The Carson family was always in danger of Native American attacks in Missouri. They had to be alert. Cabins were "forted". This means that they had tall fences built around them called stockades. These stockades made the people inside safe from attack. During the day, men worked in the fields near the cabins. Some men had weapons, and protected the workers. These men were ready to kill any Native American who attacked. Carson wrote in his "Memoirs": "For two or three years after our arrival, we had to remain forted and it was necessary to have men stationed at the extremities of the fields for the protection of those that were laboring."