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THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF KIT CARSON, THE NESTOR OF THE ROCKY
MOUNTAINS, FROM FACTS NARRATED BY HIMSELF
by
DE WITT C. PETERS, M.D.,
Late Assistant Surgeon U.S.A.
With Original Illustrations, Drawn by Lumley,
Engraved by N. Orr & Co.
New York:
W.R.C. Clark & Co.,
348 Broadway.
W.H. Tinson, Stereotyper and Printer,
Rear of 43 & 45 Centre Street, N.Y.
MDCCCLVIII
"All are but parts of one stupendous whole,
Whose body nature is, and God the soul."
[Illustration: KIT AND HIS FAVORITE HORSE "APACHE."]
TO
COL. CERAN ST. VRAIN,
OF NEW MEXICO.
DEAR SIR,
You were first among the brave mountaineers to discover and direct the
manly energy, extraordinary natural ability, and unyielding courage
which have attached to the subject of this volume; and, as among the
first Americans who put foot on the Rocky Mountains, you are perhaps
best acquainted with the history of the men, who, for fifty years,
have lived there. CHRISTOPHER CARSON, after a long life, now crowned
with successful and honorable achievements, still looks upon you,
sir, as his earliest patron, and places your name on the list of his
warmest friends. Through a life of unusual activity and duration,
which, reflecting honor and renown upon your name, has given you a
distinguished position among your countrymen, you have never been
known to forget a duty to your fellow man.
For these considerations, the dedication of this volume to you cannot
but appear appropriate. That he may continue to merit a place in your
confidence and esteem is the earnest desire of
THE AUTHOR.
* * * * *
FERNANDEZ DE TAOS, NEW MEXICO.
SIR:
We, the undersigned citizens of the Territory of New Mexico, have been
acquainted with Mr. CHRISTOPHER CARSON for a number of years, indeed
almost from the time of his first arrival in the country. We have been
his companions both in the mountains and as a private citizen. We are
also acquainted with the fact that for the past few months, during his
leisure hours, he has been engaged dictating his life. This is, to
our certain knowledge, the only authentic biography of himself and his
travels that has ever been written. We heartily recommend THIS BOOK
to the reading community for perusal, as it presents a life out of the
usual routine of business, and is checkered with adventures which
have tried this bold and daring man. We are cognizant of most of the
details of the book, and vouch for their accuracy.
Very respectfully,
CERAN ST. VRAIN, LIEUT. COL. N.M. VOLUNTEERS.
CHARLES BEAUBIEN, LATE CIRCUIT JUDGE.
THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
The pages here presented to the public form a book of facts. They
unfold for the student, as does no other work yet extant, the great
interior wilderness of the territories belonging to the United States.
The scenic views, though plainly colored and wrought by the hand of
an unpretending artist, inasmuch as they portray a part of the North
American continent which is unsurpassed by any other country on the
face of the earth, will not fail to interest the American public. In
addition to this, the reader is introduced to an intimate acquaintance
with the Indian races of the countries which He east and west of the
Rocky Mountains. The savage warrior and hunter is presented, stripped
of all the decorations with which writers of fiction have dressed
him. He is seen in his ferocity and gentleness, in his rascality and
nobility, in his boyhood, manhood, and old age, and in his wisdom and
ignorance. The attentive reader will learn of his approximations to
truth, his bundle of superstitions, his acts at home and on the war
path, his success while following the buffalo and engaging the wild
Rocky Mountain bear, that terror of the western wilderness. He will
also behold him carrying devastation to the homes of the New Mexican
settlers, and freely spilling their best blood to satiate a savage
revenge. He will see him attacking and massacring parties of the white
men traveling across the prairies, and trace him in his savage wars
with the early settlers and frontiersmen.
In order to acquire these important _data_ that they might be added
to the pages of American history and form a reliable record, it was
necessary that some brave, bold and determined man should become an
actor on the scenes and among the races described. Such an actor
has been, and yet is, Christopher Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky
Mountains; and, it is the experience, as well as the acts, of his
stirring life, which the following pages present.
In olden times there existed, in the Rocky Mountains, a race
familiarly known by the name of "Trappers and Hunters." They are now
almost extinct. Their history has not yet been written. Pen paintings,
drawn from the imagination, founded upon distant views of their
exploits and adventures, have occasionally served, as do legends,
to "adorn a tale." The volume now offered to the public, gives their
history as related by one whose name as a trapper and hunter of the
"Far West," stands second to none; by a man, who, for fifteen years,
saw not the face of a white woman, or slept under a roof; who, during
those long years, with his rifle alone, killed over two thousand
buffalo, between four and five thousand deer, antelope and elk,
besides wild game, such as bears, wild turkeys, prairie chickens,
etc., etc. in numbers beyond calculation. On account of their
originality, daring and interest, the real facts, concerning this race
of trappers and hunters, will be handed down to posterity as matters
belonging to history.
As is the case with the Indian, the race of the "Simon Pure Trapper"
is nearly run. The advance of civilization, keeping up its untiring
march to the westward, is daily encroaching upon their wild haunts and
bringing the day close at hand when warrior and trapper will depart
forever to their "Happy Hunting Grounds."
With the extinction of the great fur companies, the trappers of "Olden
Time" disbanded and separated.
The greatest number of these men, to be found at the present day,
reside in the Territory of New Mexico; which, in the time of their
prosperity, was the country where they located their head quarters. In
this Territory, Christopher Carson now resides. His name, in the Rocky
Mountains, has been familiarly known for more than a quarter of a
century; and, from its association with the names of great explorers
and military men, is now spread throughout the civilized world. It has
been generally conceded, and the concession has become strengthened
by time, that no small share of the benefits derived from these
explorations and campaigns, as well as the safety of the commands
themselves, was and is due to the sagacity, skill, experience,
advice and labor of Christopher Carson. The exploring parties, and
expeditions here referred to, are those which he accompanied in the
capacity of chief guide and adviser.
