y also evince the state of alarm which prevailed in the
country. When we were there in the month of August, the danger had not
become so great. There was nothing very attractive in the neighborhood.
We supposed, moreover, that we might wait there half the winter without
finding any party to go down with us; for Mr. Sublette and the others
whom we had relied upon had, as Richard told us, already left Bent's
Fort. Thus far on our journey Fortune had kindly befriended us. We
resolved therefore to take advantage of her gracious mood and trusting
for a continuance of her favors, to set out with Henry and Delorier, and
run the gauntlet of the Indians in the best way we could.

Bent's Fort stands on the river, about seventy-five miles below the
Pueblo. At noon of the third day we arrived within three or four miles
of it, pitched our tent under a tree, hung our looking-glasses against
its trunk and having made our primitive toilet, rode toward the fort.
We soon came in sight of it, for it is visible from a considerable
distance, standing with its high clay walls in the midst of the
scorching plains. It seemed as if a swarm of locusts had invaded the
country. The grass for miles around was cropped close by the horses of
General Kearny's soldiery. When we came to the fort, we found that not
only had the horses eaten up the grass, but their owners had made
away with the stores of the little trading post; so that we had great
difficulty in procuring the few articles which we required for our
homeward journey. The army was gone, the life and bustle passed away,
and the fort was a scene of dull and lazy tranquillity. A few invalid
officers and soldiers sauntered about the area, which was oppressively
hot; for the glaring sun was reflected down upon it from the high white
walls around. The proprietors were absent, and we were received by Mr.
Holt, who had been left in charge of the fort. He invited us to dinner,
where, to our admiration, we found a table laid with a white cloth, with
castors in the center and chairs placed around it. This unwonted repast
concluded, we rode back to our camp.

Here, as we lay smoking round the fire after supper, we saw through the
dusk three men approaching from the direction of the fort. They rode up
and seated themselves near us on the ground. The foremost was a tall,
well-formed man, with a face and manner such as inspire confidence at
once. He wore a broad hat of felt, slouching and tattered, and th