THE OLD SANTA FE TRAIL - COLONEL HENRY INMAN (surface ebook reader .TXT) 📗

Of The Desert,

Is Generally Successful In his Sudden Assaults, But Carson, Who Was

Never Surprised, Was Always Equal To His Tactics.

 

 

 

One Of The Two Soldiers Whose Turn It Had Been To Stand Guard That

Morning Was Discovered to Have Been Asleep When The Alarm Of Indians

Was Given, And Carson At Once Administered the Indian Method Of

Punishment, Making The Man Wear The Dress Of A Squaw For That Day.

Then Going On, He Arrived at Santa Fe, Where He Turned over His

Little Command.

 

 

 

While There, He Heard That A Gang Of Those Desperadoes So Frequently

The Nuisance Of A New Country Had Formed a Conspiracy To Murder And

Rob Two Wealthy Citizens Whom They Had Volunteered to Accompany Over

The Trail To The States.  The Caravan Was Already Many Miles On Its

Way When Carson Was Informed of The Plot.  In less Than An Hour He

Had Hired sixteen Picked men And Was On His March To Intercept Them.

He Took A Short Cut Across The Mountains, Taking Especial Care To

Keep Out Of The Way Of The Indians, Who Were On The War-Path, But

As To Whose Movements He Was Always Posted.  In two Days He Came

Upon A Camp Of United states Recruits, En Route To The Military

Posts In new Mexico, Whose Commander Offered to Accompany Him With

Twenty Men.  Carson Accepted the Generous Proposal, By Forced marches

Soon Overtook The Caravan Of Traders, And At Once Placed one Fox,

The Leader Of The Gang, In irons, After Which He Informed the Owners

Of The Caravan Of The Escape They Had Made From The Wretches Whom

They Were Treating So Kindly.  At First The Gentlemen Were Astounded

At The Disclosures Made To Them, But Soon Admitted that They Had

Noticed many Things Which Convinced them That The Plot Really Existed,

And But For The Opportune Arrival Of The Brave Frontiersman It Would

Shortly Have Been Carried out.

 

 

 

The Members Of The Caravan Who Were Perfectly Trustworthy Were Then

Ordered to Corral The Rest Of The Conspirators, Thirty-Five In number,

And They Were Driven Out Of Camp, With The Exception Of Fox, The

Leader, Whom Carson Conveyed to Taos.  He Was Imprisoned for Several

Months, But As A Crime In intent Only Could Be Proved against Him,

And As The Adobe Walls Of The House Where He Was Confined were Not

Secure Enough To Retain A Man Who Desired to Release Himself, He Was

Finally Liberated, And Cleared out.

 

 

 

The Traders Were Profuse In their Thanks To Carson For His Timely

Interference, But He Refused every Offer Of Remuneration.  On Their

Return To Santa Fe From St. Louis, However, They Presented him With

A Magnificent Pair Of Pistols, Upon Whose Silver Mounting Was An

Inscription Commemorating His Brave Deed and The Gratitude Of The

Donors.

 

 

 

The Following Summer Was Spent In a Visit To St. Louis, And Early

In The Fall He Returned over The Trail, Arriving at The Cheyenne

Village On The Upper Arkansas Without Meeting With Any Incident

Worthy Of Note.  On Reaching That Point, He Learned that The Indians

Had Received a Terrible Affront From An Officer Commanding a Detachment

Of United states Troops, Who Had Whipped one Of Their Chiefs; And

That Consequently The Whole Tribe Was Enraged, And Burning For Revenge

Upon The Whites.  Carson Was The First White Man To Approach The

Place Since The Insult, And So Many Years Had Elapsed since He Was

The Hunter At Bent'S Fort, And So Grievously Had The Indians Been

Offended, That His Name No Longer Guaranteed safety To The Party

With Whom He Was Travelling, Nor Even Insured respect To Himself,

In The State Of Excitement Existing In the Village.  Carson, However,

Deliberately Pushed himself Into The Presence Of A War Council Which

Was Just Then In session To Consider The Question Of Attacking The

Caravan, Giving Orders To His Men To Keep Close Together, And Guard

Against A Surprise.

 

 

 

The Savages, Supposing That He Could Not Understand Their Language,

Talked without Restraint, And Unfolded their Plans To Capture His

Party And Kill Them All, Particularly The Leader.  After They Had

Reached this Decision, Carson Coolly Rose And Addressed the Council

In The Cheyenne Language, Informing The Indians Who He Was, Of His

Former Associations With And Kindness To Their Tribe, And That Now

He Was Ready To Render Them Any Assistance They Might Require; But

As To Their Taking His Scalp, He Claimed the Right To Say A Word.

