ELDORADO »47 



lo omens he would have hesitated, after his two warn- 

 ings — in both of which he had made one of the mys- 

 tical number, three, who had escaped almost miracu- 

 lously from the masscre, in which their comrades had 

 been involved — before undertaking other excursions 

 in which he must meet his old foes, the treacherous 

 savages, and might also encounter those unseen but 

 none the less terrible demons of thirst and famine. 

 But Smith was a man who knew no fear, and so com- 

 passed had his life been with dangers that its every 

 exploit had borne a seeming omen of evil. Trusting 

 to the kindly Providence that had so far preserved 

 him, and longing for the absolute freedom from re- 

 straint and the exciting adventure of border life, he 

 started with an immigrant party to Santa Fe. 



This was in 1831, and the Indians along the South- 

 ern route were unusually troublesome ; the situation 

 calling for all the old trapper's vigilance and experi- 

 ence to protect the train under his charge. Finally 

 they reached the dry bed of the Cimaron and Smith 

 started out from camp to find a water-hole, not daring 

 to send one of the immigrants, for fear he might be 

 ambushed and killed. 



As he was riding along a party of twenty-five In- 

 dians secreted in a ravine, fired upon him from under 

 the cover of its bank at a distance of about twenty 

 yards. Smith fell from his horse, shot through by 

 three bullets, but as the savages rushed up, he suc- 

 ceeded in killing one with his rifle. Having supposed 

 him dead, they halted, and while huddled together in 

 a compact mass, he emptied his two pistols into them 

 and two men fell to the ground. He attempted to 

 rise, and another volley of balls was directed against 