His sober habits, strict honor, and great regard for truth, have
endeared him to all who can call him friend; and, among such may be
enumerated names belonging to some of the most distinguished men whose
deeds are recorded on the pages of American history. His past life has
been a mystery which this book will unveil. Instead of Kit Carson as
by imagination--a bold braggart and reckless, improvident hero of the
rifle--he will appear a retired man, and one who is very reserved in
his intercourse with others. This fact, alone, will account for the
difficulty which has hitherto attended presenting the public with an
accurate history of his life.
A few years since, the writer of this work first met Christopher
Carson. It needed neither a second introduction, nor the assistance of
a friendly panegyric, to enable him to discover in Christopher Carson
those traits of manhood, which are esteemed by the great and good to
be distinguishing ornaments of character. This acquaintance ripened
into a friendship of the purest stamp. Since then, the writer has been
the intimate friend and, companion of Christopher Carson, at his home,
in the wild scenes of the chase, on the war trail, and upon the field
of battle. For a long period, in common with hundreds--and, we might
with truth add, thousands, the writer has desired to see Christopher
Carson's wonderful career made public for the world of readers; but,
while this idea was germinating in his brain, he did not, for an
instant, flatter himself that the pleasant task would ever be assigned
to him. Finally, however, at the urgent solicitation of many personal
friends, Christopher Carson dictated the facts upon which this book
is written. They were then placed in the writer's hands, with
instructions to add to them such information as had fallen under his
observation, during quite extensive travels over a large part of the
wide expanse of country, which has been Christopher Carson's theatre
for action.
The book is a book of solid truth; therefore, the faults in the style,
arrangement and composition, become affairs of minor consideration.
For this reason, the writer makes no apologies to embarrass the
critics.
Christopher Carson, physically, is small in stature, but of compact
frame-work. He has a large and finely developed head, a twinkling
grey eye, and hair of a sandy color, which he wears combed back _à la
Franklin mode_. His education having been much neglected in his
youth, he is deficient in theoretical learning. By natural abilities,
however, he has greatly compensated for this defect. He speaks the
French and Spanish languages fluently, besides being a perfect master
of several Indian dialects. In Indian customs, their manners, habits
and the groundwork of their conduct, no man on the American continent
is better skilled.
The writer, while on a foreign tour, once had the opportunity and
pleasure of hearing Gordon Cumming and other hunters of less note,
discourse on their hunting exploits; furthermore, in our own country,
while seated around camp-fires and in log houses, he has listened to
the adventures of ancient and modern Nimrods in the chase; besides
these facts, he has both seen and read much of hunting exploits; but,
no hunter ever filled his fancy so perfectly, as does Christopher
Carson, a man who acts and never boasts.
Without further comment, the reader is presented with the work, while
the writer cherishes the hope, that the facts, which for the first
time are given to the world, will prove to be both interesting and
important as jottings of history.
The author begs leave to return to his friend, C. HATCH SMITH, A.M.,
of Brooklyn, New York, his acknowledgment for valuable assistance in
revising, correcting and arranging his manuscript.
196 Twenty-third street, New York.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Carson's Birthplace--His Emigration to Missouri--Early Prospects--Is
an Apprentice--Stories of the Rocky Mountains--He Enlists to go
there--Adventures on the Prairies--Broaders is Wounded--Carson's Nerve
put to the Test--Rude Amputation--Safe Arrival at Santa Fé--Goes
to Taos and learns the Spanish Language--Early
Vicissitudes--Disappointment and Attempt to return to Missouri--Is
employed as an Interpreter, Teamster, etc., 13
CHAPTER II.
The news of the Defeat of Mr. Young's Trapping Party by the Indians
reaches Taos--Young raises a Party to chastise the Indians--Kit Carson
becomes a Conspicuous Member of the Expedition--The Indians are found
on Salt River--The Fight--Trapping Exploits--A new Country--Trials
and Vicissitudes--Sacramento Valley--California and its Roman
Catholic Missions in 1829--Another Indian Fight--Sale of Furs--Indian
Depredations--Kit Carson and Twelve Trappers engage with the Indians
in a Battle--Return to the Camp with recovered Property, 30
CHAPTER III.
The Return from California to New Mexico--San Fernando and the Peublo
of Los Angelos--Description of these Peublos--Passports demanded at
Los Angelos--Trouble with the Mexican Authorities--Kit Carson sent on
with the Pack Animals--One Trapper shoots another--The Mexicans become
frightened--Indians come into Camp with their Weapons concealed--Cool
Reception, by Kit Carson--Arrival at Santa Fé and Taos--Money realized
soon parted with--Carson joins another Expedition--The Rivers trapped
on--Four Men Killed by Blackfeet Indians--Kit Carson joins Gaunt's
Party--The Parks--Winter Quarters--Crow Indian Depredations--Kit
Carson and his Party in Pursuit--the Fight--Winter on the
Arkansas--Another Expedition--Two Deserters--Kit Carson sent
in Pursuit--The Fate of the Runaways--Adventures with
Indians--Hair-breadth Escape made by Kit Carson, 42
CHAPTER IV.
Kit Carson and two Companions plan a Hunt for themselves--The Great
Success met with--Return to Taos--Sale of the Beaver Fur--Kit
Carson joins Captain Lee and goes on a Trading Expedition--Winter
Quarters--Kit Carson is sent in Pursuit of a Thief--Overtakes and
is obliged to shoot the Runaway--Property recovered--The Return to
Camp--The Sale of Goods--Kit Carson joins Fitzpatrick and Party--Kit
Carson organizes a Hunting Party--His Encounter with two Grizzly
Bears--The Summer Rendezvous--Kit Carson joins fifty Trappers and
goes to the Country of the Blackfeet Indians--Annoyances received from
these Indians--Winter Quarters in 1832--Horses Stolen--Kit Carson
and eleven Men in Pursuit--A Parley--A Fight--Kit Carson severely
wounded--His great Sufferings and Fortitude--His Convalescence--The
Retreat--A New Expedition--A Braggadocio--Kit Carson Fights a Duel and
Wounds his man--Duels in the Rocky Mountains in Olden Times, 68
CHAPTER V.
