The weekly herald. [volume] (Cleveland, Tenn.) 1876-1888, 1879-01-23
A Daring Man.

n
Charlie Carson, a nephew of Kit Car
son, the noted hunter, scout and guide,
was also a cultivated individual on the
frontier. lie was cool, quiet, brave,
and an intelligent guide, familiar with
the mountains and prairie, and known
and respected by the Indians as a for
midable fighter. The hatred of the
Bloods and North Piegan bands of the
Blackfeet toward him was intense, and
they had cause to fear him as we'll. In
the early part of 1865 pioneer of the
Northwest by the name of Burgess,
with his party, attempted to build a
trading post at the mouth Of the Marias,
twelve miles below Fort Benton. 1t
was situated upon territory claimed by
the North Piegans, who were then To-
Gated far to the north, on Belly River.
They determined to eXterminatc Bur-
CESS party. lie went across the Teton
with two teams and ten men for tim
| bNl VII llNll etNCull -llNN
mounted Indians made rush, sur
rounded them in the prairie, and, after
desperate resistance, resulting in a
severe loss to the Indians, slaughtered
them to the last man. Carson was then
at Fort Benton. Shortly afterwards,
one of the band who destroyed the Bur-
CESS party came into the fort in the
guise of a friendly South Piegan, who
were then residing at the fort. Carson
found this out, and shot him dead as he
attempted to escape by swimming the
Missouri. Soon afterward, in the fall
of 1865, horses were stolen from the
range near the fort, by party of the
same band. Carson, with two men,
took their trail and came upon them in
their camp at night in the Bad Lands
on the waters of Eagle Creek, near the
base of Bears Paw Mountains. Their
camp was among the dwarf cedars,
well covered. The Indians were at
tackled at close quarters, four ont of five
killed, and the horses recovered with
ont loss to CarsOn's party. The Indians
obtained their final revenge on Carson
by strategy. He was stopping the fol-
lowing winter of 1SG5-'6G with Paul
Nermet, who then had private ira
ding post where the road from Benton
to Helena crosses the Dearborn river.
1t was on the west bank. Behind it
was an open bottom, with scattering
pines, and behind this was bluff, up
which ran a narrow trail. One eve
ming Vermet saw CarsOn's horses,
which had been grazing in the bottom,
slowly ascending this trail, the fore
most horse stationary, and barely visi-
BILE over the hill. They would not be
safe from Indians beyond the hill, out
of sight; and Carson, suspecting dan
ger from the position and movements
ofthe horses, followed by Vermet, star
ted, rifle in hand, up the trail in pur-
suit. He was looking over the crest of
the hill for Indians. There was pile
of crumbling granite on the tail he
tween him and the summit, scarcely
large enough to hide man. lie saw
his foremost horse stationary over the
hill, ana came opposite the pie OF gram
ite. He saw an Indian lying behind it,
but too late. While raising his rifle to
fire he was shot through the breast.
They had decOyed him into trap. In
falling, he called to Vermet to save
himself. They were the last words he
uttered. Vermet fled to the post and
closed the doors, and was released sew
eral days atterward by a party of
whites. In the meantime CarsOn's
body had remained unburied. The In
dians respected it, and took nothing eX-
cept his rifle, revolver 'and hat. The
party who relieved Vermet buried the
body near where it fell. 1t rests there
among the pines overlooking the beau.
tiful but lonely valley of the Dear
born. These facts are familiar to the
writer and mountain men Of that day.
The thief of Winnemucca simply as
sumcd the. name and identity Of re-
spectacle frOntiersman.