During the autumn of 1846, Fremont had had no time to visit his Mariposa
purchase; but in the winter, while at Los Angelos, inviting Carson and
Godey and two of his Delaware Indians, and his constant attendant
Dobson, to take a tramp with him for hunting, in the time of sunny skies
in February, he extended his hunt thither, and accomplished the
discovery that he had a well-wooded and well-watered--for California
well watered--tract of land, of exceeding beauty, clothed, as it was at
this season, with a countless variety of flowering plants, these being
the grasses of the country, and seemingly well adapted for tillage,
certainly an excellent spot for an immense cattle ranche. They killed
deer and antelope and smaller game, and with the lasso captured a score
of wild horses from a drove of hundreds that fled at their approach;
returning to Los Angelos within a week from the time of their
departure, laden with the spoils of the chase.
Nor could these busy men refuse the kindly hospitalities tendered them
by the old and wealthy natives of Los Angelos. We have described their
style of life as Carson had witnessed it in 1828; and now at a ball
given by Don Pio Pico--for the _fandango_ of the Mexican is a part of
his life, and with all his reverses of fortune it must come in for its
place--Carson and Fremont are of course guests, and Lieutenant
Gillespie, and some other of the American officers. As the company was a
mixed one, we will not attempt a description, but quote from Bayard
Taylor's California, a scene of a similar kind at the close of the
Constitutional Convention, about two years later, when, with the
discovery of gold, California had a population sufficient to demand a
State government, and made one for herself, and prepared to knock for
admission into the Union of States. In this Convention were the old
fathers of California, American army officers, and some more recent
arrivals; and well was it for California that the steps for the
organization of her State government were taken so early, when the fact
of Mexicans and natives having a claim was not ignored, as it might
have been at a later date by the reckless adventurers who thronged the
golden shore.
But it is only the ball at the close of the Convention we propose to
describe, at which Col. Fremont and David C. Broderick were present, as
members of the Convention.
"The morning Convention was short and adjourned early yesterday, on
account of a ball given by the Convention to the citizens of Monterey.
The members, by a contribution of $25 each, raised the sum of $1,100 to
provide for the entertainment, which was got up in return for that given
by the citizens about four weeks since.
"The Hall was cleared of the forms and tables, and decorated with young
pines from the forest. At each end were the American colors tastefully
disposed across the boughs. Then chandeliers, neither of bronze or
cut-glass, but neat and brilliant withal, poured their light upon the
festivities. At eight o'clock--the fashionable hour in Monterey--the
guests began to assemble, and in an hour afterward the Hall was crowded
with nearly all the Californian and American residents. There were sixty
ladies present, and an equal number of gentlemen, in addition to the
members of the Convention. The dark-eyed daughters of Monterey, Los
Angelos, and Santa Barbara mingled in pleasing contrast with the fairer
bloom of the trans-Nevadian belles. The variety of feature and
complexion was fully equaled by the variety of dress. In the whirl of
the waltz, a plain, dark, nun-like robe would be followed by one of pink
satin and gauze; next, perhaps, a bodice of scarlet velvet, with gold
buttons, and then a rich figured brocade, such as one sees on the
stately dames of Titian.
"The dresses of the gentlemen showed considerable variety, but were much
less picturesque. A complete ball-dress was a happiness attained only by
a fortunate few, many appearing in borrowed robes.
"The appearance of the company, nevertheless, was genteel and
respectable; and perhaps the genial, unrestrained social spirit, that
possessed all present, would have been less, had there been more
uniformity of costume. Gen. Riley was there in full uniform, with the
yellow sash he wore at Contreras; Mayors Canby, Hill, and Smith,
Captains Burton, and Kane, and the other officers stationed at Monterey,
accompanying him. In one group might be seen Capt. Sutter's soldierly
mustache and blue eye, in another the erect figure and quiet, dignified
bearing of Gen. Vallejo; Don Peblo de la Guerra, with his handsome,
aristocratic features, was the floor manager, and gallantly discharged
his office. Conspicuous among the members were Don Miguel de Rodrazena,
and Jacinto Rodriguez, both polished gentlemen and deservedly popular.
Dominguez, the Indian member, took no part in the dance, but evidently
enjoyed the scene as much as any one present. The most interesting
figure to me, was that of Padre Remisez, who, in his clerical cassock,
looked on until a late hour. If the strongest advocate of priestly
gravity and decorum had been present, he could not have found in his
heart to grudge the good old padre the pleasure that beamed from his
honest countenance.
