the brave old veteran -of MacDonough’s victory who waited away there in the Mission of San -Gabriel for news of his boys and the map of the treasure country. - -“Maybe we’d better go to see the man Lopez mentioned to you,” said Joe. - -“Goat Beard?” said Kit. “Yes, I’d been thinking of that. It won’t -do any harm to go talk to him. The ‘breed’ must have heard that our -company’s got back, and so knows we’re around somewhere.” - -They passed quickly through the town; at the far side was a squalid -section mostly occupied by Indians and the riff-raff of a frontier -settlement. A wretched sun-baked adobe house with very low doorways and -a generally forlorn aspect bore some straggling lettering across the -front. - -“This is old Diaz’s storehouse,” said Kit. - -Inside, the place was deep with shadows. Cured pelts and buffalo hides -were heaped in corners; traps hung from the ceiling; rifles, clothing, -knives, hardware, pottery and examples of feather work were displayed -for sale. - -A fat old woman, a Mexican half-breed, came waddling forward. - -“A blessing on the brave Americanos,” wheezed she in Spanish. “You are -our first patrons of the day. Good luck be with you; and what will you -have?” - -“Where is Diaz?” asked the trapper. - -The old woman threw up her fat hands and wagged her fat head. - -“Diaz!” she cried. “He is here; but he is almost mad! Never have I seen -him so wrought up, and I have been married to him for forty years. -But,” with the facility of much practice, “what will you have? I can -buy, sell and trade as well as Diaz. What will you have?” - -“We want to see your husband,” said Kit. - -“See him!” Again the old woman flourished her hands. “Impossible, -señor! He will see no one. He has met with a misfortune!” - -From the back of the storehouse they now heard a wailing voice lifted -to a pitch of great distress. - -“Oh, a blight is on me,” it droned. “A darkness is shut down upon me. -Never again will such a chance be mine. To think of it! A river running -with gold--clear, yellow, beautiful gold!” - -At this the three Americans looked at each other with quickened -interest; the old woman wrung her fat hands and took up the wail. - -“Running with gold, señors--a large river whom no one but the Indians -have any knowledge of. And now the paper is gone. We shall never see it -again.” - -Kit Carson leaned his rifle against a heap of wolf skins; to the woman -he said: - -“We must see your husband, señora; the matter is of great importance.” -Then, as she shook her head stubbornly, he added: “It is about this -paper; tell him that.” - -The woman gave him a greedy look; then as fast as her unwieldy body -would permit, she scuttled to the rear of the storehouse and through a -curtained doorway. Beyond this there came a babble of excited voices; -then the woman reappeared followed by an old man with bent shoulders -and a long, chin beard. - -“Señors,” squeaked this latter, in a thin, trembling voice, “I welcome -you. You have come to bring joy to my old heart, have you not? You have -come with an offer from the señor of the moccasins?” eagerly, as his -ratty old eyes ran from one to the other. “Sit down. Be comfortable. -Let us approach this business quietly and with freedom.” - -The trapper folded his arms across his chest and leaned his shoulders -against the bare clay wall. - -“We were told by Manuel Lopez to seek you out when we arrived in Santa -Fé,” said he. “It is on a business about a paper which he has--a paper -which he took from the schooner ‘Gadfly’ at Los Angeles.” - -The quaking hands of Goat Beard began to gesture; his halting old -tongue was striving to form a reply, when the curtains at the rear -doorway were once more pushed aside--and Lopez himself stood before -them! - -The half-breed’s eyes were bloodshot and feverish; his brown hands -trembled as badly as those of the old man. - -“So you are here, are you?” said he, after he had stood staring at them -for a moment from the doorway. “You are here, and looking for the map.” - -He threw up his hands, pressing them tightly to his forehead; then he -began to laugh in a way that made the flesh of the two lads creep. - -“He’s like a madman,” whispered Dave to his cousin. - -[Illustration: “SO YOU ARE HERE?”] - -“Something has happened,” replied Joe, in the same low tone. “And -something that means ill luck for us, I’m afraid.” - -Kit Carson made no movement nor answer; he continued leaning against -the adobe wall, his strong arms folded across his chest. After a few -moments the half-breed recovered from his frenzy; but his eyes still -gleamed, his fingers opened and shut like the claws on an animal. - -“Yes,” said he, nodding his head slowly. “I did ask you to come here; -and I meant to deal honestly with you, too. But it’s too late! I’ve -been an idiot; and I’ve been robbed!” - -“Of the map!” Dave Johnson made a step forward. - -“Yes; of the map,” replied Lopez. “I began to boast of the great -luck I had. I showed the map to Moccasin Williams. He is a miner of -experience. He had heard stories of gold in California, and had always -wanted to go there. Later, while I was asleep, he robbed me.” - -He sank down upon a heap of hides, his hands covering his face; from -his manner one who did not know the merits of the case would have -considered him an honest man grievously wronged. - -“A river of flowing gold,” wailed Goat Beard. “Yellow, beautiful gold! -And now we will never know where it is. We shall never see it--never -gather a nugget, never a grain of its dust.” - -After this outburst there was a moment’s silence; then Kit Carson spoke. - -“So Moccasin Williams now has the map,” said he. “Have you any idea -where he is?” - -The half-breed leaped up. - -“If I had, would I be here?” asked he, his eyes aflame. “Would I not be -stepping in his tracks and hoping for the moment which would bring me -up with him?” - -“Have you searched the town?” - -“I have. To-morrow I go to Taos. Then the settlements all through the -hills will be searched. I have friends who will help me. There’s not -an Indian village but will come under our eyes, or hide him from us. -And when I find him----” - -Here his gesture finished the sentence--a gesture as deadly in its -meaning as the coiling of a rattlesnake. - -After a few moments more in the storehouse of Goat Beard, the three -Americans left. - -“The map is gone, sure enough,” said Kit, as they went slowly down the -street. “And that this blackguard Moccasin Williams has it, is more -than likely.” - -“But is Lopez to escape punishment?” asked Dave, who tingled with a -desire to bring the half-breed to book for what he had done, and the -labor, the anxiety, the peril he had caused them. - -Kit shook his head. - -“Santa Fé is only a frontier town,” said he. “And what little law -there is is Mexican, and Mexican law don’t go very far in favor of an -American. There are men who’d take the thing in their own hands and -deal with Spotted Snake as Spotted Snake says he’ll deal with this man -Williams if he ever puts his eyes on him; but we are not that kind. -We’ll wait; for who knows what will happen, and maybe before a great -while.” - -That evening the three held council; and it was not long before they -came to an agreement. Joe and Dave each wrote a long letter telling of -what they had done and what they meant to do. These were addressed to -Joe’s father at the San Gabriel Mission. They told him to be of good -heart and to remain where he was until he heard from them again. - -“We are going to search for Moccasin Williams until we find him,” wrote -Joe to his father. “And to help us we have the finest fellow you ever -saw--a dead shot, and one of the quickest brains on the frontier. It -may be some time before we see you again; but don’t worry, dad; we’ll -be all right, and will come through it all with credit to you.” - -“Buck Morgan’ll be trading up as far as the Colorado this summer,” Kit -told the boys. “And he’ll be sure to find a Mexican or a Pueblo who’ll -carry the writings to the mission.” - -Next day this was seen to; the trader, who was the same Kit had -interviewed on the previous morning, readily agreed to see to the -forwarding of the letters. - -“And I’ll send a little word of my own,” said he kindly to the boys. -“You see you’re only youngsters and he might think you’re plunging into -some harum-scarum thing that’ll bring you nothing but danger. But if an -outsider tells him it’s the best thing to be done, it might hearten him -up a little.” - -The boys thanked Mr. Morgan for his good-natured offer and begged him -not to let the idea slip his mind; then, with Kit, they rode off toward -Taos. - -This latter town was even of a more primitive cast than Santa Fé; it -was smaller and the population was less law abiding. Into Taos poured -all the trappers, teamsters and other wild spirits of the country; and -from Taos set out almost all the expeditions in search of fur, trade -and adventure. A week was given to the search for Moccasin Williams; -but they failed to find him. - -They were careful to make but guarded inquiries for the man; to have -him learn, in case he was skulking anywhere about, that he was being -sought, would have no other effect than to frighten him away. - -However, the search was thorough for all their secrecy; and the end was -that Taos was given up as a possible hiding place. - -Then they took up Lopez’ idea of the settlements off among the hills; -weird barbarous places where the Mexicans and half-breeds lived in a -most primitive condition; failing to find any trace of the man the -Indians were tried at their lonely villages; but all to no purpose. - -“He’s gone,” said Kit, with conviction, one day at the end of summer; -“he’s gone as sure as shooting. But where?” - -Then one day, on the main street of Taos, they encountered old Zeke -Matthews. - -“Just now joined Fitzpatrick’s company to trap on the Salmon River,” he -told them, after they had exchanged greetings. “Lot of trapping going -to be done this season. Old Cap’n Gaunt went out already. Got some of -Young’s old men; I’d have gone too, but you see I’ve got so’s I pick my -company very carefully these days.” - -The trapper and the two boys smiled at the old fellow’s manner. - -“You didn’t like some of Gaunt’s men, then?” said Kit. - -“Hardly. There’s some right down scalawags among them,” said Zeke. -“Good trappers, mind you. But that ain’t everything. I’ve had too many -hard rubs from the Injuns in my day to join a company that’s got a -renegade among ’em.” - -“A renegade,” said Kit, and there was a quick snap in his eyes. - -“Moccasin Williams,” said Zeke. - -“So he’s gone out with Captain Gaunt’s party, has he?” said Kit. “And -what country does the captain propose to trap?” - -“Oh, the Laramie and the Snake Rivers, I hear,” replied Zeke. “About -the same section as Fitzpatrick’s crowd.” - -That evening Kit and his two young friends held another council. - -“Williams’ going out with Captain Gaunt shows one thing very plainly,” -said the trapper. “Either he’s heard of us searching for him, or -Spotted Snake’s been so hot on his trail that there was nothing else to -do. He didn’t dare make for California to prove the truth of the map, -because he felt that somebody would be sure to be watching for him at -the missions or towns.” - -“What do you suppose his plans are?” asked Joe. - -“It may be,” said the trapper, looking thoughtfully at them both, -“that he’s gone out with Gaunt just to wait till the search for him -dies down. Or it might be that he means to make for the coast by a -longer way.” - -Dave thought of the grim mountain chains, the trackless prairies, the -roving bands of Indians, some of whom had never seen a white man. - -“A single man could never make his way by that route,” said he. - -Kit shook his head. - -“Maybe not,” he said, slowly. “But, at the same time, don’t forget that -Moccasin Williams has lived among the redskins; he knows their ways and -talks their languages. What would be death to any other might be smooth -going enough for him.” - -“We must reach him before he leaves the trapping company he went out -with,” said Joe, excitedly. “If we don’t he’ll get away from us for -good.” - -“Well,” said Kit, thoughtfully, “we can’t follow Gaunt’s track by -ourselves. The Indians would be down on us before we’d been out a week. -But old Zeke says Fitzpatrick’s company is going to trap in much the -same country as Gaunt. What say if we join Fitzpatrick, and in that way -get within striking distance of our man?” - -Both lads jumped at the idea; and next morning the three went to see -Mr. Fitzpatrick, a trapper and trader well known in the southwest. He -was pleased to see them, for men were rather difficult to secure at the -time. - -The result was that in an hour all arrangements were made; and in a few -weeks Kit Carson and his boy comrades had turned their faces toward the -wilderness once more. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -IN THE COUNTRY OF THE HOSTILES - - -Fitzpatrick, the head of the fur hunting expedition of which Kit Carson -now made one, was a hardy, courageous man, a good trapper, and knew the -country and its signs as well as any other man of his time. - -He led his party almost north; this course they held until they reached -the head waters of the Platte. - -Winter was now upon them in the midst of the mountains; the snow filled -the defiles, the icy wind moaned in the naked trees and among the -crags. But besides their buckskins the trappers now wore thick furs; -and the warm blood of a vigorous life in the hills and on the prairies -made the experience only one of increased pleasure to the hardy border -men. - -At each camp enough “half faced” houses were erected to shelter the -men from the wind and snow. These were made of boughs, barks and skins -and were of three sides and a roof. The front was open, toward the -fire; the men slept on fur robes or blankets, their feet turned to the -blazing logs. - -The Platte was followed slowly, the party taking furs all the way to -the Sweet Water, one of its tributaries; and this stream in turn was -trapped until they reached Green River. From there they progressed to -Jackson’s Hole, a fork of the Columbia; then on to the Salmon River -where a part of their own band, which had left Taos some days in -advance, joined them. - -Old Zeke Matthews was among these new men; and at once Kit and the boys -began questioning him with regard to any news which he might have heard -of Gaunt’s men. - -“Nothing at all,” replied the old fellow. “A couple of Injuns came -into camp one night and told us that some trappers were at work a -little west of us; but from what they said I’m pretty nigh sure they -were Sinclair’s party who left about the same time we did.” - -The entire Fitzpatrick expedition now having gathered, a group of warm -huts was erected in a sunny valley, protected from the sweep of the -winds; and as the trappers meant to spend the remainder of the winter -there, they were at more pains to arrange the camp, and make themselves -comfortable. - -Most of the time in this long encampment was spent in dressing pelts -and mending and making equipment and clothing. The only hunting done -was for food. They were in the country of the Blackfeet, a daring -nation of red marauders, but because of the cold the trappers did not -expect any troublesome attention from them. - -“They’ll stick to their lodges,” said Zeke; “the varmints don’t like -hard weather.” - -But that they had all reckoned without the wile of the red man and his -desire for the property of the whites was soon made evident. A herd -of buffalo was sighted one day on a plain, and a party of four of the -trappers mounted and went in pursuit. Just how their fate overtook them -will never be known; but that it was sudden and dreadful was plain to -their comrades. A band of Indians dashed down upon them and all four -lost their lives. - -Vengeance shook the camp on the Salmon River; in a fury the trappers -armed; but for all their swiftness the savages escaped; not even an -eagle plume was seen; and their tracks were lost in the falling snow. - -When the spring opened operations were commenced on the Salmon; at -length they reached the Snake or Shoshone River; and the giant falls -one day burst upon the vision of the boys. The lava peaks rose in wild -grandeur all about it; the mighty rush of the water awed and amazed -even the hardy spirits of the buckskinned adventurers. - -Along the Snake they trapped to the Bear; and from there to the Green -River once more. Here they encountered a trapper band which proved to -be that of Sinclair, of whom Zeke had spoken. - -“Captain Gaunt,” said head trapper Sinclair to Kit. “Why, yes, I’ve -heard of him now and then since we got up into this country. He put in -the winter on the Laramie River; and if I’m not much mistaken he’s now -trapping somewhere in the South Park.” - -At once Kit sought out Mr. Fitzpatrick; he told the adventurous -Irishman as much as he saw fit of the hunt for Moccasin Williams and -the desire of himself and the boys to hunt up Gaunt’s band without -delay, now that it was located. - -“Why, then,” said the chief trapper, “go, and good luck to you. And -it’s catch the thief of the world I hope you do. For the like of him is -a bigger danger than the Blackfeet themselves.” - -Zeke Matthews and another seasoned adventurer named Gordon elected to -follow Kit and his young friends in their journey to the South Park. - -“The Fitzpatrick company are about through their trapping,” said the -first of these veterans, “and there’s no use taking a long ride back -to Taos, only to turn about and make for the rivers again in a little -while after. Gaunt’s going to stay; he’ll cache his pelts until he’s -put in a couple of seasons.” - -So the four, well armed, set out; and without any notable adventures -reached the trapping ground of Captain Gaunt. The latter was a hearty -man past sixty, a true type of the Westerner of the time. He welcomed -the visitors to his outfit with the utmost warmth. But when Kit spoke -of the object of their journey he frowned blackly. - -“Moccasin Williams, do you say?” he almost shouted; before he could -continue Kit laid a warning hand upon his arm. - -“Not so loud,” said the young trapper; “he’ll hear you.” - -“Well, if he does, he’s got mighty good ears,” said the downright -Captain Gaunt. “For he’s away somewhere in the hills with the redskins. -And stole some of my best horses when he went.” - -For a moment Dave and Joe felt that the mountains had toppled over upon -them; they had counted so strongly upon the result of coming up with -this particular trapping expedition that the shock of disappointment -was harder to bear than it had been at any other time. Gone! And they -had possibly been within a few days’ journey of him frequently; if they -had known where Gaunt’s men were working they could have set out for -his camp while there was still hope of success. But now that was at an -end. - -“We’ve got it to do all over again,” said Joe in a weary sort of way, -for the long anxiety had told on him. - -“Yes; we must begin at the beginning,” admitted Dave. “But,” and there -was a flash in his eyes, “we’ll find him for all that, and we’ll find -the map too.” - -Kit and Captain Gaunt were conversing aside. - -“I was warned against the fellow,” said the head trapper. “They told -me he wasn’t to be trusted.” Then with some curiosity in his voice, -“Anything particular you wanted of him?” - -“A kind of private matter,” said Kit. - -“Some sort of rascality, I’ll venture to say,” was the captain’s -comment. - -Then the five wanderers from Fitzpatrick’s outfit held council -together. Zeke and the other trapper, as has been noted, intended to -join Gaunt’s party from their start for the South Park; and now Kit and -the lads could see nothing but the same process for themselves. Gaunt -was glad enough to secure them, as he had come out with fewer men than -he intended, so the routine of camp and trap and rifle was taken up -once more. - -They had been with Gaunt’s men for some time, ever on the outlook for -news of a white man among the savages of the region, when one night a -band of marauders crept up to the camp. The guard was slack, perhaps; -but that the night was a dark one was a certainty. At any rate the -Indians managed to get among the horses without being detected; and -when dawn came, nine of the very best animals were missing. - -Zeke Matthews made the discovery, and his whoop startled the camp. - -“Injuns,” stated he, pointing to the ground, where the “signs” were -plentiful enough. “And they’ve driv’ off a lot of the hosses.” - -From some articles of equipment lost by the savages, it was learned -that they were Crows; and their trail led broad and plain into the -hills. Captain Gaunt surveyed his men. - -“I want a party to take the trail, bring back the nags and show the -thieves that there’s a punishment waiting for every one who doesn’t -respect the law of the wilderness,” said he. “Who will go?” - -Kit Carson stepped out from among the men; the boys, who would have -followed him anywhere, did the same; in a moment there was a party of a -dozen saddling their mustangs and making ready for the chase. - -“We’ll hold this camp until you return,” said Gaunt. “And bring back -the horses.” - -Along the trail sped the twelve, Kit Carson riding silently ahead, his -eyes searching the ground. That the Crows were a rather numerous party -was evident from the hoof-prints of the ridden horses. - -“They’re ten to one against us,” said old Zeke, who was one of the -pursuers and whose experienced eyes also searched the trail. “But that -ain’t of no account. A white man ought to be good for twice that many -redskins, any day!” - -After following the trail something like five miles it grew greatly -confused. During the night a huge herd of buffalo had crossed and -recrossed it; but the genius of the wilderness was strong in Kit Carson -even at that early time; in spite of everything he never failed to pick -up the track each time it was lost. - -“The foot of a horse is different from a buffalo’s,” said he, briefly, -in answer to a question of Dave’s. “And if you keep a sharp eye on the -trail, you’ll see the print of a horse every now and then, even among -all the buffalo tracks.” - -All day they rode at a good pace; and by late in the afternoon they -had covered some forty miles. The horses were jaded, and if they were -to be kept fit to continue the trail the next day they must be rested -and fed. - -There was a clump of trees near by their halting place which seemed an -excellent spot for a camp. - -“We’ll take a rest here,” said Kit, “and have a snack. The nags can -pick up a little green stuff, too, maybe.” - -Winter had come again, and the horses, from lack of herbage upon which -to feed, were in poor condition. There was a promise of soft boughs and -young bark in the grove; the trappers’ animals lived upon such fodder -in the cold months, and the prospect made them as eager and restive for -the camp as their riders. - -They were within a hundred yards of the timber when a sound caught -their ears. There was a low command from Kit, and the trappers drew -rein instantly. Again the sound came to them, a sharp yelp as of an -animal in pain. - -“A dog,” said Kit; “and on the other side of the timber.” - -The presence of a dog in the wilderness is a positive indication of the -presence of man at no great distance. There was not one of the seasoned -trappers but knew this; and the minds of Dave and Joe seeing the effect -upon their companion grasped the fact instantly. - -“Redskins!” said Kit Carson. “Look there.” - -Above the tree tops two towering columns of smoke were ascending; that -a camp of some size existed among or upon the opposite side