 

 

 

The Indians Departed, And Carson Went On His Way; But There Were

Hundreds Of Savages In sight On The Sand Hills, And, Though They

Made No Attack, He Was Well Aware That He Was In their Power, Nor

Had They Abandoned the Idea Of Capturing His Train.  His Coolness

And Deliberation Kept His Men In spirit, And Yet Out Of The Whole

Fifteen, Which Was The Total Number Of His Force, There Were Only Two

Or Three On Whom He Could Place Any Reliance In case Of An Emergency.

 

 

 

When The Train Camped for The Night, The Wagons Were Corralled, And

The Men And Mules All Brought Inside The Circle.  Grass Was Cut With

Sheath-Knives And Fed to The Animals, Instead Of Their Being Picketed

Out As Usual, And As Large A Guard As Possible Detailed.  When The

Camp Had Settled down To Perfect Quiet, Carson Crawled outside It,

Taking With Him A Mexican Boy, And After Explaining To Him The Danger

Which Threatened them All, Told Him That It Was In his Power To Save

The Lives Of The Company.  Then He Sent Him On Alone To Rayedo,

A Journey Of Nearly Three Hundred miles, To Ask For An Escort Of

United states Troops To Be Sent Out To Meet The Train, Impressing

Upon The Brave Little Mexican The Importance Of Putting a Good Many

Miles Between Himself And The Camp Before Morning.  And So He Started

Him, With A Few Rations Of Food, Without Letting The Rest Of His

Party Know That Such Measures Were Necessary.  The Boy Had Been In

Carson'S Service For Some Time, And Was Known To Him As A Faithful

And Active Messenger, And In a Wild Country Like New Mexico, With

The Outdoor Life And Habits Of Its People, Such A Journey Was Not

An Unusual Occurrence.

 

 

 

Carson Now Returned to The Camp, To Watch All Night Himself, And

At Daybreak All Were On The Trail Again.  No Indians Made Their

Appearance Until Nearly Noon, When Five Warriors Came Galloping Up

Toward The Train.  As Soon As They Came Close Enough To Hear His

Voice, Carson Ordered them To Halt, And Going Up To Them, Told How

He Had Sent A Messenger To Rayedo The Night Before To Inform The

Troops That Their Tribe Were Annoying Him, And That If He Or His Men

Were Molested, Terrible Punishment Would Be Inflicted by Those Who

Would Surely Come To His Relief.  The Savages Replied that They

Would Look For The Moccasin Tracks, Which They Undoubtedly Found,

And The Whole Village Passed away Toward The Hills After A Little

While, Evidently Seeking a Place Of Safety From An Expected attack

By The Troops.

 

 

 

The Young Mexican Overtook The Detachment Of Soldiers Whose Officer

Had Caused all The Trouble With The Indians, To Whom He Told His

Story; But Failing To Secure Any Sympathy, He Continued his Journey

To Rayedo, And Procured from The Garrison Of That Place Immediate

Assistance.  Major Grier, Commanding The Post, At Once Despatched

A Troop Of His Regiment, Which, By Forced marches, Met Carson

Twenty-Five Miles Below Bent'S Fort, And Though It Encountered no

Indians, The Rapid Movement Had A Good Effect Upon The Savages,

Impressing Them With The Power And Promptness Of The Government.

 

 

 

