Latest / Life and Adventures of Kit Carson / 33 - Life and Adventures of Kit Carson by DeWitt C. Peters

Transcript

33 - Life and Adventures of Kit Carson by DeWitt C. Peters · Life and Adventures of Kit Carson

0:01
Speaker 1: Section thirty two, Chapter seventeen, Part four of the Life
0:06
Speaker 1: and Adventures of Kit Carson. This is the LibriVox recording.
0:10
Speaker 1: All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
0:12
Speaker 1: information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Recording
0:17
Speaker 1: by Marty on the Central Coast of California, The Life
0:21
Speaker 1: and Adventures of Kit Carson by de Wit C. Peters,
0:25
Speaker 1: Section thirty two, Chapter seventeen, Part four. During the campaign
0:31
Speaker 1: and a consideration, several Indian children were captured. These were
0:35
Speaker 1: generally under the age of ten years. They could not
0:39
Speaker 1: stand the kindly planned treatment which they received while in bondage,
0:43
Speaker 1: for many of them died from overeating, after having so
0:47
Speaker 1: long been accustomed to Indian frugality. One of the women
0:51
Speaker 1: prisoners taken openly declared, and there is no reason why
0:56
Speaker 1: she should not be believed, that many of the younger
0:59
Speaker 1: children belonging to her tribe had been strangled by their
1:02
Speaker 1: parents and friends in order to prevent their becoming an inconvenience,
1:07
Speaker 1: and thus their being able to prosecute the war, thereby
1:12
Speaker 1: showing that their hatred of the white men was deeply rooted,
1:16
Speaker 1: and that their anger had been aroused to its highest
1:19
Speaker 1: degree on the publishing of peace. Those Indian children who
1:24
Speaker 1: still lived were collected, and through the Indian agents restored
1:28
Speaker 1: to their relatives and friends. The good effect which the
1:33
Speaker 1: moral of this campaign had on the surrounding Indian nations
1:36
Speaker 1: cannot be denied. They soon became loud in proclaiming their
1:41
Speaker 1: friendships for the Americans. Taking advantage of the now crippled
1:45
Speaker 1: condition of the Utahs and Apaches, their enemies, the Arapahos
1:49
Speaker 1: and Cheyennes, were ready to pounce upon them at a
1:52
Speaker 1: moment's warning. The opportunity, did not, however, present itself until
1:58
Speaker 1: long after peace had been established with the white Men,
2:01
Speaker 1: when the Utahs and the Apaches had been able to
2:04
Speaker 1: recover from their losses and collect again. War party after
2:09
Speaker 1: war party of Cheyennes and Arapahos entered the country of
2:13
Speaker 1: their old enemies, the Apaches and Utahs, but returned unable
2:17
Speaker 1: to find them. The Yellow Bear, a head war chief
2:22
Speaker 1: of the Arapa Hose, did not accompany his braves on
2:25
Speaker 1: these expeditions, and he would not believe that they could
2:28
Speaker 1: not find either the Apaches or Utahs. Therefore, to show
2:33
Speaker 1: his people that there was one warrior living of the
2:37
Speaker 1: olden stamp. He started, accompanied by his youngest squaw, to
2:43
Speaker 1: meet and fight them. A severe snowstorm compelled this noble
2:48
Speaker 1: chieftain to come into Fort Massachusetts. While he was there,
2:52
Speaker 1: the commanding officer of the post endeavored to dissuade him
2:56
Speaker 1: from his rash undertaking. In reply, the chief said.
3:00
Speaker 2: Captain, my young men are no longer warriors. They have
3:05
Speaker 2: become squaws. I sent them to seek out our nation's enemies.
3:10
Speaker 2: They went, discovered their fires and counted their lodges, but
3:14
Speaker 2: were afraid to attack them. I am now on my
3:17
Speaker 2: way to find the Utah village, where I intend either
3:21
Speaker 2: to smoke the pipe of peace or offer fight to
3:26
Speaker 2: any three of their chiefs. If they kill me otherwise,
3:31
Speaker 2: then fairly, perhaps it will stir up once more the
3:35
Speaker 2: fire in the breasts of the warriors of the Arapaho nation.