The Fall Hunt--McCoy of the Hudson's Bay Company organizes a Trapping
Party which Kit Carson joins--The Hunt--Scarcity of Beaver on Humboldt
River--The Party is divided--Kit Carson with a majority of the
Men goes to Fort Hall--Hardships and Privations met with--Buffalo
Hunt--All their Animals stolen in the Night by a Party of Blackfeet
Indians--Arrival of McCoy from Fort Walla Walla--The Rendezvous--Kit
Carson joins a strong Band--The Small Pox among the Blackfeet
Indians--The Crow Indians on good terms with the Whites--Intense
Cold--Immense Herds of Buffalo--Danger of their goring to death the
Horses--The Spring Hunt--The Blackfeet Indian Village overtaken--A
desperate Fight with these Indians--The Rendezvous--Sir William Stuart
and a favorite Missionary--Kit Carson goes on a Trading Expedition to
the Navajoe Indians--The Return--He accepts the post of Hunter of the
Trading Post at Brown's Hole, 106
CHAPTER VI.
Bridger and Carson trapping on the Black Hills--The Main Camp--The
Rendezvous--Winter Quarters on the Yellow Stone--Carson with forty men
in a desperate fight with the Blackfeet Indians--A Council--Sentinel
posted--One Thousand Warriors come to punish the Trappers--The War
Dance--The Courage of the Savages deserts them--Winter Quarters--The
Spring Hunt--Another Fight with the Blackfeet--Continued
Annoyances--The Trappers abandon the Country--The Rocky Mountains
and Alps compared--Other Trapping Expeditions--Beaver becoming
scarce--Prices of Fur reduced--Kit Carson and the Trappers give
up their Vocation--The Journey to Bent's Fort--Mitchell the
Mountaineer--His Eccentricities, 127
CHAPTER VII.
Kit Carson is employed as Hunter to Bent's Fort--His Career for
Eight Years--Messrs. Bent and St. Vrain--The commencement of his
Acquaintance with John C. Fremont on a Steamboat--Is employed as
a Guide by the Great Explorer--The Journey--Arrival at Fort
Laramie--Indian Difficulties--The business of the Expedition
completed--Return to Fort Laramie--Kit Carson goes to Taos and is
married--He is employed as Hunter to a Train of Wagons bound for the
States--Meeting with Captain Cook and four companies of U.S. Dragoons
on Walnut Creek--Mexicans in Trouble--Kit Carson carries a Letter
for them to Santa Fé--Indians on the Route--His safe Arrival--Amijos'
advance Guard massacred by the Texians--The one Survivor--The
Retreat--Kit Carson returns to Bent's Fort--His Adventures with the
Utahs and narrow escape from Death--The Texians disarmed--The Express
Ride performed, 147
CHAPTER VIII.
Kit Carson visits Fremont's Camp--Goes on the Second
Exploring Expedition--The Necessary Arrangements--Trip to Salt
Lake--Explorations there--Carson is dispatched to Fort Hall for
Supplies--Their Operations at Salt Lake--The Great Island--The Journey
to the Columbia River in Oregon--Incidents on the Route--Tlamath
Lake--The Journey to California--The Trials and Privations met with
while crossing the Sierra Nevada Mountains--Mr. Preuss is lost
but finds the Party again--Arrival at Sutter's Fort in a Destitute
Condition--Two of the Party become deranged--The Route on the Return
Trip--Mexicans come into their Camp asking Aid and Protection--Indian
Depredations--Carson and Godey start on a Daring Adventure--The
Pursuit--The Thieves overtaken--These Two White Men attack Thirty
Indians--The Victory--Horses retaken--The Return to Camp--One of their
Companions killed--The Journey continued--Arrival at Bent's Fort--The
"Fourth of July" Dinner, 178
CHAPTER IX.
Kit Carson concludes to become a Farmer--He is joined in the
Enterprise by a Friend--They build a Ranche on the Cimeron
River--Descriptions of Mexican Customs and Country--Fremont once more
at Bent's Fort--Express sent for Kit Carson to join the Expedition as
Guide--The Ranche Sold, and the Departure--The Third Expedition and
its Explorations--Difficulties with the Mexican-Californians--General
Castro's Orders to leave the Country--Determination to Fight--Fremont
goes to Lawson's Fort--Fremont and his Men encounter a Thousand
Indians--The Battle and the Victory--The news that War had
been declared between the United States and Mexico reaches
Fremont--Lieutenant Gillespie rescued from the Indians--Three of the
party killed in the Night by Indians--The Savages repulsed--The Burial
of Comrades, 232
CHAPTER X.
Fremont en route for California--His men are anxious to punish the
Tlamath Indians--Kit Carson, in command of ten Men, is sent on ahead
to reconnoitre--He discovers the main Village of these Indians--The
Attack and the Victory--Beautiful Lodges--The Trophies mostly
destroyed--Fremont saves Kit Carson's Life--The Journey resumed--The
Sacramento Valley--An Indian Ambuscade--One Savage defies the
Party--Kit Carson shoots him--The Tlamath Indians still on the War
Path--Another Lesson given to them--A Thief is shot--Arrival at
Lawson's Trading Post--A period of Inactivity--A Detachment sent
to capture Sonoma--Prisoners taken--The Mexicans come to punish
the Americans--Their Courage deserts them--The Retreat--The
Pursuit--Fremont goes to Sutter's Fort and establishes a Military
Post--Monterey is taken by the American Squadron--Fremont marches
there--Further Operations--The taking of Los Angelos, 261
CHAPTER XI.
Kit Carson is sent Overland as Bearer of Dispatches to
Washington--The Preparation and the Start--The Journey--Privations and
Sufferings--Meeting with General Kearney--The General takes Carson
as his Guide and sends on the Dispatches by Fitzpatrick--The
March--Arrival at Warner's Ranche--Mexicans on the Road--Preparations
for a Battle--The Battle--Disastrous Consequences--Kit Carson and
Lieutenant Beale offer to run the lines of the Mexican Sentinels and
carry Information to San Diego of Kearney's critical position--The
Daring Undertaking--The Sufferings they encountered--Their
Arrival--Reinforcements sent out--Lieutenant Beale is Delirious from
the Privations he has undergone--Gen. Kearney and his Command finally
reach and join the other American Forces in California, 274
CHAPTER XII.
