St. Paul daily globe., 1893-02-27
The Sequel to thu Tale Of a
Bloody Trail Of the
.MOdOes.
The Vengeance Of the Pitt
River and What Was
Left OF 1t.
An HonoPad 4.ame That Is
NoWOn an Arizona Prison
Register.

and general, all-around border hero, but
| a fulI-blooded Modoc, who would not
now lie subject to durance vile but for
| the influences Of civilization. Indians
are not rare birds in Arizona's penal in
| stItutions, but the species attracts at
| tention TO Kit Carson, who appears at
| first glance as different from the low
| grade Papagoes and Pimas with whom
he has herded as an eagle is from buZ-
zard. He is better to look at in every
way, cuts his hair short, and has fond
ness for the bathtub that is foreign to
Arizona aborigines, says the San
Francisco Examiner.
Kit was protege and discovery OF
Colonel Wood, who headed the punish
ing party, sent out in 1S56to capture the
band of Modocs, who were slaughtering
Wagon-train immigrants to the West in
the Pitt river country. The murderers
numbered some three score bucks, and
their families were with them when
Col. (then MAJOR Wood and his troop
came up with them. A roundup and
enforced sojourn on Indian territory
was all that was intended when the eX-
pedition set out, but the M0dOcS showed
u,
soldiers we're only too anxious to give it
to them.
On the day before the Indians, hard
pressed, reached the banks of the Pitt
they relieved themselves of such in
cumbrances as they possessed III the
way of captives by the. simple method
of tomahawking them. Women and
children shared the same fate, and the
| murmurngs of the troops for ven
geance increased as the body of
one mutilated innocent after an
other was discovered along the trail
of pursuit. The climax came when
half dozen little tlaXen-haired scalps
were found pinned to clump of thorn
bushes. The soldiers were maddened,
and pushed forward with vigor that
took them to the camp of the red
skinned fiends before they had COM
pleted their preparations for crossing
| the swollen stream.
Mai. Wood had no power to restrain
| the vengeance thirst of his men beyond
a few words against putting themselves
| on level with the Indians by Slaugh-
| tering squaWs and papooSeS. The
! bucks outnumbered the soldiers two to-
one, but the vigor of the attack pre-
| vented anything like resistance, and the
| Internal butchers were treated TO such
| dose OF their own medicine that those
| who escaped the earlier y0lleys sought
safety in swimming. The pitt ran red
| with blood that day, and. as far as
| known, not male adult OF the lnhuman
| band escaped. The squaws escaped un-
| harmed, with their children. save one
| of each A woman was killed by a
| stray bullet.
Kit Carson did not appear III evidence
until the work of destroying the camp
| began. While directing the gathering
| of wood to fire the captured household
| goods of the routed redskins Maj. Wood
| seated himself on concave piece of
| bark, and Master Kit Immediately be-
! came very much in evidence. He was
then about three years old. plump,
| black and shining, active as flea,
| limited to q buckskin string as to
| dress, but not a whit bewildered
by his sudden introduction to
the exterminators of his fathers. AL
| most as soon as seen he disappeared
/ with the celebrity of flushed quail, and
for naf an hour the slippery little imp
gave half dozen of the command an
exceedingly lively chase through the
brush and tail grass. When cap
tured he yelled, but few soothing
words and a bit of hard bread from the
major soon quieted his fears, and he
| Immediately became that officers de-
voted slave
For an hour the major tested his 10y
atty by giving him his horse to'hold and
| leaving him unmatched. The boy never
moved, and inside Of another hour his
civilization was commenced by attiring
| him in shirt and trousers hastily coll
verted from a flour sack. Never did
fairer-skInned young America put OH
prouder strut with first boots and trOus-
ers than did that dark and pretty
scamp in his blue-braided white
garments. When the major returned TO
barracks Kit took passage behind him.
sticking to the horse through days of
rough riding with the tenacity of cir
Gus monkey, and uttering no sound OF
complaint from start to finish.
The boy picked up English with mar
velous raDidity, and his brightness soon
endeared HIM to the entire garrison. At
first he called himself something that
sounded like Kit. and the Carson was
soon added. much to the real Kit Car
sons disgust when a western soldier
told him of the honor conferred some
time afterward. He was the majors
companion everywhere, and proved
little OF no trouble OH any sort Of eXpe-
dition Coming down Mount Shasta, when
tile boy was about tour years old, the
majors horse missed the trail and
slipped into deep soft now. Lie pulled
out all right and was dozen yards
away before tie majors attention was
attracted by pldlntiyc exclamation:
"See herel See hcrel"
Kit had fallen off when the horse
went down, and was so deeply buried
that only one pudgy black fist could be
seen above the white drift, but still he
had refrained from yelling until he
thought his mishap was undiscovered.
In 1860 the major returned to Ark
ansas, and Kit exhibited his first sign
of fear on the trip. A woman wanted
to buy him. and raised her bids in his
presence until the sum offered amounted
10 $1,000 Kits lip trembled, but he
stood stoically until the major declined
the offer.
Tie major married; the war broke out
and he entered the Confederate army as
colonel. Kit remained at home, oStenSi-
Div to 90 to school and aid Mrs. Wood.
At school about all he did was to
prove himself terror 20 other
small boys, no five uf whom ever
proved a match for him at tiSticulfS.
but to his mistress he was a devoted
slave. He became celebrated as cook
before lie was fourteen, at which age
his dream was realized by Col. Wood
taking him to the front as body serv-
ant. No fighting was too hot for him,
and nothing could drive him from the
coloneTs side III time of danger. With !
the cessation of danger Kit returned
to cooking and caring for the colonePs
boy and girl whom iIe accepted as
charges with no feelings of Jealousy.
Col. Wood returned To California. and
wnnn located put trust enough in Kit to
let him pilot Mrs. Wood and the young
sters TO their new home. This was in
lS71-73, and the Journey was still one OF
hardship and peril, but it was accom- 1
nlished, and Kit was rewarded by being
set I'D as major-domo OF the coleneFs
ranch lie w0rmed his history out OF the
colonel. and then never rested until he
had mastered every scrap unpublished
history concerning his tribe. Some of
their doings ne gioried in, others he de-
piored, but the reading gave him pride
Of birth that frequently found yeut III