man; his eye fairly flashed, and his rifle was grasped with all the energy of an iron will.

"There," cried he, addressing the savages, "is our line, cross it if you dare, and we begin to shoot. You ask us to let you in, but you won't come unless you ride over us. You say you are friends, but you don't act like it. No you don't deceive us so, we know you too well; so stand back, or your lives are in danger."

It was a bold thing in him to talk thus to these blood-thirsty rascals; but a crisis had arrived in which, boldness alone could save us, and he knew it. They had five men to our one; our ammunition was reduced to three rounds per man, and resistance could have been but momentary; but among our band the Indians must have recognized mountain men, who would have fought to the last, and they knew from sad experience that the trapper's rifle rarely missed its aim. Our animals, moreover, worn out as they were, would have been scarcely worth fighting for, and our scalps a dear bargain.

Our assailants were evidently undecided, and this indecision saved us; for just as they seemed preparing for open hostilities, as rifles were cocked and bows drawn, a runner, mounted upon a weary and foam-specked steed came galloping in from the direction of the settlements; bringing information of evident importance. After a moment's consultation with this new arrival, the chief whistled shrilly, and the warriors fell back. Carson's quick eye had already detected their confusion, and turning to his men, he called out, "Now boys, we have a chance, jump into your saddles, get the loose animals before you, and then handle your rifles, and if these fellows interfere with us we'll make a running fight of it."

In an instant each man was in his saddle, and with the caballada in front we retired slowly; facing about from time to time, to observe the movements of our enemies, who followed on, but finally left us and disappeared in the direction of their village, leaving our people to pursue their way undisturbed. We rode hard, and about midnight reached the first Mexican dwellings which we had seen since our departure from the Pacific coast. This town being nothing more than a collection of shepherds' huts, we did not enter, but made camp near it. Here also we learned the secret of our almost miraculous escape from the Indians, in the fact that a party of two hundred American volunteers were on their way to punish the perpetrators of the recent Indian outrages in that vicinity; this then was the intelligence which had so opportunely been brought by their runner, who must have discovered the horsemen while upon the march.

It is almost needless to say that we slept the sleep of tired men that night. I for one did not awake with the dawn. Our tired animals too appeared to require some repose ere they renewed

we should take a holiday of rest before departing for Taos, now distant but one day's journey. I remember celebrating this occasion by visiting one of the Mexican huts, where I ordered the most magnificent dinner that the place afforded, eggs and goat's milk, at discretion-if discretion had any thing to do with the terrible havoc we made among the eatables, a thing which on reflection appears to me more than doubtful.

Early upon the following day we resumed our march, and that evening terminated our journeyings for a season, by bringing us to the Mexican village of Taos, where I was hospitably entertained by Carson and his amiable wife, a Spanish lady, and a relative, I believe, of some former Governor of New Mexico.

THE AUTHOR ON REACHING TAOS.

And now, as our good parsons say, "a few words more and I have done;" and I most sincerely hope that these farewell lines may not bring the sensation of weariness to the reader which I have sometimes felt upon hearing the foregoing announcement from the pulpit. What I have written is simply a plain, unvarnished statement of facts as they occurred. grant that the capital "I" has come in more frequently than I could have wished, I must disclaim all title to the hero-ship of my story. I was but a looker-on, "a chiel," who, though "takin' notes," did not then mean to "prent 'em."

While I

Since writing a portion of the foregoing narnative, Mr. Christopher Carson has been nominated by our President to the Indian Agency of the Territory of New Mexico, a highly responsible office, requiring great tact, much common sense, and a fair amount of judgment. This excellent selection has been ratified and confirmed by the Senate, and I am free to say, that Kit Carson has no friend, among the many who claim that honor both east and west of the Rocky Mountains, who congratulates him more sincerely than myself. He is eminently fitted for the office; and all who know him will agree with me when I declare that I believe him to be

"An honest man, the noblest work of God."

but

interest, and grateful for the slightest favors; he is not easily driven off by unkindness; licks the hand that has just been uplifted to strike him. He knows a beggar by his voice, his clothes, or his gestures, and forbids his approach. When at night the guardianship of the house is committed to his care, he seems proud of the charge: he continues a watchful sentinel, goes his rounds, scents strangers at a distance, and gives them warning of his being upon duty."

Thus he becomes identified with his master's pursuits and interests. He is "treated as one of the family;" with a marvelous sagacity, he recognizes the look, voice, and walk of his master; rejoices at his approach, and solicits his notice, while he bravely defends his person.

His services are almost essential to civilization; and with his assistance man has obtained the conquest of the lower animals, and peaceable possession of the earth. Surrounded by a num

ber of these courageous animals, the traveler has been enabled, in climes abounding with ferocious beasts, to encamp at night in the dreary desert, and repose in comparative safety. The flock and herd obey the voice of the dog more readily than that of the shepherd; he conducts them, guards them, and keeps them from capriciously seeking danger, and considers their enemies his own.