A Command of Six Hundred Men is sent against Los Angelos--The Mexican
Army evacuates the Town--Its Capture--Rumors of an Attack to be made
on Fremont's Command--The Mexicans surrender--The Winter
Quarters--Kit Carson is ordered to carry Dispatches overland to
Washington--Lieutenant Beale accompanies him--A Night Attack made by
the Indians--Arrival in the United States--Kit Carson's Introduction
to Col. Benton and Mrs. Fremont--Hospitality offered to him at
Washington--Kit Carson receives the Appointment of Lieutenant in the
Rifle Corps of the U.S. Army from President Polk--He is ordered to
carry Dispatches to California--The Journey--A Brush with the
Camanche Indians--Arrival at Santa Fé--More trouble with hostile
Indians--Arrival at Los Angelos--Dispatches delivered--Kit Carson
is assigned to do Duty with the Dragoons--Is ordered to Guard Tajon
Pass--The Winter spent there--Is ordered again to carry Dispatches to
Washington--The Journey and its Adventures--The return to New Mexico,
297
CHAPTER XIII.
Kit Carson at his Home--The Apache Indians become hostile--An
Expedition sent against them--It is not successful--Another is
organized, with which, Kit Carson goes as Guide--Two Indian Chiefs
captured--Other Incidents of the Trip--Colonel Beall attempts to force
the Indians to give up Mexican Captives--Two thousand Savages on the
Arkansas River--The Visit to them--Kit Carson emigrates and builds a
Ranche at Rayado--Description of the Valley--The Massacre of a Santa
Fé Merchant--His Wife is made Prisoner--The Expedition sent to rescue
her--The Indians overtaken--Bad Counsel and Management--The commanding
Officer wounded--Mrs. White's Body found--Severe Snow-storm on the
Plains--One Man frozen to Death--Kit Carson returns to Rayado--The
occupation of a Farmer resumed--The Apaches steal from the Settlers
nearly all their Animals--Kit Carson with thirteen others in the
Pursuit--The Surprise--A running Fight--The Animals recovered--A
gallant Sergeant and his Fate--Kit Carson and Goodel go on a Trading
Expedition to meet California Emigrants at Fort Laramie--Humorous
Adventures--The Dangers that beset the Road to New
Mexico--Hair-breadth Escape--Arrival at Taos, 322
CHAPTER XIV.
Kit Carson reaches Home--Himself and Neighbors robbed by the
Apaches--Major Grier goes in Pursuit of, and recaptures the stolen
Stock--A Plot organized by White Men to murder two Santa Fé Traders
for their Money--The Disclosure--Kit Carson goes to the Rescue of the
Traders--The Camp of United States Recruits--Captain Snell with twenty
Men joins Kit Carson and they two make the Arrest of Fox--Gratitude
expressed by the Traders--Money offered but refused--The Prisoner
taken to Taos and incarcerated--Kit Carson receives a magnificent Pair
of Revolvers as a Present from the grateful Traders--The return
to Rayado--A Trading Expedition to the United States--The return
Journey--An Encounter with the Cheyenne Indians--A State of
Suspense--The Deliverance from Danger by a Message sent by a Mexican
Runner--The arrival at Rayado, 361
CHAPTER XV.
Kit Carson's last Trapping Expedition--He embarks in a
Speculation--His Trip to California with a large Flock of Sheep--The
Method employed by Mexicans in driving Herds and their Dexterity--Kit
Carson goes to San Francisco--Its wonderful Growth--Maxwell joins Kit
Carson at Sacramento City--The Lucky Speculation--The Return Trip to
New Mexico and its Adventures--The Mormon Delegate to Congress informs
Kit Carson of his Appointment as Indian Agent--Kit Carson enters
upon the Duties of his Office--Bell's Fight with the Apaches on
Red River--Kit Carson's Interview with the same Indian--High-handed
Measures on the Part of the Apaches--Davidson's desperate Fight with
them--The Soldiers defeated with severe loss--Davidson's Bravery is
unjustly questioned--Kit Carson's Opinion of it--The Apaches elated by
their Victory--Their Imitations of the Actions of Military Men, 389
CHAPTER XVI.
A fresh Campaign set on foot--Col. Cook in Command--Kit Carson goes
as Guide--The Apaches and Utahs leagued together--The Roughness of
the Country and the Privations to which the Command was exposed--The
Indians overhauled--A running Fight--The Advantages gained--The Chase
resumed--The Apaches resort to their old Tricks--Col. Cook is obliged
to return to Abiquiu--A Utah taken Prisoner through Mistake--Kit
Carson goes to Taos and has a Conference with the Chiefs of the Utah
Nation--Cook's second Scout--He is caught in a furious Snow-storm and
obliged to return to Rio Colorado--Major Brooks and Reinforcements
come to the Rescue--Major Brooks on the Lookout, but fails to find the
Indians--Carleton's Expedition--Kit Carson goes with it as Guide--The
Adventures met with--Kit Carson's Prophecy comes true--The Muache Band
of Utahs summoned by Kit Carson to a Grand Council--Troubles brewing
among these Indians--The Small Pox carries off their Head Men, 434
CHAPTER XVII.
The Commencement of a formidable Indian War--High-handed Measures
on the Part of the Indians--The Governor of New Mexico raises five
hundred Mexican Volunteers and places them under the Command of
Colonel St. Vrain--Colonel Fauntleroy placed in Command of all
the Forces--Kit Carson is chosen as Chief Guide--The Campaign
commenced--The Trail found--The Indians are met and the first Fight
and its Consequences--An Excitement in Camp--The Indians again
overtaken--The return to Fort Massachusetts--Intense Cold Weather
experienced--The Second Campaign--Colonel Fauntleroy surprises the
Main Camp of the Enemy--The War and Scalp Dance broken up--Terrible
Slaughter of the Indians--The Great Amount of Plunder taken and
destroyed--Another small Party of Indians surprised and routed--St.
