The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1910-10-07

4 0iaho hCDl AnC hteAC u3@AAa LIS 49,
three whole days. the mules for As
hours being shut in the corral with
out food or water. At midnight OF
the second day Col. st. Vrain or
dered the men to hitch up and at
tempt to drive on to the crossing
known as Pawnee Fork, IL miles from
the Rock, and which is now within
the corporate limits of the town OF
I Larned, Kansas They succeeded in
making their way to the river, fight
ing every foot of the way.
Before making the crossing 1t was
necessary to charge the redskins. Col
ST. Vrain and young Kit Carson led
the charge. II was a desperate at
tack. Six of the trappers We're kill
ed, but the Indians were routed and
the expedition was allowed to go on
its way without further molestation
on the part of the Pawnees.
That charge at Pawnee Rock mad
Kit Carson's reputation on the from
tier. and thereafter he had no diff
Guilty in getting employment as trap
per, hunter or scout. In 1929 he was
engaged by the Rocky Mountain Fur
Co., and in that service trapped
along the rivers of Nebraska, Wyo-
ming, Montana, Idaho, Washington,
Oregon, Utah and Colorado, fighting
Blackfeet, Crows, Sioux and Utes
and coming iato companionship with
such famous frontiersmen as Jim
Beckworth. Jim Bridgsr, the Sublettes,
Fontenelle and Lucien B. Maxwell.
He and Maxwell became boon COM
panions and lifelong friends.
In 1882 Carson was employed by
William Bent to do the hunting for
the garrison at Bent's Fort on the
Arkansas, $50 miles west of Fort
Leavenworth. This historic establish
ment was built in 1926. The exterior
walls were laid in the form of a
parallelogram, and We're Is feet high
and four feet thick. The fort was 135
feet wide. and on two of the corners
Were hexagonal bastions in which
were mounted cannon. The wall of
the building served as walls of the
rooms, all of which faced inwards on
a Y1a1 he ~anaral gfx-Ia .Nf
architecture in the Southwest The
roofs of the rooms were made of poles
on which was spread a heavy layer
of dirt. The walls were loopholed
for defense, and the entrance TO
the plaza was guarded by heavy log
gates. The occupants of this frontier
establishment were traders, trapers,
hunters, Indians and French Cana
dians-many of the latter having IN
dian wives.
For eight years Kit Carson lived
among the motley denizens of Bent's
Fort, his duty to provide meat for
the garrison of two-score hungry
men. with such guests as the Santa
Fe trail and the eXigencies of IN
dian warfare cast into the improv-
led structure almost 5000 feet above
the level of the sea.
So well did Carson perform this
duty that it was with regret that Col.
Bent permitted him to leave his
employ in 1910. In that year Kit or
ganized party Of trapers to work
along the Yellowstone and its many
tributaries. There was more or less
desultory fighting with the Blackfeet
during the winter, eliminating in a
desperate and bloody battle when the
trappers broke camp in the spring.
The Indians outnumbered the white
men twenty to one, but Carson ex-
hibited such superb daring and gener-
alship that the indians were routed
after a heavy loss.
During the engagement the horse
VI OHe vi luS bItppSIS was hllicu
and fell with its whole weight on its
rider. A dozen warriors rushed for
ward to scalp the unfortunate man.
Carson galloped to his assistance,
jumped from his horse, stood in front
of his fallen comrade and, single-hand
ed. fought the Indians until his men
came to his assistance. In that fight
over the body of his comrade he
killed four warriors with his own
hand
After the winter in the Yellowstone
and another season of tramping along
the tributaries of the Platte, Carson
entered the service of the Govern
ment. in which he remained, with
one or two short Interruptions, I'M
til the day of his death. On May %,
1912, Lieut.. John c. Fremont OF the
United States Corps of Army Engi-
neers arrived in St Louis in pursu-
ance of orders from the War Depart
ment, to command an exploring ex-