The dog does not disdain to become the blind mendicant's assistant, conducting him through the streets of our cities and large towns, with the hat in his mouth, supplicating alms of the passers-by. We have seen the dog take portions of bread or even copper coin into his mouth, and place it in his master's hat; nor has the creature, though sometimes much tempted to do so, even tasted the bread till given to him by the hand of his employer.

"An English officer, who was in Paris in 1815, mentioned the case of a dog belonging to a shoe-black, which brought customers to its master. This it did in a very ingenious, and scarcely honest manner. The officer, having occasion to cross one of the bridges over the Seine, had his boots, which had been previously polished, dirtied by a poodle dog rubbing against them. He, in consequence, went to a man who cleaned. The same circumstance having ocwas stationed on the bridge, and had them

curred more than once, his curiosity was excited, and he watched the dog. He saw him roll himself in the mud of the river, and then watch for a person with well-polished boots, against which he contrived to rub himself. Finding that the shoe-black was the owner of the dog, he taxed him with the artifice; and, after a little hesitation, he confessed that he had taught the dog the trick in order to procure customers for himself. The officer, being much struck with the dog's sagacity, purchased him at a high price, and brought him to England. He kept him tied up in London some time, and then released him. The dog remained with him a day or two, and then made his escape. A fortnight afterward, he was found with his former master, pursuing his old trade, of dirtying gentlemen's boots on the bridge."

The following instance of sagacity, which is

66

well authenticated, reminds us of some of the companions of our childhood, who, when illtreated, have threatened their oppressor with the vengeance of their "big brother." A gentleman in Staffordshire was in the habit of coming to town twice in the year, performing part of the journey on horseback, accompanied by his little terrier, which he usually left in the care of his landlady at St. Albans, till his return. On one occasion, calling as usual for his little favorite, the lady appeared before him with a pitiful countenance. Alas, sir," said she, "your terrier is lost! Our house-dog and he had a quarrel; and the poor terrier was so worried and bitten before we could part them, that I thought he could never have got the better of it. He, however, crawled out of the yard, and was not seen for almost a week. He then returned, bringing with him another dog, larger by far than ours; and they both fell on our dog, and bit him so unmercifully, that he has scarcely since been able to go about the yard, or to eat his meat. Your dog and his companion then disappeared, and have never since been seen at St. Albans." The gentleman, however, on arriving at home, found his terrier; and, on inquiry, was informed that since he left for town the little creature had returned home, and had coaxed away the great house-dog; who it seems had, in consequence, followed him to St. Albans, and completely avenged his injury.

The dog, however, is not devoid of affection and sympathy for its fellows. Two dogs, near New York, were in the practice of going out together to hunt squirrels on the mountain. One of them, in pursuit of some game, got his head fast between two rocks, from which he could not extricate himself; he remained in this situation eight days, during which time his associate fed him daily. Watch, for this was his name, was observed to whine, and show great uneasiness; he would seize every bone and bit of meat he could find, and hasten up the mountain, reserving for himself only the crumbs which were shaken from the table cloth. He also went often to the master of his friend, and by signs endeavored to induce him to follow him. At length, the master began to notice the conduct of the dog, and one day said to him,

"Watch, do you know where poor Alonzo is?" The dog, appearing to understand him, sprang up to him with so much force as almost to throw him down, and by other signs induced him to follow him, and conducted him to his imprisoned companion. The poor dog was found to have suffered greatly; in addition to his being nearly starved, in his efforts to extricate himself he had worn the skin from his neck and shoulders. Fragments of the bones which Watch had brought him lay around.

The benevolence of dogs has excited universal admiration. But the Newfoundland dog particularly is justly celebrated for this quality. Children and adults have frequently been rescued from danger by these faithful animals. In 1792, a gentleman went to the coast for the benefit of sea-bathing. He was conducted in one of the machines into the water; but being unacquainted with the steepness of the shore, and no swimmer, he found himself, the instant he quitted the machine, nearly out of his depth. His alarm increased his danger; and, unnoticed by the attendant of the machine, he would unavoidably have been drowned, had not a large Newfoundland dog, which providentially was standing on the shore, observed his distress, and plunged in to his assistance. The dog seized him by the hair, and conducted him safely to the land; but it was some time before he recovered. The gentleman afterward purchased the dog at a high price, and preserved him as a precious treasure."

The eccentricities of some dogs are very remarkable. Perhaps none have excited more attention than "the fireman's dog," as he was called, who possessed a strange fancy for attending all the fires which occurred in London. He was the property of no individual, and was fed by the firemen generally; but he would stay with neither of them for any length of time. The "policeman's dog," as he has been named, may also often be seen following the officer on his beat in Paternoster-row. The writer daily, on his way to the city, sees a dog begging for his breakfast before the house of an inhabitant of the Blackfriars-road; and so well does he act the part of a mendicant, that the boys are often heard to say, that he "is coming the 'old soldier.'"

