La Junta tribune., 1913-11-15

1 iauhIiH, MO, which Is now
no town at all, was In its
- prime as the starting place
! OF the Santa Fe Trail, there appeared
one October day In 1926 this notice
In the local newspaper, the Intelli-
gencer:
| Notice-To whom II May Con-
4 Germ That Christopher Carson.
4 BOY Of about lS years. small OF his
asr but thick-set,. light hair. ran
4 n"9E rom the subscriber. living
Il soHri to whom he had been bound
4 10 learn the saddicr's trade. on or
Il Iho1l the LIST day OF September last.
/, Wy toward the upper part OF the
N sl"tt All persons are notified not
H 70 hnrhor support or subsist said
II BOY under penalty or the law
II ono cent reward viii be given any
II person who VIII bring back said
H 'oN DAVID WORKMAN.
II And thus the curtain rose upon the
adventurous life of Kit Carson. from
uersman, scout. Indian fighter and
hero OF ten thousand l0-cent novels.
He had run away from the man to
whom he had been apprenticed to
learn the saddler's trade, but though
he ran away from saddling. he spent
= good part OF the rest OF his life In
the saddle.
flrfi he became teamster on the
Santa Fe Trail-and driving a team
on the Santa Fe Trail In 1926 was a
good deal more OF a sporting venture
than team driving anywhere In Amer
lea Is today. II meant hairbreadth
escape, and adventures with Indians
were part OF the days work. And
there we're bad white men who were
quite as dangerous as the Indians
Altogether, II was n promising start
Tor young man who yearned for
adventure Afterward Carson fol
lowed various occupations-all cap
able men were jacks OF all trades In
the West In those early days. IL.
mined copper In New Mexico. He
hunted and trapped and acted as
guido, aud naturally, he fought In
dian. There were plenty OF Indians
In those days to fight. and they roam
ed the plains west OF Kansas City In
undisturbcd possession for the most
Dart There were Cheyennes and
ArapahOes In Kansas, Navajos and
ASasAes In New Mexico. And Kit
Carson knew the wiles and the ways
OF all of them-ways which like
those OF the heather Chince. were
peculiar. and often Irritating. BE-
fore he Was :5 he had rs large and
varied an assortment Of Information
ab0ut the habits and habitats OF the
Western Indians as any man alive.
Al 80 he WAS perhaps the most
widely known man IN the West, and
British naval officer. who Was In
California In the early t0's. reported
that Kit Carson Is as Well known
here ~ tn. Duke OF Wellington is in
Europe"
Y Fremont. the explorer. on his way
Up the Mississippi River In May.
1893. fell In WITH Xii Carson. and in
duccd him To enter the seryic. OF the
United States government. There
I alter this sturdy follower of new
rails fought Indians anc did his ad-
I venturing for Uncle sam.
Fremont described Carson thus:
vas returning from putting his 1T
ue daughter In "a convent school In
~ Louis, ! was pleased with him
and hts manner OF address at this
first meeting. ~. war "a man of
medium height. broad sbouid.red
and deep chcrt.d. with clear,
steady blu. eye and frank speech
and nann.r-qui.t and unarrum-
ing.
Indccd. there was nothing OF the
zwashbuck,!Gg hero OF melodrama
about XII Carsons general bearing
ana manner. A hero he was. and a
hero nj real mclodrama. but like mos,
really big men. he made no fuss and
feathers about H. He was not one to
eater n room t~irlinr his long mus
taches. and shooting theatrical CLAN
ces ~ all and Sundry. All who met
hin were impressed with his quiet
s1mDle courtesy. aud kindlincss. lie
killed Indians. II IL true. but there
wss nothing OF the buckcts-of- blood
style about him.
"One OF my most vivid recoiieo-
tieos Of XII Carson" wrote Major
Rafael Chacon. Of Trinidad. Colo.
. few years ago. was Of one day In
1872 IN Albuquerque when saw him
lytaS on an Indian blanket Ia front
- his quarters, with his children
9loofuliy crawling all over him and
taking from his pockets the candy
~ 1sunps OF sugar h~ had purchAs-
-, for them"
~ Indian agent for the district Of
Now Mexico. he displayed remarkable
l0soslght. wisdom and cicarhsaded-