The chronicle=news., 1913-05-30
CHRISTOPHER CARSON

BY George l.. Knapp.
No name Is more thoroughly Idcn-
Titled with the early history OF the
western half OF the United States
than the name Of HI, Carson The
public mind. that great. wobbling.
iormlcss. irresistible thing. which
makes regulations and unmlkc1
characters. has picked on him as III.
hero OF the aEId West: and, as occas-
!ona!'y hupp.ns. tn. public mind In
right. Kit Carson was the child Of
tn" Older West. yet In SOM" sort h"
prepared the way for III. Mes, that
was 10 come. II. was II pioneer when
-. Louis stood on III. .dK. Of u gi-
within year OF III. completion .i
til. Pacific railroad. ~" trapped over
| Ii. nit. of almost every prov lour
metal camp in the Rocky Nouatiin
region. II" ~ss guide To John e.
Fremont. the so-.ali-d Pathfinder
Of ih. Rock!"s.' the bra,cst blund.r
that ever iumhi-h into the hall Of
fame because he hnndn't the wit to
get anywh-r" else. i,"-Car.on. /
from destruction In our war with
Mexico: he carried dispatches for III.
government back and forth through
II country ~ uii Of halr-rai.ing In
'lians aa i;a,arian sursh-r ir of
beer.
Nni, withai. he was pretty fin.
f"'i".. 1h" Islander Of perfect good
hess which has been laid ut HIS dcpr
'R doubtless quit. Indc."ryra. i.u,
at time when the western edge of
American civilization was frinr.a
with cuthroats. beaded with horse
thieves. and s,c-psd Ia tsHgl.root
wh'skcy Xxi; carson WIS sober. hon.
80 ard sisd. ''hs=c term. ar. s..ia.
tive. o' course. There II no record
That caron srirvcd over the suffer
.nss of tho animals he trapped. nor
that he inourn.d when his superior
officer. Young. obtained new and
needed suppl, of horses from the In
dianS ~ sending their pr.yinuA own
"rH 10 the Happy Hunting Grounds.
Hut li least Kit was never below the
moral standard. OF tho commuri,i..
In which h." lived: and usually he
WAS very much aboy" ihrm. And as
for courage. til. world hE- seen few
men who owned u nr.r quality Of
this article than the little. miii-mnn-
n"f"d. biuc-cycd. snub-nos-d man.
who seemed io know ny ciair,oyancr
Just what h"s,il" Indian wouid do.
Kit Carson was born In the back
woods of Kentucky December -.
1903. lie was still u baiy in arms
when his parents moved to- what IL
now Missouri. and Carson IL often
rcckoncd n native Of that state. lie
was brought up after the fashion of
frontier boys of that day: thoroughly
educated in handling riff. and find
Ing game. though unable to read and
write. He WAS apprrnticsd to sad
dlcr and worked at the trade cou-
pie OF years. and then. when some
thing short of I. years Of age. broke
away and Joined a party bound for
Santa Fc. New MEXICO. They reached
this. the second oldest town In wha,
is now the United States. some time
in the fall Of 1876. For the next two
years. the lad knocked about New
Mexico. picking np some knowledge
Of the Spanish language. going as far
south as Chihuahua. back mp through
III Paso. west to the ella river. lie
seems to have made Taos his head
quarters during n good par, OF this
timc. There was nothing romantic
nor profitable ab1u, his wanderipgs,
he was alternately cook for one eNpc-
dition. Interpreter for another. and
teamstcr for third; but all the time
he was taking n post graduate course
in the College of the Open: and alb
sorbing. doubtless unintnntionally.
information which would mean life
to him and his comrades later on.
At this time. the Great American
Desert was a firmly established
myth: and the Rocky Mountain fur
trade was the chief commerce of half
a continent. Mostly. this fur trade
was carried on by pncn in the employ
of the Hudson's Bay company. or men
who had LETT that company to become
Independent traders. \ number. per
haps majority OF them were Cam
adianFrcnch. who usually married
Indian wives and went to and fro in
the country with little opposition
from the native inhabitants. Lack
ing in civilization these men might
be. yet they were certainty not the
unmitigated savaees who were turned
loose on the suffering plains and
mountains when the sweepings of
American border settlements went
West-slightly in advance of the
sheriff. While the old traders were
nlnnc Indian 0Iii "a cns Mcrc nlnnsf