of the -trees the whites were now convinced. - -[Illustration: “REDSKINS!”] - -“This way,” said Kit, as he turned his horse. Some little distance -back, there was a rise in the ground; behind this he remembered to have -seen a clump of timber something like that which had just been the -object of their attention. Reaching the trees, they dismounted; the -horses were tied and then Kit said quietly: - -“Boys, we don’t know what’s ahead of us; so the best thing is to have a -look over the ground before we make another move. I’m going across this -bit of prairie and have a look at that camp over there. It may be the -band we are after, or it may not be. In an hour you’ll know. Anyhow, -get yourselves ready for action, for we don’t know what may be the -outcome.” - -He left them among the trees and advanced toward the timber from which -the smoke was still ascending. The prairie was a rolling one; here and -there cover was to be had; and Kit cautiously advanced from place to -place, his woodcraft making him invisible for the greater part of the -time from the grove ahead. - -At length he reached the edge of the clump; upon his hands and knees he -crept forward, parting the undergrowth and low hanging limbs that his -body might slip noiselessly through. Finally he sighted the camp, and -as he did so he settled down with a quick intake of the breath. - -Two large fires were burning; and at each was roasting a butchered -horse. A company of painted savages, full armed and with the feathers -of their war bonnets hanging down their backs, were grouped about. A -couple of lodges, strengthened so as to be used as places of defense -in case of need, were erected at one side; a little distance away were -tethered the horses stolen from the camp of Captain Gaunt, minus the -two roasting to provide a feast for the Crows. - -Usually keen to suspect the proximity of a foe, the Indians now -displayed surprising laxity. Perhaps the great distance they had put -between themselves and the trappers was the cause of this; they thought -themselves beyond the reach of pursuit, and so were giving themselves -up to the enjoyment of their enterprise. - -Kit watched them for some time; then as the shadows began to thicken, -he crept away across the stretch of prairie to the place where he had -left his friends. - -“It’s the party we are after,” said he. “I saw the horses. The reds are -making preparations for a big feast, and haven’t any thought of danger.” - -“Feasting, eh?” said old Zeke. “Well, boys, it seems to me we ought to -have a little to say in these festivities. Captain Gaunt reckons on a -trifle of powder being burned by way of protest against horse-stealing -in general, and it’s as little as we can do to go according to his -will.” - -At nightfall the sound of barbaric song came across the prairie; and -as the trappers stole toward the Indian camp they saw the red glow of -the fires, and through the trees the swaying, contorting forms of the -warriors going through a savage dance of triumph. - -The Indians had come from the north with their booty of horse-flesh, -and from the north alone they looked for pursuit; the trappers knew -that this would be the case, so they took care to approach the camp -from another side. When close enough to see all that went on at the -camp-fires of the Crows, they crouched down in sheltered places and -waited for the end of the feast. - -It was a cold night, and there was some snow upon the ground. And as -they waited the whites grew chilled and stiff; their limbs quaked and -their teeth chattered. But when the braves had finally eaten their fill -and danced themselves tired they laid themselves down to sleep; and -soon a torpor overtook the camp. - -This was the time for which the trappers had been waiting; Kit, with -five others, slipped away to the place where the horses were grouped, -freed, and drove them away. Some little distance away the remainder of -the party joined them; then a council in low pitched voices was held -as to what was the next step. - -“We’ve got our horses,” counseled one of the men. “The redskins are -a pretty powerful band and we’re a long way from support. So it’s my -opinion that we ought to be satisfied with our good luck and start back -for camp right away.” - -A number of the others agreed to this; but Kit Carson said: - -“The thieves should be punished. Another thing, our nags are pretty -well done up and we’ll have to go slowly. Our trail will show the Crows -that there’s only a few of us; and they’ll pursue us. In a thing like -this there’s a big chance against us; so if we can, we had better shift -things around in our favor.” - -“How’s that to be done?” asked the trapper who had favored letting well -enough alone. - -“We have them now just where an attack would scare them most. Let us -throw a volley into their camp and charge them; they’ll start running -then, and the chances are we’ll have nothing more to fear.” - -“Them words is words of wisdom!” declared Zeke Matthews, slapping the -butt of his rifle emphatically. “Strike hard now and we needn’t be -afraid later.” - -The trappers, an adventurous lot by nature, at once fell in with the -idea. They looked to their weapons carefully; then with steps trained -to softness, they stole upon the Crow camp. - -The fires had been allowed to die somewhat; the plumed head of a lonely -guard nodded at the edge of the firelight; the sleeping warriors, laden -with food, never stirred. - -Then suddenly a lean dog arose; his ill shaped head lifted, and he -began to sniff, suspicion in every hair. Then he sprang forward, -barking loudly to arouse his savage masters. Trained to awake at such -an alarm, some of the Indians sprang up; and as they did so the long -rifles of the trappers lifted, and a volley went whistling into the -camp. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -A DESPERATE EXPERIENCE WITH GRIZZLIES - - -As the bullets of the trappers sang their way into the Crow encampment, -the warriors began to fall; the whites stationed themselves behind -trees and reloaded; and while they were doing so the savages sought the -cover of the two fortified lodges which they had erected. From this -shelter the arrows began to dart; but the thick tree trunks protected -the trappers from their barbed heads. - -At early dawn the Indians saw how few in number the whites were; at -once they poured forth, with tomahawk, war club and scalping knife, to -crush them. But at a discharge of the rifles five of the band dropped -in their tracks; the others fled into the forts once more. - -“I guess that’s about all we’ll hear of them,” said old Zeke, as he -rammed a fresh charge of powder home and topped it with a bullet. “They -ain’t got the stomachs for such work as that.” - -“Hold your places,” ordered Kit Carson; “they will attack again.” - -A very little while proved that he was right, and Zeke, veteran though -he was in Indian warfare, was wrong. Out of the strongholds rushed -the Crows, and with yells of fury charged the hunters. So fierce was -their attack that the white men were forced to fall back; but the -deadly rifles continued to ring through the dawn and savage after -savage fell before them. Three trappers had been left with the horses; -these, hearing the continuous fire, now joined their comrades. The -additional rifles were more than the redskins could stand; completely -defeated, they drew off. The trappers did not wait for them to ponder -the situation, but fell back to their horses; mounting in haste and -leading the recaptured animals they headed for the Arkansas River, -where the camp of Captain Gaunt was then located. - -For some time longer Kit and the boys remained with the Gaunt -expedition; then, as nothing seemed to develop in the matter of -Moccasin Williams, and as the fur taking had grown poor, the three made -up their minds to a desperate venture. This was nothing less than to -leave the company of trappers and make their way back to Taos. - -“It’s a dangerous journey,” said Captain Gaunt; “but if your minds are -made up, go ahead. You are under no obligations to me.” - -By great good fortune along the whole of the long route through the -wilderness they did not sight a single Indian. Now and then they came -upon a cold encampment and other signs of the red man’s presence; but -never a plume of the warrior himself. - -On the way they trapped and had rare good fortune; when they reached -Taos they had a rich taking of beaver pelts which just then were in -great demand and consequently high in price. At once their inquiries -were put afoot as to Moccasin Williams; neither of the lads had ever -seen the man, but Kit Carson’s description of him was so complete and -they bore it so thoroughly in mind that they were confident that they -would know him if they ever met with him. - -But the result was the same as before. Old Diaz, whom they visited, -shook his head and tugged at his goat’s beard sorrowfully. - -“I have never laid eyes on him, señor,” said he. “Not once since you -were here last. And not once have I seen Lopez either since that day. -He is away, there,” one trembling hand indicating the north, “away -among the Crows and Blackfeet searching for the Americano, Williams.” - -After a week in Taos, Joe grew restless. He had heard of an expedition, -much like that of Young’s, which was to head secretly for California. - -“It’s been two years since we saw my father,” he said to Dave. “And -it’s been almost as long since we wrote to him. Let us go out with this -party; after we see him, and if he is willing, we will come back and -take up the trail once more.” - -Seeing how Joe felt in the matter, Dave gave a ready consent; they -spoke to Kit, and though the trapper was sorry to lose them, he saw -that this was the right thing for them to do. - -“Maybe,” said he, as he clasped their hands at parting, “you’ll be back -just as you say. And maybe again you won’t, for you might find Williams -among the missions up there where you’re going, looking for that river -of gold that old Goat Beard talked about. But, however it turns out, -don’t forget that I’ve got to care a good bit about you two boys; and -I’m only sorry that I couldn’t do something for you that’d help you to -get what you’re after.” - -And so the lads went off on another journey through mountain, plain and -desert. - -Shortly after this, Kit joined a fur hunting expedition sent out by the -celebrated firm of Bent & St. Vrain, under the leadership of Captain -Lee, once of the United States Army. Later he spent some time on the -Laramie River with old Zeke Matthews and two other men, the venture -being one of his own. It was returning with this that Kit met with the -most desperate adventure that he had taken part in up till that time. - -The party had gone into camp one afternoon, and being short of meat, -Kit took his rifle and started out to look for game. A mile from camp -he came upon elk signs; he followed their tracks until he came in sight -of them feeding upon a hillside. Craftily he advanced upon them; but -fine as was his skill the elk got scent of him, tossed their antlered -heads and broke into a run. Up went the never failing rifle, and a -noble buck dropped upon the brow of the hill. - -“A lucky shot,” spoke the trapper, as he stood with the empty rifle -smoking in his hands, his eyes upon the fallen buck. But hardly had he -spoken the words when he heard a most terrific series of roars; like -lightning he turned and saw a pair of enormous grizzly bears, their -eyes red with rage, and their cruel teeth gleaming, charging down upon -him. - -There was no time to think out a plan of defense; the grizzly is an -immense brute, weighing more than a thousand pounds, and often swift -enough to outrun a horse. So Kit dropped his empty rifle, turned about -and ran. - -The great beasts came lumbering after him, to all appearances awkward -and slow, but in