Books: The Life of Kit Carson
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Edward S. Ellis >> The Life of Kit Carson
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14 This etext was produced by Martin Robb (MartinRobb@ieee.org)
THE LIFE OF KIT CARSON,
Hunter, Trapper, Guide, Indian Agent and Colonel U.S.A.
by Edward S. Ellis.
INTRODUCTION
Christopher Carson, or as he was familiarly called, Kit Carson,
was a man whose real worth was understood only by those with whom
he was associated or who closely studied his character. He was
more than hunter, trapper, guide, Indian agent and Colonel in the
United States Army. He possessed in a marked degree those mental
and moral qualities which would have made him prominent in whatever
pursuit or profession he engaged.
His lot was cast on the extreme western frontier, where, when but
a youth, he earned the respect of the tough and frequently lawless
men with whom he came in contact. Integrity, bravery, loyalty to
friends, marvelous quickness in making right decisions, in crisis
of danger, consummate knowledge of woodcraft, a leadership as
skilful as it was daring; all these were distinguishing traits in
the composition of Carson and were the foundations of the broader
fame which he acquired as the friend and invaluable counselor
of Fremont, the Pathfinder, in his expeditions across the Rocky
Mountains.
Father Kit, as he came to be known among the Indians, risked his
life scores of times for those who needed, but had no special claim
upon his services. The red men were quick to learn that he always
spoke with a "single tongue," and that he was their unselfish
friend. He went among his hostiles when no one of his race dare
follow him; he averted more than one outbreak; he secured that which
is impossible to secure -- justice for the Indian -- and his work
from the time when a mere boy he left his native Kentucky, was always
well done. His memory will forever remain fragrant with those who
appreciate true manhood and an unswerving devotion to the good of
those among whom he lived and died.
CHAPTER I.
Kit Carson's Youth -- His Visit to New Mexico -- Acts as Interpreter
and in Various Other Employments -- Joins a Party of Trappers and
Engages in a Fight with Indians -- Visits the Sacramento Valley.
"Kit Carson," the most famous hunter, scout and guide ever known in
this country, was a native of Kentucky, the scene of the principal
exploits of Daniel Boone, Simon Kenton, the Wetzel brothers and
other heroic pioneers whose names are identified with the history
of the settlement of the West.
Christopher Carson was born in Madison county, December 24, 1809,
and, while he was still an infant, his father removed to Central
Missouri, which at that day was known as Upper Louisiana. It was
an immense wilderness, sparsely settled and abounding with wild
animals and treacherous Indians. The father of Carson, like most of
the early pioneers, divided his time between cultivating the land
and hunting the game in the forests. His house was made strong
and was pierced with loopholes, so as to serve him in his defence
against the red men that were likely to attack him and his family
at any hour of the day or night. In such a school was trained the
wonderful scout, hunter and guide.
No advantages in the way of a common school education were within
reach of the youth situated as was Kit Carson. It is to be believed,
however, that under the tutelage of his father and mother, he
picked up a fair knowledge of the rudimentary branches, for his
attainments in that respect were above the majority of those with
whom he was associated in after life.
While a mere stripling, Kit became known as one of the most skilful
rifle shots in that section of Missouri which produced some of the
finest marksmen in the world. It was inevitable that he should form
a passion for the woods, in which, like the great Boone, he would
have been happy to wander for days and weeks at a time.
When fifteen years old, he was apprenticed to a saddler, where he
stayed two years. At the end of that time, however, the confinement
had become so irksome that he could stand it no longer. He left
the shop and joined a company of traders, preparing to start for
Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, one of the most interesting
towns in the southwest. The majority of its population are of
Spanish and Mexican origin and speak Spanish. It is the centre of
supplies for the surrounding country, and is often a scene of great
activity. It stands on a plateau, more than a mile above the sea
level, with another snow capped mountain rising a mile higher. The
climate is delightful and the supply of water from the springs and
mountains is of the finest quality.
