A WINTER IN NORTH PARK--RUNNING FIGHT WITH A BAND OF UTES FOR MOKE
THAN A HUNDRED MILES, ENDING HAND TO HAND--VICTORY.
On the day set for my departure, having had our breakfast, Mr.
Hughes stepped outside of the cabin, and I was just rolling up try
blankets and a piece of dried venison, and Johnnie West was
sympathizing with me over the long and lonesome trip that was
before me, when all of a sudden Mr. Hughes came bounding into the
cabin and exclaimed.
"Get your guns and knives, boys. The Indians are upon us and we
must run for our lives."
Each man sprang for his gun, and by this time the Indians were in
sight of the cabin and had raised the war-whoop, which, again,
raised the hair on the head of your humble servant.
We made for the top of the hill, which was about one hundred and
fifty yards from the cabin, and slopped The Indians were by this
time at the cabin. Johnnie West counted them and said there were
twenty-seven all told.
We each fired a shot among them, but could not tell whether we
killed any of them or not. We then started on the run, loading our
guns as we ran, the Indians in hot pursuit of us.
After running about two miles, Johnnie West proposed that we make a
stand. We stopped on a little ridge, and did not have to wait long
until the Indians were in gun-shot of us.
"Now, Willie," said Mr. Hughes, "don't get excited and shoot too
quick, but take good aim and be sure that you get your Indian."
As they came up, each of us selected our Indian, fired and each
got his man. In a moment the smoke from our guns had cleared away,
and the whole band being in sight, Mr. Hughes said:
"Let's run for our lives. There are too many of them for us." And
run we did, loading as we flew.
We ran about five miles and made another stand, but not with the
same success as before, for we only got one Indian.
We had a running fight all that day and made three or four stands,
but could not tell how many Indians we killed, for we would fire
at them and then load our guns on the run. They having nothing but
loose arrows and tomahawks, we could easily keep out of danger.
But they figured on running us down.
That evening near sundown, Mr. Hughes asked me, as I was a little
faster on foot than the rest, to drop back far enough to count
them, which I did, and found there were eleven of them still in
pursuit of us.
When they saw me behind the other two they started the war-whoop
and did their best to overtake me, no doubt thinking I was tired
out and that the other two had left me. But they were disappointed
when I ran on and overtook my friends.
We were now in sight of a large body of timber, and Mr. Hughes
thought that if we could reach that by dark we might be able to
dodge the Indians and get away from them.
We reached the timber just at dark and tried very hard to dodge
our pursuers, but it seemed as though they could scent us like
blood-hounds, for we would no more than get stopped and lie down
to rest, when they would be upon us.
A number of times during the night we would build up a fire and
then go a hundred yards or so from it and lie down to rest, but
the redskinned devils kept close to us, and, consequently, we got
but little rest during the night.
The following morning we left the timber and took to the prairie.
After running some four miles we looked back and saw four Indians
very near to us and gaining at every step. Johnnie West proposed
that we stop and accommodate them, saying that he felt hungry and
tired enough to fight any two Indians in the band. So each man
selected his Indian and fired, and we succeeded in killing two of
them; the remaining two hid behind some big rocks until the others
came up and, again we were compelled to flee.
We ran for about two hours, when we stopped and made another fight
and killed two more Indians. This was kept up until late in the
afternoon, which made two days and one night that we had been
chased by these savages, with not a bite to eat during the whole
time, and we were getting so tired that we could scarcely raise
the trot.
We were now running down a long slope, when I looked at Mr. Hughes
and could see a change in his countenance. There was an expression
different from that which I had ever seen on his face before. Just
about a half mile ahead of on down a little flat, was a wash-out,
and Mr. Hughes said:
"Right down there by that little bunch of willows, at that wash-
out, is where I intend to make my last fight. Now you boys can do
as you please, but I am exhausted and can go no further."
Before we got to the wash-out, Johnnie West told Mr. Hughes to run
straight for the patch of willows, also telling me to turn to the
right, while he took to the left, and as soon as we were in the
wash-out for me to run to where Mr. Hughes was. This was to be
done to cause the Indians to scatter so they would not all be on
us at once, there now being seven of them in the gang.
Johnnie West told me to take a bandy-shanked-fellow on the left
and he would take one who had two feathers in his hair.
"All right," said Mr. Hughes, "and I'll take the leader."
We all took good aim and each of us brought down his Indian, but
we did not have time to load before the others were upon us, and
it ended in a hand-to-hand fight, besides it got to where each man
had to look out for himself.
One of the Indians came straight for me and dealt me a desperate
blow with his tomahawk, but I threw up my left hand and received a
severe cut in my wrist--the mark of which I carry to this day--at
the same time I struck him with my knife and almost cut him in two
As he was falling he threw his tomahawk at me with all the
vengeance in him, but missed my head and struck a rock just behind
me. I sprang at once and picked it up.
Mr. Hughes was fighting one of the Indians; the other two had
attacked Johnnie West, who was on his back with his head against
the bank of the wash-out, and they were trying to get a chance to
deal him a blow, but he was kicking at them with both feet and was
striking so fast with his knife that they had not yet been able to
get a lick in on him.
