Whenever he caught sight of those who were seeking him, he would not abandon the horses and flee.

Far from it: he would stand his ground, and if his booty should be wrested from him the men who did it would be compelled to the fiercest kind of fight.

He would not run from the attack of two or three persons: much less from one of the most insignificant men in the entire company.
The course of Carson illustrated another marked feature of his character--that of loyalty to his friends and resolution in carrying through any task he undertook.

Where scarcely one man in a multitude would have pushed forward, he advanced without hesitation.

He deliberately resolved to attack a fierce criminal who was as fully armed as he, as daring and perfect in his knowledge of woodcraft, and much his superior in strength.
Carson had proven the mettle of his steed, and he now showed him no mercy.