3:41
Speaker 1: The speech was delivered with so much pathos, and yet
3:45
Speaker 1: with such an oratorical air, that the interpreter was enabled
3:49
Speaker 1: to catch and translate every word of it. Yellow Bear
3:53
Speaker 1: was now informed of the recent campaign against the Utahs
3:57
Speaker 1: and Apaches, but the news made no changing his determination.
4:02
Speaker 1: The advice was words thrown away as he was found
4:06
Speaker 1: conversant with the whole proceedings of the campaign. We have
4:11
Speaker 1: brought in this incident to show how surrounding tribes are
4:14
Speaker 1: directly affected and personally interested in the results of all
4:17
Speaker 1: military transactions with hostile Indians. As we have taken up
4:23
Speaker 1: for a theme the story of this brave and really
4:26
Speaker 1: noble Indian, it may prove interesting to some of our
4:29
Speaker 1: readers if we complete the picture. Yellow Bear has always
4:34
Speaker 1: been the firm friend of Kit Carson, both by word
4:37
Speaker 1: and action. He is the finest specimen of an Indian
4:42
Speaker 1: that the writer ever laid eyes on. He stands in
4:46
Speaker 1: his moccasins, over six feet, is straight and symmetrically proportioned.
4:51
Speaker 1: The head, however, is the main attraction of this Indian.
4:55
Speaker 1: Never was a statesman possessed of a better We once
4:59
Speaker 1: heard him address a large council of his warriors, and
5:03
Speaker 1: although we could not understand one word he said, yet
5:07
Speaker 1: our attention was fixed on the man, for we never
5:11
Speaker 1: saw either before or since such majestic gestures mixed with
5:15
Speaker 1: equal grace in any speaker. It was a masterpiece of acting.
5:21
Speaker 1: And from the hoops or grunts ejaculated by his auditors,
5:25
Speaker 1: we were inclined to think that the speech was impressive.
5:29
Speaker 1: There was one great point about this chief which those
5:32
Speaker 1: who are familiar with the Indian race as they now
5:34
Speaker 1: exist cannot but admire. He has never been known to
5:40
Speaker 1: beg Rather than do this, we believe he would actually starve.
5:45
Speaker 1: We will finish this description of Yellow Bear by adding
5:48
Speaker 1: that he finally listened to the advice of the then
5:50
Speaker 1: commanding officer of Fort Massachusetts and returned to his own nation.
5:56
Speaker 1: On the final arrival at Taos of the troops engaged
5:59
Speaker 1: in this brilliant Indian campaign against the Utahs and Apaches,
6:03
Speaker 1: they received orders to disband. Those whose calling was arms
6:08
Speaker 1: returned to their respective military posts, while the new Mexicans
6:12
Speaker 1: scattered to seek their homes, where they were received and
6:15
Speaker 1: justly treated as heroes. Before the forces were dispersed, the
6:20
Speaker 1: Pueblo Indians who had been employed in the spy companies, gave,
6:25
Speaker 1: with the aid of their friends, by moonlight, a grand
6:28
Speaker 1: war dance entertainment in the plaza of the town. It
6:32
Speaker 1: proved to be a fine display of this time honored
6:34
Speaker 1: Indian custom. The combined efforts of the two commanders, Colonel
6:39
Speaker 1: Fauntleroy and Lieutenant Colonel Saint Vrain, aided by their followers,
6:45
Speaker 1: among whom kit Carson played a most conspicuous and important part,
6:50
Speaker 1: had the effect to compel the Indians to send a
6:52
Speaker 1: delegate to Santa Fe, commissioned to sue for peace. Peace
6:57
Speaker 1: was finally granted, which formed a most happy and pleasing
7:01
Speaker 1: terminations of this brilliant Indian campaign. It proved afterwards that
7:06
Speaker 1: a great mistake was made in hastily allowing these Indians
7:09
Speaker 1: to evade the punishment they so richly deserved, and which
7:13
Speaker 1: was being so summarily inflicted, by entertaining so soon conciliatory measures.
