Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1901-11-28
FREMONT AND CARSON.
A Scout Tells of Trip Across
the Plains.

Conklin, Mich, Nov. 23.-Lou-
is Pierce, who lives near this
place, is one of the few men now
living who were employed on the
Government survey thru the West,
General Fremont and Kit Carson,
when the survey was made to the
Willamette Valley, in Oregon.
The surveying party was in chage
of General Fremont, and Carson,
the greatest of all Western scouts,
went as guide. Pierce was then a
strapping boy of l6 years. He
was Carson's aid.
The country thru which they
passed was full of big game and
Indians. Pierce attributes the
expeditions freedom from attack
to Carson's sagacity and his inHu-
ence over the red men. Only once
did they have severe brush with
them, and that was disastrous to
the Indians. One day as Carson
and Pierce were scouting in ad-
vance of the party and looking for
convenient camping ground, they
were attacked by a party of Indi-
ans armed with bows and arrows.
The two made for bunch of sage
brush and shrubbery, and with
this as a cover they turned on the
enemy. There were sixteen rider
less ponies when the affair was
ended
On the plains and in the foot
hills they found plenty of buffalo
and antelope, and in the noun
tains grizzly bears were not un-
common. "I never killed one,
tho" said Pierce. "Them critters
was out Of my line. In the first
place, ] didn't carry lead enough
so that | felt safe. A man can
shoot into one of them pesky crit
ters all day and still he'll fight.
You read about Teddy Roosevelt
huntin' grizzlies, didn't you?
Well, that's the proper way to
hunt 'cm-with e-euforcements. ="
Pierce says that the experience
which made the strongest impress
sion on him was the scarcity of
water in part Of the country thru
which they travelled during the dry
season. On one occasion they
were without water for three days,
and had to carry bullets under
their tongues to allay thirst. To-
ward evening of the third day,
when hope was almost gone, they
'hlI' ~ II Illil' N'l''lI' hhh "i'lI
what strength they had left hur-
ried towards it, The water would
probably have been the death OF
some of them, at least, had not
General Fremont, with drawn re-
volver, compelled them to cool of
a little before drinking.
After returning from this trip
the young scout wandered back tC
his old home in Ohio. a few
years later he married, and in
1888 he moved to Michigan and
settled in Chester Township, Otta.
wa County, about twenty miles
from Grand Rapids. He did Il
good deal of exploring and pros.
pccting thru the State, especially
along the line Of the proposed
State road from Grand Rapids tC
Traverse City.
The old hunter still lives on the
homestead in Ottawa county, and
has with him one son, who cult
Yates the lOO-acre farm which
Pierce, in his younger days, hcwcr
out Of the forest. In spite Of hi
73 years he is still vigorous, anC
last summer helped cultivate the
farm.
The old habits have not all de
serted him yet, and during tn
hunting season he takes his place
with some of the younger genera
ton and makes every shot count
as he did when he jOurncycd acros
the great plains with Carson.
Humble Successes Count
The American youth Is seldom tol
| that to perform the common duties {
| life is to succeed, says a writer in Sue