seeking ever since he left home, was that of hunter and trapper.
The scarred veterans whom he met in the frontier and frontier
posts gave him many accounts of their trapping experiences among
the mountains and in the gloomy fastnesses where, while they hunted
the bear, deer, beaver and other animals, the wild Indian hunted
them.

Carson had been in Taos a short time only when he gained the
opportunity for which he was searching. A party of trappers in
the employ of Kit's old friend had just come to Taos, having been
driven from their trapping grounds by the Indians. The employer
set about raising a party strong enough to return to the trapping
grounds, chastise the hostiles and resume business. Knowing the
skill and bravery of the young Kentuckian, the gentleman made him
an offer to join the party and Kit eagerly accepted it.

The Mexicans have never been particularly friendly toward their
neighbors north of the Rio Grande, and at that time a very strict law
was in force which forbade the issuance of any license to American
citizens to trap within Mexican territory. The company which
mounted their horses and rode out of Taos gave the authorities to
understand that their errand was simply to chastise the red men,
whereas their real purpose was to engage in trapping. With a view
of misleading the officers, they took a roundabout route which
delayed their arrival in the section. Nevertheless, the hunters
were desirous of punishing the Indians who had taken such liberties
with the small party that preceded them. On one of the tributaries
of the Gila, the trappers came upon the identical band whom they
attacked with such fierceness that more than a dozen were killed
and the rest put to flight. The fight was a desperate one, but