7:20
Speaker 1: At the council that was subsequently held, it was found
7:23
Speaker 1: that only a part of the Apaches were present to
7:26
Speaker 1: sanction the proceedings, and that the remainder were still in
7:30
Speaker 1: the mountains and were either hostile or undecided what course
7:34
Speaker 1: they would pursue. Kit Carson, their agent, was at that meeting,
7:39
Speaker 1: and earnestly opposed the policy of making a treaty so
7:42
Speaker 1: long as any portion of the two nations were insubordinate,
7:46
Speaker 1: as it offered a loophole for those present to creep
7:49
Speaker 1: out whenever they were so inclined. He said that now
7:53
Speaker 1: was the time, if ever, when they might at a
7:56
Speaker 1: small additional expense, and with the prospect of saying saving
8:00
Speaker 1: many valuable lives showed these Indians that they were dealing
8:04
Speaker 1: with the powerful government. His voice and experience were overruled
8:08
Speaker 1: by the other officials present, and the treaty was made.
8:12
Speaker 1: It stipulated that the Indians should receive certain sums annually
8:15
Speaker 1: in case they would settle down and commence farming, and
8:19
Speaker 1: that they should be allowed to select their own locality
8:22
Speaker 1: within certain prescribed limits. The making of such offers to
8:25
Speaker 1: tribes of savages half subdued, is absurd. The wisdom of
8:30
Speaker 1: this assertion has since been clearly shown, for hardly one
8:34
Speaker 1: article contained in the treaty there made has been carried out.
8:39
Speaker 1: The actions of those apaches present at the council were
8:42
Speaker 1: trifling in the extreme, notwithstanding which they were presented with
8:46
Speaker 1: some cattle. These they objected to receiving on the ground
8:51
Speaker 1: that they were not fat enough to suit their fastidious tastes.
8:55
Speaker 1: They insolently addressed the government officials with the following strain.
9:00
Speaker 2: If you do not give us better, we will again
9:04
Speaker 2: take the road where we can have our choice.
9:07
Speaker 1: The fact was that these half starved rascals saw that
9:10
Speaker 1: the white men were anxious to make peace, and hence
9:13
Speaker 1: they assumed a haughty air in order to drive a
9:16
Speaker 1: good bargain. The great results which should have been brought
9:19
Speaker 1: about by the teachings of Colonels Fauntleroy and Saint Varrain
9:23
Speaker 1: by this week diplomacy were more or less frustrated. These gentlemen, however,
9:29
Speaker 1: had won great renown. They had the savages driven to
9:33
Speaker 1: such extremes that one more expedition led by them in
9:37
Speaker 1: person would have subdued all their obstinacy and made them
9:41
Speaker 1: over anxious for peace. The Indians had been seven times caught,
9:46
Speaker 1: and on every one of the occasions they had been
9:49
Speaker 1: greatly worsted. They had lost at least five hundred horses,
9:54
Speaker 1: all their camp equipage, ammunition provisions, and most of their arms,
9:59
Speaker 1: and were indeed almost at the mercy of the Whites.
10:02
Speaker 1: Under these circumstances, they should have been shown true magnanimity
10:06
Speaker 1: and greatness by forcing them into that course which was
10:10
Speaker 1: and is for their own welfare as well as the
10:12
Speaker 1: welfare of the country, and against which they themselves so
10:17
Speaker 1: blindly contend. Say to an Indian that ere many years
10:21
Speaker 1: have passed by, the buffalo will all be destroyed, and
10:25
Speaker 1: he will answer you that the Great Spirit rains them
10:29
Speaker 1: down in the mountains for his red children. This is
10:32
Speaker 1: a fair example of the manner in which most of
10:35
Speaker 1: them listen to the voice of reason. It requires practical
10:39
Speaker 1: and active demonstrations by means of rifles and other weapons
10:43
Speaker 1: to teach them they will not be permitted to plunder
10:45
Speaker 1: and murder at pleasure. The wrong of this conduct they
10:49
Speaker 1: are as well aware of as their white brethren. It
10:52
Speaker 1: is by rifle arguments that their treaties become worth the
10:56
Speaker 1: value of the paper upon which they are written. It
10:59
Speaker 1: is well known fact that people who live in Indian countries
11:02
Speaker 1: prefer to have the Red men at war, rather than
11:05
Speaker 1: bound to peace by such slender ties as they are
11:08
Speaker 1: usually called upon to take upon themselves. In the former case,
11:14
Speaker 1: the settler knows what to expect and is always prepared
11:17
Speaker 1: for the worst, so far as it lies in his power.
