The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself by de Witt C. Peters
page 330 of 487 (67%)
page 330 of 487 (67%)
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a hard set to manage, especially when traveling through the States,
where they are exposed to temptation. On arriving at the commencement of their hardships, on the plains, it is usually found that many have deserted, and also that many might have done so with benefit to the government. Military service with recruits, and the same with old soldiers, are two different things. With the former, officers are obliged to command, threaten and punish, to accomplish in one day, what the latter would perform without much trouble in half the time. Recruits know little or nothing about marching or camp duty; and, in taking care of them, an officer has his hands full. Even the most minute items have to be looked to; for example, they are men rarely used to fire-arms, being, for the most part, foreigners by birth, and are just as apt to load a gun with the ball of the cartridge first down, as with the powder. Old soldiers look upon these new comers as verdant in the extreme, and the pranks they often play upon them are very humorous. With patient discipline, they become serviceable men, and are an honor to the standard which they carry; and, what appears to be the strangest fact of all, frequently the poorest looking recruit may make the best soldier. This is a fair picture of the men Capt. Ewell was commanding. Kit Carson at once informed the captain of the duty he was on, when that distinguished officer, generously determined to assist in putting a damper on the wicked designs of the wretches. Taking with him twenty men, Captain Ewell joined Kit Carson, and together they proceeded in the pursuit. By using every precaution in their power, and forcing their marches, they entered into the camp of the traders, and arrested Fox before he had time even to suspect the business upon which the party had come. After Fox was secured, Messrs. Weatherhead and Brevoort, were informed of the dangers through which they had passed. |
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