Flight.--Sufferings of the Fugitives.--Dreadful Fate of Mr.
Schenck.--Features of the Western Wilderness.--The March.


CHAPTER II.

Life in the Wilderness.

A Surgical Operation.--A Winter with Kin Cade.--Study of the
Languages and Geography.--Return towards Missouri.--Engagement with
a new Company and Strange Adventures.--The Rattlesnake.--Anecdote
of Kit Carson.--The Sahara.--New Engagements.--Trip to El
Paso.--Trapping and Hunting.--Prairie Scenery.--The Trapper's
Outfit.--Night Encampment.--Testimony of an Amateur Hunter.


CHAPTER III.

Among the Trappers.

The Discomfited Trappers.--The New Party Organized.--A Battle with
the Indians.--Trapping on the Colorado.--March to the
Sacramento.--The Friendly Indians.--Crossing the Desert.--Instinct
of the Mule.--The Enchanting Valley of the Colorado.--The Mission
of San Gabriel.--Vast Herds of Cattle.--The Mission of San
Fernando.--Adventures in the Valley of San Joaquin.--The Meeting of
two Trapping Bands.--Reasons for Kit Carson's Celebrity.--A
Military Expedition.--The Indian Horse Thieves.--The Pursuit and
Capture.