IN THE OLD WEST 279 



to want a horse or mule as long as an Indian vil- 

 lage was near at hand. Skulking, therefore, by 

 day in caiion and deep gorges of the mountains, 

 and traveling by night, he followed closely on the 

 trail of the victorious savages, bided his time, 

 struck his " coup," and recovered a pair of pack- 

 horses, which was all he required. Ever since, he 

 had been trapping alone in all parts of the moun- 

 tains ; had visited the rendezvous but twice for 

 short periods, and then with full packs of beaver ; 

 and was now on his way to Bent's Fort, to dispose 

 of his present loads of peltr}^, enjoy one good 

 carouse on Taos whisky, and then return to some 

 hole or comer in the mountains which he knew of, 

 to follow in the spring his solitary avocation. He 

 too had had his share of troubles, and had many 

 Indian scrapes, but passed safely through all, and 

 scarcely cared to talk of what he had done, so mat- 

 ter-of-fact to him were the most extraordinary of 

 his perilous adventures. 



Arrived at Bent's Fort, the party disposed of 

 their cavallada, and then, — respect for the par- 

 donable weaknesses of our mountain friends 

 prompts us to draw a veil over the furious orgies 

 that ensued. A number of hunters and trappers 

 were in from their hunting-grounds, and a village 

 of Shians and some lodges of Kioways were 

 camped round the fort. As long as the liquor 

 lasted — and there was good store of alcohol as 

 well as of Taos whisky — the Arkansa resounded 