reality with astonishing swiftness. Kit knew their -speed, having had previous experience with them, though none so -desperate as this; and he knew that in a few moments, at most, he would -be overtaken. - -As he ran his eyes went here and there for a place of safety; then, -straight ahead, he saw a tree, the branches of which were fairly low. -As he came under it, he grasped a limb and with a mighty pull swung -himself upward, a blow from the foremost grizzly barely missing him. - -The tree had been the only thing the hard-pressed trapper could think -of; and no sooner had he gotten settled in a branch than he realized -that he was in a sort of trap. Bears are noted climbers; even the -enormous grizzlies can ascend trees with ease. - -“Yes,” muttered Kit, as this came to him, “and they’ll be after me like -a couple of tornadoes in a few minutes. So I’d better find something or -some way of defending myself.” - -He still retained his heavy hunting knife, but though the blade was -broad and keen he knew that it would be but poor weapon with which to -meet the attack of such brutes as the two growling and staring up at -him from below. - -But still, the knife would be useful, for all. He drew it from its -sheath, and began cutting furiously at a thick, short branch which grew -at his hand; this was soon trimmed, and as he balanced the heavy club -which it made, he said with satisfaction: - -“Here’s something, anyhow! I’ll not have to meet them empty handed. So, -come on, my lads, I’m ready for you.” - -The bears needed no invitation, however; they had been measuring the -situation from their places beneath the tree; and one of them had risen -upon his hind legs, dug his great claws into the trunk and begun to -climb upward. - -The foremost part of a bear, in climbing a tree, is his nose; and the -noses of most animals are very tender and easily hurt. The grizzly -bear’s is no exception. So as the climber came within reach, Kit swung -his club; the blow landed fair and true, the bear yelled with pain, -and slipped back to the ground. But the other stood ready to take his -place; Kit cleared away the small boughs which might entangle his -weapon and so interfere with his stroke. Once more the heavy club -swished downward, and again it landed upon an eager, uplifted snout. -There was another roar, and the second bear slid to the ground. They -stood together, and glared at the trapper, their roars and shrieks -making the lonely mountains ring. Then, their pain easing somewhat, -they attacked once more. Again and again the club struck the tender, -bleeding snouts, again and again the bears roared in agony and fell -back. - -At length they lost heart in the matter and sat watching him sullenly -and pawing their noses; but as he made no move to come down, they -finally gave up the vigil just as the long shadow of night began to -fall; and with many looks over their shoulders they lumbered away into -the woods. - -Kit waited for a space; then he slid down the trunk of the tree and -ran softly and swiftly toward the spot where he had dropped his rifle. -The piece was still unharmed; and the trapper reloaded it and stood -listening. From the depths of the forest came the sound of the bears -crushing through the underbrush; then this died away in the distance -and all was still. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - -THE BULLY OF THE TRADING CAMP - - -After making sure that the bears were not returning, Kit Carson -shouldered his rifle and made his way back to camp through the -gathering dusk. It was dark when he reached there, and this made it -unadvisable to take a packhorse after the carcass of the elk; so the -trappers had to be content with rather short commons until the next -day, when their rifles came into play and meat was had for the larder. - -Joined by a trapping party under Bridger, Kit went to the rendezvous -of the Rocky Mountain trappers on Green River. There were about two -hundred men in this big camp, which was for the purpose of selling -their furs and buying supplies. The trading being done, Kit joined a -trapping company journeying into the Blackfoot country at the head -of the Missouri River. But the redskins made such determined and -persistent attacks that the party was forced to retire from their -country. - -They fell back to the Big Snake River, where they wintered. But the -Blackfeet still held the trail; in a desperate battle with this -dangerous tribe Kit was seriously wounded in saving the life of a -comrade named Markhead; in this fight the savages received a terrible -beating. - -The spring season was a most fortunate one; beaver was very plentiful -and their taking of the fur was rich. Kit’s wound got well rapidly, -thanks to his strong constitution, and he was soon able to set his -traps with the rest of them. - -The long journeys through the wilderness to Taos and Santa Fé were too -great a strain upon both horses and men; the dangers of the journey -were too grave to be undertaken several times a year; and so the big -trading camp on Green River grew very popular with the trappers. So, -the season being over, the different companies all headed toward this -station; the one which Kit Carson was with among them. - -As the ponies pranced along the long street of the camp, and the pack -animals moved more soberly under their burden of furs, the bronzed -trappers waved their coonskin caps and shouted joyously to friends -whom they recognized by the way. This great fair of the Rocky Mountain -trappers occupied quite a beautiful site; circling it were the giant -hills, crowned with mighty forests; the huts of the trappers and -traders were built among the trees; some were after the fashion of -Indian lodges, others were of bark and poles and sod. But the traders -had structures of hewn logs to hold their stores. - -Kit rode through the camp, speaking to his friends among those who -came forward to greet the newcomers. He was dismounting when there -came a rush of feet and he was seized by two pairs of strong arms. Two -enthusiastic voices cried, joyfully: - -“Here you are, at last!” - -“We’ve been waiting for you a whole month!” - -“I knew you’d come, Kit!” - -“We’re back again; and we’ve got news!” - -The young trapper wriggled out of the clutch of his assailants; and one -look showed him that they were Dave Johnson and Joe Frazier. - -Gripping their hands in welcome, he cried: - -“Why, lads, this is a surprise, sure enough! I never expected to see -you so soon.” - -“We came back with the same party we went out with,” said Dave. “We -heard at Taos that you were out in this region and that you would -probably put in the summer at this trading camp. So there was a chance -with a trader helping with the packhorses, and we jumped at it.” - -“How did you find your father?” asked Kit of Joe. - -“I never saw him looking better,” replied the boy. “But come over to -our place; we’ve got a shanty big enough for the three of us. And -hurry! We left a pair of prairie chickens roasting over the fire; and -we’re to have flap-jacks and coffee.” - -Dave hurried to their hut, which was in a shaded place on the edge -of the camp, to see to the chickens; Joe and the trapper followed at -a slower pace. The two lads helped to unsaddle the mustang, and Joe -picketed him where the grass was rich and thick. Then they all sat down -and watched the fowls brown on the spit and the coffee-pot send up its -jet of steam. - -“Your father wasn’t against your leaving him again, then?” said Kit. - -“Father has gone back home,” said Joe. Then seeing the trapper’s -astonishment, he added: “You see, while he was at San Gabriel he -learned quite a lot of things. One of them was that even if we did -recover the map and find the place it indicated, we’d hardly be -permitted to wash the gold. The Mexican government and population are -afraid that the Americans will some day overrun California; and so they -do everything they can to discourage them, hoping to keep them away. So -father thought there was no use remaining and neglecting his business -at home.” - -“But how does it come that you two were left behind?” asked Kit. - -“Well,” laughed Dave, “we objected to going back so strongly and made -such a general fuss that uncle made up his mind that he’d let us have -another try. He took an American ship which sailed from San Francisco -and will land him in New York. If we have no success, we are to follow -next season.” - -“I see,” said Kit. There was a pause, then he asked: “But the news you -spoke of? What is it? Did you find something out, among the missions?” - -“Not a word,” said Dave, “and we spent a couple of months prowling -around among them. But,” and here he lowered his voice, “on our way -here with the trading party we stumbled upon something--as real a piece -of news as you could wish for.” - -“Good,” said Kit, his gray eyes snapping, “and what is it?” - -“There was a French Canadian named Shunan with the train, a big man, -very quarrelsome and ready with his weapons.” - -“I know him,” nodded Kit. “He’s a trapper, and,” in a puzzled tone, “I -don’t see what he was doing with the traders.” - -“He was making for this fair,” said Joe. “He had been to the -settlements on a sort of mission.” - -“A mission!” said Kit. - -Both boys nodded. - -“He’s quite loose with his tongue,” said Dave, “and we got the whole -thing, bit by bit, at night by the fire. He’d talk to the men, you see, -boasting of what he’s done and meant to do. He’d been sent in to Santa -Fé to look about and ask questions. The person who sent him was away in -the Blackfoot country, afraid to venture into civilization himself.” - -Instantly Kit Carson’s quick mind grasped the situation. - -“Moccasin Williams!” he cried. - -“Right! And the person he was inquiring about was Lopez, the -half-breed.” - -“Asking if he was in Santa Fé, or in the region round about?” - -“Yes; and he found, as we did, that the half-breed was away north, also -in the Blackfoot country. This seemed to amuse him. Williams feared to -go back to Taos or Santa Fé; he feared to go to California; for there -he might meet Lopez.” - -“According to what the Frenchman said, Williams is in mortal dread of -the knife of the man he robbed,” said Joe. - -“And instead of being safe in the place he selected for hiding, he is -really in great danger, with Lopez searching for him, as Shunan heard, -from one Indian village to another. It would have been much better if -he had returned, or had gone to California.” - -“Much better for him, perhaps,” said Kit, grimly. Then his expression -changed and he added: “Well, it’s good news enough, lads; and we’ll see -what can be done with it. The map is still in the hands of Williams; -if it were not he’d not be so anxious to get to California. And so, if -nothing else, it shows us that we still have him to look for. You were -in luck to meet this man, Shunan.” - -At this the trapper noted the faces of the boys change in expression. - -“I don’t just know about that,” said Dave. - -“We were lucky, in a way,” admitted Joe; “but in another way we were -not so much so.” - -“Something’s happened,” said Kit. - -Dave and Joe nodded. - -“Somehow,” said the former, “Shunan got to know of our interest in what -he said in his boasting. It may be that he had heard of us, and, now -that we’d got his attention, he’d placed us for the first time. Ever -since then he’s been trying to get up some sort of a quarrel with us.” - -“Ah!” said Kit Carson. - -He sat looking at the boys steadfastly; and they saw a dangerous, -narrowing light in his gray eyes. - -“I know Shunan,” said he. “I’ve known him for some time; and as you -said when you first mentioned him, he’s quarrelsome and ready with his -weapons. For him to try and pick a fight with a man means only one -thing--and that’s a deadly one.” - -The prairie chickens were done, the flap-jacks nicely browned and the -coffee piping hot when old Zeke