The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1912-04-12

T. hardships and the dan
" gers, The sham per
- So ished in the desert
but the genuine march
I'd the trail unhurt. The story Of the
rail is the story OF great frontiers
men. There were giants in those
lays. Strong men and weaklings were
attracted by the pot Of gold which
he rainbow stories of the trail To-
iated in Santa Re. the end Of the trail,
where the rainbow touched the ground.
The weaklings fell by the weary way
Iide or fed back to the silken com
lorts Of civilization. The strong stay
ID. Courage was a characteristic.
Fear was foreign to the frontiersmen'
They knew how TO fight, TO fight at
close range, and to fight hard. They
did not know much about books, but
they knew of men and the open sky
and the trail. They lived out OF
doors. They were honest Hide my
gold?" said one old-timer talking over
bis yesterdays, 81 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 go 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. 85 years old. 81 certainly
would go again If the railroad had
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 a statue to Carson In
that bustling 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 agred with Mayor Taylor
Exit Carson was not an extraordinary
man." said Capt. Smith H. Simpson Of
Taos. There were many others who
were better and older Indian fighters
1t was Gen. John c. Fremont's re-
ports that made Kit Carsons reputa-
tion"
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 a lad At Pawnee |
Rock he had his first fight with the |
Indians. At various posts on the trail |
he was stationed as Indian agent. He |
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 a Santa Fe Cara
van. From that time until his death
on the Arkansas river in 1853 the San
Ia Fe trail was his home Many stor-
les are told of Carson, some of which
are doubtless apocryphal, but all IL
ustrate the character. At Great Bend,
IN the Arkansas river, he amputated
4 mans arm to save his life, using as
Instruments all that were available, a
'azor, saw and the king bolt of
wagon. At Bent's Fort he was the
thief hunter for eight years, provid-
ng game for food for the 40 men in
he fort He was on intimate terms
With the Indians, who admired, re-
pected and feared him He could
make peace as well as war. "The
Sioux, one of the most numerous and
Varlike tribes" relates Mayor Tay-
or, had encroached upon the hunt t
ng grounds of the southern Indians. {
md the latter had many a skirmish
With them on the banks of the Arkan- !
as river along the trail Carson, who q
vas in the upper valley of the river. /
vas sent for to come down to help v
hem drive the obnoxious Sioux back t
D their own stamping ground. He (
eft Fort Bend and went with the y
arty of Comanche messengers to the O
lain camp Of that tribe and the c
-rapahoes, with whom they had e
nited. Upon his arrival he was told Il
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