Uncle Kit said, “Col., I’m going to send them to Taos, and later on they will go to Bent’s Fort.”  The Col. said, “Yes, but by whom will you send them to Taos?” Carson replied, “By Willie, John and the Mexican boy.”

The Col. said, “Don’t you think you are taking a great many chances?” “Oh, no, not at all.  Willie here is getting to be quite a mountaineer.  Besides, I am going to get some of these Indians to go with the boys as far as the head of the Blue, and when they get there they are, comparatively speaking, out of danger.”

He then said, “Colonel, we will lay over here today, and that will give me a chance to pack my furs and get the boys ready to start in the morning.”

We then went to work baling the hides; by noon we had them all baled.  After dinner Carson and I went over to the Indian camp.  We went directly to the Chief’s wigwam.  When the Indians saw us coming they all rushed up to us.  I presume they thought we had come to trade with them again.  Uncle Kit then told the Chief that he wanted eight Indian men to go with us boys to the head of the Blue River.  At the same time he sat down and marked on the ground each stream and mountain that he wanted us to travel over.  He told them that he would give each one of them one butcher knife and two rings, and said they must not camp with the Utes.

I think there were at least twenty Indians that wanted to go.  Carson then turned to the Chief and told him in Spanish to pick out eight good Indians to go with us, and told him just what time we wanted to start in the morning.  We then went back to our camp and commenced making arrangements for our journey to Taos.

Carson and I were sitting down talking that afternoon when Col.  Freemont came and sat beside us and said to Uncle Kit, “Say, Kit, ain’t you taking desperate chances with these boys?”

This surprised me, for I had never heard him address Carson as Kit before in all the time I had known him.

Carson laughed and answered, “Not in the least; for they have got a good escort to go with them.”  Then he explained to Freemont that he had hired some Indians to go with us through the entire hostile country, telling him that the boys were just as safe with those Indians as they would be with the command, and more safe, for the Indians would protect them, thinking they would get his trade by so doing.  Uncle Kit then explained to him that the Sighewashes were known to all the tribes on the coast and were on good terms with them all, and therefore there was no danger whatever in sending the boys through the Indian country.  The Col. answered, “Of course, you know best; I admit that you know the nature of the Indian thoroughly, but I must say that I shall be uneasy until I hear from the boys again.”

Uncle Kit said, “Wait until tomorrow morning, and I will convince you that I am right.”

The next morning we were up early and had breakfast, and before we had our animals half packed the old chief and hundreds of the Indians were there.  Those that the chief had selected to accompany us were on horse back, and the others had come to bid us farewell, and that was one of the times I was tired shaking hands.