The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1871-09-16
REC0LLECTIONS OF THE WEST.
A STORY BY KIT CARSON.

| the winters CdllpdlSI, W Hth VIZ Nt1t
/ driven into and became cntangied
amid the defiles Of the Elk Noun
tains by an overwhelming force OF
Indians. who were fast closinGarOund
us. so as to make our escape seem
ingly matter of impossibility.
We had at last selected a place
from whence to make fight, when
suddenly man dressed i'll the garb
of a hunter was, seen to emerge from
a barranca little way Oft, and with
his right hand elevated, the open
palm toward us rapidly approach our
position.
More than one of the party instant
/ " recognized and greeted him with
a glad shout Of KIT CARSON, who by
day y-break next morning, had led rs
! through the enemy's lines safe into
! the heavily timbered lands below.
He remained with us several days,
and ! availcd myself OF the opportu-
nifty of hearing from his own lips
some Of the remarkable adventures
through which he had passed.
"They have told so many wonder
| ful stories about me,' he said laugh
! ingIy. = that anything with the least
truth in it will, fear, sound tame
and uninteresting. Why, | would
have to he half a dozen times as old
as really am, to have gone through
one half of what they charge me with.
| II believe, however, he continued.
after moments thought. =" that none
of them ever got hold of the incidents
of certain trip l once made alone
from California across to Bent's Fort.
1t was in 1916, | think, and | was
bearing dispatches from Fremont to
Gen. Kearney in regard to the con-
quest Of that county.
'The Colonel wanted me to take
an escort, but | knew that would
never do, SO | started off by myself.
Before | got through, I had good
reason to congratulate myself that |
wasn't bothered with lot of lumber
ing dragons.
"The route I chose lay around by
Pyramid Lake, thence eastward
through a canon in Mary's River
Mountains, along the southern shore
of Utah Lake, and then direct over
the Wasatch range.
"It is a good deal easier to lay this
route down than It's to travel it.
The country was swarming with
hunting and war parties, anda fast
as | would shake loose from one,
another would be on my trail or head
ing me off, till | really began TO think
I'd have to back out and take the re-
turn path.
IL managed, however, to get
through to the Wasatch, and cross
them without any very serious adj
venture but Immediately after stri-
king the level land Oh the eastern
side, | came very near having my
tramp cut short in a manner not at
all agreeable.
"Eastward from the foot Of the
mountains there stretches a wide
sweep of rolling prairie, without tim
Der or bush, and covered for some
distance with a rich growth of buffalo
grass, beyond which the weed prairie
began. [ knew that the Indians
were moving on the high grounds,
and consequently the moment [ ven
tured out upon the open prairie I
would be sighted. In view of this [
determined to wait for night, which
[ did, and shortly after dark ventu-
red from cover and struck across the
great plain.
" At midnight I halted for an hour,
having entered the weeds and high
grass, and then pushed ahead as rap
idly as the nature of the ground
would permit.
For perhaps three hours after my
midnight halt I kept steadily ahead,
at the end of which time reddish
glow along the eastern horizon gave
me to understand that day was
breaking. At least such was my
impression on first sighting it, and
for some little time after, when sud
denly it occurred to me that I was
either very wrong in my calculation
of time, or else day was dawning
some two hours sooner than it ought.
II turned to look at the stars in
the west and south, but they made it
only about four o'clock but then, as
looked eastward, there was the un-
mistakable evidence that the sun was
about to show his face fora new day.
But | was not long in doubt. My
prairie life, years Of it, had taught
me all the signs, and when [ really
came to reflect upon the matter-I
had paid but passing attention to it
before-I knew the cause of that red
glow which had deceived me.
"The prairie was afire. And when,
after wetting my finger and holding
it up, [ found that the wind, what
there was of it, was blowing directly
from the east, | began to fully realize
that my situation might become one
of deadly peril. Had there been
anything of a, breeze [ could have
averted all danger by clearing a
space and starting a fire to leeward,
but there was not, and / knew the
dry grass and weeds would burn in
every direction.
"The dull red glow on the border
had rapidly assumed a brighter hue,
and this was momentarily increasing.
You understand that the heat and
fame of tha fire always create All AZ