The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by HimselfPeters, De Witt C. (De Witt Clinton)
History
The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself
Peters, De Witt C. (De Witt Clinton)
Carson Kit, 1809-1868; Frontier and pioneer life -- West (U.S.)
cheered his men from a limping walk into a sort of run, and dashing
through a swollen mountain stream, that was nearly up to their
arm-pits and full of floating ice, he was, with his company, the
foremost in the attack."
Two soldiers of Captain Sykes's company[25] were wounded, and one
of them afterwards died. The other man was severely injured, but
eventually recovered. The Indians, on being routed, were pursued
through a deep canon for about four miles. A few who had been
previously wounded were overtaken and slain. Night now came on;
therefore, the men had to give up the chase, and on returning to their
own encampment they found their friends had located it on the same
ground which the Indians had occupied when they were first discovered.
The next morning the surviving wounded man, with an escort, was sent
back to the nearest military post, so that he could receive proper
attention. The pursuit at an early hour was then resumed, by the
soldiers' taking the fresh trail of the Indians. Away went both
parties through valleys, canons, and over snow clad mountains, until,
in the end, the Americans saw that it was impossible to overtake
the red men, who began to break up into squads of two and three and
scatter in every direction. During the latter days of the chase, the
routes which the Indians traveled were the worst they could select;
their object being, entirely to use up the animals of their pursuers,
who were thus vigorously driving them from one haunt to another. Very
often, at night, the soldiers would find themselves bivouacked but
a short distance from the place which they had left on the previous
morning; and this happened, when not once during the whole day, had
they missed the trail or ceased travelling; but the fact was, that the
enemy were so familiar with the country that they made these crooked
trails with impunity. Finally, the Indians saw that in this trial of
muscles and nerves they gained nothing, and could not thus shake
off their pursuers, but that it was necessary for them to try
other expedients; therefore, they separated, to meet again at some
preconcerted rendezvous. On this occasion, as so often heretofore, the
Apaches did not belie the character formed of them by some of our most
experienced military men, and of which we have before spoken: viz.,
that they have no equals for endurance, and such a thing as overtaking
them when once put to flight is almost out of the category of the
white man's feats.
[Footnote 25: Company D, 2d Regiment U.S. Artillery.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account