told  them  they  were  quiet  travelers,  who  had  stopped
at  their  village  in  order  to  change  their  tired  horses
for  fresh  ones,  for  which  favor  they  were  willing  to
piay  fairly.  The  Indians  were  so  surprised  at  this
strange  method  of  dealing,  by  men  well  armed,  that
they  immediately  acquiesced.  Carson  after  arrang-
ing his  camp  so  that  he  could  not  be  taken  any
advantage  of,  made  a  satisfactory  trade,  and  started
the  next  day  without  having  had  the  least  trouble
with  these  pirates  of  the  plains.
It  took  but  a  few  more  days  to  bring  Carson  in  the
neighborhood  of  his  own  family,  they  had  meanwhile
greatly  suffered  from  hunger;  but  this  was  all  soon
forgotten,  when  they  neared  the  abode  of  Kit.  What-
ever feelings  the  Mexicans  might  entertain  towards
the  Americans  generally,  this  particular  American,
Kit  Carson,  was  like  an  adopted  citizen,  for  had  he
not  shown  how  much  he  liked  them  by  taking  one
of  their  nation  as  a  wife  ?  So  they  were  al^very  kind-
ly entertained  by  the  people  as  he  drew  near  home.
But  Carson  was  not  a  man  to  linger  even  among
friends,  so  as  soon  as  his  party  were  fairly  rested,
there  was  another  start  toward  home.
After  the  conquest  of  California  had  been  accom-
plished, and  as  was  generally  acknowledged,  no  lit-
tle part  of  its  celerity  was  owing  to  Carson,  the
residents  and  many  of  the  natives  gave  a  series  of
entertainments  to  the  men  who  had  so  largely  con-
tributed to  what  promised  to  be  a  prosperous  result.