"The band consisted of two violins and two guitars, whose music made up
in spirit what it lacked in skill. They played, as it seemed to me, but
three pieces alternately, for waltz, contra-dance, and quadrille. The
latter dance was evidently an unfamiliar one, for once or twice the
music ceased in the middle of the figure. The etiquette of the dance was
marked by that grave, stately courtesy, which has been handed down from
the old Spanish times. The gentlemen invariably gave the ladies their
hand to lead them to their places on the floor; in the pauses of the
dance both parties stood motionless side by side, and at the conclusion
the lady was gravely led back to her seat.
"At twelve o'clock supper was announced. The Court room in the lower
story had been fitted up for the purpose, and as it was not large enough
to admit all the guests, the ladies were first conducted thither, and
waited upon by a select committee. The refreshments consisted of turkey,
roast-pig, beef, tongue, and _patés_, with wines and liquors of various
sorts, and coffee. A large supply had been provided but after everybody
was served, there was not much remaining. The ladies began to leave
about two o'clock, but an hour later the dance was still going on with
spirit."
The dance at the home of Pico, was after the same fashion--and similar
to those we have mentioned as the constant amusement of the people at
Taos, where Carson resided, and in all the Mexican cities.
But Carson was too valuable an aid to be long allowed to be idle. In
March, 1847, he was ordered to be the bearer of important dispatches to
the War Department at Washington, and Lieutenant Beale was directed to
accompany him with dispatches for the Department of the Navy. The
latter was still so much an invalid as to require Carson to lift him on
and off his horse for the first twenty days of the journey, but Carson's
genial spirits and kindly care, with the healthful exercise of
horsemanship, recovered him rapidly; and the country was so well known
to Carson, that they avoided collisions with the Indians by eluding
their haunts; except once upon the Gila, when they were attacked in the
night, and a shower of arrows sent among them as they lay in camp, from
which his men had escaped, being injured by holding their pack-saddles
before them. They stopped briefly at Taos, and pursued their journey so
rapidly that the two thousand five hundred miles on horseback, and the
fifteen hundred by railroad, were accomplished in less than three
months.
The incidents of such a journey had become every-day scenes to Carson,
so that their narration would seem to him a waste of words on the part
of his biographer. And yet the emotions with which he witnessed, for the
first time, the monument of advancing civilization in the Eastern
cities, and the zest with which he enjoyed the social comforts of the
hospitality afforded him at the homes of Lieutenant Beale and Col.
Benton, can be better imagined than described. He had taken but a small
supply of provisions from Los Angelos, lest it should be cumbersome to
him, and as the road lay often through a country destitute of game,
there had been fasting on the way, sometimes days together; but his
party, which he had selected, making their ability to endure such an
enterprise a leading quality of commendation to him, bore all without a
murmur; stimulated by the one impulse, of reaching their homes and
friends, while Carson cared to secure the approbation of those whom he
served, and the consciousness of having been an honor to his country.
Col. Benton met him at St. Louis, and reaching Washington, Mrs. Fremont
was at the depot to take him to her's and her father's home. She waited
for no introduction, but at once approached him, calling him by name,
and telling him she should have known him from her husband's
description. After a brief tarry in Washington, a lion himself and
introduced to all the lions, he departed with Lieutenant Beale for St.
Louis, but business detained the latter who went later by sea; while
Carson, whom President Polk had made a Lieutenant in the army, with
fifty troops under his command to take through the Camanche country,
again commenced his journey across the prairies, having a battle with
these Indians as was expected, for they were at war with the whites.
This did not occur, however, until near the Rocky Mountains, near the
place called "The Point of Rocks," on the Santa Fe trail, which place is
regarded as one of the most dangerous in the New Mexican country,
because affording shelter for ambush at a place where the travel has to
pass a spur of rocky hills, at whose base is found the water and camp
ground travelers seek, and where unwritten history counts many a battle.
Arriving here, Carson found a company of United States volunteers, and
went into camp near them. Early in the morning the animals of the
volunteer company were captured by a band of Indians, while the men were
taking them to a spot of fresh pasture. The herders were without arms,
and in the confusion the cattle came into Carson's camp, who, with his
men, were ready with their rifles, and recaptured the cattle from the
Indians, but the horses of the picketing party were successfully
stampeded.
Several of the thieves had been mortally wounded, as the signs after
their departure showed, but the Indian custom of tying the wounded upon
their horses, prevented taking the Indian's trophy of victory, the
scalp, and the object of the Indians in their assaults. The success of
the Arab-like Camanches is well illustrated by this skirmish, giving
best assurance that Carson, who was never surprised in this whole
journey, possessed that element of caution so requisite in a commander
in such a country.
