On the morning after this we left the Pueblo for Bent's Fort.The conduct of Raymond had lately been less satisfactory than before, and we had discharged him as soon as we arrived at the former place; so that the party, ourselves included, was now reduced to four.There was some uncertainty as to our future course.The trail between Bent's Fort and the settlements, a distance computed at six hundred miles, was at this time in a dangerous state; for since the passage of General Kearny's army, great numbers of hostile Indians, chiefly Pawnees and Comanches, had gathered about some parts of it.A little after this time they became so numerous and audacious, that scarcely a single party, however large, passed between the fort and the frontier without some token of their hostility.The newspapers of the time sufficiently display this state of things.Many men were killed, and great numbers of horses and mules carried off.Not long since I met with the gentleman, who, during the autumn, came from Santa Fe to Bent's Fort, when he found a party of seventy men, who thought themselves too weak to go down to the settlements alone, and were waiting there for a re-enforcement.Though this excessive timidity fully proves the ignorance and credulity of the men, it may also evince the state of alarm which prevailed in the country.When we were there in the month of August, the danger had not become so great.There was nothing very attractive in the neighborhood.We supposed, moreover, that we might wait there half the winter without finding any party to go down with us; for Mr.Sublette and the others whom we had relied upon had, as Richard told us, already left Bent's Fort.Thus far on our journey Fortune had kindly befriended us.We resolved therefore to take advantage of her gracious mood and trusting for a continuance of her favors, to set out with Henry and Delorier, and run the gauntlet of the Indians in the best way we could.
Bent's Fort stands on the river, about seventy-five miles below the Pueblo.At noon of the third day we arrived within three or four miles of it, pitched our tent under a tree, hung our looking-glasses against its trunk and having made our primitive toilet, rode toward the fort.We soon came in sight of it, for it is visible from a considerable distance, standing with its high clay walls in the midst of the scorching plains.It seemed as if a swarm of locusts had invaded the country.The grass for miles around was cropped close by the horses of General Kearny's soldiery.When we came to the fort, we found that not only had the horses eaten up the grass, but their owners had made away with the stores of the little trading post; so that we had great difficulty in procuring the few articles which we required for our homeward journey.The army was gone, the life and bustle passed away, and the fort was a scene of dull and lazy tranquillity.A few invalid officers and soldiers sauntered about the area, which was oppressively hot; for the glaring sun was reflected down upon it from the high white walls around.The proprietors were absent, and we were received by Mr.Holt, who had been left in charge of the fort.He invited us to dinner, where, to our admiration, we found a table laid with a white cloth, with castors in the center and chairs placed around it.This unwonted repast concluded, we rode back to our camp.
Here, as we lay smoking round the fire after supper, we saw through the dusk three men approaching from the direction of the fort.They rode up and seated themselves near us on the ground.The foremost was a tall, well-formed man, with a face and manner such as inspire confidence at once.He wore a broad hat of felt, slouching and tattered, and the rest of his attire consisted of a frock and leggings of buckskin, rubbed with the yellow clay found among the mountains.At the heel of one of his moccasins was buckled a huge iron spur, with a rowel five or six inches in diameter.His horse, who stood quietly looking over his head, had a rude Mexican saddle, covered with a shaggy bearskin, and furnished with a pair of wooden stirrups of most preposterous size.The next man was a sprightly, active little fellow, about five feet and a quarter high, but very strong and compact.His face was swarthy as a Mexican's and covered with a close, curly black beard.An old greasy calico handkerchief was tied round his head, and his close buckskin dress was blackened and polished by grease and hard service.The last who came up was a large strong man, dressed in the coarse homespun of the frontiers, who dragged his long limbs over the ground as if he were too lazy for the effort.He had a sleepy gray eye, a retreating chin, an open mouth and a protruding upper lip, which gave him an air of exquisite indolence and helplessness.He was armed with an old United States yager, which redoubtable weapon, though he could never hit his mark with it, he was accustomed to cherish as the very sovereign of firearms.
The first two men belonged to a party who had just come from California with a large band of horses, which they had disposed of at Bent's Fort.Munroe, the taller of the two, was from Iowa.He was an excellent fellow, open, warm-hearted and intelligent.Jim Gurney, the short man, was a Boston sailor, who had come in a trading vessel to California, and taken the fancy to return across the continent.
The journey had already made him an expert "mountain man," and he presented the extraordinary phenomenon of a sailor who understood how to manage a horse.The third of our visitors named Ellis, was a Missourian, who had come out with a party of Oregon emigrants, but having got as far as Bridge's Fort, he had fallen home-sick, or as Jim averred, love-sick--and Ellis was just the man to be balked in a love adventure.He thought proper to join the California men and return homeward in their company.
They now requested that they might unite with our party, and make the journey to the settlements in company with us.We readily assented, for we liked the appearance of the first two men, and were very glad to gain so efficient a re-enforcement.We told them to meet us on the next evening at a spot on the river side, about six miles below the fort.Having smoked a pipe together, our new allies left us, and we lay down to sleep.