Vrain equally fortunate in his Campaign--The Indians sue for
Peace--The Council held and Treaties signed--Kit Carson opposes the
making of them--The poor Protection Indian Treaties usually afford
to Settlers--Kit Carson's House at Taos and his Indian Friends--His
Attachment for his Family put to the test--Cowardice of a Mexican--Kit
Carson's Friends as they look upon him--His influence over
Indians--General remarks--Conclusion, 466
LIFE OF KIT CARSON.
CHAPTER I.
Carson's Birthplace--His Emigration to Missouri--Early
Prospects--Is an Apprentice--Stories of the Rocky
Mountains--He Enlists to go there--Adventures on the
Prairies--Broaders is Wounded--Carson's Nerve put to the
Test--Rude Amputation--Safe Arrival at Santa Fé--Goes to
Taos and learns the Spanish Language--Early
Vicissitudes--Disappointment and Attempt to return to
Missouri--Is employed as an Interpreter, Teamster, etc.
It is now a well-established fact, that no State in the American Union
has given birth to so many distinguished pioneers and explorers of
its boundless Territories, as the commonwealth of Kentucky. An Author,
whose task is to tell of a Hero, his bravery, endurance, privations,
integrity, self-denial and deeds of daring, carries the _morale_ with
which to gain at once for these characteristics the assent of the
reader, by the simple assertion, "My Hero was born a Kentuckian."
Indeed, in America, to be a native of the State of Kentucky, is to
inherit all the attributes of a brave man, a safe counsellor and a
true friend. It is, at least, certain that this State, whether the
fact is due to its inland and salubrious climate, or to its habits of
physical training, has added many a Hero unto humanity.
Christopher Carson, by his countrymen familiarly called "Kit Carson,"
was born in the County of Madison, State of Kentucky, on the 24th day
of December, 1809. The Carson family were among the first settlers
of Kentucky, and became owners of fine farms. Besides being an
industrious and skillful farmer, the father of Kit Carson was a
celebrated hunter. When the Indians of Kentucky became quieted down,
putting an end to the calls upon his courage and skill as a woodsman,
he settled into a simple, respectable farmer. This monotonous life
did not suit his disposition; and, as the tide of emigration into the
wilds of Missouri was then commencing, where both game and the red man
still roamed, he resolved to migrate in that direction. It was only
one year after the birth of his son Christopher, that Mr. Carson sold
his estate in Kentucky and established himself, with his large family,
in that part of the State of Missouri now known as Howard County. At
this time Howard County, Missouri, was a wilderness, on the remote
American frontier. At his new home, the father was in his element. His
reputation of carrying an unerring rifle and always enacting the deeds
of a brave man, was not long in following him into this wilderness.
Mr. Carson's only assistant, on his first arrival in Howard County,
was his eldest son, Moses Carson, who was afterwards settled in the
State of California, where he resided twenty-five years before the
great California gold discovery was made.
For two or three years after arriving at their new home, the Carson
family, with a few neighbors, lived in a picketed log fort; and when
they were engaged in agricultural pursuits, working their farms, and
so forth, it was necessary to plough, sow and reap under guard,
men being stationed at the sides and extremities of their fields to
prevent the working party from being surprised and massacred by wild
and hostile savages who infested the country. At this time the small
pox, that disease which has proved such a terrible scourge to the
Indian, had but seldom visited him.[1]
[Footnote 1: This disease has probably been the worst enemy with which
the red man of America has had to contend. By terrible experience he
has become familiarized with its ravages, and has resorted to the most
desperate remedies for its cure. Among many tribes, the afflicted are
obliged to form camps by themselves; and, thus left alone, they die by
scores. One of their favorite remedies, when the scourge first makes
its appearance, is to plunge into the nearest river, by which they
think to purify themselves. This course, however, in reality, tends
to shorten their existence. When the small pox rages among the
Aborigines, a most unenviable position is held by their "Medicine
Man." He is obliged to give a strict account of himself; and, if so
unfortunate as to lose a chief, or other great personage, is sure
to pay the penalty by parting with his own life. The duties of the
"Medicine Man" among the Indians are so mixed up with witchcraft
and jugglery, so filled with the pretence of savage quackery, so
completely rude and unfounded as to principle, that it is impossible
to define the practice for any useful end. About five years since, a
young gentleman of scientific habits, who was attached to an exploring
party, accidentally became separated from his companions. In his
wanderings, he fell in with a band of hostile Sioux Indians, who
would quickly have dispatched him, had he not succeeded immediately
in convincing them of his wonderful powers. It so happened that this
gentleman was well informed in the theory of vaccination, and it
struck him that by impressing on the savages his skill, he might
extricate himself. By the aid of signs, a lancet and some virus, he
set himself to work, and soon saw that he had gained a reputation
which saved him his scalp. He first vaccinated his own arm, after
which all of the Indians present solicited his magic touch, to save
them from the loathsome disease. The result was, that he found he had
enlisted himself in an active practice. After a few days, the Indians
were delighted with the results, and began to look upon their prisoner
as possessed of superhuman knowledge. They feared to do him injury,
and finally resolved to let him go; of which privilege, it is almost
unnecessary to say, he was delighted to avail himself, and was not
long in finding his friends.]
The incidents which enliven and add interest to the historic page,
have proved of spontaneous and vigorous growth in the new settlements
of America. Nearly every book which deals with the early planting and
progress of the American colonists and pioneers, contains full, and
frequently glowing, descriptions of exploits in the forest; strifes of
the hunter; fights with the savages; fearful and terrible surprises of
lurking warriors, as they arouse the brave settler and his family
from their midnight dreams by the wild, death-announcing war-whoop;
hair-breadth escapes from the larger kinds of game, boldly bearded in
their lair; the manly courage which never yields, but surmounts every
obstacle presented by the unbroken and boundless forest; all these
are subjects and facts which have already so many counterparts in
book-thought, accessible to the general reader, that their details
may be safely omitted during the boyhood days of young Carson. It is
better, therefore, to pass over the youthful period of his eventful
life, until he began to ripen into manhood.
