The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-08-26
TALKS WITH KIT CARSON.
A westerners Remembrance of Meet


 ings in Camp Years Ago.
 In the Anthony Republican MT. R. J. Alexander is giving some "Recollec- tions of Fifty Years Ago." particularly with respect to his life in Colorado and New Mexico. He became the friend of General Kit Carson, and writes thus of his introduction to the great plainsman:
 On the second day after our arrival at Taos, Carson visited at our camp all day. He appeared to feel that he had met old friends, as some of our party knew some of the people he knew. One particular remininiscence made him laugh heartily. Tn the spring of 1850 the writer was attending court at Inde- dence, Mo. Carson, not then known to the writer, was in the courtroom listen- ing to the trial of divorce case in which Judge Rupel B. Hicks was attor- ney for the defendant Hicks closed his remarks with the following backwoods peroration: And when am dead and defunct in the abstract, may my hide be tanned into drumheads on which to beat into generations yet unborn that I taught my sons to love their wives" We were squatting around the camp fire smoking. Carson sprang up and grabbing my hand wrung it hard, laughing like happy boy, and said: T know Judge Hicks we'll, and I was there that day" As Carson left that evening he invited Captain Doak, Jim Fry, the humorist of the party, Judge Smedley and the writer to dine with him next day.
 Putctually we repaired to his resi- dence. The house was built of "dobies'' -sun-dried bRck about four inches thick and abouFa foot square-and was whitewashed a pure snowy white It was about fifty feet long, built with the side to the street, four small windows (eight by ten glass; and a door on the side, and low porch running the length of the building It was the only house in Taos that had glazed win dows. Inside the room was twenty by fifty-nine feet, seven feet high, making it look very low; no partitions in this room. There were five little round ta- hles to seat four persons, an open fire place in one end, a flax wheel near by, a Yagur and a Mississippi rifle over the fireplace, which Carson said he never used as they were not true; two dozen or more chairs, and no other furniture or ornaments. books or papers in the room. The dinner was mostly of game, cooked and served by Mexican servants after which they retired. Mrs. Carson was fair young Spanish lady, height about eight feet four inches, weight somewhere aboud one hundred and ten pounds, black hair and eyes, very pleas ant countenance and good features. They had two little girls, four and six years old. Doak, who spoke Spanish fluently, was seated with Mrs. Carson and the two children, and Mrs. Carson must have enjoyed herself as she took a lesson in English from Doak and laughed pleasantly at the mistakes she made in pronunciation and apprehen- sion.
 After dinner we enjoyed ourselves in a smoke and drinking light, sweet wine, while Mrs. Carson entertained us with music on a harpsich6rd, and sang some Spanish songs, accompanying her self on a guitar. We certainly enjoyed and spent very pleasant afternoon.
 That evening Carson again visited us; he was an earnest conversationalist and never tired of talking of his boyhood home I had cleaned my rifle and set it against 8 wagon. Carson carefully picked it up and balanced it on his left hand. He saw the makers name en- graved on the barrel. He looked up quickly and asked: Whose rifle is this?" answered: "Mine.'' What will you take for it. asked Carson. The usual conversation passed in mak ing a trade I had the gun made spec iaIly, and the lock, 8 solid silver plate and the trap in the breech had formerly been on pistol that belonged to my grandfather. The lock plate was en- graved and had the word London" stamped on it in Italic capitals. Car son insisted I should sell it to him, as he always used "Nix" rifle. John Nix, of Osage county, Mo-. was the maker and I saw the two other guns Carson had of the same make, one shotgun for a horseman, the other a hunting rifle. I never saw Hawwins rifle in his possession or heard him speak of one. I finally let him have my gun for two twenty-dollar gold pieces.- Kansas City Journal.
 
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