CHAPTER VII.
An Unexpected Meeting--The Ambush--A Daring and Perilous Ride--Return to Camp--Disappointments--The Beaver.
Meanwhile the Indians made it exceedingly lively for Kit Carson and histhree companions.
The latter had heard so much of the abundance of beavers in acertain section that they determined to visit it and make a thoroughexploration. To do this, it was necessary to ride over a lofty RockyMountain peak or take many hours to pass around it. Very naturally theyconcluded to "cut across lots," confident of their ability to take careof themselves, no matter what danger threatened.
The ascent proved very exhausting to men and animals, for the trappersdid not compel the weary beasts to bear them up the steep slope where ittired them to force their own way. They rested many times, but finallyaccomplished the ascent and passed over into the valley beyond. There,disappointment awaited them. The most careful search failed to show thefirst sign of a beaver and they had their labor for their pains. Thetoil of climbing the mountain peak was so severe that the huntersconcluded to take the longer route home. Their steeds had been pushed sohard, that they were permitted to set their own pace on the return.This naturally enough was a deliberate walk, while their riders talked,laughed, jested and occasionally made some remark on the magnificentscenery by which they were surrounded. There was no call for haste, andthey knew nothing of what had taken place in camp after their departure;otherwise, they might have felt more impatience to rejoin their friends.
All at once, the hunters descried four Indian warriors in the path infront. They were splendidly mounted, their hair ornamented with stainedeagle feathers, their ugly countenances daubed with yellow, black andcrimson paint, and they were fully armed. Their appearance showed theywere on the war path.
Such undoubtedly being the case, a sight of the braves was a challengeto the hunters who accepted it without a second's hesitation.
Pausing not a moment to consult on their plan of action, Kit and hiscompanions spurred their horses to a dead run, with the purpose ofbringing them within range of their rifles, but the steeds of the duskyfoes were fleet of foot and they sped away like the wind.
The pursuit was a furious one, until the flying fugitives shot by ahill, when more than fifty warriors similarly mounted and accoutred,dashed out to intercept the enthusiastic hunters. Just then it dawnedupon Kit and his companions that the whole proceeding was a traparranged by the Indians into which he and his friends had dashed atheadlong speed.
It was in such crises that Kit Carson displayed his marvelous resourcesand lightning-like perception of the best course to adopt. The discoveryof the ambush would have thrown almost any company of men, no matterhow brave into a panic, or at least into temporary confusion which wouldhave been equally disastrous. Most probably they would have reined up orwheeled about and fled in the opposite direction. The whole band wouldhave dashed in pursuit and the running fight between four men and morethan twelve times their number, every one of whom it is fair to presumewas thoroughly familiar with the country, could have resulted in but oneway. Skilled and daring as were Carson and his comrades, they couldnot accomplish the impossible, as they would have had to do in order toescape the yelling band behind them.
Kit was slightly in advance of the others, and he did not check hisanimal in the least. On the contrary, he urged him to his utmost, andthe four sped straight ahead on a dead run, seemingly as if they meantto charge the entire war party.
Such, however, was not their intention: they shied off as much as theycould, and, throwing themselves forward and over the side of theirhorses, ran the terrible gauntlet. No one of the trappers fired a shot,for if dismounted by the bullets of their enemies, each wished to havehis loaded rifle in hand, with which to make his last defense.
The very audacity of the movement amazed the Indians. By the time theycomprehended what the white men were doing, they were thundering infront of them. Then the warriors opened fire, and the bullets whistledabout the horses and riders, who kept their steeds to the highestbent and finally passed beyond danger--their escape one of the mostextraordinary on record.
