The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1907-01-24
KNEW KIT CARSON.


AtCb"of AthtD'tts
The first white girl baby born with
in the Territory that is now the State
of Kansas is living in Kansas City.
She is seventy-six years old. She is
Mrs. Susan A. Dillon. Her father
built the first dwelling house in West
port.
my father was Daniel Yoacham,"
said Mrs. Dillon. "He moved from
Tennessee in 1929. He had not been
married long. My mothers cousin,
Major John Campbell, was Indian
agent at the Shawnee Indian agency.
which was a half mile east Of where
the ruins of Shawnee mission stand.
My father and his bride came here
and lived In that house for nearly a
year while my father was looking
around and deciding where to settle.
''In that Indian post traders house
was born. There lived with the
agent Captain Parks, chief OF the
Shawnees, and many of them were
camped around the agency. was
the first white baby they had ever
seen, and they simply went wild over
tnGs nU buunNb luduG llG luOGIdolub
and clothing and wraps made of
buckskin beautifully embroidered
and decorated. They adopted me
into the tribe. Until l was grown
and had married they treated me as
one of their own.
MY father took up a Government
claim embracing all the land where
Westport is now. and much more
At that time the only building in all
the territory covered by Westport
was little log store kept by an In
dian trader. My father built a large
hotel, and It was the second building
there. 1t stood where the corner of
Mil street and Westport avenue is
now. 1t was built of walnut logs and
was two stories high. 1t was known
as Yoachams tavern. There l lived
until / was married.
My father was a very popular
man and much beloved. He was
known as Honest Squire Yoacham.
He was the first justice of the peace
in all this Western country. He per-
formed all the earliest marriage cere-
monies in this part of the country.
People came hundreds of miles to be
married by him.
II remember Kit Carson very well
indeed. He came East and stopped
at my fathers hotel for several
weeks. He had married a squaw of
the Root Eater tribe of Indians, and
they had a little girl. He had this
little girl with him, and was taking
her back East to be educated. He
bought her outfit and had her dresses
made in our house. She came to us
dressed in buckskin and left dressed
in as fine goods as could be bought
then upon the border. She was about
my age and was unciVilized She
pulled up all my mothers vines and
was chewing the roots when we found
her at it.
Kit Carson was a nice looking
man, of mild manners and a strong
face. All of those old pioneers were
mild-mannered men.
Many time listened to old Jim
Bridger's wonderful stories of the
then unexplored West He was one
of the earliest and greatest of trap
pers, Indian fighters and scouts. He
was known in Westport as the great
est liar that ever lived, but l don't
think now that he told many lies.
One of his greatest 'whoppers' was
about a petrified forest that he had
seen away out West. We know now
that he told the truth about that,
but no one believed him then, and
I've heard many laugh about jim
Bridger's yarn of the petrified trees,
leaves and even petrifed birds. sing
ing in the branches. OF course,
Bridger didn't tell all that: 1t was
added on by the people who heard
him talk. Kansas City Star.