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Show 482 AUTOIHOGRAP!iY OF thought he might possibly be a chief, and I approached him. He addressed me in Crow, "Ah ! my friend, what brought you here ?" I replied that, as I was passing through, I . had thought it well to call on him. "I am glad to see you," said he; "enter my lodge; my warriors are bad to-day." . · . The Indians were Apaches, and the chief was named Black Shield, an .old and intimate acquaintance. He insisted on my spending the night in ·the village, which I consented to. He was perfectly rabid toward the whites, and stated his intention to manure the prairie with their bodies the forthcoming seasonh~ 1-;ould .not leave one in the country. I applauded his 1ntentwn, teiiing him the whites were unable to fight. Seeing that I was on his side-that is, if my wor~s made me so-he continued," I have plenty of ':arnors, and plenty of guns ·and balls, but I am a httle short of powder. When will you return?" I informed him as nearly as I could calculate, but I added that my return was uncertain. . . :: vVil.l Y,?u bri~g me some powder?" he inquired. I Will, I sa1d; "but I shall return by way of the Eagle :s Nest Hill.'' · -· "~~at is the very place I am going to ·from he~e," he reJom~d; ".and, if I am not there myself, some of my w_arnors· Will be, and they can take it of you." . This affor_ded me no put-off, and· I accordingly promIs~ d _to furnish him with the powder. . If the reader Will Indulge me in a witticism, I beg to assuve him that I carried the powder to the old chief in a horn 1 In tl_1e morning he furnished me· with meat enough t~ subs1st us for a week, together . with new .moccasins and sundry other articles. We· then bade him adieu: • JAMES P. BECKWOUR'l'H. 483 and proceeded on our journey, arriving at Santa Fe without any farther noteworthy adventure. On reaching my destination, I informed some of my friends of my promise to the Black Shield, and where they could find hin1 to deliver the powd~r, to enable him to carry out his commendable resolutwn. A pa~·ty started to meet him at the appointed spot; ~ut In delivering the powder they managed to explode It, ~nd he and his warriors only received the bullets, of whiCh they already had plenty. CHAPTER XXXIV. Affairs at Santa Fe.-Insurrection at Taos.-Discovery of the Plot.Battle at the Canon.-Battles at Lambida, at Pueblo, and at Taos. -A Mexican Woman redeemed from the Indians.-Return to Santa Fe. ON my arrival at Santa Fe I found affai1:s in a ~ery disturbed state. Colonel Doniphan had JUSt ga1ned the battle of Brasito, and was carrying all before him in that section ofthe ,country. He had forwarded orders to Santa Fe for a field battery, in order to make a demonstration against Chihuahua. Major C.larke was intrusted with the duty of conveying the artillery to the colonel. Scarcely had he departed when we received intelligence of an insurrection in Tao~. The information was first communicated by an Indmn from a village between Santa Fe and Taos, who reported to General Price that the Mexicans had massacred all tl}e white inhabitants of that p~ace, and t~at a si~ilar massacre was contemplated 1n Santa Fe, of whiCh report full information could be obtai~ed by the arrest of a Mexican who was then conveymg a letter from |
