Scouting with Kit Carson

by George Cary Eggleston

  CHAPTER XXX--CONCLUSION

  Meanwhile Reuben Benton was highly prosperous in St. Louis. With themoney which he had saved from the sale of his skins he had been able ina modest way to go into the business of buying furs when they werebrought to the trading-post by the trappers. In this way he had beenable to maintain a home of his own, in which his father remained amember as long as he lived.

  Whenever Kit Carson returned to St. Louis, although there wereoccasions when he was highly honoured by people of the higheststanding, he did not forget the man who had been with him as a boy onhis trapping expeditions in the Far West. The friendship between thetwo deepened with the years, and among those who were loudest in theirpraises of the scout when he had become most famous was Reuben Bentonof St. Louis.

  There came a time in the life of Kit Carson, after he had leftLieutenant Fremont, when he thought he would be able to settle down andbecome a farmer. Not long before this time he had married a Spanishgirl, whose beauty was famous all along the border. On the great ranchwhich he purchased he erected a house in which his wife was to make herhome, and there he was busily engaged in building barns that would beadequate for the stock he expected to raise.

  Abruptly, however, there came a message from Fremont urging Carson torejoin him at once; and the scout was unable to decline. Perhaps he didnot wish to. At all events, he sold his farm, provided for his wifeduring his absence, and then set forth with one companion to joinFremont's expedition.

  The Indians had told many stories of the region known as the GreatBasin, a desert so bleak and perilous that no human being might expectto cross it safely. This was the region now to be explored by Fremontand his followers. Fortunately they discovered that the reports hadexaggerated the difficulties as well as the desert nature of theregion.

  All this, however, was not known until after the work of the explorershad been completed. So fearful were the men that the reports they hadheard were well founded that they were extremely cautious in all theirmovements.

  Kit Carson, with a few men as hardy as he, kept well in advance of themain party. Whenever they discovered a place where water was to be hadand there was grass for the horses, there they built fires, the smokeof which served as an invitation to the other members of the partybehind them to advance.

  At last they made their way into northern California and thereencountered their first serious difficulty with the Indians. The littleband was attacked by one thousand of the savages, but fortunately theredmen were ignorant of the use of rifles, and as soon as the guns weredischarged they fled in wild confusion.

  About this time the object of the expedition speedily changed. Therewas war declared upon Mexico and immediately Fremont and his followersenrolled themselves as soldiers of their country. Other men joined themand soon there were sufficient soldiers to form a regiment. LieutenantFremont was extremely eager that the President should be informedconcerning his plans and work. The only way by which word could be senthim was by messenger, and there was no messenger like Kit Carson.Accordingly in response to the fresh appeal of Fremont, Carson setforth as a messenger to carry the dispatches to the capital of thenation. His letters, however, were very brief, for Fremont relied uponKit Carson's own ability to explain conditions as they existed on thePacific Coast.

  Before the scout had completed his journey he met a body of soldiers ontheir way to California. General Kearny was in command of them, and assoon as he was informed of the purpose of Kit Carson he at once urgedhim to permit some one else to carry the dispatches to the Presidentwhile the scout himself should return with the men. Kit Carson,however, was a man who did not consider any task completed until hehimself had personally done all that had been assigned to him. When, atlast, General Kearny ordered him to do as he had suggested there was noother course but to obey, and accordingly the scout returned with themen. It was not the last time, however, that he was sent over theperilous way with messages for the men at Washington.

  On his arrival he was amazed to find that the people of the capitalalready knew of his life in the West. To the modest scout this was agreat surprise. He did not understand how any one could have heard ofhis work among the fur-bearing animals and the Indians of the West.Perhaps he was more surprised than any of his friends to find himselfso much in demand. When one of the United States Senators said: "To meKit Carson and truth mean the same," we may be sure the modest scoutwas almost overwhelmed by the words of praise.

  When his last journey to Washington was ended the scout was glad toreturn to his family at Taos. There he had a house built of adobe, inwhich there was always a welcome for his friends. Even the Indians cameand went with more freedom than they visited any of the homes of thewhite men. Affectionately the redmen called him "Father Kit," and theconfidence of the good Indian was as strong as was the fear of theIndian who had done wrong. About forty miles distant from Taos KitCarson had his ranch. There his family spent much of their time andthere, too, there was always a welcome not only for his old friends,but for visitors as well.

