Chief of Scouts | Page 5

replied, "Damn it, look. Can't you see it?" at the same
time pointing in the direction of what he supposed to be the lake.
Carson checked his horse until Freemont came up near him and then
said, "Col., spot this place by these little Juniper trees, and we will
come back here tomorrow morning, and if you can see a lake there then
I will admit that I don't know anything about this country."
Freemont was out of humor all the evening. He had nothing to say to
any person.
The next morning after breakfast was over and the herder had driven in
the horses Carson said, "Now Colonel, let's go and see that lake."
Under the circumstances Freemont could not say "no." I think five of us
besides Carson and Freemont went back. When we came to the place
where the little Juniper trees were, Freemont's face showed that he was
badly whipped, for sure enough there was no lake there; he had seen
what is called a mirage.

I have seen almost everything in mirage form, but what causes this
Atmospheric optical illusion has never been explained to my
satisfaction. Some men say it is imagination, but I do not think it is so.
On our way back to camp a man by name of Cummings was riding by
my side. He made the remark in an undertone, "I am sorry this thing
happened." I asked him, "Why?" In reply he said, "Colonel Freemont
won't get over this in many a day, for Carson has shown him that he
can be mistaken."
We laid over at this camp until the next day as this was good water and
exceptionally good grass. Nothing interfered with us until we struck the
Colorado river. Here we met quite a band of Umer Indians. Without
any exception they were the worst-looking human beings that I have
ever seen in my life. A large majority of them were as naked as they
were when they were born. Their hair in many instances looked as if it
never had been straightened out. They lived mostly on pine nuts. The
nuts grow on a low, scrubby tree, a species of Pine, and in gathering the
nuts they covered their hands with gum which is as sticky as tar and
rubbed it on their bodies and in their hair. The reader may imagine the
effect; I am satisfied that many of these Indians had never seen a white
man before they saw us. Very few of them had bows and arrows; they
caught fish. How they caught them I never knew, but I often saw the
squaws carrying fish.
When we reached the Colorado river we stayed two days making rafts
to cross the river on. The last day we were there, laying on the bank of
the river, I presume there came five hundred of these Indians within
fifty yards of our camp. Most of them laid down under the trees. One of
our men shot a bird that was in a tree close by, and I never heard such
shouting or saw such running as these Indians did when the gun
cracked. This convinced me that we were the first white men they had
ever seen, and this the first time they had heard the report of a gun. This
incident occurred in forty-eight, which was fifty-eight years ago. I have
seen more or less of these Indians from that time until now, and these
Indians as a tribe have made less progress than any other Indians in the
west. Even after the railroad was put through that part of the country,

they had to be forced to cover themselves with clothes.
After crossing the Colorado river we came into the Ute country, but we
traveled several days without seeing any of this tribe. About five days
after we crossed the Colorado river, we came on to a big band of
Sighewash Indians. The tribe was just coming together, after a winter's
trapping and hunting. At this time the Sigh washes were a powerful
tribe, but not hostile to the whites.
We camped near their village that night. After supper Carson and I
went over to this village, at the same time taking a lot of butcher knives
and cheap jewelry with us that he had brought along to trade with the
Indians. When we got into their camp, Carson inquired where the
chief's wigwam, was. The Indians could all speak Spanish; therefore we
had no trouble in finding the chief. When we went into the chief's
wigwam, after shaking hands with the old chief and his squaw, Carson
pulled some of the jewelry out of his pocket and told the chief that he
wanted to trade for furs. The old chief stepped to the entrance