11:21
Speaker 1: But in the latter position he is continually exposed to
11:24
Speaker 1: the caprices of a race who are in many respects
11:27
Speaker 1: as changeable as the very air they breathe. In the
11:31
Speaker 1: old Mexican town of Don Fernandez de Taos, as we
11:36
Speaker 1: have said before, resides at the present time Kit Carson.
11:41
Speaker 1: A stranger entering this town, and especially at a little
11:44
Speaker 1: distance from it, is reminded of a number of brick
11:47
Speaker 1: kilns just previous to being burnt, and all huddled together
11:52
Speaker 1: without any regard being paid to cemetery. In order to
11:57
Speaker 1: reach the plaza, which is the main feature of the
12:00
Speaker 1: traction belonging to the town, the traveler is obliged to
12:03
Speaker 1: follow the crooks and turns of several unattractive streets. The
12:08
Speaker 1: home of Kit Carson faces on the west side of
12:10
Speaker 1: this public square. It is a building only one story
12:14
Speaker 1: in height, but as it extends over considerable space of ground,
12:18
Speaker 1: it makes up in part this deficit, and within it
12:22
Speaker 1: is surpassed by but few other houses in the country
12:26
Speaker 1: for the degree of comfort which it furnishes to its occupants.
12:31
Speaker 1: On most any fair day, around the doors of this
12:34
Speaker 1: house may be seen many Indians of various tribes who
12:37
Speaker 1: are either waiting for their companions within or else the
12:41
Speaker 1: opportunity to present itself so that they themselves can enter
12:46
Speaker 1: business or no business to transact with Kit Carson. They
12:49
Speaker 1: cannot come to town without visiting father Kit and having
12:53
Speaker 1: a smoke and talk with him. Kit Carson enjoys himself
12:57
Speaker 1: in their society for his heart and hand, and have
13:00
Speaker 1: long since taught them that, irrespective of the office which
13:04
Speaker 1: he holds towards them, he is their true friend and benefactor.
13:09
Speaker 1: Never is his patience exhausted by their lengthy visits. He
13:14
Speaker 1: listens to their narrations of grievances, which they lay freely
13:18
Speaker 1: before him for his counsel, even in matters exclusively personal.
13:23
Speaker 1: Being familiar with all those things which will, in the
13:25
Speaker 1: least touch their feelings and make them interested, he finds
13:29
Speaker 1: no difficulty in entering into the spirit of their affairs
13:33
Speaker 1: in a manner that exactly suits their tastes. This causes
13:37
Speaker 1: them to look upon him in the same light as
13:39
Speaker 1: they would upon some brave and experienced chief of their
13:42
Speaker 1: own race. Kit Carson takes every opportunity to warn the
13:47
Speaker 1: Indians against the use of intoxicating drinks, and shows them
13:52
Speaker 1: by his own example that fire water is a dangerous
13:56
Speaker 1: luxury which man does not require, and in which he
13:59
Speaker 1: should not end, notwithstanding his best efforts. Now and then
14:04
Speaker 1: they get under its influence on becoming sober. They are
14:09
Speaker 1: so ashamed of their conduct that they often keep clear
14:12
Speaker 1: of their agent until they think he has forgotten the occurrence.