Matthews came along. Immediately the -boys sprang up and greeted him; he was invited to join them and did so -with alacrity. - -“Roasted birds we get out in the trapping country,” said he. “But -flap-jacks seldom, coffee seldomer, and coffee with reg’lar sugar in -it, never at all.” - -And as Zeke ate of these delicacies, Kit told him of Shunan’s desire to -quarrel with the boys, though he did not mention the reason for it. The -veteran was indignant. - -“What!” demanded he. “Can’t he find no one but a passel of youngsters -to fight with. Well, all I got to say is, let him look out for himself!” - -Released from the restraint of the wilderness where they were ever on -the lookout for attacks of savage beasts or savage men, the trappers -relaxed; the trading camp was a hubbub of sounds. Songs, the squeak of -a fiddle, blustering talk and high pitched contention grew constant as -each night passed and the day began. - -During one afternoon there was a turmoil at one end of the camp, a -clash of fists and the sight of bloody faces. Later there was still -another outbreak of the same sort. Then little by little the thing -increased until the camp roared steadily with strife. - -“It’s all Shunan,” said a trader to old Zeke. “Fellows like that make -more trouble than a tribe of thieving Indians.” - -Once or twice during the day Kit Carson caught sight of Shunan. He was -a burly fellow with the air of a bravo; his face was flushed and his -eyes gleamed with menace. - -“A wolf,” said Kit to the boys. “So, to avoid trouble and keep the -peace, lay low. If you can avoid it, don’t let him see you.” - -Both Dave Johnson and Joe Frazier were naturally boys of spirit; and -their two years in the wilderness with the trappers had given them a -confidence in themselves which they might not have had otherwise. -So the idea of concealment, of practically hiding from a bully, was -galling to them. - -Kit saw this and said: - -“Your keeping out of his way won’t be a mark against you boys. -Nobody’ll think the worse of you for it, for more seasoned men than -either of you will be for many years are dodging this man just now. So -take my advice. Lay low. I don’t think it will make any real difference -in the end,” as an afterthought, “for if he wants to force trouble on -you, he will. But, when the time comes, you’ll have the satisfaction of -knowing that it’s not your fault.” - -The lads acted upon this suggestion; and the result was that some time -went by without the bully encountering them. But his purpose was plain -enough; frequently he came to that part of the camp where the boys’ -hut was located, and his remarks when any one happened to be in the -vicinity were brutal and offensive. Kit Carson, Zeke Matthews and some -others had erected lodges near that of the lads; and they frequently -listened to the bully’s boasts and threats and insults without a sign. - -But finally the thing grew unbearable. - -“Human nature,” said the veteran, Zeke, “can’t stand no more. He’s -getting worse. He thinks we’re afraid of him. Let him talk like that -just once more, and my rifle’ll answer him.” - -At length the day came which brought the climax. The bully had kept the -camp in hot water all morning; he had engaged in a half dozen fights -with men weaker than himself, and beaten them; and so he came, roaring -like a mountain bear, toward the spot where Kit sat with his friends. -As it happened the two lads were in the party. Both looked up at the -Frenchman from where they lay stretched upon the ground; and neither -made an attempt to avoid him. - -He had grown accustomed to their dodging him; and now that they failed -to move it seemed to inflame him more than ever. - -“It’s a camp full of coyotes,” announced he, squaring himself before -them all. “Every one runs when a man comes along.” - -There was an ominous silence on the part of the trappers; and he -proceeded: - -“Did you hear me speak?” he demanded. “Did you hear me mention coyotes? -Where’s the Indian fighters that I’ve heard about? Where are they? Did -they ever fight a white man? Well, here’s their chance, if they’ve got -the stomachs to take it up. Here’s a man that’s willing to give them a -chance to make a reputation.” - -The silence of the group was still unbroken and the bully’s sneering -look ran around the circle. - -“All Americans, eh? Every one an American! Well, I’ve beaten all the -Frenchmen in the camp; and as for the Americans, I’ll cut a stick some -day and switch them around their own lodges.” - -Again his sneering glance went over them; then he shrugged his huge -shoulders contemptuously, turned and started away. But he had gone -hardly half a dozen steps when a voice called sharply: - -“Shunan!” - -The man halted and wheeled. Kit Carson stood facing him. The difference -in the two was very great. The Frenchman was a Hercules; a towering -man, with a great chest and massive limbs; the American trapper was -small and quiet in manner and seemed in no way a match for him. - -But Kit Carson was never a man to stand back because the odds were not -in his favor; so he advanced toward the camp bully. - -“Shunan,” said he, coolly, his gray eyes fixed steadfastly upon the man -before him, “we’ve all listened to you talk for some time; and we’ve -said nothing. There are twenty men in this camp who could beat you in -any kind of fighting you could name. But they are not trouble seekers; -and so they’ve stood back. Now, I consider myself the least among them; -and being such I take it on myself to say that we are all tired of you -and your bullying. And, further, I want to say that you will, from this -time on, stop your threats, or I’ll shoot you.” - -For a moment the Frenchman stood staring at the speaker, his eyes -glowing with fury; then he turned again without a word toward his own -quarters. - -“Gone for his gun,” said old Zeke. “And from his looks he means -business.” - -The group of trappers broke up immediately; sharp action was in the -air, and to meet this their experience told them to be prepared. But, -seeing, from their faces, what they meant to do, Kit shook his head -negatively. - -“This is my affair, boys,” he said. “So I must ask you all to stand -aside while I go through with it.” - -“But he’s got friends in camp,” protested old Zeke. “They’ll all be out -to see him through.” - -“If they interfere,” said Kit, “then I rely on you to see me through. -But I don’t think they will. Shunan has had the run of this camp too -long to think he needs help in a little matter like this. It’ll be a -matter of pride with him; and you’ll see, he’ll handle it alone.” - -Like lightning the news of the impending conflict ran through the camp. -The trappers and traders carefully drew out of what they thought would -be the line of fire, or placed themselves behind trees or the heavy log -houses. - -The boys went after Kit and found him tightening his saddle-girth, a -little distance from his lodge. - -“By all rights,” said Dave Johnson, “this fight should be mine or -Joe’s. We brought the man down this way; he was always looking for us -when he came. And now that trouble has come of it, I don’t see why you -should shoulder it.” - -Kit slapped him on the back and laughed. - -“The whole thing is a public one,” said he. “The man has come to be a -nuisance and a danger, and so a stop of some sort must be put to him. -We have no law in the wilderness, nor law officers. But we know what we -want, and somebody always comes forward to put a thing right. In this -case it is Kit Carson.” - -Having saddled his pony to his satisfaction, he took out a heavy -dragoon pistol and looked at its priming with much care. This he placed -in his belt, then swung himself into the saddle. And as Kit rode out -from the line of the lodges, the sound of hoofs came to him. His quick -eye turned in the direction of the sound; and he saw the Frenchman -mounted on a powerful horse, a rifle in his hands, riding toward him. - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -LOPEZ RIDES INTO CAMP - - -It is written boldly in the records of the great west that Kit Carson -was a man without fear; and never before did he show this fact as he -did when he turned his horse’s head and rode toward the Frenchman, -Shunan. His pony went at a slow, swinging lope; Kit sat him as quietly -as though he were on his way to try a shot at a flock of prairie -chickens, and there was no enemy on that side of the range. - -And the bully was in no way backward. But his bluster was gone; all the -cunning in his nature was called upon to aid him in the crisis. His -horse advanced at a swift pace; and the heads of the two steeds almost -touched when their riders drew rein. - -“Shunan,” said Kit, “am I the man you’re looking for?” - -The eyes of the bully shifted under the steady gaze of the American. - -“No,” said he. - -Then almost instantly the muzzle of his rifle lifted and covered Kit. -But quick as was his action, Kit’s was quicker. The dragoon pistol -flashed, and its heavy bullet struck Shunan in the arm, shattering the -bone; the man’s weapon exploded a second after the trapper’s; and its -missile grazed Kit’s scalp; then it fell to the ground, and the man’s -horse, unchecked, turned and dashed away. - -Calmly Kit rode back to where he had left his friends. - -“He meant to kill you,” stated old Zeke. “I saw the way he threw up his -rifle barrel that nothing else would please him.” - -And that the American trapper, lightning quick and of deadly aim, only -shot to disable his foe was evident to all; had he so desired, Shunan -would have dropped from his saddle never to rise again. - -“Peace in camp is all we want,” said Kit, quietly. “And I think as far -as Shunan’s concerned we’ll have it in the future.” - -There was no expedition going that fall into the Blackfoot country; but -one was organizing for a trading trip in that direction. - -“We’ll join that,” said Kit. - -“But,” said Joe, “we’ll be taking you away from work that will be -profitable.” - -“This matter of the map has me on my mettle,” said Kit. “I’m going to -see it through now, no matter how long it takes.” - -They accordingly went out with the traders as far as the Big Snake -River. Here they met a Hudson Bay trader named McCoy who had about -abandoned his operations because of ill luck, and was about to take up -a trapping venture. They joined him, thinking to get finally into the -region they desired. But after a series of adventures, one of which -saw them on the verge of starvation in a journey to Fort Hall, they -were forced back to the Green River once more to await another season. - -“It’s the last try,” said Dave, soberly. “If we don’t get up into that -country this time we’ll have to give it up.” - -“That’s what I promised dad in the letter I sent off to him yesterday,” -said Joe. “One more attempt; and if we fail, we go home.” - -As the fall grew near there was much talk of expeditions into the far -regions; the near-by streams had been trapped so long that the beaver -had become very scarce; and if success were desired the hunters must -seek new waters. - -And in the midst of this, Kit one evening came to the lodge which the -boys had erected. There was a gleam in his eye which told them that -something of a pleasing sort had happened. - -“Well,” said he, “it looks at last as though we were going to have -a chance. An expedition, one hundred strong, is to go as far as the -Yellowstone.” - -“And do we go with them?” asked Dave, leaping up in his excitement. - -“We do.” - -Both boys swung their caps in the air and leaped about in a series of -acrobatic antics. But Kit sobered them in a moment. - -“Not only do we go,” said he, “but Shunan goes also.” - -“Ah!” said Dave; and he sat down in the door of the lodge. - -“That means something, I should say,” said Joe. - -“All last season he was laid up with a maimed arm,” said Kit; “and now, -as soon as he’s able, he engages for the