They were so busily engaged with Johnnie that I sprang at once,
unseen by them, and buried the tomahawk so deep in the head of one
of them that I was unable, for the moment, to recover it. As soon
as my Indian was out of the way, Johnnie was on his feet, quick as
the twinkling of an eye, and stabbed the remaining one through the
heart with his hunting-knife.
In the meantime Mr. Hughes was having a hard fight with his
Indian. He succeeded in killing the red fiend but got badly used
up. He had a severe wound in the shoulder, also one in the thigh.
I received a cut in the wrist, and Johnnie West did not get a
severe wound, in fact but little more than a scratch.
The fight and flight being now ended, we went a few rods to a
little clump of pine trees, where Mr. Hughes dropped down and
said: "Boys, there's no use of talking, I can't go any further; I
think I have done my last trappin' and Injun fightin'."
I gathered some limbs and chunks and started a fire, while Johnnie
pulled Mr. Hughes' moccasins off and bathed his feet and legs with
cold water. They were swollen almost to twice their usual size.
The fire being started, Johnnie proposed that we lie down and take
a nap and a rest before starting out to hunt for meat, saying it
was impossible for him to stand on his feet any longer. "My legs,"
said he, "are swollen clear to my body." I was too hungry to
sleep, so I proposed that Johnnie stay and care for Mr. Hughes and
I would take my gun and go out and kill some game, which was
plentiful in this part of the country. I had not gone more than a
quarter of a mile when I looked up the ridge and saw a small deer
coming down almost in the direction of where I stood, and never
before in my life had I cast my eyes on a living animal that
pleased me so much as did that one I waited until he was in
gunshot and fired. It ran about one hundred yards in the direction
of camp and fell dead I dressed it, cut off its head and carried
it to camp, and it was all I could do to get along with it in my
half-famished condition.
I found Hughes and West both sound asleep by the fire It was not
long before I had some of the venison cooked, and I had it
fashionably rare, at that. After I had wakened my companions and
we had broiled and eaten venison for a time, Johnnie and I rolled
some logs together and gathered pine knots and made a good fire.
Then we broiled more venison and ate again, until we got sleepy
and fell over by the side of the fire, lost to ourselves and
Indians. During the night we all woke up again, cooked and ate as
long as we could keep our eyes open, and by sun-up next morning
there was not enough of that little deer left to feed a cat.
We found ourselves very sore and stiff from the effects of our
run, but Mr. Hughes thought we were about one hundred miles nearer
Taos than when we started, as we had been running most of the time
in that direction, and this was some consolation.
We remained here and rested two days, and as game was plentiful we
did not have to go far from the camp to get all the meat we
wanted.
On the morning of the third day we started for Taos, which was
about two hundred miles away, but all being so badly worn out and
Mr. Hughes having such severe wounds, we had to travel slowly, it
taking us about two weeks to make the trip. But we had no more
trouble with the Indians.
At Taos we met Uncle Kit Carson, who had been waiting our arrival
for two weeks. After resting up for a few days, Uncle Kit, Johnnie
West and myself started for North Park to pack out the furs. Mr.
Hughes stayed at Taos, as he was too badly wounded to accompany us
on the trip.
On our arrival at North Park we found everything just as we had
left it, except that the traps, which we had not cached with the
furs, had been stolen.
On our return trip we camped one evening in a beautiful little
valley where the grass was knee high, and along the little stream
were green quaking-asp, alder and willows, with scattering pine
trees here and there on the hills and in the valley. About sundown
that evening the horses commenced to show signs of uneasiness and
occasionally they would raise their heads and look in the
direction of a little pine grove near by, and snort. Johnnie West,
being the first to notice it, said: "Kit, what is the matter with
the horses? I believe there are Indians around."
"I don't think so," said Carson, "for I haven't seen any sign of
Injuns today."
Shortly after dark that night Uncle Kit went out about fifty yards
from camp in the direction of the horses, taking with him neither
his gun or his pistol, which was a rare thing for him to do. Just
as he was passing around a pine tree a panther sprang at him from
the tree. On hearing the rustle in the limbs, Carson jumped back
from the tree as far as he could and thus avoided the full force
of the blow from the panther. As he jumped back he drew his knife
and had a hand-to-hand fight with the huge feline and succeeded in
killing it.
Johnnie and I sat at the camp-fire, knowing nothing of the affair
until Uncle Kit came in, covered with blood from head to foot, and
his heavy buckskin shirt, which had no doubt been the means of
saving his life, was torn almost into strings. When he told us he
had been engaged in a fight with some kind of a wild animal,
Johnnie asked why he did not call for help, and his reply was that
he did not have time to call as he had his hands full with the
"varmint."
After we had dressed his wounds as best we could, we took a torch
and went to the foot of the pine tree, and there lay the panther,
dead. He had stabbed it to the heart.
Uncle Kit had a very bad wound in one thigh, also in one arm, so
we did not move camp next day, but the day after we proceeded on
our journey. We took our furs to Santa Fe, where we disposed of
them at a good price, furs being higher that season than usual.
Our furs being disposed of we returned to Taos and rested for
about two weeks.