14:16
Speaker 1: Kit Carson, to a certain extent, treats Indians as a
14:19
Speaker 1: wise father does his own children. Hence he has won
14:23
Speaker 1: their respect as well as confidence, which fact has given
14:27
Speaker 1: him more influence over them than any other man in
14:29
Speaker 1: the country where he lives. When kit Carson enters the
14:33
Speaker 1: various villages of the Indians under his supervision, he is
14:36
Speaker 1: invariably received with the most marked attention. Having selected the
14:41
Speaker 1: warrior whose guest he intends to be, he accompanies him
14:45
Speaker 1: to his lodge, which is known during his stay as
14:49
Speaker 1: the soldier's lodge. He gives himself no concern about his horse, saddle, bridle, rifle,
14:55
Speaker 1: or any minor thing. The brave whom he has thus honored,
15:00
Speaker 1: considers that he has assumed the responsibility of a soldier,
15:04
Speaker 1: and so styles himself. This making of a soldier is
15:09
Speaker 1: no every day business with the Indians. It is only
15:12
Speaker 1: when they are visited by some great personage for whom
15:15
Speaker 1: they have the greatest respect that this ceremony is gone
15:19
Speaker 1: through with. When thus favored, the soldier at once becomes
15:24
Speaker 1: the sworn friend of the white man, who occupies his lodge,
15:27
Speaker 1: and will fight and die for him, even against his
15:29
Speaker 1: own brethren. It is the opinion of kit Carson that
15:34
Speaker 1: Indians should not be allowed to come when it pleases them,
15:37
Speaker 1: into the settlements. Every visit which they thus make is
15:42
Speaker 1: detrimental to them in many ways. He thinks that the
15:45
Speaker 1: time thus spent could be better employed in hunting or
15:49
Speaker 1: otherwise providing for the wants of their families. In the
15:52
Speaker 1: towns of the frontiers, they do nothing but beg and
15:55
Speaker 1: learn the vices of the white man, which, added to
15:59
Speaker 1: their own, make them as dangerous and wicked as men
16:01
Speaker 1: can be. In lieu thereof, he advises that mission and
16:06
Speaker 1: agency houses should be established in their midst when supplies
16:10
Speaker 1: should be furnished to them in a time of need.
16:13
Speaker 1: As matters now stand, the Indians, during a severe winter
16:17
Speaker 1: or from some unforeseen accident, are liable to become suddenly destitute.
16:22
Speaker 1: They are then compelled either to starve or to make
16:26
Speaker 1: inroads upon the property of the settlers on the frontiers.
16:31
Speaker 1: Besides his Indian friends, kit Carson is surrounded by a
16:34
Speaker 1: host of Mexicans and Americans, to whom he has greatly
16:38
Speaker 1: endeared himself.
16:40
Speaker 2: To his children.
16:41
Speaker 1: Kit Carson is a kind and indulgent father, and to
16:45
Speaker 1: best illustrate his self sacrificing attachment for them, it is
16:49
Speaker 1: only necessary to relate one striking incident of its proof.
16:54
Speaker 1: A few years since, he was returning to Taos from Rayado,
16:58
Speaker 1: whither he had been on a visit in company with
17:00
Speaker 1: his wife, two children, and two servants, a Mexican man
17:05
Speaker 1: and woman. The party had completed the first half of
17:08
Speaker 1: their journey and were jogging over a tract of prairie
17:11
Speaker 1: land that was of considerable extent, when suddenly kit Carson
17:16
Speaker 1: discovered far off a band of about forty Indians. Being
17:21
Speaker 1: so exposed, he at once concluded that he had also
17:25
Speaker 1: been seen. For while he was looking, he thought he
17:28
Speaker 1: could see the speed of their writing animals increase. The
17:32
Speaker 1: glaring rays of the sun impeded his views so that
17:36
Speaker 1: he could not discern at such distance, either from their
17:39
Speaker 1: dress or appearance, to what tribe they belonged. He was
17:43
Speaker 1: in a section of country that was frequently visited by
17:47
Speaker 1: the marauding Comanches, and as their signs had been recently
17:51
Speaker 1: seen in the neighborhood, he made up his mind that
17:54
Speaker 1: it was a band of this tribe that he now
17:56
Speaker 1: saw no time was to be lost, so dismounting from
18:00
Speaker 1: the very fleet horse he was riding, he placed in
18:04
Speaker 1: his saddle his wife, an eldest child to the first name.
