engagement, he, however, returned to Santa Fé, where he made a short
stay, and then proceeded to Taos. In this town Kit entered into the
service of Mr. Ewing Young, who was a trader and trapper. The reader
may prepare again for a smile, as he will now learn that Kit became
a cook. Mr. Ewing Young has the satisfaction of boasting that the
renowned Kit Carson once performed the responsible and arduous duties
of a master cook in the culinary department of his establishment; and
that, for these valuable services, labor, care and diligence, he gave
to Kit, as a _quid pro quo_, his board. In this way Kit supported
himself in his straitened circumstances until the following spring.

What was the bright thought which made the bold, the ardent, the
energetic Kit Carson accept this menial office? Surely the brain metal
which was so brightly polished when he set out from Howard county,
Missouri, must have been sadly rusted. Not so! The hope which buoyed
up his spirits while he attempted to rival French pastry and English
beef with American venison and Buffalo meat on the table of Mr. Ewing
Young, was that some trapper, or hunter, would come into Taos, their
favorite place of resort; and, by being ready for an emergency, he
would obtain an opportunity for gaining a permission to join them. His
intention was certainly good, but it lacked the bright crown of good
intention--success. In the spring of 1828, much chagrined with his,
so far, continued bad luck, and no prospect of gaining his object
appearing, he again joined a homeward-bound party and with it,
sorrowfully, started for Missouri. But, as on the former trip
homeward, he met on the route a party bound for Santa Fé. That
indomitable ingredient in his composition, an iron will, caused him
once more to turn his face westward. He joined this party and returned
to Santa Fé, in order again to tempt fortune for an opportunity
to reach the Rocky Mountains. But during all these changes and