The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated | Page 6

Family put to the test--Cowardice of a
Mexican--Kit Carson's Friends as they look upon him--His influence
over Indians--General remarks--Conclusion, 466

LIFE OF KIT CARSON.

CHAPTER I.
Carson's Birthplace--His Emigration to Missouri--Early Prospects--Is
an Apprentice--Stories of the Rocky Mountains--He Enlists to go
there--Adventures on the Prairies--Broaders is Wounded--Carson's
Nerve put to the Test--Rude Amputation--Safe Arrival at Santa
Fé--Goes to Taos and learns the Spanish Language--Early
Vicissitudes--Disappointment and Attempt to return to Missouri--Is
employed as an Interpreter, Teamster, etc.
It is now a well-established fact, that no State in the American Union
has given birth to so many distinguished pioneers and explorers of its
boundless Territories, as the commonwealth of Kentucky. An Author,
whose task is to tell of a Hero, his bravery, endurance, privations,
integrity, self-denial and deeds of daring, carries the morale with which
to gain at once for these characteristics the assent of the reader, by the
simple assertion, "My Hero was born a Kentuckian." Indeed, in
America, to be a native of the State of Kentucky, is to inherit all the
attributes of a brave man, a safe counsellor and a true friend. It is, at
least, certain that this State, whether the fact is due to its inland and
salubrious climate, or to its habits of physical training, has added many
a Hero unto humanity.
Christopher Carson, by his countrymen familiarly called "Kit Carson,"
was born in the County of Madison, State of Kentucky, on the 24th day
of December, 1809. The Carson family were among the first settlers of
Kentucky, and became owners of fine farms. Besides being an
industrious and skillful farmer, the father of Kit Carson was a
celebrated hunter. When the Indians of Kentucky became quieted down,
putting an end to the calls upon his courage and skill as a woodsman,
he settled into a simple, respectable farmer. This monotonous life did
not suit his disposition; and, as the tide of emigration into the wilds of
Missouri was then commencing, where both game and the red man still
roamed, he resolved to migrate in that direction. It was only one year
after the birth of his son Christopher, that Mr. Carson sold his estate in
Kentucky and established himself, with his large family, in that part of
the State of Missouri now known as Howard County. At this time

Howard County, Missouri, was a wilderness, on the remote American
frontier. At his new home, the father was in his element. His reputation
of carrying an unerring rifle and always enacting the deeds of a brave
man, was not long in following him into this wilderness. Mr. Carson's
only assistant, on his first arrival in Howard County, was his eldest son,
Moses Carson, who was afterwards settled in the State of California,
where he resided twenty-five years before the great California gold
discovery was made.
For two or three years after arriving at their new home, the Carson
family, with a few neighbors, lived in a picketed log fort; and when
they were engaged in agricultural pursuits, working their farms, and so
forth, it was necessary to plough, sow and reap under guard, men being
stationed at the sides and extremities of their fields to prevent the
working party from being surprised and massacred by wild and hostile
savages who infested the country. At this time the small pox, that
disease which has proved such a terrible scourge to the Indian, had but
seldom visited him.[1]
[Footnote 1: This disease has probably been the worst enemy with
which the red man of America has had to contend. By terrible
experience he has become familiarized with its ravages, and has
resorted to the most desperate remedies for its cure. Among many
tribes, the afflicted are obliged to form camps by themselves; and, thus
left alone, they die by scores. One of their favorite remedies, when the
scourge first makes its appearance, is to plunge into the nearest river,
by which they think to purify themselves. This course, however, in
reality, tends to shorten their existence. When the small pox rages
among the Aborigines, a most unenviable position is held by their
"Medicine Man." He is obliged to give a strict account of himself; and,
if so unfortunate as to lose a chief, or other great personage, is sure to
pay the penalty by parting with his own life. The duties of the
"Medicine Man" among the Indians are so mixed up with witchcraft
and jugglery, so filled with the pretence of savage quackery, so
completely rude and unfounded as to principle, that it is impossible to
define the practice for any useful end. About five years since, a young
gentleman of scientific habits, who was attached to an exploring party,

accidentally became separated from his companions. In his wanderings,
he fell in with a band of hostile