Blackfoot region. I know he’s -specially set on going there, because he refused a number of offers to -go out with parties who are to head in other directions.” - -Shunan was a very much changed man; his manner was subdued, and he -gave little or no trouble to the camp. Kit Carson he treated with much -respect, and the boys he was careful not to molest. One day, however, -shortly before the big expedition was to start, he met them in the camp -street. - -“I hear you’re going up north,” said he. - -“Yes,” said Joe. “We thought it might be a useful trip--and maybe -profitable.” - -Shunan looked at them with something like his old ferocity. - -“Take my advice and go somewhere else,” said he, slowly. “It will be a -dangerous journey for people looking for anything but beaver fur.” - -He was about to pass on, but Dave Johnson placed himself in his path. - -“What do you mean by that?” said he. - -“Just what I say,” replied the man. “Nothing more and nothing less.” - -Then he passed on, never giving them another glance; and when the boys -found themselves at their lodge that night with Kit Carson, they -mentioned the matter. The trapper seemed pleased. - -“I think,” said he, “that that proves he’s going to carry news to his -friend, Moccasin Williams. Anyway, it shows that he expects to meet -him, and doesn’t want any one in the party who has a knowledge of his -errand.” - -The chief trapper of the big expedition into the Blackfoot country -was named Fontenelle; he was an experienced woodsman, and of a very -determined character. With the packhorses loaded and the trappers -mounted upon their mustangs, he addressed them. - -“Every time we’ve gone into the region round about the head waters of -the Missouri,” said he, “we’ve been attacked, our horses have been -stolen, our traps taken, our men killed; and in almost every case it -has ended in our being driven out.” - -A murmur went up from the men. The Blackfeet were a hardy and warlike -people who claimed a vast extent of country as their hunting ground. -The tribe was at that time some thirty thousand strong and counted the -finest of the many races of American Indians. As hunters they were -unexcelled; their marksmanship was deadly; and as riders and horse -breakers they were only led by the Comanches. - -“This time they’ll not drive us back,” said old Zeke Matthews, who had -engaged to go out with Fontenelle. He slapped the stock of his long -rifle as he spoke. “It’s our turn now; and we’ll make the red thieves -run.” - -It is doubtful if any such band of trappers ever left the Green River -before; they were hardy, seasoned mountaineers, inured to the wild life -of the Rockies, expert in the craft of beaver taking, and accomplished -in Indian warfare. - -Straight on they pushed through the wilderness, day after day. In the -country of the Crows they met with friendly greetings; perhaps it was -the unusual size of the party, and perhaps it was because it was headed -for the hunting grounds of the Blackfeet--for years the deadly foes of -the Crows. On the Yellowstone, which was in the heart of the Blackfoot -region, they set about the serious business of taking fur. The company -was divided--fifty men to attend the traps and fifty to guard the camp. -The men lived with their rifles in their hands. As Zeke Matthews put it: - -“The cook turns the meat on the spit with one hand and has a loaded -pistol in the other.” - -Fontenelle was constantly urging the men not to relax. - -“We can hold our own with them,” said he. “But we must not let them -surprise us. Keep your eyes peeled; don’t overlook a sign.” - -Kit Carson and his two boy friends needed no urging. And they not only -watched for Blackfeet; they kept an eye upon the movements of Shunan as -well. However, it was impossible to watch the man at all times; now and -then he’d be out of their sight for hours at a time. - -One night after supper Kit drew the boys aside. From beneath his -hunting shirt he drew a small, pointed stick, notched here and there in -a peculiar manner. - -“What is it?” asked Dave. - -“As we left the last line of traps this afternoon,” said Kit, “I saw -Shunan lag behind and then drop back among some trees. There were six -of us; but I said nothing to the others. A little later, after Shunan -rejoined us, I made believe I’d sighted a small buck and started off, -away from the river. When I got out of sight, I changed my course, -heading back toward the place where I’d seen Shunan disappear. Hunting -around, I saw Indian signs in plenty; and then I saw this,” holding up -the wand, “sticking in the ground.” - -“A message!” said both boys in a breath. - -Kit nodded. - -“Yes; and I’ll venture there was one waiting for him from Williams or -the redskins.” - -After this they kept a stricter watch than ever upon the Frenchman; but -he seemed to be entirely interested in the work of trapping and curing -furs, and not once did they detect him in any further communication -with the savages. - -“They’ve come to some kind of an understanding,” said Kit, after a -time. “And he’s waiting for a certain time to come around. Like as not -it’s the spring; for it’s too late to jump out now and try to get back -to Santa Fé. Winter’d overtake them.” - -Winter came on at last, the streams were frozen and the trappers gave -up their labors. They left the Blackfoot country determining to winter -in a more friendly section. A band of Crows guided them to a sheltered -valley, and the two parties camped side by side during the severe -months. - -The Crows were mostly young warriors, and splendidly athletic; in good -weather they arrayed themselves against the white men in games of -strength and skill; hunting was the favorite test, but horsemanship, -running and leaping, were also well liked. In these contests the boys -grew very intimate with a stalwart young brave whose name was Tall -Thunder. - -One night they sat beside him at a lodge fire in the Crow camp; a -number of the young warriors were also present, but they rarely spoke, -knowing little of the white man’s language. Tall Thunder, however, -could make himself understood without much difficulty. He related many -of his hunting exploits, and some of the deeds of his tribe in their -wars with the Blackfeet. - -“Your English is good,” praised Joe. “How did you learn it?” - -“Um--much teach!” explained Tall Thunder. “Half-breed speak much -Englees. Him Spotted Snake.” - -The boys looked at each other. Here was verification of the story of -old Diaz, the trader at Santa Fé, and of the news gathered by Shunan. -Lopez, or Spotted Snake, was, or had been, in the northern wilderness. - -“Do you know where Spotted Snake is now?” asked Dave. - -“Um! Crow village--four suns. Live like chief!” - -The boys understood from this that Lopez was then in a Crow village -four days’ journey from where they were; and also that he was much -honored. They were discussing this fact in some excitement, when the -young Crow, who could make nothing of the rapid English, said: - -“Spotted Snake is your friend?” - -Dave Johnson shook his head. Tall Thunder seemed to turn the denial -over for a space; then he said: - -“Um! Spotted Snake keep away from white men. Only want to see one.” He -nodded his head. “Him with Blackfeet. Much hate.” - -“He hates the white man who lives among the Blackfeet?” - -Tall Thunder nodded once more. - -“Much hate!” he repeated. Then as though to show the extent of the -man’s hatred: “Want Crow to go on war-path. Against Blackfeet. Chiefs -and old men hold council. Say no.” - -Later in the evening the boys spoke to Kit about this. He was -interested. - -“Lopez has his enemy placed,” said he. “And maybe, through the news -brought by Shunan, Williams knows something about the whereabouts of -Lopez.” Then, after a moment, during which he stared into the fire: “It -seems to me, boys, that your long hunt is going to come to something at -last. Unless an accident happens Williams will get out of this region -in the spring; Shunan will go with him. Watch Shunan; don’t let him -make a move that we don’t see, and we can overreach them.” - -It was a hard winter on the horses; soft branches and bark, the inside -layer of the cottonwood, was the only fodder the poor animals had for -weeks; but the fresh green of the spring soon began to put them in -condition when that anxiously looked for season arrived. - -While waiting for the horses to pick up some flesh, Fontenelle, the -chief trapper, sent two men to Fort Laramie for some much needed -supplies. The news came later that they had been ambushed and killed by -Blackfeet. - -It was in no very soft mood that the trappers set out for their hunting -grounds; but, though they did not know it, the time for the striking of -a retaliatory blow was at hand. - -As they drew near to the source of the Missouri, they one evening -camped on the fork of a small tributary. The setting sun was slanting -across the stream, the camp-fires were lighted and the trappers were -cooking their supper, standing guard or caring for the horses. Suddenly -a shout came from one of the pickets, together with the sound of -hoof-beats. In a few moments a couple of fur hunters came into camp -with a horseman. In spite of the Indian trappings worn by both mustang -and rider, both Dave Johnson and Joe Frazier recognized him at a glance. - -“Lopez!” they exclaimed in a breath; and then the trappers closed in -around the half-breed. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII - -THE VILLAGE OF THE BLACKFEET - - -The throng of buckskin-clad trappers crowded about the half-breed -Lopez; every eye was on him; all were curious to hear the nature of his -errand. - -“I came to warn you,” he said in Spanish, to Fontenelle. “Directly -in your path, one day’s ride from here, is the main village of the -Blackfeet. Hold to your present course and you’ll have them swarming -around you like bees.” - -For a moment there was a dead silence. Then the many grievances they -held against that particular tribe, and more especially the fate of the -two messengers to Fort Laramie, came to the minds of the trappers. As -one man they gripped their rifles and there arose a cry for vengeance. -The half-breed sat his mustang quietly; he said nothing, but in his -eye was a satisfied gleam. Kit Carson touched Dave Johnson’s sleeve. - -“Moccasin Williams is in that village. That is why the half-breed is -here. Failing to get the Crows to attack them, he now tries our men.” - -“And with what result, do you think?” asked Dave. - -For answer Kit pointed to the trapper band; to a man, almost, they were -gathered about Fontenelle; their voices were lifted in a harsh hubbub; -their rifles were waved about; they clamored for war. - -It was a wild scene, and one neither of the boys ever forgot; the -rough, bearded men, buckskin-clad, their weapons gleaming in the flare -of the camp-fires, while all around was silence and the darkness of the -wilderness. - -When the clamor died down, the chief trapper spoke. - -“We have suffered at the hands of the Blackfeet,” said he. “And now -that a chance has come to strike a blow, we will not let it pass.” - -There was a wild hurrah, and the men scattered about the camp, -gathering at the various fires, cleaning their rifles, oiling the locks -of their pistols, seeing to the edge of knife and hatchet. - -“And see that there’s plenty of good black powder in your horns,” -advised old Zeke. “Bullets and flints will be things you can’t have too -much of either; for unless I’m much mistaken we’ve got a day of days -ahead of us to-morrow, lads.” - -As the half-breed slipped from his horse and approached a fire at which -Kit and the boys stood alone he nodded as though not at all surprised -to see them. - -“I saw all three of you a dozen times during the winter,” said he. -“But you did not see me. I often rode through the passes when the snow -melted, and looked down at your camp