The National tribune., 1901-08-29
ROUGH RIDING.
Continued from first page

five feet six inches, but of build denot-
ing strength, activity and endurance. AL
though az illiterate man, he is pleasant
hammered and gentlemanly, and l imag-
ined he showed signs of the refining in
tuence of his almost constant intercourse
with army officers, as he has passed a
great deal of his time in their company
| as guide, scout and trailer.
DE talks but little, and, unlike most
frontiersmen, is not given to spinning
yarns, especially Of his own adventures.
l expected that now he was a Colonel
IN the army, he would adorn himself with
the full uniform and all the trappings
OF an army officer, but instead found him
| strolling about in his usual buckskin
frontier rig, with nothing to indicate his
frank but a pair of COlonels shoulder
straps on his buckskin coat.
II l was disappointed in not finding
him to tally with the description given
IN the novels, l was pleased to find a
more real hero, and an ideal frontierSman
OF the first class. AS would naturally be
expected, his regiment is composed of men
who would be attracted by the reputation
OF such leader, many discharged sol
diers from the Regular Army having
taken service with him, as also many
frontlersmen Of experience, and, taken al
together, his command is composed of just
the material to do good service against
Indians.
AS before stated, | have usually found
these old rangers Of the mountains and
plains fond OF telling exaggerated yarns
Of their adventures. L suppose they are
encouraged in this by the fact that most
all the ''tenderfeet" whom they come in
contact with, seemingly anxious to be
humbugged, ply them with many ridicu-
lous questions in regard to adventurous
experiences which they are supposed to
have had in abundance. And to crafty
this desire for stories of the miraculous
these old rangers don't hesitate to manu-
facture tales to suit tho demands of the
credulOus.
Speaking of liars, Jim Bridger was a
good one; but as guide and trailer he
was reliable. Buffalo Bill was very fond
of blowing his own horn. Old Bent was
no slOuch of liar himself, but none Of
them could hold a candle to Jim Beck
with, VINO, l claim, was the champion
prevaricator of the frontier. If he blum
dered onto the truth occasionally at rare
intervals, it should be overlooked as en-
tirely uniDtentional, or where he thought
that truth was stranger than fiction"
Those old frontierSmen, too, with the
buffalo, have almost become extinct. Their
memory should be preserved even in their
yarns, which were both amusing ana
harmless.
With all their faults they possessed
many good qualities, peculiarly fitting
them for the life they led, and making
them especially serviceable as pioneers
of the great West.
OF all this class l can remember only
one whose integrity, honor and yeracity
were always unqueStiOned and undOubted
by those who knew him best-the peerless
Kit Carson, man who always Command
ed the unbounded confidence and respect
OF all officers, soldiers and citizens on the
10 trul
mond." THE miidest- hammered man that
ever cut a throat or took a scalp" He
never boosted Of his own adventures, and
what we knew of his deeds of valor and
prowess comes from others, not from Kit.
As the two most fitting representatives,
of the opposite extremes among frontiers
men, | would place Kit Carson at the
head OF the list of those most trustworthy,
and Jim Beckwith in the lead as the most
unreliable. The unassuming modesty of
the one is in strong contrast to the braZen
braggadocio Of the other. The Indians
learned to place implicit confidence in the
word of Kit Carson, for whether it was
a promise to kill them or to treat them
well. they knew that his pledge would be
kept. In his dealings with them,
whether fighting or distributing goods to
them as Indian Agent, he always gave
them full measure, but was always loyal
to the whites.
On the contrary, Jim Beckwith, accord
ng TO his own unblushing boasts, had fire.
quently committed all the crimes in the
decalogue, and some that are not enum-
Grated in that list;- also admitting TO me
and others that he had several times
taken part with the Indians in deprada-
tons against the whites.
A few years hence the name Of Jim
Beckwith will be forgotten, or only re-
membered as an excrescence on frontier
history; but the name and fame of Kit
Carson will endure for centuries, as the
brightest example of the brave and hon
1rable pioneers of the wild and woolly |
West"
TTa ha continued