The Grit-advocate., 1905-09-01

stream:
Fortunately Fremont's party was
ahead of the annual Santa Fe cara
vans. which insured them good grass
at the camping places. They had not
gone far before they met parties of
Mohave Indians who seemed friendly
enough. but on the day following, two
Spaniards. a man and a lad. came into
camp telling of their party of six hay
Ing been attacked by Indians, about
eighty miles beyond the encampment
They had with them about thirty
horses. and we're suddenly attacked
by 4 party of Indians, who had pre-
viously been in camp and seemed
friendly. The horse guards-the two
who had just come into Fremont's
camp-drOve their animals through the
attacking party and escaped with their
horses, which they had left about
twenty miles behind on coming to
Fremont's camp. When the white
men came to the place where the
horses had been left it appeared that
the animals had been driven off by
the Indians. Carson and Godet, with
the Mexican Fuentes, started after
them, but in the evening the Mexican
returned, his horse having given out.
'In the afternoon Of the next day n
war whoop was heard, such as Indians
make when returning from victorious
enterprise, and soon Carson and Go
dey appeared, driving before them
band of horses, recognized by Fuentes
to be part of those they had lost. Two
bloody scalps, dangling from the end
of GOdey's gun, announced that they
had overtaken the Indians as well as
the horses. They informed us that af-
ter Fuentes left, from the failure of
his horse, they continued the pursuit
alone, and toward nightfall entered the
mountains, into which the trail led.
After sunset the moon gave light, and
they followed the trail by moonshine
until late in the night, when it entered
narrow detile and was difficult to
follow. Afraid of losing it in the
darkness of the defile they tied up
their horses, struck no fire and lay
down to sleep in silence and in dark
ness. Here they lay from midnight
sumed the pursuit, and about sunrise
discovered the horses, and immediate.
ly dismounting and tying up their own
they crept cautiously to rising ground
which intervened, from the crest of
which they perceived the encampment
of four lodges close by. They pro-
ceeded quietly, and had got within
thirty or forty yards of their object
when movement among the horses
disclosed them to the Indians. Giving
the war shout they instantly charged
into the camp, regardless of the num-
ber which the four lodges would imply.
The Indians received them with
flight of arrows shot from their long
bows, one of which passed through
Godey's shirt collar, barely missing
the neck. Our men fired their rifles
upon steady aim and rushed in.
Two Indians were stretched upon the
ground fatally pierced with bullets;
the rest fled, except a lad that was
captured. The scalps of the fallen
were instantly stripped off, but in the
process one of them, who had two
balls through his body, sprung to his
feet, the blood streaming from his
skinned head, and uttering a hideous
howl. An old squaw, possibly his
mother, stopped and looked back from
the mountainside she was climbing,
threatening and lamenting. The
frightful spectacle appalled, the stout
hearts of our men, but they did what
humanity required, and quickly ter
minated the agonies Of the CORY saw
age. They were now masters Of the
camp, which was a pretty little recess
in the mountain, with a fine spring,
and apparently safe from invasion.
Great preparations had been made to
feast large party, for it was very
proper place for a rendezvous. and for
the celebration of such orgies as rob
bers of the desert would delight in.
Several of the best horses had been
killed, skinned and cut up, for the In
dians, living in mountains and only
coming into the plains to rob and mur-
der, make no other use of horses than
to eat them. Large earthen vessels
were on the fire, boiling and stewing
the horse beef, and several baskets
containing fifty or sixty pairs of moe
casins indicated the presence or expec-
tation of considerable party. They
released the boy, who had given strong
evidence of the stoicism Or something
else of the savage character, in COM
mencing his breakfast upon a horses
head as soon as he found he was not
to be killed, but only tied as a prison
er. Their object accomplished, our
men gathered up all the surviving
horses. fifteen in number, returned
upon their trail, and rejoined US at our
camp in the afternoon of the same
day. They rode about 100 miles in the
pursuit and return, and all in thirty
hours. The time. place, object and
numbers considered, this expedition of
Carson and Cooley may be considered
among the boldest and most disinter-