Kit Carson, at fifteen years of age, was no ordinary person. He had at
this early age earned, and well earned, a reputation, on the basis
of which the prediction was ventured in his behalf, that he would not
fail to make and leave a mark upon the hearts of his countrymen. Those
who knew him at the age of fifteen, hesitated not to say, "Kit Carson
is the boy who will grow into a man of influence and renown."
The chief points of his character which elicited this prediction were
thus early clearly marked. Some of his traits were kindness and
good qualities of heart, determined perseverance, indomitable will,
unflinching courage, great quickness and shrewdness of perception, and
promptitude in execution. The predictions uttered by the hardy rangers
of the forest concerning a boy like Carson are seldom at fault; and
Kit was one who, by many a youthful feat worthy the muscle of riper
years, had endeared himself to their honest love. It was among such
men and for such reason, that Kit Carson thus early in life had won
the influence and rewards of a general favorite.
His frame was slight, below the medium stature, closely knit together,
and endowed with extraordinary elasticity. He had, even then, stood
the test of much hard usage. What the body lacked in strength was more
than compensated for by his indomitable will; consequently, at this
early age, he was considered capable of performing a frontier man's
work, both in tilling the soil and handling the rifle.
It was at this period of his eventful life that his father, acting
partially under the advice of friends, determined that his son Kit
should learn a trade. A few miles from Kit's forest home, there lived
a Mr. David Workman, a saddler. To him he was apprenticed. With Mr.
Workman young Carson remained two years, enjoying both the confidence
and respect of his employer; but, mourning over the awl, the hide
of new leather, the buckle and strap; for, the glorious shade of the
mighty forest; the wild battle with buffalo and bear; the crack of
the unerring rifle, pointed at the trembling deer. Saddlery is an
honorable employment; but saddlery never made a greater mistake than
when it strove to hitch to its traces the bold impulse, the wild
yearning, the sinewy muscle of Kit Carson. Harness-making was so
irksome to his ardent temperament and brave heart, that he resolved to
take advantage of the first favorable opportunity and quit it forever.
With him, to resolve has ever been followed by action. During the
latter part of his stay with Mr. Workman, many stories of adventures
in the Rocky Mountains reached the ear of the youthful Kentuckian in
his Missouri home. The almost miraculous _hyperbole_ which flavored
the narratives were not long in awakening in his breast a strong
desire to share in such stirring events. The venturesome mind at last
became inspired. He determined to go; and, giving his restless spirit
full sway, in 1826, joined a party bound for his boyish fancy-pictures
of the Elysian Fields. The leader of this expedition required no
second request from young Carson before enrolling his name on the
company-list. The hardy woodsman saw stamped upon the frank and open
countenance of the boy who stood before him those sterling qualities
which have since made his name a household word. These formed a
passport which, on the spot, awakened the respect and unlocked the
hearts of those whose companionship he sought.
The work of preparation was now commenced by the different parties to
the expedition. All of the arrangements having been finally completed,
the bold and hardy band soon started upon their journey. Their route
lay over the vast, and then unexplored territory, bounded by the Rocky
Mountains on the one side, and the Missouri River on the other. Before
them lay, stretched out in almost never-ending space, those great
prairies, the half of which are still unknown to the white man.
Crossing the plains in 1826 was an entirely different feat from what
it is at this day. Where, then, were the published guides? Where were
the charts indicating the eligible camping grounds with their springs
of pure water? These _oases_ of the American Sahara were not yet
acquainted with the white man's foot. The herds of buffaloes, the
droves of wild horses, knew not the crack of the white man's rifle.
They had fled only at the approach of the native Indian warrior and
the yearly fires of the prairie. It was a difficult task to find a man
who had gazed on the lofty peaks of the mountain ranges which formed a
serpentine division of the vast American Territories, or who had drank
the waters at the camping places on the prairies. The traveller
at that day was, in every force of meaning which the word extends,
literally, an explorer, whose chosen object was the task of a hero.
The Indians themselves could give no information of the route beyond
the confined limits of their hunting ranges. The path which this
pioneer party entered was existent only in the imagination of the
book-making geographer, about as accurate and useful from its detail,
as the route of Baron Munchausen to the icelands of the North Pole on
the back of his eagle. The whole expanse of the rolling prairie, to
those brave hearts, was one boundless uncertainty. This language may
possibly be pronounced redundant. It may be in phrase; it is not in
fact. The carpet-knight, the holiday ranger, the book-worm explorer,
knows but little of the herculean work which has furnished for the
world a practical knowledge of the western half of the North American
continent. We shall see in the progress of this work whether the
adventures of Kit Carson entitle him to a place in the heart of the
American nation on the same shelf with his compeers.
In that day, the fierce red-man chief scoured the broad prairies, a
petty king in his tribe, a ruler of his wild domain. Bold, haughty,
cautious, wily, unrelenting, revengeful, he led his impassioned
warriors in the chase and to battle. Even to-day, the lurking Indian
foeman is no mean adversary to be laughed and brushed out of the way,
notwithstanding disease, war, assassination and necessary chastisement
have united rapidly to decimate his race, thereby gradually lessening
its power. Thirty years ago the rolling plains were alive with them,
and their numbers alone made them formidable. It is not strange that
the untutored savages of the prairie, like those of their race who
hailed with ungovernable curiosity the landing of the Pilgrims on
Plymouth Rock, should have been attracted by the wonderful inventions
of the white-man intruder. A very short period of time served to turn
this ungovernable curiosity into troublesome thieving. Knowing no law
but their wild traditionary rules, they wrested from the adventurous
pioneer, his rifle, knife, axe, wagon, harness, horse, powder, ball,
flint, watch, compass, cooking utensils, and so forth. The result was,
sanguinary engagements ensued, which led to bitter hostility between
the two races. Doubtless the opinion may be controverted, but it
nevertheless shall be hazarded, that, until the weaker party shall be
exterminated by the stronger, the wild war-whoop, with its keen-edged
knife and death-dealing rifle accompaniments, will continue, from time
to time, to palsy the nerve, and arouse the courage of the pioneer
white man. The Indian, in his attack, no longer showers cloth-yard
arrows upon his foe. He has learned to kill his adversary with the
voice of thunder and the unseen bullet.