Early In the Spring Of 1865, Carson Was Ordered, With Three Companies,

To Put A Stop To The Depredations Of Marauding Bands Of Cheyennes,

Kiowas, And Comanches Upon The Caravans And Emigrant Outfits Travelling

The Santa Fe Trail.  He Left Fort Union With His Command And Marched

Over The Dry Or Cimarron Route To The Arkansas River, For The Purpose

Of Establishing a Fortified camp At Cedar Bluffs, Or Cold Spring,

To Afford A Refuge For The Freight Trains On That Dangerous Part Of

The Trail.  The Indians Had For Some Time Been Harassing Not Only

The Caravans Of The Citizen Traders, But Also Those Of The Government,

Which Carried supplies To The Several Military Posts In the Territory

Of New Mexico.  An Expedition Was Therefore Planned by Carson To

Punish Them, And He Soon Found An Opportunity To Strike A Blow Near

The Adobe Fort On The Canadian River.  His Force Consisted of The

First Regiment Of New Mexican Volunteer Cavalry And Seventy-Five

Friendly Indians, His Entire Command Numbering Fourteen Commissioned

Officers And Three Hundred and Ninety-Six Enlisted men.  With These

He Attacked the Kiowa Village, Consisting Of About One Hundred and

Fifty Lodges.  The Fight Was A Very Severe One, And Lasted from

Half-Past Eight In the Morning Until After Sundown.  The Savages,

With More Than Ordinary Intrepidity And Boldness, Made Repeated

Stands Against The Fierce Onslaughts Of Carson'S Cavalrymen, But

Were At Last Forced to Give Way, And Were Cut Down As They Stubbornly

Retreated, Suffering a Loss Of Sixty Killed and Wounded.  In this

Battle Only Two Privates And One Noncommissioned officer Were Killed,

And One Non-Commissioned officer And Thirteen Privates, Four Of Whom

Were Friendly Indians, Wounded.  The Command Destroyed one Hundred

And Fifty Lodges, A Large Amount Of Dried meats, Berries, Buffalo-Robes,

Cooking Utensils, And Also A Buggy And Spring-Wagon, The Property

Of Sierrito,[50] The Kiowa Chief.

 

 

 

In His Official Account Of The Fight, Carson States That He Found

Ammunition In the Village, Which Had Been Furnished, No Doubt, By

Unscrupulous Mexican Traders.

 

 

 

He Told Me That He Never Was Deceived by Indian Tactics But Once

In His Life.  He Said That He Was Hunting With Six Others After

Buffalo, In the Summer Of 1835; That They Had Been Successful, And

Came Into Their Little Bivouac One Night Very Tired, Intending To

Start For The Rendezvous At Bent'S Fort The Next Morning.  They Had

A Number Of Dogs, Among Them Some Excellent Animals.  These Barked

A Good Deal, And Seemed restless, And The Men Heard Wolves.

 

 

 

"I Saw," Said Kit, "Two Big Wolves Sneaking about, One Of Them Quite

Close To Us.  Gordon, One Of My Men, Wanted to Fire His Rifle At It,

But I Did Not Let Him, For Fear He Would Hit A Dog.  I Admit That

I Had A Sort Of An Idea That Those Wolves Might Be Indians; But When

I Noticed one Of Them Turn Short Around, And Heard The Clashing Of

His Teeth As He Rushed at One Of The Dogs, I Felt Easy Then, And Was

Certain That They Were Wolves Sure Enough.  But The Red devil Fooled

Me, After All, For He Had Two Dried buffalo Bones In his Hands Under

The Wolfskin, And He Rattled them Together Every Time He Turned to

Make A Dash At The Dogs!  Well, By And By We All Dozed off, And It

Wasn'T Long Before I Was Suddenly Aroused by A Noise And A Big Blaze.

I Rushed out The First Thing For Our Mules, And Held Them.  If The

Savages Had Been At All Smart, They Could Have Killed us In a Trice,

But They Ran As Soon As They Fired at Us.  They Killed one Of My Men,

Putting Five Bullets In his Body And Eight In his Buffalo-Robe.

The Indians Were A Band Of Sioux On The War-Trail After A Band Of

Snakes, And Found Us By Sheer Accident.  They Endeavoured to Ambush

Us The Next Morning, But We Got Wind Of Their Little Game And Killed

Three Of Them, Including The Chief."

 

 

 

Carson'S Nature Was Made Up Of Some Very Noble Attributes.  He Was

Brave, But Not Reckless Like Custer; A Veritable Exponent Of Christian

Altruism, And As True To His Friends As The Needle To The Pole.

Under The Average Stature, And Rather Delicate-Looking In his Physical

Proportions, He Was Nevertheless A Quick, Wiry Man, With Nerves Of

Steel, And Possessing an Indomitable Will.  He Was Full Of Caution,

But Showed a Coolness In the Moment Of Supreme Danger That Was Good

To Witness.

 

 

 

During a Short Visit At Fort Lyon, Colorado, Where A Favourite Son

Of His Was Living, Early In the Morning Of May 23, 1868, While

Mounting His Horse In front Of His Quarters (He Was Still Fond Of

Riding), An Artery In his Neck Was Suddenly Ruptured, From The Effects

Of Which, Notwithstanding The Medical Assistance Rendered by The

Fort Surgeons, He Died in a Few Moments.

 

 

 

His Remains, After Reposing For Some Time At Fort Lyon, Were Taken

To Taos, So Long His Home In new Mexico, Where An Appropriate Monument

Was Erected over Them.  In the Plaza At Santa Fe, His Name Also

Appears Cut On A Cenotaph Raised to Commemorate The Services Of The

Soldiers Of The Territory.  As An Indian Fighter He Was Matchless.

The Identical Rifle Used by Him For More Than