Of the two soldiers whose turn it had been to stand guard this morning,
it was found that one was sleeping when the alarm was given, and when it
was reported to Carson, he at once administered the Chinook method of
punishment--the dress of a squaw--for that day, and resuming his
journey, arrived safely in Santa Fe, where he left the soldiers, and
hired sixteen men of his own choosing, to make with him the remainder of
the journey, as he had been ordered at Fort Leavenworth. To his great
joy, his family were here to meet him, as he had requested. Upon Virgin
River, he had to command the obedience of Indians who came into his camp
and left it tardily, by firing upon them, which required some nerve and
experience in a leader of so small a party, while the Indians numbered
three hundred warriors. They arrived at Los Angelos without further
incident than the killing and eating of two mules, to eke out their
scanty subsistence, in the destitution of game and time to hunt it;
whence Carson proceeded to Monterey, to deliver his dispatches at
headquarters, and returned to the duty assigned him as an acting
Lieutenant in the United States Army, in the company of dragoons under
Capt. Smith, allowing himself no time to recruit; and soon he was sent
with a command of twenty-five dragoons, to the Tejon Pass, to examine
the papers and cargoes of Indians passing this point, the route which
most of the Indian depredators took in passing in and out of California;
and here he did much good service during the winter.
In the spring he again went overland to Washington with dispatches,
meeting no serious difficulty till he came to the Grand River, where in
the time of spring flood he was obliged to construct a raft, and the
second load over was swamped, the men barely saving their lives, which
rendered his party destitute of comforts in their onward journey, but
arriving at Taos he stopped with his family, and at his own home gave
his men a few days to recruit, and himself the luxury of intercourse
with his family and friends, which no one enjoys more than Christopher
Carson.
They had encountered several hundred Indians of the Apaches and Utahs,
whom Carson told he had nothing to give, and upon whom the appearance of
his men gave assurance they would make little by attacking. At Santa Fe,
Carson learned that his appointment as Lieutenant by the President had
not been confirmed by the Senate, and his friends advised him not to
carry the dispatches any further; but Carson was not to be deterred from
doing his duty because the honor he deserved was not accorded to him,
saying that "as he had been selected for an important trust, he should
do his best to fulfill it, if it cost him his life;" and he proceeded to
Washington, feeling that if ill-usage had reached him in connection with
Fremont, to whom he had been of so much service, it was no more than he
might have expected; as, for many months past, political considerations
and rivalries had been seen by him to govern the actions of certain men,
instead of a care for the best interests of the country. He had seen men
in command of troops in the prairies who had the least possible
knowledge of the country, and especially of Indian warfare. He would
have advised that frontier men be chosen for such appointments, rather
than those simply educated in the schools and entirely unaccustomed to
endure privations, but if others neglected the wiser course, that was no
reason why he should not do his duty.
Learning that the Camanches were upon the Santa Fe road, several hundred
strong, he reduced his escort to ten choice mountain men, and determined
upon making a trail of his own returned to Taos, and struck over to the
head-waters of the Platte, and past Fort Kearney to Leavenworth, where
he left his escort and proceeded alone to Washington, and delivering his
dispatches as directed, returned immediately to Leavenworth, and thence
to Taos, where he arrived in October; and was again at home and free
from the burdens and responsibilities of public life, with the settled
purpose of making a protracted stay, and providing himself with a
permanent home.
Perhaps there is no tribe of Indians besides the Seminoles in Florida,
that have given the United States more trouble than the Apaches, in the
time that we have held the claim of their country; and the best proof of
their bravery may be found in the fact that the warriors nearly all die
in battle. Living in a country as healthy as any in the world, and
constantly occupied in hunting buffalo, or Mexicans and whites, with
whom they are at war, they are exceedingly regardful of their national
honor, and as their mountain retreats are almost inaccessible, they have
the advantage of regular troops, and almost of old mountaineers, only as
the latter can equal them in numbers.
Col. Beale was occupying this department at the time of which we write,
and engaged in an effort to chastise the Apaches under _Clico
Velasquez_, their exceedingly blood-thirsty and cruel chief, whose habit
was to adorn his dress with the finger bones of the victims he had
slaughtered. Col. Beale took charge of the command himself, and employed
Carson as his guide. They crossed snow mountains to search for the
Indians, and returning came upon a village, which they attacked, and
captured a large amount of goods and two of the chiefs of the tribe,
with whom Col. Beale had a long talk, and then dismissed to return to
their tribe, hoping thus to convince them of the magnanimity of the
United States Government, when the command returned to Taos to recruit
his troops.
Meantime Carson entertained, at his own home in Taos, Fremont and his
party of suffering explorers, who were making a winter survey of a pass
for a road to California, and by taking a difficult mountain pass, had
lost all their mules and several of their party. Science is not all
that is needed for such undertakings, and as labor and learning should
act in co-partnership, to be most effective, so theoretic and practical
skill should be associated in any effort of difficulty, as this trip of
Col. Fremont, without an experienced mountaineer for a guide, proved to
him and his men, some of whom had fed upon the others who had starved.