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

charm for him, yet his whole life was
devoted 10 blazing the way for civil
zation. 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 depended for food. From the
day when as youth lie went on his
first expedition until the day his eventful
life ended. the number of times he slept
beneath the roof of a house was few
indeed. and sometimes his journeyings
took him far from the established
homes of white people that he did not
see q white woman for years For
nearly half century he never closed
his eyes at night, except after taking
precautions against attack or surprise.
Two pistols We're by his side and his
rifie was under his arm. He probably
had more battles with Indians and more
escapes from death than any frontiers
man the country has known. and his adj
ventures would supply Fenimore Coop
or with ample material for full Leather
Stocking series, yet he was as unlike
the typical frontiersman night is from
the day.
There was no suggestion of the bravo
about Kit Carson. He was as mild man.
nered and as unaSSuming 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 Indian
fighter. He spoke but little. and seemed
most of the time to he in a reflective
mood, but he never relaxed his vigilance.
Although perhaps no other man ever
killed so many Indians as did Carson. he
had no love for slaughter. He simply
did II In the course of his work and in
what he considered to be his duty. He
had no false notions about the Indians
and, although he made his name terror
n 'tNt .lo,,sa
the Canadian line on the north, and from
the kaw, on the east. to the Sacrament
to. on the west. he had their respect too
and later in his life lie became one of
their best counselorS and friends.
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 fugitives
from the states and to whom liberty
meant license. he always remained pure
minded and modest. Once when he was
less than twenty years old, he drank to
excess and got involved in a brawr but
he never drank liquor again, and il Is
sad that he never uttered profane word.
And, although he was unlettered, lie was
deep student in his own primitive way
He studied animals, he studied nature
and he studied men. There was hardly
know in all its important crooks and
turns.
There was hardly pass in the Rockies
or the Sierra Nevadas that he was not IA
miliar with. There was hardly trail
across the Saharan deserts of New Mex
ico. Arizona. Nevada 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 compre-
hending nature in its manifold forms As
for the Indian, Carson knew him far bet
ter than the Indian knew himself. He
spoke dozen more Indian dialects in
addition 10 speaking Spanish and French.
and no Indian could match him in discov-
ering signs of an eneniy's approach. His
restless eyes We're ever watching the
ground for signs OF Indian moccasin prints
or horses hoofs on the hills forest for
some movement that would indicate dan
ger Many times he surprised Indians.
Never but once did Indians surprise him.
Like nearly all frontiersmen, he was a
markSman of the first grade. but his
preme qualification in the eyes of the
men of the west was his ability TO cope
with any situation, whether it was In