in the valley from the hills.” - -“And it was then, I guess, that you thought how well it would fit in -with your plans if you could get our party to attack the Blackfeet.” - -The half-breed smiled the disagreeable smile natural to him. - -“But,” said he, “I never hoped to have it happen, until the two riders -going to Laramie were killed. After that,” and he snapped his fingers, -“I knew it would be nothing.” - -“If you were so anxious to revenge yourself on Williams, why have you -waited so long?” asked Kit. “A man who really wanted satisfaction would -have tried for it single-handed.” - -“Do you think I have not?” asked Lopez, quietly. “Do you suppose I have -been lying by all this time waiting to be helped? I spent months in -trying to find out where he was. Twice I was taken by the Blackfeet -and once almost lost my life. That I could speak their language and -claimed to be related to their tribe was all that saved me. At last I -located him in the village which you will see to-morrow. The Pueblos -call me Spotted Snake,” and he laughed, harshly. “Well, I tried to earn -the name in my lookout for Moccasin Williams; for never a snake held so -close to the ground, or crawled so silently through the grass as I did. -But I never got him as I wanted him. A hundred times I had him under my -rifle, but he was never near enough for me to be sure. To-morrow,” and -there was a deadly meaning in his voice, “I will try again; and I think -I shall succeed.” - -The fire at which they stood was one removed from the others, having -been kindled by a horse guard to roast a particularly prized piece of -buffalo tongue while he was on watch. The trees threw huge, dancing -shadows all about; and their own movements were grotesquely mimicked -by the giant shades flung from them by the changing light. There was a -silence after the half-breed’s last words; then, as he stood staring -into the red of the blaze, Dave Johnson fancied he heard a sound behind -him. Trained, by this time, to respond to sounds which he did not -understand, Dave was about to turn; but he felt the grip of Kit upon -his arm--a grip which asked for silence as plainly as words could have -done. - -Kit, facing the half-breed, spoke quietly: - -“The map which belongs to these boys, now? What about that?” - -The half-breed gave a gesture of contempt. - -“If I can find the man who stole it from me, that’s all I ask,” said he. - -“Well, all right,” said Kit. Then he added, drily, “But seeing that you -stole it yourself, Spotted Snake, I think you’re making a mighty big -complaint.” - -“He claimed to be my friend. He is a traitor,” said the half-breed, -sullenly. - -“As I have said, all right,” repeated Kit. “You can look at the thing -just as you see fit, and I’ll not say a word against it. But,” and here -there was a ring in his voice like that of steel, “the map belongs to -these two lads, and I’m going to see that they get it. It belongs to -them and no one else shall have it; neither you, Lopez, who stand there -grinning at me; nor you, Moccasin Williams, away there in the Blackfoot -town; nor you, Shunan, who are behind me in the bushes!” He wheeled as -he spoke these last words, and faced the darkness. “Come out,” said he. -“We know you’re there, and we know why you’re there.” - -There came a swishing and clattering among the thick growth, and the -burly Frenchman made his appearance. - -“I was looking for fuel,” he growled, sullenly. “I didn’t know you were -here.” - -Kit regarded him steadily. - -“I never told the rest of the men how you were in communication -with the Blackfeet in the fall,” said he. Then as the man tried to -interrupt, he lifted a hand for silence. “If I had,” he went on, “I -guess you know what would have happened--for they don’t love that -people. But,” and the ring in his voice was as hard as before and the -menace was as clear, “if you make an attempt to leave camp to give -warning they will be told now. So, if you value a whole skin, you’ll -sit tight and say nothing.” - -“I never meant to----” began the bully, but Kit stopped him. - -“It makes no difference what you meant,” he said. “The thing is there, -just the same. I’ll give Fontenelle a hint, and there will be a quiet -guard over you until our little business with the redskins is done. So -mind what movements you make when away from the camp. You’ll not know -which one’ll draw the bullet from some pistol.” - -And that there was something behind this warning was soon made plain -to the bully; as he sat by the fire, as he rolled in his blanket, he -felt the watch held over him; not once during the long night did it -relax; and though he desired ever so much to warn his confederate among -the Indians, he did not dare to make a move. - -Long before dawn the camp was astir, breakfast was cooked and eaten, -and the entire party of one hundred trappers, under the guidance of -Lopez, started in the direction of the Blackfoot village. After a march -of some six hours they struck a broad and well-defined trail. - -“This leads straight to the village,” said Lopez. “Two or three hours -more and we are there.” - -But at this point Fontenelle halted the column of trappers. - -“I think it would be best,” said he, “if a small party went ahead and -reconnoitered. In marching on blindly this way there is always danger -of a trap.” - -Lopez protested loudly; but the trappers as a body thought well of the -suggestion. - -“Carson,” said the head trapper to Kit, “take five men and go have a -look at the trail and the village. We’ll camp here until you return.” - -Accordingly, with Zeke Matthews, the two boys and a pair of seasoned -woodsmen, Kit started off. Silently they rode along the narrow Indian -trail, being careful to make a note of every spot that would afford -a chance for an ambuscade; at length they drew near the village, a -perfect city of lodges; creeping among the rocks and trees they managed -to get a close view of what was going on. - -From the opposite side of the town a great drove of horses was being -driven in; camp equipment was being brought together as though for a -move. - -“We’re none too soon,” said Kit in a whisper, to Dave. “By this time -to-morrow they’d be gone.” - -“Look!” said Joe, in a low voice, his rifle barrel indicating a place -near to the end of a row of lodges. “A white man!” - -“Moccasin Williams,” were Kit’s words, as his eyes rested upon the -renegade. “Well, Spotted Snake was right, wasn’t he?” - - - - -CHAPTER XIV - -THE LAST BATTLE - - -Making sure that the savages were merely in the first stages of their -preparations for departure, Kit and his little party of scouts crept -away through the trees and grass to the place where they had left their -horses. Mounting, they gained the trappers’ camp just after nightfall. - -When the news was broken, the woodsmen gathered about their fires in -council. After some discussion a plan was agreed upon. - -“Kit will take half of you,” said the chief trapper, “and ride to the -attack. The other half will stay behind with me to guard the pack -animals and the furs.” - -“But don’t stand still,” was Kit Carson’s advice. “Advance slowly in -our track. Then you’ll be a kind of reserve in case we need you.” - -Everything agreed upon, the trappers rolled themselves in their robes -and blankets around the fires; and at dawn next day they divided -according to their plan; Kit and his fifty taking the Indian trail at a -swinging pace, every man in the advance eager for the fight. - -“After to-day,” prophesied Zeke Matthews, “those varmints of Blackfeet -won’t be so quick with their monkey shines. They’ll get a lesson -they’ll remember for some time to come.” - -They approached the Indian town without being discovered; the savages -were in the heart of their own country, never dreaming of attack, and -therefore had out no sentinels. The trappers, each well mounted, rifle -in hand and side arms ready to be grasped at a second’s notice, drew up -in a line. - -“Now, men,” said Kit, his eyes running over them, to make sure that -all were prepared. “At full speed! Charge!” - -Like a thunderbolt the woodsmen struck the Blackfoot village; a -volley from the long rifles swept among the warriors and a dozen of -them pitched headlong. A shrill yell arose; the savages gripped their -weapons and fell back from their town, fighting every step of the way. - -The Blackfoot was a fighting man of craft, courage and generalship. -Unlike the Crows and more southern tribes, he did not go mad with -excitement when he faced the superior weapons of the white man. On the -contrary he always fought them according to a carefully laid out plan. - -From behind rocks and stumps and fallen trees the long arrows began to -wing their deadly way; taking the cue the trappers protected themselves -in much the same fashion, and their rifles continued to speed bullets -wherever a tufted head showed itself. - -For fully three hours this sort of warfare continued; the Blackfeet -fought with courage and judgment; craftily they drew the fire of the -trappers until the supply of ammunition began to grow low. - -As this latter grew apparent to Kit he passed the word to slacken the -fire. - -“Don’t press a trigger unless you are sure of a redskin,” was his -command. - -And as the rifle fire slacked the Indians grew more bold. They -understood what had happened, and crept forward from tree to tree, from -rock to rock, meaning to get near enough for a grand rush and then to -engage the whites hand to hand. - -“I notice,” said Dave Johnson, as he lay at full length behind a stump, -his rifle advanced, his eyes on the dark-skinned enemy, “that there’s -a bullet comes now and then from over there to the right. One of the -braves must have a rifle.” - -“It’s Moccasin Williams,” replied Kit Carson, from behind a near-by -tree. “He’s behind that big cottonwood at the mouth of the ravine, -trying some sharpshooting.” - -“I’d like to get a----” but Dave never finished the sentence, for Kit’s -rifle cracked and the bark flew from the big cottonwood in a shower, -leaving a deep seam to show the track of the bullet. - -“Missed!” said Kit, coolly. “But better luck next time.” - -In a little while the Indians pressed forward under cover; then, -thinking themselves near enough for a rush, they leaped from behind the -trees and with shrill yells and brandished hatchets and knives, darted -at the trappers. - -The long rifles greeted them once more; but as they still came on, the -pistols were discharged in their very faces with terrible effect. This -was more than savage fortitude could bear up under, and they sought -cover once more with howls of rage and a fresh flight of arrows. - -Then closer and closer they drew and slower and slower grew the fire -of the whites. There were but few charges of powder left. Another rush -of the savages, and there would be no more. - -“It looks bad,” said old Zeke, as he drained his powder-horn of its -last grain. “But we’ll give a good account of ourselves for all.” - -But a last desperate struggle with knife and clubbed rifle was not to -come, for as the powder was quite exhausted, word was brought to Kit -that the reserve of trappers under Fontenelle had arrived. And soon -after, each horn was refilled, each rifle recharged, and with the -confidence of increased numbers the trappers advanced, firing as they -went. - -In the van of the whites was the half-breed, Lopez; he held his rifle -ready, but seemed to reserve his fire. Kit Carson, firing and loading -and firing and loading, noticed this. - -“Anything wrong with your shooting iron, Spotted Snake?” asked the -trapper. - -“No,” replied the half-breed, never taking his eyes from the flitting -line of savages as they moved from cover to cover. “But the bullet -that’s in it is meant for Moccasin Williams, and him only.” - -Steadily the trappers pressed forward; quicker and quicker grew the -flitting of the savages from rock