The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1912-06-01


men, There were giants in those
days. Strong men and weaklings were
attracted by the pot OF gold Which
the rainbow stories OF the trail TO-
Gated in Santa Fe. the end OF the trail.
where the rainbow touched the ground.
The weaklings fell by the weary way
side or fed back to the silken COM
forts of civilization. The strong stay
ed. Courage was a characteristic.
Fear was foreign to the frontiersmen.
They knew how to fight, to tight at
close range, and TO fight hard. lhey
did not know much about books, out
they knew OF men and the open SKY
and the trail They lived out OF
doors. They we're honest. Hide my
gold?" said one oldtimer talking over
his yesterdays. Il never hid my gold.
No thieves travelled in the caravans.
They were hospitable. They would
share the last pipeful Of tobacco. Dan
gerous as was the life the early traV-
elers upo nthe trail necessarily LED.
they found fascination in the very dan
ger. Il would like to 90 again, SAID
Judge John d. Turley, one OF the In
dian fighters of yesterday. rising from
his chair and tapping with his cane
the elm under which we had been
seated. He seemed 80 years young In
stead O: IS years old. Il certainly
would go again II the railroad mad
not taken away the danger and spoiled
the fun"
The most conspicuous figure among
the frontiersmen on the trail was Kit
Carson-"Gen. Carson" as he is spok-
en- Of. almost with reverence, by
Daniel l. Taylor, six times mayor
Of Trinidad, Colo, who has given
$4,000 to erect statue to Carson IN
that busting border town. Kit Car
son lived and died upon the trail and
was there buried. The automobile
travellers, following the old trail. found
reminders of this foremost frontiers
man from Franklin, Mo-, to Taos. N.
M. Ready and willing to talk OF Kit
Carson were the old-timers who had
known him. "Of all the great men on
the TRAIL" said Mayor Taylor. who
knew him intimately for years, Gen.
Carson was the chief" Not all the
old-timers agreed with Mayor Taylor
Kit Carson was not an extraordinary
man." said Capt. Smith H. Simpson OF
Taos. There we're many others who
were better and older Indian fighters
1t was Gen. John C. Fremont's re-
ports that made Kit Carson's reputa-
ton"
1t is not strange that the trail
abounds with stories of Kit Carson
and his adventures. In Howard coun-
ty, Missouri. where the trail really be-
gan, he lived as lad. At Pawnee
Rock he had his first fight with the
Indians. At various posts on the trail
married on the trail. His body, buried
Lyon on the trail. His body, buried
first at Las Animas, on the trail, was
and in a cemetery in this quaint Span
ish town in the mountains now rests.
Kit Carson was part and parcel of the
old trail and much Of the romance Of
the trail is interviewer with his name
He was only II years old when he
left his fathers home in Howard coun-
ty. Missouri, to join Santa Fe Cara
van. From that time until his death
on the Arkansas river in 1868 the San.
ia Fe trail was his home Many stor.
les are told Of Carson, some Of which
are doubtless apocryphal, but all H.
lustrate tho character. At Great Bend,
on the Arkansas river, he amputated
. mans arm to saw. his life, using as
instruments all that were available, q
razor. . saw and the king bolt of q
wagon. At Bent's Fort he was the
chief hunter for eight years, provid-
ing game for food for the 40 men in
the fort. He was on intimate terms
with the Indians, who admired, re-
spected and feared him. He could
make peace a we'll as war. THE
Sioux, one Of the most numerous and
warlike tribes" relates Mayor Tay-
lor. had encroached upon the hunt
ing grounds Of tho southern Indians,
and the latter had many a skirmish
with them on the banks Of the Arkan-
sas river along the trail. Carson, who
was in the upper valley Of the river,
was sent for to come down to help
them drive the obnoxious Sioux back
to their own stamping ground. He
left Fort Bend and went with the
party Of ComancAs messengers to the
HaiA camp Of that tribe and the
A5apaAoss. with whom they had
uASesl. Upon HE arrival hs was toN