sand feet below, and,
standing where human foot had never stood before, felt the exultation of
first explorers. It was about two o'clock when we left the summit; and
when we reached the bottom the sun had already sunk behind the wall, and
the day was drawing to a close. It would have been pleasant to linger
here and on the summit longer; but we hurried away as rapidly as the
ground would permit, for it was an object to regain our party as soon as
possible, not knowing what accident the next hour might bring forth."

This mountain which bears the name of Fremont's Peak, in honor of the
great Pathfinder, was found to be 13,570 feet above the Gulf of Mexico.

The object of the expedition was accomplished and preparations were made
for the return to the states. No accident worth the mention had befallen
the explorers, and the Blackfeet, from whom so much was feared, did not
molest them. It may have been that when their scouts reconnoitred the
camp, they found the barricades so strong and the garrison so watchful
that they decided it would be too costly to make an attack upon them.
It is not impossible that some one or more of them recognized the daring
mountaineer who more than once years before had given their warriors
such severe defeat and punishment. If such was the truth, we cannot but
respect the discretion they showed.

Fort Laramie was reached in the month of September 1842. There as Kit
Carson's labors were ended, he bade his commander and friends goodbye
and started for New Mexico. Fremont and his men reached the states in
safety and thus ended his first exploring expedition.

CHAPTER XXI.

Carson Starts for the States--The Encampment of Captain Cook and his
Dragoons--Carson Undertakes a Delicate and Dangerous Mission--The
Perilous Journey--Return of Carson and the Mexican Boy--Encounter with
Four Utah Indians--Arrival at Bent's Fort.

Early in the year 1843, Kit Carson married his second wife and shortly
after agreed to accompany an expedition of Bent & St. Vrain's wagons to
the States. When part way across the plains, they struck the old Santa
Fe trail and came upon an encampment of Captain Cook with four companies
of United States Dragoons.

They were engaged in escorting a train of Mexican wagons to the boundary
line between New Mexico and the United States. The train was a very
valuable one and an escort of a hundred men were hired to accompany it
through the Indian country.

The situation