The Indians did not pursue the hunters, two of whom had been struck bytheir bullets, and Carson and his friends drew their horses down toa more moderate pace. The great scout admitted that he was never moreutterly deceived and entrapped by the red man in all his life. Buthe saw in the occurrence a deeper significance than appeared on thesurface. The ambush into which he and his friends had been led was onlya part of the campaign against the entire party, who, weakened by theabsence of Carson and his companions were likely to fall victims to sucha large band of warriors. Trembling with fear for their comrades, theyagain forced their animals to a high speed and lost no time in makingtheir way back to camp. They found everything in good shape, much totheir relief, and were not at all surprised to learn of the visitthat had been made by the savages during the absence of Kit and hiscompanions.
The wounds of the two trappers who were shot while running the fierygauntlet, were found to be of such a serious nature that the party hadnot gone far when they were obliged to go into camp again. One of themespecially, was in such a bad way that it was found necessary to carryhim on a litter until the main camp was reached. There he was allowed torest and everything possible was done to make him comfortable. When hehad fully recovered, the entire company headed for Old Park, oncefamous on account of the immense numbers of beavers found there.Disappointment, however, awaited them, for other trappers had precededthem, and made such thorough work that it was useless for the lastarrivals to unload and set their traps.
The party visited other sections but in every instance they appearedto be "a day too late for the fair;" the beaver runs had been worked sothoroughly by others that it was useless for them to expect success.
The beaver, as the reader probably knows, aside from its great valuein producing fur and perfume, possesses a most wonderful instinct. Theylive in communities and prefer to build their houses by small clearrivers and creeks or close to springs. Sometimes they are found on thebanks of lakes.
The dams which they construct with the skill of a professional civilengineer, are built for the purpose of making sure of a full supply ofwater at all times and seasons. These dams are composed of stones,mud and tree branches, the base being ten or twelve feet in thicknesssloping gradually upward to the summit.
In building their dams, the beaver does not thrust the ends of thestakes into the bed of the river, but lays them down horizontally,holding them in place by piling mud and stones upon them. The logs whichcompose the dams are mostly from six to eight inches in diameter, thoughsome have been found nearly two feet through. The enormous number ofsuch logs used may be imagined perhaps, when the ponderous character ofthe dams is remembered, and when it is stated that some of them are morethan an eighth of a mile wide. Every log, after being gnawed off theproper length, is stripped of its bark which is stored away for use asfood during the winter.
The lodges of the beavers are composed principally of mud, moss andbranches, circular in shape, the space within being seven feet in widthand about half as high. The walls are so thick that on the outside thecorresponding dimensions are nearly three times as great as within. Theroof is finished off with a thick layer of mud, laid on with wonderfulsmoothness and renewed every year. The severe frosts of winter freezethe lodge into such a solid structure that the beaver is safe againstthe wolverine, which is unable to break through the wall, resembling theadobe structures found in Mexico and the Southwest. Even the trapper whoattempts to demolish one of the structures finds it tiresome labor, evenwith the help of iron implements.
The beavers excavate a ditch around their lodges too deep to be frozen.Into this opens all their dwellings, the door being far below thesurface, so that free ingress and egress are secured.
The half dozen beavers occupying a lodge arrange their beds against thewall, each separate from the other, while the centre of the chamber isunoccupied. During summer they secure their
stock of food by gnawingdown hundreds of trees, the trunks or limbs of which are sunk andfastened in some peculiar manner to the bottom of the stream. During thewinter when the beaver feels hungry, he dives down, brings up one of thelogs, drags it to a suitable spot and nibbles off the bark.
It is impossible fully to understand how this remarkable animal does itswork, for as it never toils in the day time, it is out of the power ofany one to watch its method.
The peculiar odoriferous substance, secreted in two glandular sacs nearthe root of the tail, is "castoreum," more generally known as "barkstone" among the trappers. The odor is powerful and is so attractive tothe animals themselves, that the trapper has only to smear some of itnear the trap which is hidden under water. Any beaver which catches thescent, is sure to hasten to the spot and is almost certain to be caughtin the trap.
The Life of Kit Carson: Hunter, Trapper, Guide, Indian Agent and Colonel U.S.A. Page 7