  Lieutenant Fremont had now become a colonel and his name was famousthroughout the United States. He, too, visited the scout of whom he hadbeen so fond, and in his letters, which are still in existence, herelates what a good time he had at the home of Kit Carson, the famousscout, trapper, guide, and messenger.

  Kit Carson looked well to his farm, but his love of hunting was stillstrong. Indeed, it is said that his table was kept well supplied by theaid of his own rifle with game throughout most of the year.

  If Kit Carson believed that his roving days were ended now, he was soonto learn of his mistake. Of all his expeditions, however, only two canbe mentioned here. On one of these, with some other men, mostlyMexicans, he drove nearly seven thousand sheep from Taos to California.Across the desert, through the lofty mountain ranges, the strangeprocession led by Kit Carson slowly made its way. At last, when thedrovers arrived at their destination, they were able to sell theirsheep for such high prices that every man received an ample reward forhis labours. It was at this time that Kit Carson insisted upon goingdown the Sacramento to San Francisco. It had been many years since hehad seen the settlement, and meanwhile the gold fever had drawn men ofall kinds to the little place until it had increased very rapidly inits population.

  The scout, after his arrival, looked about him in amazement.Thirty-five thousand people were living in the place, which he hadknown only as a little hamlet. Even here his fame had preceded him andthere were many of the reckless men who tried to induce the famousscout to join them in their wild dissipations. With the same quietstrength which he had shown in his early life, Kit Carson steadfastlyrefused the invitations, and when he departed, his record was as cleanas when he had first come.

  Another time Carson with a large band of the men who once had trappedwith him returned to the scenes of their early experiences. Again themen were trapping the beaver, and their success amazed even themselves.Many of the trappers had become so possessed with the desire to findgold that they had neglected or forgotten the wealth to be won bytrapping. As a consequence the success of Kit Carson's band wasmarvellous, and when they returned they felt more than repaid for theirlabours.

  It was on this expedition that Kit Carson lassoed a huge grizzly bear.The lasso, however, was not sufficiently strong to tame the savagebeast, and at last the men, for the sake of their own safety, killedthe grizzly. The following day, which was the Fourth of July, there wasa great feast in which bear-steak was one of the chief articles offood.

  It was not long before the war between the States broke out. And againKit Carson found that it was impossible for him to remain quietly inhis home on the ranch near Taos. In response to the call of the men whoknew and loved him he consented to serve as the colonel of a regimentwhich was raised in New Mexico.

  In the campaign which followed there is a quaint statement that perhapsthe most striking service rendered by the brave colonel was when hisregiment one time was ordered to attack the Navajo Indians, who hadthought the time
was fitting for them to rebel against the white men.It is related that with a few of his chosen men Colonel Kit departedfrom his camp early one morning and attacked and scattered the warringIndians and then returned to the camp before the soldiers who had beenleft there under the command of the lieutenant-colonel were aware thatthere was any fighting to be done.

  There are some who believe that the best work Kit Carson ever did waslater, when he became an Indian agent. His knowledge of the Indians andhis understanding of their character enabled him to deal with them asfew white men could have done. There were times when alone he enteredthe councils of the tribes when they were planning war and by his quietand earnest appeals he induced them to abandon their warlike plans. Buteven his efforts were unavailing at times and with certain of the moreblood-thirsty Indians. His activity and knowledge, however, were feltmost when there were uprisings that sometimes were terrible in theireffects upon the scattered settlers.

  Even to the last of his life he insisted upon occasional vacations. Atsuch times he would return with some of his chosen friends to his oldoccupations and the places which had known him when he was only a boyscout.

  It is reported that when at last Kit Carson became ill with thesickness that ended his life, the doctor who was attending his case,and who was one of his warmest friends, spent much time reading to theold scout the story of his life which had recently been published.There is no doubt that Carson keenly enjoyed the narrative, although inhis modesty he declared that he did not see why any one should everhave considered it worth while to write in a book an account of hisexperiences and adventures.

  It was May 23, 1868 when Kit Carson breathed his last. To-day, however,if you visit the region in which his scouting was done you will findmany men who claim that they knew the famous scout, and if you arewilling to listen they will tell you many marvellous tales of hisbravery and his adventures. It is also quite likely that some of thesestories are true.

  THE END