a scanty
amount of fuel, for his means of conveyance are very contracted. When
overtaken by the storms, which may last several days, he is rendered
almost powerless, and is at the tender mercies of the gale; for he
cannot make fires,--and without them he may perish. This is not true
of every trip made across the plains during the winter, for, like
on the ocean, the passage may be frequently gone through with the
encountering of but little real suffering. One thing in favor of
making the journey in this season of the year is, the probability
of not seeing an Indian. They, usually, during the cold months,
stow themselves away in their, comparatively speaking, warm mountain
retreats. In crossing the plains, small parties find the item of
meeting Indians to be of considerable importance, as, even in the
time of peace, they are very exacting and troublesome, demanding that
provisions should be given them, by way of toll. To refuse is apt
to bring down their ire, when they will usually help themselves to
whatever suits their fancy. They are very partial to sugar, which,
when they cannot say the word in English, they call "Shoog." If not
understood, they make their wants known by the Indian sign of touching
with the index finger the tip of the tongue, thereby indicating the
sweetness of the article. Many of them come armed with a piece of
paper, which testimonial of good behavior they have obtained from
their agent or forced from some traveler. As they cannot read, it
makes but little difference what is the sense of the writing so long
as it is _bona fide_ penmanship. I once saw one of these documents
which the owner prized very highly, but, had he known the purport of
his paper, he would have sighed for the scalp of his _kind friend_
who wrote it. The language was as follows: "Crossing of the Arkansas,"
etc. "The bearer, _Young Antelope_, is a good Indian and will not take
anything out of his reach. This is to warn traders and travelers
to beware of his race, breed, seed, and generation." It was signed
evidently with a fictitious name, and answered the purpose for which
it was intended, which was, to get rid of an ugly customer and to put
strangers on their guard against the man who carried it.

On arriving at Taos, Kit Carson left this party and proceeded
to Rayado, where he was, soon after, actively engaged in farming
pursuits.

During the subsequent winter, a detachment of ten dragoons under the
command of sergeant Hol