18:07
Speaker 1: He gave directions to follow on the trail that led
18:10
Speaker 1: to Taos, and let the bridle reins be a little slack,
18:13
Speaker 1: so that the horse would know what was expected of
18:16
Speaker 1: him when he would travel At the top of his speed.
18:19
Speaker 1: He said that he intended to ride towards the Indians
18:22
Speaker 1: and engage them, at first in a parley, and then,
18:26
Speaker 1: if necessary, offer them a single handed combat. At any
18:30
Speaker 1: rate before they could manage to kill him, she would
18:33
Speaker 1: have sufficient time to lessen her danger. As to the
18:37
Speaker 1: remainder of the party, he added, there was no alternative
18:41
Speaker 1: but for them to take their chances for life or death.
18:44
Speaker 1: Bidding his wife and boy good bye with one heart
18:48
Speaker 1: rendering look, he turned to face his apparent doom. As
18:52
Speaker 1: Kit approached the Indians, they began to call out his name.
18:56
Speaker 1: As soon as he heard this, he aroused himself from
18:59
Speaker 1: the agonizing frame of mind he had been laboring under.
19:02
Speaker 1: After parting with all that was so dear to him,
19:05
Speaker 1: and as he had thought for the last time. To
19:09
Speaker 1: his joy, Kit quickly recognized before him the familiar faces
19:13
Speaker 1: of some of his Indian friends. They had come as
19:17
Speaker 1: they afterwards informed him to see him and his helpless
19:20
Speaker 1: charge safely lodged in their home, for they had become
19:23
Speaker 1: aware that he was exposed to great danger. While the
19:26
Speaker 1: friends were talking, some of the Indians began to laugh,
19:29
Speaker 1: which caused Carson to turn his head and look in
19:32
Speaker 1: the direction they were gazing. To his astonishment and disgust,
19:37
Speaker 1: he saw the truth was too evident to be mistaken
19:40
Speaker 1: that the cowardly Mexican man had, on his leaving, pulled
19:45
Speaker 1: off from her horse, Missus Carson and her child, and
19:48
Speaker 1: having mounted the animal himself, was making good his escape.
19:53
Speaker 1: The Indians wished to keep up the ruse pursue attempt
19:57
Speaker 1: to overtake and punish the Poltroon, but Kit Carson was
20:01
Speaker 1: too thankful that matters had gone so well. Therefore, he
20:05
Speaker 1: said that he felt he could excuse such a dastardly conduct,
20:09
Speaker 1: and requested the Indians to let it pass unnoticed. It
20:12
Speaker 1: is hardly necessary to add that with his faithful bodyguard,
20:16
Speaker 1: who had come to watch over him from feelings of
20:19
Speaker 1: earnest respect, gratitude, and affectionate regard. The agent accomplished the
20:24
Speaker 1: remainder of his journey in perfect safety. Several years had elapsed,
20:29
Speaker 1: as the reader can easily estimate, since kit Carson met
20:32
Speaker 1: while traveling home with one of his expeditions, the Mormon
20:36
Speaker 1: delegate to Congress who had informed him of his appointment
20:39
Speaker 1: as Indian Agent. During this length of time, kit Carson
20:44
Speaker 1: has retained the office and rendered satisfactory service. The tract
20:49
Speaker 1: of country over which the Indians rome, who are especially
20:52
Speaker 1: connected with this agency, is about equal to its area
20:57
Speaker 1: to any one of the larger states in the American Confederate.
21:02
Speaker 1: The Indians who are under his jurisdiction are large and
21:05
Speaker 1: powerful bands of apaches and Utahs. But as we have
21:09
Speaker 1: said before, neighboring tribes freely seek his council aid and
21:14
Speaker 1: protectorate power as they may require it, and they all
21:18
Speaker 1: from habit consider that they have a claim on his services.
