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168 CHAPTER 10 War and Finding Home In 1846, as hostilities commenced with Mexico over the ultimate control of the Southwest, Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny, making preparations for his campaign at Fort Leavenworth, wrote to Antoine Robidoux in St. Joseph, Missouri , offering him the job of interpreter for his impending expedition against Santa Fe and points beyond. He knew Antoine had been to California so his service as a guide would also be welcome. Refreshed from his recent exploits in Utah, and likely short of money, Antoine accepted the position. Toward the end of June, the Army of the West, consisting of six troops of the First Dragoon Regiment, the First Missouri Volunteers, mostly young, fair-skinned farm boys, 856 men, formed into eight companies of foot and mounted infantry companies , departed Fort Leavenworth. The force also included the Laclede Rangers, mounted riflemen from the St. Louis area and a small artillery detachment, all striking off across the Great Plains, over the route to Santa Fe that Antoine had traversed many times before.1 Kearny’s force did not travel as a single unit across the Great Plains and not until they reached Bent’s Fort on the upper Arkansas River did all the troops, companies, and supply wagons converge on a single place. Some units left as early as June 16, others not until July 6, some marched on foot, twenty to thirty miles a day, while cavalry troops rode, but hardly made more than the infantry , due to sick, hungry, or thirsty animals. Tom Fitzpatrick, a mountain man of immense reputation and skill, served as the chief scout for Kearny’s army. The road was well known and heavily traveled by freight wagons and herds of horses, mules, and cattle. Its dangers were also well known by then. Hostile Indians like the Comanche crisscrossed the region raiding, plundering, and taking captives at will unless the traveler’s firepower was enough to deter them. Other obstacles particularly in the summer months included a lack of grass and trees, swirling dust, nearly impenetrable swarms of mosquitoes and gnats, and lots of rattlesnakes. The worst of the march was the frequent lack of good water, or the presence of alkali water, which they drank because they did not War and Finding Home 169 know otherwise, and the relentless sun that parched their mouths and burned their skin until it was brown and leathery.2 On the trek across the Plains, Antoine fraternized with officers and soldiers alike, sharing their toil and long marches. One of Kearny’s soldiers, George Rutledge Gibson, mentioned Antoine in his diary. Camped for the night on July 2, 1846, he recalled,“Mr. Robidou, who goes out as interpreter, guide, etc., for the general, paid us a visit and we spent the evening very pleasantly.” But the next mention of Antoine, two days later after a grueling march, confirmed the respect of the soldiers for the opinion for the frontiersman.“Mr. Robidoux estimated our day’s march at thirty-two miles, which most probably is not over the mark. Coffee and water made us feel better, and the men were soon wrapped in their blankets and the camp quiet, all needing repose after one of the longest and hardest day’s marches we were destined to make.”3 As the march proceeded at a grueling pace, many men became ill, some with dysentery, some with measles. Falling out, they had to be put in the wagons or sent hiking back toward Missouri. For some, their final rest came between Missouri and their intended goal, Santa Fe, with burials becoming a regular duty halfway down the trail. The troops saw large herds of buffalo and killed some for the meat. More often than not the acquaintance with the animal came from the soldiers harvesting the chips so they could build a campfire. On reaching the Arkansas River in western Kansas, most assumed the line of march would be easier because of an abundant supply of fresh water. But the river was frequently brackish, even dry in places, and the situation worsened the higher the trail climbed. Officers had to impose strict discipline to keep the marching infantry from wandering off to forage and the dragoons spent most of their day on foot because the horses were too weak to carry a rider. When they reached Chouteau’s Island on the upper Arkansas River, the Army of the West temporarily crossed into Mexico, assumed to be hostile territory, but...

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