to tree and from tree to stump; and -at length the crafty retreat began to weaken, then to waver. There was -less purpose in it; finally the braves at one side broke and ran; then -the entire line followed suit. - -Now for the first time since he entered the action, the rifle of Lopez -lifted. The boys saw an ungainly white man in the rush of the fleeing -savages; he had sandy hair and a thin, fox-like face. A dozen steps he -took, the fox-face turned over his shoulder to observe the pursuers, -then Lopez’ piece crashed and the man pitched forward to the ground. - -With a shrill, throaty cry of exultation, Lopez darted forward; the -boys saw him reach the prostrate form, a knife in his hand. But as he -bent over it the form showed unexpected life. Moccasin Williams sprang -to his feet, drawing an Indian hatchet from his belt as he did so, and -both men struck at each other. Both blows took effect; then their arms -encircled each other, there was a frenzied clutching at each other’s -throats, and they fell to the earth. - -And when Kit Carson returned from the pursuit of the Indians, which was -but a short one, he found the boys standing above the two dead bodies. - -“Your property?” he asked, his swift eyes telling him what had occurred. - -“Here,” said Joe, and he held up a folded paper. - -“Good!” said the trapper. “Take care of it, for you’ve had a hard fight -to get it back; and the next time you might not be so lucky.” - -The blow dealt the Blackfeet that day was a heavy one; and they -remembered it, as Zeke Matthews had prophesied, for a long time after. - -Great good luck followed the Fontenelle band in their labors after -this; and when they finally journeyed to the trading camp, held that -year on Mud River, they took with them a great wealth of furs. - -And it was on Mud River, some weeks later, that Kit Carson parted with -the boys, who proposed to join an ingoing party as far as Santa Fé, and -then take ship at one of the Gulf ports for New York. - -“Good-bye, lads,” he said, as he pressed their hands. “Some day I may -go east, and if I ever do, I’ll be sure to look you up.” - -“East!” exclaimed Joe. “West, you mean, Kit. In a year we’ll be in -California again, digging and washing along that wonderful river which, -as old Goat Beard said, runs with gold.” - -And Joe was right as to place. But he was wrong about the time. - -The next time the three met it was in California; but fifteen years or -more had passed. The boys had become bronzed men and were accounted the -richest in the New Eldorado. And Kit Carson was then the most famous -man in the great west; his fame as an Indian fighter and pathfinder had -gone around the globe. - -“You found your river of gold then,” said he, as they gripped hands -once more. - -“Yes,” laughed Dave. “It proved to be the Sacramento.” - -“But we had to wait until the United States took California over, after -the war with Mexico,” said Joe, rather ruefully. “It was a long time, -but,” and his eyes laughed much as they used to do, “it was worth the -waiting.” - -“I should think so, indeed,” said the trapper. - - - - -CHAPTER XV - -SKETCH OF CARSON’S LIFE - - -Christopher or “Kit” Carson was born in Madison County, Kentucky, in -December, 1809. The great state had been opened only a few years and -was, in many parts, still a trackless wilderness. - -Kit was reared in the log house of the frontier; and like most noted -frontiersmen grew accustomed to the rifle at an early age. - -But however primitive Kentucky may have been there were apparently too -many settlers to please the elder Carson; for a year after the birth of -Kit, he packed his effects upon the backs of his horses, and with his -family took up the trail for the more distant west. They crossed the -Mississippi and settled in that vast country later ceded by Napoleon to -the United States, and then known as Upper Louisiana. - -Here Kit grew up among the wild spirits of the border, accustomed to -the idea of danger and renowned even in his boyhood as a rifle shot, a -hunter and the possessor of invincible resolution. He served two years -as apprentice to a saddler; then the stories of the Santa Fé trail, the -dangers and wonders thereof, appealed to him so strongly that he joined -a party about to start over it. - -This was the day when vast herds of buffalo roamed the great plains, -when the Rocky Mountains were almost a thing of fable. And at the age -of eighteen we find Kit Carson in the Mexican city of Santa Fé, with -the whirl of the wonderful southwest all about him. The fur trade was -approaching its height and the commerce of the prairies had centered -about the town. To it came all the wonderful characters of the border, -and from it started more expeditions than from any other city in the -west. - -Young Carson fell in love with the wild country; with rifle, hatchet -and knife, he penetrated the hills to the north and there fell in -with Kin Cade, an old mountaineer who taught him much of the lore of -the West which afterward proved so useful to him. Later, Kit joined -the train of a trader going back to Missouri. The Santa Fé trail was a -thousand miles long, and through a savage region of wolves and Indians, -and waterless deserts. But Kit did not mind this; he liked the toil -of it and the danger. But, half-way over the trail, the thought came -to him that he was going back “East.” At a ford on the Arkansas River -they encountered another band of traders on their way to the west; Kit -joined them and returned to Santa Fé. Reaching the fur market once -more, Young Carson engaged with a Colonel Trammel, who was leading a -trading expedition southward to the rich mines of Chihuahua. Having -learned Spanish from Kin Cade, he was now to serve as interpreter. - -Returning from this venture he went to Taos, a trapper’s town about -a hundred and fifty miles north of Santa Fé. Here he met the trapper, -Ewing Young, for the first time, and was engaged as a camp cook. But -Young was not long in seeing the qualities of his youthful recruit, and -when he took up his march for California, where we find his party in -the first chapter of “In the Rockies with Kit Carson,” Kit was a full -fledged trapper. - -After the great battle with the Blackfeet, as related in the last -chapter of the story, Kit Carson joined a body of trappers at the -summer rendezvous. Later he joined a trading party going into the -country of the Navajos, a highly intelligent tribe who cultivated the -arts and were quite rich. After a profitable venture among these people -he became the hunter, or meat provider for the fort on the Platte River. - -But he preferred trapping, it would seem; and after some smaller -ventures joined a large party and once more ventured into the -Blackfoot country. In the winter traces of Indians were seen near their -camp; knowing that the savages must be in large force to venture so -near to them, Kit Carson proposed that the whites strike the first -blow, and so plant terror in the hearts of the Blackfeet. - -Forty trappers took the trail; Kit was given the command. A band of -savages were encountered and attacked. They fled, falling back upon -a still larger band. A desperate battle followed, fought from behind -trees and rocks, and as night fell, the Blackfeet, with many of their -braves dead or disabled, retired across a frozen stream to an island in -its middle, where they had erected a log fort. Under the cover of the -darkness, however, the Indians left even this and hurried away. - -Returning to camp a council was held. The trappers were sure the -savages would return in great numbers, and they began to prepare for -them. Intrenchments were prepared; trees, brush, stumps, fallen logs -and boulders were cleared away from the camp upon every side. If the -savages advanced, they must do so in the open. - -At daybreak one morning the Indians came, a thousand or more in number, -and advanced to crush the whites for good and all. But at the verge -of the cleared space they halted, astonished. They could not advance -without exposing themselves to the deadly fire of the long rifles; to -take the fort meant an awful sacrifice. A council was held in which -there was much speech-making. Then the host broke into two bands and -moved away over the mountains; and after this that particular body of -trappers were troubled no more. - -But Kit was destined to have many encounters with the Blackfeet and -other hostile tribes; and at the same time there were numerous others -with whom he became quite friendly; indeed, many was the village into -which he could ride and be greeted as a brother. In spite of all the -opposition of the Indians of the mountains, the trappers persisted. But -at length the price of furs fell to such a degree that hunting them -grew unprofitable. And so Kit abandoned the pursuit and began a career -as a hunter, during which he pushed his acquaintance with the nations -of the Cheyennes, the Kiowas, the Arapahoes and the Comanches. Once he -was instrumental in preventing a deadly war between the powerful Sioux -people and the Comanche. The Sioux had intruded upon the hunting ground -of the other tribe; this was resented; fights followed; the Comanches -were beaten. Kit Carson was the friend of both peoples; he went to -their chiefs; he parleyed and argued. The result was that the Sioux -left the Comanche hunting ground, their chiefs giving their word that -they’d never return. - -Among the Comanches, Kit Carson found a wife--a beautiful Indian girl -with a mind much superior to that of the women of her race. They had -a daughter. Afterward the wife and mother died of a plague which had -broken out; and when the child grew a little older, Kit took her to St. -Louis to be educated and brought up amidst civilized surroundings. - -Bound up the Missouri River from St. Louis, Kit fell in with Lieutenant -John C. Frémont, of the Topographical Engineers Corps. This officer had -been sent by the War Department to explore on the line of the Kansas -and Great Platte Rivers, and between the South Pass in the Rockies and -the frontier of Missouri. Frémont had a party of twenty-one boatmen who -knew the western life; he had also engaged a guide, but this latter -man had failed him. Learning this, Kit Carson offered his services -as one who knew the mountains and streams, having trapped among them -for sixteen years. He was accepted; and thus began that series of -explorations that made the name of Frémont, the pathfinder, known the -country over, and that of Kit Carson, frontiersman, famous throughout -the world. - -Three separate expeditions into the wilds were required before Frémont -completed his work, and in each of these Kit Carson acted as his guide. -They were expeditions crowded with Indian battles, with perils and -escapes by flood and field. - -After years of adventure, Kit began to farm and raise sheep, organizing -a hunting party of his old friends now and then; later the government, -because of his knowledge of the tribes, made him an Indian agent. - -This difficult post he filled as probably it had never been filled -before. During the rebellion he was of much service to the government -on the border; and at the close of the war was breveted a brigadier -general of volunteers. He died at Fort Lyon, Colorado, in May, 1868, in -the sixtieth year of his age. - - Another Book in this Series is: - IN KENTUCKY WITH DANIEL BOONE - - - - -TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES: - - - Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_. - - Obvious typographical errors have been corrected. - - Inconsistencies in hyphenation have been standardized. - - Archaic or alternate spelling has been retained from the original. - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK IN THE ROCKIES WITH KIT CARSON *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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