It was, however, in the retreat they say that he acted the most
gallantly, for, when everything was going badly with the soldiers, he
was as cool and collected as if under the guns of his fort. The only
anxiety he exhibited was for the safety of his remaining men."

The Indians must have lost many of their warriors in this fight, but
the exact number has never been ascertained. The news of the defeat
was brought by the retreating soldiers themselves to the town of Taos,
where on hearing it, for short time, consternation seized hold of its
inhabitants; but slowly they calmed down, and a party, consisting
of Americans and Mexicans with wagons, was sent out to bring in the
mutilated remains of the fallen. On reaching the field, the dead were
found, but they were all mutilated and stripped of all their clothing.
The Indians had left nothing which they thought might be turned to the
least account. One poor fellow had escaped the rigid scrutiny of the
red men by crawling to an obscure place where he had died from his
wounds. On his body was found a belt that contained three hundred
dollars in gold--his hard earnings that he had been saving up against
a day of need. Had the savages known of this money, they would not
have left it, for they are quite familiar with the use, if not with
the real value of gold. A few days later, the Apaches made their
appearance in a small Mexican settlement which was far distant from
the scene of their success. They were dressed in portions of the
uniforms and accoutrements taken from the dead dragoons; and, as they
sauntered about the town, they would salute each other in military
style, and otherwise mock the actions of the military men. Calling
for a piece of paper, one fellow, with a bit of charcoal, pretended
to write on it an order. No doubt, by so doing, he thought he was
imitating something of the kind which he had seen done at a military
post. After making a few scratches on the paper, he handed it to one
of his red companions, and, with a smile on his rough countenance,
addressed to him some directions in reference to the document.
Although the Mexicans were much amused at these burlesque actions
of the Indians, yet they did not dare to show their mirth until the
latter had departed and left them in possession of their lives.

The day following the one on which the fight had taken place, Kit
Carson returned from Santa Fe and passed near to the spot where the
soldiers had been so rough