Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-25

NN icO." and hsving been
personally acquainted
with the then young
naval off was naturally enough interested in
TIE STAR's very interesting story.
"Lieut Beale performed valuable service for
the United States government during his career
on the frontier. and his health was seriously i'm
paired for several years by his arduous labors
at the period referred to BY The STAR think
the narrator was slightly mistaken in one state
ment, however No material benefit raay have
accrued to Lieut. Beale for his brave conduct at
that time. but in a Life Of Kit Carson, by De-
Witt C. Peters. this exploit is given its full need
OF praise Mr.. Peters says: To the scientific
world he has proved valuable acquisition. To
the United States government his services were
inestimatle, and as an explorer he has few
equals
Il think il was in April of 1S47 that Kit
Carson and Lieut.. Beale were ordered to re-
port in Washington with important dispatches
to the War and Navy departments. They we're
three months making the trip of over 1000
miles. and did 1t on horseback and they were
considered TO have performed q wonderful feat
and IT was. Ii seems incredible now. We can
not realize in this age Of electricity and steam
what the humiliation of time and distance
means to those men who blazed the way for
such improvements.
WONDERFUL CHARACTER.
Eit OshsOi NGs u WONDERFUL character,
continued the officer. ~ knew him very well.
and consider him one of the strangest combi-
nations CT the age He was not large man.
and had gray eyes and long sandy hair. but he
was both powerful and athletic He was as
gentle as a woman. vet possessed "a terribly
ferOcious nature when aroused. He was shv
and reserved among strangers. and even among
his friends was not given to talking about him
self but he was a rarely good story teller, for
be used the words that would convex his mean
ing the quickest and shortest way He was
sadly deficient in book education but spoke
both French and Spanish huentiy. and think
he was alHo conversant with every Indian dia-
ect spoken on this continent. He was fond of
cards and was one of the best 'seven-up' play
ers ever saw. He loved horses too and his
big horse. APACHE was known all over the
Rocky mountain country. Kit never drank a
drop OF liquor. was a man of strictest integrity
AID wouldn't lie to save anybody Certainly
these were queer traits for man of Kits rear
ing and naturally rowing disposition His father
wished to apprentice him to q tanner. hut Kit
found greater fascination in hunting hides than
tanning them So in 1926 he left his Missouri
home and began trail blazing through the
then impoverished mysteries of the great Amer
lean desert and the wilds Of the Rocky noun
tains. He told me once that for fifteen wears
he never saw the face of a white woman and
never slept under white mans roof. He mar
ried beautiful Cheyenne Indian girl, to whom
born to them was educated in q convent in ST.
Louis and Is vet living in California with her
husband The mother died when the child was
quite small and Kit mourned her loss deeply.
As GUIDE TO FREMONT
Exit Cursor was Fremont's guide when he
made his memorable trip with the U. 8. corps of
Typographical engineers and earned the title of
The Path Finder II wac from Kits own
lips that | learned one Of the incidents Of that
trip:
''It was in the fall of 1866 that Gen. Cas,leton
OF the United States army, Lucian b. Maxwell.
bike Nit u hunter. trapper. guide and scout:
John Henderson, the agent for the Ute Indians:
two Apache scouts. Kit Carson and myself were
camped up in the Ration mountains, I. 900 feet
above the level ofthe When we left the valley
IN the early morning an August sun was mellow
ing the face of nature. We expected to complete
our business in a few hours, and not anticipat-
ing delay had taken no blankets and mighty
little grub At that altitude after shutdown the
air was freezing cold. We piled all the infam-
nable STUFF within our reach into a pile and
made little IRE, but the material to burn was
seant in supply and kept the two redskins busy
feedlng the flames. As our grub stake had
been exhausted at noon we were hungry as well
as cold and "a We dared not 60 to sleep for fear
Of perishing in the cold in that bleak. unsheI-
tered spot, We huddled together about the blaze
and smoked and told stories and called each
other naraes more emphatic than elegant be-
cause. old frontiersmen as we were, We had had
SO little forethought to provide against such
dire contingencies.
kit. for a wonder, was in a laxative mood
IL was only rarely that he could be made to talk
OF himself, and when he did it was ALWAYS worth
listening to- We had been discussing the In
dian question just at that time people in that
country talked OF little else. Jack Henderson
had been telling some side-splitting experiences
with the wards Of the government under his
particular charge-the Utes
KRIS OWN STORY.
81 he'd difercult with the burned cusses
once that came mighty near putin an end to
my earee-," observed Kit as he filed his pipe.
1T war good many years back, bout '4S,
reckon. warn it, Maxwell?''
1T was in AS we war with Fremont up in
the mountains, If yu mean then" replied Max
well.
''Thet's the date" said Kit. nodding. I re-
member II most particlar, il was in AZ tibet
took the back trail for the states after bein'
away Ter nigh onter fifteen year. st. Louis
war too cead quiet fer me. so set out fer the
land Of shutdown agin. On the boat mn 10
Kansas City war Gen. Fremont, then lust
Ieftenant, an we struck a bargain was TO
60 with the outfit as guide and butcher. an
come mighty nigh gittin' butchered myself,
long Of tainkin i knowed too blame much"
Exit WIS . crack shot. The man who pro
yoked quarrel with him had to get the
drop before Fit drew a bead or IL was ali
night with him. In the contracts with Kit IL
was always stipulated that his guns and trap
ping outfit would supply the party with mea.
and game. Kit was an invaluable guide. for
his knowledge Of the Indiana, among whom he
had lived 50 long. was almost perfect, and, be-
cause Of his proves, they had q wholesome
fear Of him.
Kit sat silent so long putting at his pipe that
We began TO fear he had reconsidered his notion
70 Ven as story, and we didn't dare press him,
for then ne would have shutup like aelam- After
long season Of self communion he unlocked
Fuption-
kkcoSSorrERIN0 PARTY.
We war up close to Pixies Peak, an the gen.
srai ordered me to pick eight men an 20 on in
advance of the main body as . kind of recon-
noatsrin party. We war to pick place to camp
along In The foot hills, where thar war plenty
Of wood an water, fer the general wanted to
bait for several days to make astronomical OBJ
servations.
I've bed orders never to get more'n day
ahead Of the outfit, 50 il could folier us easy
Without -osin' the trail A We would be 20