The bold traveller, whose pathway lies over those great highroads
which lead to the Pacific, must still watch for the red man's ambush
by day; and, by night, sleep under the protecting vigilance of the
faithful, quick-sighted sentinel. The savage never forgives his own or
his ancestor's foe. Every generation of them learns from tradition the
trials and exploits of its tribe. From earliest boyhood these form the
burden of their education in history; and, on performing the feat of
courage or strength which admits them to the councils of the braves,
their nation's wrongs are uppermost in their thoughts, causing them to
thirst for a revenge which sooner or later gives them a grave, making
themselves, in turn, an object of revenge.
It has already appeared that when Kit Carson entered upon his first
expedition, game was to be had in abundance. His route lay across the
western wilds to Santa Fé. All this distance the bulk of provisions,
consisting of a small quantity of flour and bacon, had to be
transported by himself and his companions. These articles were kept
as a reserve, and were looked upon as luxuries; for, that man was
estimated to be a very poor shot who could not obtain, with his rifle,
all the animal food he required for his individual sustenance. These
hunters, however, well understood the laws which govern and the
advantages which follow division of labor. Everything was so arranged,
both for this and subsequent expeditions, by which a regular hunter
was appointed, and each man assigned some particular duty according
to his capacity. These appointments were usually made by the leader
of the party, whose supervision was acknowledged by general consent on
account of his known experience and capability. This plan was the more
necessary in order to avoid confusion.
The caravan had hardly launched out on its long and tedious tramp,
when an accident occurred which came very near proving serious in its
results. For several days the men had been greatly annoyed by wolves
who appeared more than usually ravenous and bold.[2]
[Footnote 2: There are two species of these animals found on the
western prairie. One is small, called the Jackal; the other much
larger. The latter, or larger species, are found of various, colors,
but more frequently grey. The color, however, varies with the season
and often from other causes. Many of their habits are strikingly
similar to those of the domestic dog, with the simple difference
that the wolf is unreclaimed from his wild state. The connecting link
between the prairie wolf and the domestic dog is the cur found among
the Indians. The Indian cur, by a casual observer, could be easily
mistaken for a prairie wolf. Near the Rocky Mountains, and in them,
these animals are found of immense size; but, being cowardly, they are
not dangerous. The first night a person sleeps on a prairie is ever
afterwards vividly impressed upon his memory. The serenade of the
wolves with which he is honored, is apt to be distinctly remembered.
It is far from agreeable, and seldom fails to awaken unpleasant
forebodings concerning the future; and, the idea that these fellows
may be soon clearing his bones, is not very genial to the fancy. To
the wolf the graveyard is anything but consecrated ground; and, if a
person is very chary of his cadaver, he had better not leave it on the
Western Plains. The wolf is quite choice in his viands whenever the
opportunity offers, and will, at any time, leave the carcass of an
Indian for that of a white man. Old frontiersmen, speaking of the
wolves, usually style them as "their dogs;" and, after a night when
these animals have kept up an incessant barking, they will express
wonder by asking what has been disturbing "their hounds." The flesh of
the mountain wolf, when cooked, has something of the smell and taste
of mutton, but it is very rank.]
In order to frighten the wolves, the teamsters would occasionally
shoot them. One of the members of the expedition was obliged to take
a fresh rifle from a wagon. In taking the gun out, the hammer of the
lock caught against some projecting object, which caused it to be
partially set. Having become freed, however, before it was fully set,
it came down and fired the gun. The contents of the barrel were sent
through the man's arm. No member of the expedition was conversant with
surgical knowledge. Here was an occasion to shake the nerves of any
feeling man; and, beneath the rough exterior of the western ranger,
there runs as deep a stream of true humanity as can be found anywhere
on the American continent. Every suggestion was offered and every
effort was put forth which heart feeling chained to anxiety and the
terrible necessity, could offer. Every remedy which promised a good
result was duly weighed; and, if pronounced worthy of trial, it was
adopted. The sufferer had kind, though rough nurses; but, the absence
of scientific skill, under such emergency, proved a sad want for the
unfortunate man. Notwithstanding their united efforts, Broader's arm
grew alarmingly worse. It soon became manifest to all that he must
part with his arm, or lose his life; perhaps both. At this critical
period, a consultation was held, in which the suffering patient
joined. Due deliberation was extended to all the symptoms. The giving
of advice in such a council by men who could only give judgment from
an imaginary stand-point, must strike the heart of true sympathy
as having been painful in no ordinary degree. After every possible
argument had been offered in favor of saving the arm, the final
decision of the council was that it must come off. The next difficulty
which presented itself was quite as formidable as the expression of
a correct judgment. Who should perform the office of surgeon, was the
knotty question? Again the consultations became exciting and intensely
painful. The members of the council, however, took it upon themselves
to designate the persons, and chose Carson with two others. These
immediately set at work to execute their sad but necessary task. The
arrangements were all hastily, but carefully made, and the cutting
begun. The instruments used were a razor, an old saw; and, to arrest
the hemorrhage, the king bolt taken from one of the wagons was heated
and applied to serve as an actual cautery. The operation, rudely
performed, with rude instruments, by unpractised hands, excited to
action only by the spur of absolute necessity, proved, nevertheless,
entirely successful. Before the caravan arrived at Santa Fé the
patient had so far recovered that he was able to take care of himself.
Besides this unfortunate affair, nothing worthy of note transpired,
beyond the general record of their route, during the remainder of
their journey. The latter would be too voluminous for the general
reader, and has already served its purpose as an assistant to other
exploring parties, both from published account and conversational
directions. The party entered Santa Fé in the month of November. Very
soon after, Kit Carson left his companions and proceeded to Fernandez
de Taos, a Mexican town, which lies about eighty miles to the
northeast of the capital of New Mexico. During the winter that
followed his arrival in the territory of New Mexico, Kit lived with an
old mountaineer by the name of Kin Cade, who very kindly offered him a
home. It was at this period of his life that he commenced studying
the Spanish language. His friend Kin Cade became his assistant in this
task. At the same time Kit neglected no opportunity to learn all he
could about the Rocky Mountains. He little thought, then, that these
earth-formed giants were to become his future home, and so gloriously
to herald his name throughout the entire civilized globe.
