The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1909-08-15

In the winning of the west many men
have earned renOwn, Ubt probably To no
one is more credit due than to Kit Car
son. As a hunter. a scout and an IN
dian fighter he stands pre-emiuent. Civil
lied life. such as is generally known by
that term, had no charm for him, yet
his whole life was devoted to blazing
the way for civilization. For more than
forty years he ranged over that vast
territory west of the Missouri, much Of
which in his time was an uncharted
wilderness ~ of prairie. mountain and
desert Upon his rife alone he depend
ed for food. From the day when, as
youth. he went on his first expedition
until the day his eventful life ended Inc
number of times he slept beneath the
roof of a house was few, indeed, ana
sometimes his journeyings took him so
far from the established homes IF white
people that he did not see a white wom-
an for years. For nearly half a century
he never closed his eyes at night cN-
cent after taking precautions against
attack or surprise. Two pistols were py
his side and his rifle was under his arm.
He probably had more battles with in
dams and more escapes from deaJh IMAM
any frOntiersman the country mas
known. and his adventures would sup
pfv a Fenimorc Cooper with ample ma
terial for a full Leather Stocking series,
vet he was as unlike the typical trOh-
tiersman as night is from the day.
There was no suggestion of the bravo
about Kit Carson He was as mild man
nered and as unasSuming as a woman,
and his voice was soft and gentle. Those
who knew his fame and met him for
the first time wondered if this slender,
quiet man could be the redoubtable In
dian fighter He spoke but little and
seemed most of the time to be IN re
Elective mood. but he never relaxed his
vigilance. Although perhaps no ether
man ever killed so many Indians as did
Carson. he had no love for slaughter,
He simply did it i'm the course # MS
work and i'm what he considered 10 be
his duty. He had no false notions about
the Indians, and although he made his
name a terror to them from Chihuahua
on the south to the Canadian line on
the north. and from the Kdw on the
east to the Sacramento on the west, he
had their respect, too, and later in his
life he became one of their best CUun-
sellers and friends.
A Man Who Never swore.
one of the queer things about Carson
is that although he lived throughout his
whole life among men who were wild
and untamed, many of whom were fugi-
tfves from the states and to whom lib
erly meant license he always remained
pure-minded and modest. Once, when
he was less than 20 years old, he drank
to excess and got involved in a brawl
but he never drank liquor again, and it
is said that he never uttered a prOfane
word. Ana. although he was unlettcTed
he was a deep student in mis- own prim-
five way. He studied animals, ba stu
died nature and he studied men. There
was hardly stream in all The west
that he did not know in all its impOr-
taHt crooks and turns.
There was hardly a pass I'm the
Rockies or the Sierra Nevadas that he
was not familiar with. There was hard
" a trail across the Saharan deserts If
New Mexico. Arizona, Neveda and Utah
that he did not know better than the
Indians themselves. There was hardly
a member of the animal kingdom in
North America Of which he did not
know the traits. He had a marvellous
aptitude for comprehending nature in
its manifold forms. As for the Indian
Carson knew him far better than the
Indian knew himself. He spoke dozen
or more Indian dialects. in addition to
speaking Spanish and French, and no
Indian could match him in discovering
signs of an enemy's approach. His rest
less eyes We're ever watching the ground
for signs Of Indian mOccasin prints or
horses hOOfs on the hills or forests for
some movement that would indicate
danger. Many times he surprised In
dams. Never but once did Indians sur
prise him. Like nearly all frontiersmen
he was a marksman of the first grade
hut his supreme qualification in the eyes
Of the men of the west was his ability
to cope with any situation, whether it
was i'm plotting an army across the con-
tinent. conveying a merchant train
through 1900 miles of Indian country
OF Just crushing a border desperate.
Wanted Elbow Room.
Carson was BORN in what now is Mad
ison county. Kentucky, December "a,
1909 Kit is an Authorization Of Chris
tophet His father and mother were Of
no particular strength Of character. the
father being content to make bare liv
ing as a backswoods harnessmaker. and
, the mother having no ideas beyond the
\ common daily routine OF household
work. But the father loved solitude,
and when Kit was a year old the family
moved to what now is Howard county
Missouri. The elder Carson would not