vages were employed in running off the
animals, fifty of their most noted warriors, splendidly mounted and
horribly painted, rushed into the camp, around the fire of which the men
and the little children were peacefully sitting, and, discharging their
guns as they rode up, killed one man and wounded another.

"Terribly surprised as we were, it did not turn the heads of the old
mountaineers, and I immediately told them to make a break for a clump of
timber near by, and that we would fight them as long as one of us could
stand up. There we fought and fought against fearful odds, until all
were wounded except two. The little children were captured at the
beginning of the trouble and carried off at once. After a while the
savages got tired of the hard work, and, as is frequently the case, went
away of their own free will; but they left us in a terrible plight. All
were sore, stiff, and weak from their many wounds; on foot, and without
any food or ammunition to procure game with, having exhausted our supply
in the awfully unequal battle; besides, we were miles from home, with
every prospect of starving to death.

"We could not remain where we were, so as soon as darkness came on, we
started out to walk to some settlement. We dared not show ourselves by
daylight, and all through the long hours when the sun was up, we were
obliged to hide in the brush and ravines until night overtook us again,
and we could start on our painful march.

"We had absolutely nothing to eat, and our wounds began to fester, so
that we could hardly move at all. We should undoubtedly have perished,
if, on the third day, a band of friendly Indians of another tribe had
not gone to Taos and reported the fight to the commanding officer of the
troops there. These Indians had heard of our trouble with the Utes, and
knowing how strong they were, and our weakness, surmised our condition,
and so hastened to convey the bad news.

"A company of dragoons was immediately sent to our rescue, under the
guidance of Dick Wooton, who was and has ever been a warm personal
friend of mine. They came upon us about forty miles from Taos, and never
were we more surprised; we had become so starved and emaciated that
we had abandoned all hope of escaping what seemed to be our inevitable
fate.

"When the troops found us, we had only a few rags, our clothes having
been completely stripped from our bodies while struggling through the
heavy underbrush on our trail, and we were