The pinching effects of want now attacked poor Kit. He could obtain no
employment. His expectations in this respect, as well as his earnest
efforts, received so little encouragement that he began, finally,
to despond. Extreme poverty is a wet damper on the fires of the best
genius; but, as was the case with Kit, it does not effectually put
it out. Kit saw with sorrow that he must retrace his steps. To obtain
means to carry out his ardent desires, in the spring of 1827 he
started on a backward trip to Missouri. Every step he took in this
direction was accompanied with such displeasure, that had it not been
his best and surest policy, he would have mastered any difficulties
of another and better course, had such offered. Four hundred and fifty
miles from Santa Fé, being about one half the distance across the
prairies, had been accomplished by the party Kit had joined for this
homeward trip. The fording of the Arkansas River had been reached.
Here Kit's party met with some traders bound for New Mexico. They
offered him employment, which he gladly accepted; and, in their
company, retraced his steps back to Santa Fé But when arrived at
Santa Fé, Kit found himself again without money. He was afforded
an opportunity to obtain a wardrobe, but to the mountaineer, such
property would be entirely a superfluity. He feels nearly independent
on the score of clothing, as he considers that he needs but little
raiment, and that little he is always proud to owe to his beloved
rifle. This brings to his hand buckskins in plenty, and his own
ingenuity is the fashion-plate by which they are manufactured into
wearable and comfortable vesture. There is one article of clothing,
however, for which the frontiersman feels an ardent predilection. It
is a woollen shirt. This article, Kit really needed; and, in equal
pace with his necessity, ran his anxiety that something should offer
by which to obtain one. The reader may smile at this; and, so does Kit
at this day, as he recounts the fact in his own inimitable style. But
Kit says that to obtain a woollen shirt then, was, to him, no laughing
matter. At a moment when he almost despaired of gaining employment, he
received an offer to go as a teamster with an expedition bound to El
Paso. This opportunity was a chance for success not to be lost, and
he closed with the proposition. After faithfully performing his
engagement, he, however, returned to Santa Fé, where he made a short
stay, and then proceeded to Taos. In this town Kit entered into the
service of Mr. Ewing Young, who was a trader and trapper. The reader
may prepare again for a smile, as he will now learn that Kit became
a cook. Mr. Ewing Young has the satisfaction of boasting that the
renowned Kit Carson once performed the responsible and arduous duties
of a master cook in the culinary department of his establishment; and
that, for these valuable services, labor, care and diligence, he gave
to Kit, as a _quid pro quo_, his board. In this way Kit supported
himself in his straitened circumstances until the following spring.
What was the bright thought which made the bold, the ardent, the
energetic Kit Carson accept this menial office? Surely the brain metal
which was so brightly polished when he set out from Howard county,
Missouri, must have been sadly rusted. Not so! The hope which buoyed
up his spirits while he attempted to rival French pastry and English
beef with American venison and Buffalo meat on the table of Mr. Ewing
Young, was that some trapper, or hunter, would come into Taos, their
favorite place of resort; and, by being ready for an emergency, he
would obtain an opportunity for gaining a permission to join them. His
intention was certainly good, but it lacked the bright crown of good
intention--success. In the spring of 1828, much chagrined with his,
so far, continued bad luck, and no prospect of gaining his object
appearing, he again joined a homeward-bound party and with it,
sorrowfully, started for Missouri. But, as on the former trip
homeward, he met on the route a party bound for Santa Fé. That
indomitable ingredient in his composition, an iron will, caused him
once more to turn his face westward. He joined this party and returned
to Santa Fé, in order again to tempt fortune for an opportunity
to reach the Rocky Mountains. But during all these changes and
counterchanges Kit had not been idle. He had picked up considerable
knowledge, and, to his other stock of accomplishments, had added the
ability to speak the Spanish language.
On arriving once more at Santa Fé, he fell in with Col. Tramell, who
was at that time a well-known trader. Col Tramell needed a Spanish
interpreter. Kit obtained the post, and set out with him for
Chihuahua, one of the Mexican States. Here again Kit made a change in
his employment. In Chihuahua he fell in with Mr. Robert McKnight.
To him he hired out as a teamster, and in this capacity went to the
copper mines which are found near to the Rio Gila. Amid the weary
necessities of this humble but honorable calling, Kit's heart was
constantly alive with ambition to become a hunter and trapper. He knew
that he was expert with the rifle, which had been his boyish toy, and
felt confident that he could rely upon it as an assistant to gain an
honest living. His constant thought at this time was, let him now be
engaged in whatever calling chance offered and necessity caused him
to accept, the final pursuit of his life would be as a hunter and
trapper. Here, then, is presented a fair example of the strife, both
inward and outward, through which a young man of courage and ambition
must expect to pass before he can win position, influence, and the
comforts of life, whatever the scene of his action, or whatever the
choice of employment suitable to his talent and genius. Kit Carson
was determined, no matter what might be the obstacles which presented
themselves, to be a hunter and trapper.
The reader will have made a sad mistake if he has concluded, that
during the time which has intervened since Kit started from Missouri,
he has been roaming in a country where there was less danger than when
he was in the picketed fort with his father. Such a supposition would
be greatly at fault. The towns in New Mexico, at this early period,
were almost entirely at the mercy of the Indians. The Mexicans were
nearly destitute of means to defend themselves. Very few of the
Anglo-Saxon race had entered this territory, and those who had
were, in turn, exposed to the vacillating wills of the proverbially
treacherous Mexicans. A man like Kit Carson, however, born and bred in
danger, cared but little about this state of affairs. The dangers did
not enter into his calculations of chance to overcome the difficulties
which beset the pathway which the alluring hopes of his ambition had
marked out. Not long afterward, he left the copper mines, and once
more bent his steps to Taos, in company with a small party. At Taos,
he found a band of trappers which had been sent out by Mr. Ewing
Young. While _en route_ for the river Colorado of the _west_, in
pursuit of game, they had been attacked by a band of Indians. After
fighting an entire day, they had been compelled to retreat, and
returned to New Mexico.