Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-15

touNoS a l1leTclldlt Train jilIoUsH -tpl
miles of Indian country or Just crushing a
border desperate.
Carson was born in what now is Madi-
son county, Kentucky, December "a. 1909.
Kit is an abbrevation of Christopher
His father and mother were of no par
ticular strength of character the father
being content to make a bare living as
a backWoods harnessmaker and the
mother having no ideas beyond the COM
mon daily routine of household work But
the father loved solitude. and when Kit
was year old the family. moved to
what now is Howard county, Missouri.
The elder Carson would not stay I'm Ken
lucky. 1t was getting too crowded for
him. \ settler had come in and built a
cabin a mile from the Carson log cabin.
There was another settler six miles away
Carson wanted elbow room, and expected
to have il beyond the Mississippi.
1t was the intention to make a harness
maker out of Kit, and when the boy had
grown up bit he had to assist the
father Most of the work that came to
the shop was from men who had Travelled
over the old Santa Fe trail. These men
told wonderful stories of the wild west.
A trip from st. Louis to Santa Fe in
those days was one of great peril. once
or twice year big wagon trains. guarded
by nearly a hundred armed men, came
through without molestation, but bands
of Indians swept down upon the smaller
caravans, occas ionaly, capturing, tortur-
ing and numbering men, women and
children and making off with such rich
plumber as fell into their hands. 1t was
a rare thing for caravan to get through
without some loss. and the tactics en-
ployed by the Indians kept the travellers
in terror day and night.
While the boy sat working with his
father he listened to the stories Of the
men with rapt attention and dreamed of
the day when he would be big enough to
go out and play part In the great
drama OF the west. He had no desire
to go to a city II he had any desire
for education it is not known. At any
rate. he did not get any out of books.
But he did study woodcraft and he
studied the heavens. Before he was four
teen years old he was an excellent hunt
er. When he was sixteen he Joined
party of dozen traders who were bound
for Santa Fe, and then his career in the
west began. Another party which he had
intended joining had plenty of action
before the caravan was far on Its way.
One day a band of several hundred IN
dams came sweeping over the treeless
prairie and surrounded the party. The
Indians had only bows and arrows and
spears, but they were calamity mounted
The traders prepared for defense by using
their horses and mules as barricades.
For thirty-six hours the Indians kept
up some sort of attack, sending in oc-
casional showers of arrows and creeping
through the grass as close up as they
could with safety to get at the imprison-
ed men. They had a wholesome respect
for the rifles of the traders and did
not care to risk a charge They were
content to wait. Hunger thirst and
despair would bring victory And then
would come torture for the captured and
finally the scalping. The second might
of the attack the position of the traders
was desperate, indeed All the horses
traders had been killed and another
wounded. But they held their position
that night and all the next day. At mid
night of the third night they sought es-
cape in the only way possible. That
was by creeping over the prairie and
was with them and they were not dis
covered. but only ten remained of the
party, and one of the ten was wounded.
They were afoot. and the Indians might
have captured them, but the savages
after the long siege. were content with
tine plumber they obtained in the traders
stocks. Over the painless prairie the
white men fled night and day. ever fear
full of encountering Indians. The wound
ed man had to be abandoned. Then the
remaining members disagreed as to the
route to traverse. and they split into
five. The five fell into the hands of a
band of Creeks. OF the other four only
two survived. Had Kit Carson joined
this unfortunate band of traders instead
of the one he did the west probably
never would have known him, but the
caravan in which he Travelled was not
attacked
One of his experiences on this trip.