a saw, and the king-bolt of a wagon. He cut the flesh with the
razor, sawed through the bone as if it had been a piece of joist, and
seared the horrible wound with the king-bolt, which he had heated to a
white glow, for the purpose of stopping the flow of blood that naturally
followed such rude surgery. The operation was a complete success; the
man lived many years afterward, and was with his surgeon in many an
expedition.

In the early days of the commerce of the prairies, Carson was the hunter
at Bent's Fort for a period of eight years. There were about forty men
employed at the place; and when the game was found in abundance in the
mountains, it was a relatively easy task and just suited to his love of
sport, but when it grew scarce, as it often did, his prowess was tasked
to its utmost to keep the forty mouths from crying for food. He became
such an unerring shot with the rifle during that time that he was called
the "Nestor of the Rocky Mountains." His favourite game was the buffalo,
although he killed countless numbers of other animals.

All of the plains tribes of Indians, as did the powerful Utes of the
mountains, knew him well; for he had often visited in their camps, sat
in their lodges, smoked the pipe, and played with their little boys. The
latter fact may not appear of much consequence, but there are no people
on earth who have a greater love for their boy children than the savages
of America. The Indians all feared him, too, at the same time that they
respected his excellent judgment, and frequently were governed by his
wise counsel. The following story will show his power in this direction.
The Sioux, one of the most numerous and warlike tribes at that time,
had encroached upon the hunting-grounds of the southern Indians, and the
latter had many a skirmish with them on the banks of the Arkansas along
the line of the Trail. Carson, who was in the upper valley of the river,
was sent for to come down and help them drive the obnoxious Sioux back
to their own stamping-ground. He left Fort Bent, and went with the party
of Comanche messengers to the main camp of that tribe and the Arapahoes,
with whom they had united. Upon his arrival, he was told that the Sioux
had a thousand warriors and many rifles, and the Comanches and Arapahoes
were afraid of them on account of the great disparity of numbers, but
that if he would go with them on the war-path, they felt assured they
could overcome their enemies. Carson, how