The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated | Page 2

at home and on the war path, his
success while following the buffalo and engaging the wild Rocky
Mountain bear, that terror of the western wilderness. He will also
behold him carrying devastation to the homes of the New Mexican

settlers, and freely spilling their best blood to satiate a savage revenge.
He will see him attacking and massacring parties of the white men
traveling across the prairies, and trace him in his savage wars with the
early settlers and frontiersmen.
In order to acquire these important data that they might be added to the
pages of American history and form a reliable record, it was necessary
that some brave, bold and determined man should become an actor on
the scenes and among the races described. Such an actor has been, and
yet is, Christopher Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains; and, it
is the experience, as well as the acts, of his stirring life, which the
following pages present.
In olden times there existed, in the Rocky Mountains, a race familiarly
known by the name of "Trappers and Hunters." They are now almost
extinct. Their history has not yet been written. Pen paintings, drawn
from the imagination, founded upon distant views of their exploits and
adventures, have occasionally served, as do legends, to "adorn a tale."
The volume now offered to the public, gives their history as related by
one whose name as a trapper and hunter of the "Far West," stands
second to none; by a man, who, for fifteen years, saw not the face of a
white woman, or slept under a roof; who, during those long years, with
his rifle alone, killed over two thousand buffalo, between four and five
thousand deer, antelope and elk, besides wild game, such as bears, wild
turkeys, prairie chickens, etc., etc. in numbers beyond calculation. On
account of their originality, daring and interest, the real facts,
concerning this race of trappers and hunters, will be handed down to
posterity as matters belonging to history.
As is the case with the Indian, the race of the "Simon Pure Trapper" is
nearly run. The advance of civilization, keeping up its untiring march
to the westward, is daily encroaching upon their wild haunts and
bringing the day close at hand when warrior and trapper will depart
forever to their "Happy Hunting Grounds."
With the extinction of the great fur companies, the trappers of "Olden
Time" disbanded and separated.

The greatest number of these men, to be found at the present day, reside
in the Territory of New Mexico; which, in the time of their prosperity,
was the country where they located their head quarters. In this Territory,
Christopher Carson now resides. His name, in the Rocky Mountains,
has been familiarly known for more than a quarter of a century; and,
from its association with the names of great explorers and military men,
is now spread throughout the civilized world. It has been generally
conceded, and the concession has become strengthened by time, that no
small share of the benefits derived from these explorations and
campaigns, as well as the safety of the commands themselves, was and
is due to the sagacity, skill, experience, advice and labor of Christopher
Carson. The exploring parties, and expeditions here referred to, are
those which he accompanied in the capacity of chief guide and adviser.
His sober habits, strict honor, and great regard for truth, have endeared
him to all who can call him friend; and, among such may be
enumerated names belonging to some of the most distinguished men
whose deeds are recorded on the pages of American history. His past
life has been a mystery which this book will unveil. Instead of Kit
Carson as by imagination--a bold braggart and reckless, improvident
hero of the rifle--he will appear a retired man, and one who is very
reserved in his intercourse with others. This fact, alone, will account for
the difficulty which has hitherto attended presenting the public with an
accurate history of his life.
A few years since, the writer of this work first met Christopher Carson.
It needed neither a second introduction, nor the assistance of a friendly
panegyric, to enable him to discover in Christopher Carson those traits
of manhood, which are esteemed by the great and good to be
distinguishing ornaments of character. This acquaintance ripened into a
friendship of the purest stamp. Since then, the writer has been the
intimate friend and, companion of Christopher Carson, at his home, in
the wild scenes of the chase, on the war trail, and upon the field of
battle. For a long period, in common with hundreds--and, we might
with truth add, thousands, the writer has desired to see Christopher
Carson's wonderful career made public for the world of readers; but,
while this idea was germinating