, he retained his seat in the saddle,
but could not speak. Thus again was precious time lost, as the party,
during this time, were virtually without a leader, and did not seem to
be inclined to make one. Fortunately for this officer, just before he
received the shot, he had taken off his thick buckskin gauntlets and
crowded them into a breast pocket. The ball had struck this bundle;
and, as its force was somewhat expended by the distance it had come,
it was unable to more than penetrate the mass and contuse the soft
parts of the chest.

This accident assisted in preventing this well known military man from
inflicting such a blow on these savages, that they would have been
long in recovering from it. He had undoubtedly seen, soon after he had
halted, that Kit Carson was right in recommending a charge; for,
as quick as he recovered sufficiently from his injury to be able
to speak, he commanded the men to make the attack, and leave him to
himself. Unfortunately, the time had passed to accomplish the desired
effect when this order was given, for, on arriving among the lodges,
the men found only one warrior. He, as a matter of course, was slain.
The body of Mrs. White was also found in the camp. Life was extinct,
though her soul had but just flown to heaven. There was still warmth
in the corpse when the men first discovered it. An arrow had pierced
her breast. Evidently she had been conscious that friends were near,
and was trying to make her escape when the missile of death produced
the fatal wound.

Much has been written and said about this sad affair, and much unjust
calumny has been heaped upon the head of the leader of the expedition;
therefore, the opinion of Kit Carson in reference to the matter may
not be out of place; hence, we give it word for word. "I am certain"
says Kit Carson, "that if the Indians had been charged immediately on
our arrival, Mrs. White would have been saved. At first, the savages
were much confused at our approach, and I do not hesitate to say that
she saw us as quick as any one of the redskins did, for it undoubtedly
was the all absorbing topic of her mind that her rescue would be
attempted by her friends and countrymen. On seeing us coming, she
had attempted to run towards us, when she was shot down. Had she been
liberated, she could not have long survived the brutality, hardships
and vicissitudes she had experienced. Words cannot describe the bitter
cup that she had been obliged to drink d