The herder put him on his horse and brought him to the Fort, and we gave him some food.  He said this was the first time he had broken his fast in four days, and then he went on to tell that he and his comrades, which were four altogether, had been among the first to come out to Cherry Creek in search of gold the spring before, and after they got there, they were so disappointed to find that there was not enough gold there to pay them to stay that they concluded to go and prospect on their own hooks.  Each of them had taken as much provisions as he could carry, with his gun and blanket, pick and shovel, and they had struck out into the mountains.  They had kept on at the foot of the mountain until they passed the Arkansaw river, and here they went up into the mountains and soon lost their way.

“How long we were traveling or where we went, I do not know,” continued the unfortunate man, “and finally we forgot the day of the week.  As long as our ammunition lasted, we did not lack for something to eat, and foolishly we sometimes shot game we did not need, and after a while our ammunition gave out, and when that happened it was not long until all the other stuff was gone, and we could not tell where we were until we got out of the mountains and saw Pike’s Peak, as we knew what direction Pike’s Peak was from Cherry Creek.

“We knew then what direction to take to get back.  The second night after we left the mountains, one of the boys was taken very sick, and as we could not think of leaving him to die alone, and we had nothing to eat for him or for ourselves, and I being the strongest, they picked me to go and try to get relief.  It has been four days and nights since I left them, and I do not believe I have slept over two hours at a time since I started, I was so anxious to find help to go to them.  And besides, I was so hungry I could not rest.  Many a time I have walked as long as I could keep my eyes open, and I would drop down beside a log and fall asleep before I struck the ground and slept an hour or two, and then awoke with that dreadful gnawing in my stomach.  Then I got up again and struggled on, but I could not have gone much farther when the herder got up to me, for my strength was nearly gone, and I should have given up and died very soon.  Nobody knows what I have suffered on this trip, except they that have gone through the same ordeal.  We have about one hundred dollars between us, and we are willing to give it to anyone who will go and carry something to eat and help my comrades to come here.”

The looks of the man and the pleading way he talked and the faithfulness to his friends in trying to get help to them was more pathetic than any romance could describe it, and could not help but appeal to the heart of any man.

With the light of deep sympathy in his eyes, Uncle Kit stepped forward and, stretching out his hand toward the unfortunate, exclaimed, “Do not worry another moment; your comrades shall have assistance at once, or as soon as I can reach them,” and turning to me, Uncle Kit said, “Willie, come outside with me a moment,” and when I looked at him after I had followed him, I saw the tears on his cheeks.  I had known Kit Carson several years, but this was the first time I had seen him moved to tears.  He said, “Willie, my boy, can’t you find these men as well as anyone?”