Chief of Scouts | Page 4

were now in the Ute Indian country, and at this time they were
considered one of the most hostile tribes in the west. Of course there
was no one in the company that knew what the Ute Indians were but
Kit Carson. When we stopped at noon that day Carson told us as we sat
eating our luncheon that we were now in the Ute country, and every
one of us must keep a look out for himself. He said, "Now, boys, don't
any one of you get a hundred yards away from the rest of the company,
for the Utes are like flees liable to jump on you at any time or place."
That afternoon we ran on a great deal of Indian sign, from the fact that
game was plentiful all over the country, and at this time of the year the
Indians were on their spring hunt. When we camped for the night, we
camped on a small stream where there was but very little timber and no

underbrush at all. As soon as the company was settled for the night,
Carson and I mounted our horses and took a circle of perhaps a mile or
two around the camp. This was to ascertain whether there were any
Indians in camp near us. We saw no Indians. We returned to camp
thinking we would have no trouble that night, but about sundown,
while we were eating supper, all at once their war whoop burst upon us,
and fifteen or more Utes came dashing down the hill on their horses.
Every man sprang for his gun, in order to give them as warm a
reception as possible; nearly every man tried to reach his horse before
the Indians got to us, for at that time a man without a horse would have
been in a bad fix, for there were no extra horses in the company.
I think this must have been the first time these Utes had ever heard a
gun fired, from the fact that as soon as we commenced firing at them,
and that was before they could reach us with their arrows, they turned
and left as fast as they had come. Consequently we lost no men or
horses. We killed five Indians and captured three horses.
When the Indians were out of sight, Carson laughed and said, "Boys,
that was the easiest won battle I have ever had with the Indians, and it
was not our good marksmanship that done it either, for if every shot we
fired had taken effect, there would not have been half Indians enough to
go around. It was the report of our guns that scared them away."
It was figured up that night how many shots were fired, and they
amounted to two hundred. Carson said, "Boys, if we get into another
fight with the Indians, for God's sake don't throw away your powder
and lead in that shape again, for before you reach Monterey, powder
and lead will be worth something, as the Red skins are as thick as
grass-hoppers in August."
Of course this was the first skirmish these men had ever had with the
Indians, and they were too excited to know what they were doing.
About six years ago I met a man whose name was Labor. He was the
last survivor of that company, with the exception of myself, and he told
me how he felt when the yelling Red skins burst upon us. Said he, "I
don't think I could have hit an Indian if he had been as big as the side of

a horse, for I was shaking worse than I would if I had had the third-day
Ague. Not only shaking, but I was cold all over, and I dreamed all night
of seeing all kinds of Indians."
The next day we were traveling on the back bone of a little ridge. There
was no timber except a few scattering Juniper trees. We were now in
Arizona, and water was very scarce. The reader will understand that
Carson invariably rode from fifty to one hundred yards ahead of the
command, and I always rode at his side.
I presume it was between two and three o'clock in the afternoon when
Col. Freemont called out to Carson, "How far are you going tonight?"
Carson studied a minute and answered, "I think, in seven or eight miles
we will find good water and a plenty of grass."
A few minutes after this Freemont said, "Say, Carson, why not go to
that lake there and camp? There is plenty of grass and water," at the
same time pointing to the south. Carson raised his head and looked at
the point indicated. Then he said, "Col. there is no water or grass
there." Freemont