The animal has frequently been sent on errands, which he has performed with fidelity and safety. A person who kept a turnpike near Stratford-on-Avon had one so trained, that he would go to the neighboring town for grocery or other articles of provision that were wanted, and return with them in safety. A memorandum of the things required was tied round his neck, and the articles were fastened in the same

manner.

The Esquimaux dog performs the part of the horse, in drawing the Esquimaux in the sledge over the snow, and in pursuing the reindeer, the seal, or the bear. The dogs of St. Bernard are sent out on errands of compassion, with provisions for the traveler benighted or endangered by the snow-storm. Some years ago, a ship belonging to Newcastle was wrecked near Yarmouth; and a Newfoundland dog alone escaped to the shore, bringing in his mouth the captain's pocket-book. He landed amidst a number of people, several of whom in vain attempted to take from him his prize. The sagacious animal, as if sensible of the importance of the charge, which, in all probability, was delivered to him by his perishing master, at length leaped fawningly against the breast of a man, who had attracted his notice among the crowd, and delivered the book to him.

Remarkable instances of sagacity are on record respecting this friend of man. Sometimes he has proved a defense to his keepers in a manner which could scarcely have been imagined. Take an example. "In 1781, a person went to a house in Deptford to take lodgings, under pretense that he had just arrived from the West Indies. Having agreed on the terms, he said he should send his trunk that night, and come himself the next day. About nine o'clock in the evening the trunk arrived, and was carried into his bedroom. As the family were retiring to bed, their little house-dog, deserting his usual station in the shop, placed himself close to the chamber-door where the chest was deposited, and kept up an incessant barking. The moment the chamber-door was opened the dog flew to the chest, against which it scratched and barked with redoubled fury. They attempted to get the dog out of the room, but in vain. Suspicion becoming very strong, they were induced to open the box, when, to their utter astonishment, they found in it their new lodger, who had been thus conveyed into the house with the intention of robbing it."

NAPOLEON BONAPARTE.

BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT.

MADRID AND VIENNA.

encouraged, by every means in her power, the rising of the fanatic peasants of the Spanish peninsula. Her invincible fleet swept the coasts of Spain and Portugal, and landed at every available point money, arms, and the munitions of war. Napoleon, unsuccessful in his renewed endeavors for the attainment of peace, was prepared for the arbitrations of battle. Before leaving Paris for the Spanish campaign, he assembled the Legislative body, and thus addressed them:

"I have traveled this year more than three thousand miles in the interior of my empire. The spectacle of this great French familyrecently distracted by intestine divisions, now united and happy-has profoundly moved me. I have learned that I can not be happy myself unless I first see that France is happy. A part of my army is marching to meet the troops which England has landed in Spain. It is an especial blessing of that Providence which has constantly protected our arms, that passion has so blinded the English counsels as to induce them to renounce the possession of the seas, and to exhibit their army on the Continent. I depart in a few days to place myself at the head of my troops, and, with the aid of God, to crown in Madrid the King of Spain, and to plant our eagles upon the forts of Lisbon. The Emperor of Russia and I have met at Erfurth. Our most earnest endeavor has been for peace. We have even resolved to make many sacrifices, to confer, if possible, the blessings of maritime commerce upon the hundred millions of men whom we represent. We are of one mind, and we are indissolubly united for peace as for war."+

An army of two hundred thousand men, accustomed to battle, was now assembled in the gloomy fastnesses of the Pyrenees. Napoleon had stimulated their march by the following nervous proclamation:

"Soldiers!-After triumphing on the banks of the Vistula and the Danube, with rapid steps. you have passed through Germany. This day, without a moment of repose, I command you

cyclopædia Britannica, Art. Spain The final triumph of could have befallen the nation. It riveted the chains of the English inflicted upon Spain the heaviest curse which ignorance, despotism, and the most intolerable religious fanaticism.

"Future ages will find it difficult to credit the enthusiasm and the transport with which the tidings of the Never was public joy more universal-the general rap

insurrection in Spain were received in the British islands.

ture knew no bounds. All classes joined in it. All degrees of intellect were swept away by the flood. The aristocratic party, who had so long struggled with almost hopeless constancy against the ever-advancing wave of revolutionary ambition, rejoiced that it had at last broke on a rugged shore."-ALISON, vol. iii. p. 56.

"There are many reasons why Napoleon should have

in Spain, and by the threatening aspect of Austria, now redoubled her exertions. She

"July 4, 1808, the alliance of Great Britain with the Spanish nation was proclaimed; and a struggle began, which, whatever opinion may be entertained respecting the conduct of Napoleon, every one will admit to have led, as far as respected Spain, to nothing but evil."-EnVOL. VII.-No. 39.-Y

Bourbons could never have been sincere friends to France while Bonaparte held the sceptre. The moment that the fear of his power ceased to operate, it was quite certain that their apparent friendship would change to active hostility. The proclamation issued by the Spanish cabinet, just before the battle of Jena, was evidence of this fact."-NAPIER, Hist. of the War in the Peninsula, vol. i. p. 24.