21:23
Speaker 1: To best illustrate this, we have but to cite one instance,
21:27
Speaker 1: of which a thousand similar exist. Two Indian women were
21:32
Speaker 1: taken prisoners by the Red Men of the Plains from
21:35
Speaker 1: a band of savages not under the immediate control of
21:38
Speaker 1: Kit Carson, who inhabited a section of New Mexico. These squaws,
21:43
Speaker 1: while captives, were subjected to the severest labor and the
21:47
Speaker 1: most brutal punishment which Indian ingenuity could invent. For one
21:54
Speaker 1: year they submitted without exhibiting any outward symptoms by which
21:59
Speaker 1: their condition could be now. But at the end of
22:01
Speaker 1: that time they resolved to escape, even if they were
22:05
Speaker 1: killed in the attempt. Watching a favorable opportunity, they started,
22:10
Speaker 1: and fortunately so well laid their plans that for some
22:14
Speaker 1: time they.
22:15
Speaker 2: Were not missed.
22:17
Speaker 1: On their prolonged absence being noticed, a party who were
22:20
Speaker 1: well mounted, commenced the pursuit, no doubt, believing that to
22:23
Speaker 1: recapture the runaways would be an easy task. The scause, however,
22:28
Speaker 1: eluded the horsemen, and on foot, made their way to
22:32
Speaker 1: Kit Carson's house at Tause. By him, they were hospitably received, entertained,
22:37
Speaker 1: and amply provided for. They had traveled on foot for
22:40
Speaker 1: hundreds of miles, and while en route, had lived on
22:44
Speaker 1: roots and such other food as fell in their way.
22:47
Speaker 1: In their reduced condition, it required kindness, proper diet, and
22:52
Speaker 1: rest to resuscitate them in the comfortable house to which
22:55
Speaker 1: they had come. These things were at hand and were
22:58
Speaker 1: freely given without home, hoping for the rewards which man
23:02
Speaker 1: can give. The pursuers of these unfortunate Indian women followed
23:06
Speaker 1: on their trail, which with native instinct the Squaws had
23:10
Speaker 1: made as indistinct as possible, until they found themselves at
23:14
Speaker 1: a Mexican settlement within the boundaries of New Mexico. Here
23:18
Speaker 1: they were informed that their late captives were safe under
23:21
Speaker 1: the protection of kit Carson. This name acted like magic
23:26
Speaker 1: in settling their future mode of proceedings. They needed nothing
23:30
Speaker 1: more to bid them face about and retrace their steps
23:33
Speaker 1: to their own homes. The Squaws in the household of
23:37
Speaker 1: kit Carson rapidly recruited, and when the time came for
23:41
Speaker 1: them to be sent to their own tribe, they went
23:44
Speaker 1: away rejoicing at their good fortune, first in making their escape,
23:48
Speaker 1: and second because they had been so humanely treated by
23:51
Speaker 1: a man whose name they had often heard but never
23:55
Speaker 1: before seen. As we have said before and with truth,
24:00
Speaker 1: this is but one example of thousands which have passed
24:04
Speaker 1: by Unherrald since kit Carson first commenced his official career
24:08
Speaker 1: as Indian agent. The duties of an agent are not
24:12
Speaker 1: by kit Carson confined to the mere letter of the law.
24:16
Speaker 1: His is a heart that could not be happy were
24:19
Speaker 1: he not daily doing some equitable and humane act to
24:23
Speaker 1: ameliorate the condition of the Indian race. The strict duties
24:27
Speaker 1: of an Indian agent require that he should receive and
24:30
Speaker 1: disburse certain sums of money in purchasing such minor articles
24:34
Speaker 1: as the tribes over which he is placed may require.
24:38
Speaker 1: He is to give monthly and quarterly reports to the
24:40
Speaker 1: General Government and the Superintendent of the territory he is
24:44
Speaker 1: in on the condition crimes, practices, habits, intentions, health, and
24:51
Speaker 1: such other things as pertained to the economy of his charge.
24:55
Speaker 1: How seldom is the knowledge properly attained, and how often
24:59
Speaker 1: are these things entrusted to clerks. While the principal receives
25:03
Speaker 1: the emoluments of his office, of the details which make
25:08
Speaker 1: the Indian happy or miserable, he too frequently knows but
25:12
Speaker 1: little about except from routine. The agent, if he be
25:17
Speaker 1: a fit man, and the Indian, is by no means
25:20
Speaker 1: slow in forming his estimate of the person he has
25:22
Speaker 1: to deal with, is received into the confidence of the tribes.
