and, so snugly are they made to fit every available part of the animal, that it seems almost impossible for cold to touch them.  Corn and fodder, to a limited extent, is transported; but, even with these precautions, the mules now and then succumb to cold.  The man covers his body with warm clothing and carries with him furs and robes enough to be seemingly able to defy the storms.  He can provide himself only with a scanty amount of fuel, for his means of conveyance are very contracted.  When overtaken by the storms, which may last several days, he is rendered almost powerless, and is at the tender mercies of the gale; for he cannot make fires,—­and without them he may perish.  This is not true of every trip made across the plains during the winter, for, like on the ocean, the passage may be frequently gone through with the encountering of but little real suffering.  One thing in favor of making the journey in this season of the year is, the probability of not seeing an Indian.  They, usually, during the cold months, stow themselves away in their, comparatively speaking, warm mountain retreats.  In crossing the plains, small parties find the item of meeting Indians to be of considerable importance, as, even in the time of peace, they are very exacting and troublesome, demanding that provisions should be given them, by way of toll.  To refuse is apt to bring down their ire, when they will usually help themselves to whatever suits their fancy.  They are very partial to sugar, which, when they cannot say the word in English, they call “Shoog.”  If not understood, they make their wants known by the Indian sign of touching with the index finger the tip of the tongue, thereby indicating the sweetness of the article.  Many of them come armed with a piece of paper, which testimonial of good behavior they have obtained from their agent or forced from some traveler.  As they cannot read, it makes but little difference what is the sense of the writing so long as it is bona fide penmanship.  I once saw one of these documents which the owner prized very highly, but, had he known the purport of his paper, he would have sighed for the scalp of his kind friend who wrote it.  The language was as follows:  “Crossing of the Arkansas,” etc.  “The bearer, Young Antelope, is a good Indian and will not take anything out of his reach.  This is to warn traders and travelers to beware of his race, breed, seed, and generation.”  It was signed evidently with a fictitious name, and answered the purpose for which it was intended, which was, to get rid of an ugly customer and to put strangers on their guard against the man who carried it.

On arriving at Taos, Kit Carson left this party and proceeded to Rayado, where he was, soon after, actively engaged in farming pursuits.