25:26
Speaker 1: When after sufficient trial he has been proved worthy of
25:31
Speaker 1: their esteem and friendship. When once he has gained a
25:34
Speaker 1: foothold in the affections of the savages, his task assumes
25:38
Speaker 1: the condition of pleasure rather than severe labor. But if
25:43
Speaker 1: he is ignorant of the minute workings of his business,
25:46
Speaker 1: he is generally imposed upon and always disliked, to such
25:50
Speaker 1: a degree that no honorable man would retain such a
25:52
Speaker 1: position longer than to find out his unpopularity and the
25:56
Speaker 1: causes of it. The Indian Agent, to perform his duties well,
26:01
Speaker 1: must be continually at his agency house or among the Indians,
26:05
Speaker 1: in order that he may personally attend to their wants
26:08
Speaker 1: and protect them from the mercenary visits and contact of
26:11
Speaker 1: outside intruders who are continually watching their opportunity like hungry wolves,
26:17
Speaker 1: to prey upon and cheat them in every shape and form.
26:21
Speaker 1: In fine, he is to assist the Superintendent in managing
26:25
Speaker 1: the entire Indian family, the business of Indian Agent, which
26:31
Speaker 1: he strictly and conscientiously attends to keeps Kit Carson employed
26:36
Speaker 1: during the most of his time. Yet as often as
26:39
Speaker 1: once each year he manages affairs so that he can
26:43
Speaker 1: spend a few weeks in the exciting scenes of the
26:45
Speaker 1: chase on these excursions, which are eagerly looked forward to
26:50
Speaker 1: by his friends. He is accompanied by the crack shots
26:53
Speaker 1: of the country, including his Indian and Mexican friends. On
26:58
Speaker 1: horseback and on open prairie. Kit Carson is indisputedly the
27:03
Speaker 1: greatest hunter in America, if indeed he is not the
27:06
Speaker 1: greatest hunter now living. He has killed, in the brief
27:10
Speaker 1: space of three consecutive hours with his rifle, twenty two
27:14
Speaker 1: antelope at a time when the game was so scarce
27:17
Speaker 1: that other men who followed the business of hunting under
27:20
Speaker 1: pay and were no ordinary shots, thought themselves doing well
27:25
Speaker 1: to bring down six of the same animals. It gives
27:29
Speaker 1: the greatest satisfaction to the people of New Mexico that
27:32
Speaker 1: Kit Carson is, from time to time reinstalled in his
27:35
Speaker 1: office of Indian Agent. Notwithstanding the other great changes that
27:40
Speaker 1: have been and are continually making in their politics, his
27:44
Speaker 1: fitness for the position which he holds cannot be doubted.
27:48
Speaker 2: When the good already.
27:50
Speaker 1: Accomplished by his efforts is considered, no one would be
27:53
Speaker 1: so loath to part with his services as the Indians themselves.
27:58
Speaker 1: His influence reaches far beyond his own tribes and is
28:02
Speaker 1: felt by the Cheyennes, Arapa hoose in Kiawas, who are
28:06
Speaker 1: fast becoming very chary about visiting with hostile intentions the
28:11
Speaker 1: settlements of northern New Mexico. Kit Carson is still in
28:15
Speaker 1: the full vigor of his manhood and is capable of
28:18
Speaker 1: undergoing almost any amount of privation and hardship. Therefore, we
28:23
Speaker 1: infer that to the country he has adopted, he will
28:26
Speaker 1: be spared many years to come as one of its
28:29
Speaker 1: most valuable citizens. And when the time arrives for his
28:33
Speaker 1: final exit from this stage of life, he will bequeath
28:37
Speaker 1: to his family and friends a spotless character and an
28:41
Speaker 1: enviable reputation. End of Section thirty two, Chapter seventeen, Part
28:47
Speaker 1: four recording by Marty on the Central Coast of California.
28:51
Speaker 1: End The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson by DeWitt C.
28:55
Speaker 2: Peters