Santa Fe, when first visited by the Spaniards in 1542, was a
populous Indian pueblo. It has been the capital of New Mexico for
nearly two hundred and fifty years. The houses of the ancient town
are made of adobe, one story high, and the streets are unpaved,
narrow, crooked and ill looking. The inhabitants are of a low order,
scarcely entitled to be ranked above the half civilized, though
of late years the infusion of western life and rugged civilization
has given an impetus and character to the place for which, through
three centuries, it waited in vain.
The company to which young Kit Carson attached himself, was strongly
armed and it made the perilous journey, across rivers, mountains and
prairies, through a country infested with fierce Indians, without
the loss of one of their number. This immunity was due to their
vigilance and knowledge of the ways of the hostiles who, it may
be said, were on all sides, from the beginning to the end of their
journey.
After reaching Santa Fe, Carson left the party and went to Taos,
a small station to the north of Santa Fe. There he stayed through
the winter of 1826-27, at the home of a veteran pioneer, from whom
he gained not only a valuable knowledge of the country and its
people, but became familiar with the Spanish language -- an attainment
which proved invaluable to him in after years. In the spring, he
joined a party which set out for Missouri, but before reaching its
destination, another company of traders were met on their way to
Santa Fe. Young Carson joined them, and some days later was back
again in the quaint old capital of New Mexico.
The youth's engagement ended with his arrival in the town, but
there was nothing indolent in the nature of Carson, who immediately
engaged himself as teamster to a company about to start to El
Paso, on the Rio Grande, near the frontier of New Mexico. He did
not stay long before drifting back to Santa Fe, and finally to Taos,
where he hired out as a cook during the following winter, but had
not wrought long, when a wealthy trader, learning how well Carson
understood the Spanish language, engaged him as interpreter.
This duty compelled the youth to make another long journey to El
Paso and Chihuahua, the latter being the capital of the province
of the same name, and another of those ancient towns whose history
forms one of the most interesting features of the country. It was
founded in 1691 and a quarter of a century later, when the adjoining
silver mines were in full operation, had a population of 70,000,
though today it has scarcely a fifth of that number.
The position of interpreter was more dignified than any yet held
by Carson, and it was at his command, as long as he chose to hold
it; but to one of his restless nature it soon grew monotonous and
he threw it up, making his way once more to Taos. The employment
most congenial to Carson's nature, and the one which he had been
seeking ever since he left home, was that of hunter and trapper.
The scarred veterans whom he met in the frontier and frontier
posts gave him many accounts of their trapping experiences among
the mountains and in the gloomy fastnesses where, while they hunted
the bear, deer, beaver and other animals, the wild Indian hunted
them.
Carson had been in Taos a short time only when he gained the
opportunity for which he was searching. A party of trappers in
the employ of Kit's old friend had just come to Taos, having been
driven from their trapping grounds by the Indians. The employer
set about raising a party strong enough to return to the trapping
grounds, chastise the hostiles and resume business. Knowing the
skill and bravery of the young Kentuckian, the gentleman made him
an offer to join the party and Kit eagerly accepted it.
The Mexicans have never been particularly friendly toward their
neighbors north of the Rio Grande, and at that time a very strict law
was in force which forbade the issuance of any license to American
citizens to trap within Mexican territory. The company which
mounted their horses and rode out of Taos gave the authorities to
understand that their errand was simply to chastise the red men,
whereas their real purpose was to engage in trapping. With a view
of misleading the officers, they took a roundabout route which
delayed their arrival in the section. Nevertheless, the hunters
were desirous of punishing the Indians who had taken such liberties
with the small party that preceded them. On one of the tributaries
of the Gila, the trappers came upon the identical band whom they
attacked with such fierceness that more than a dozen were killed
and the rest put to flight. The fight was a desperate one, but
young as Carson was, he acquitted himself in a manner which won
the warmest praise of those with him. He was unquestionably daring,
skilful and sagacious, and was certain, if his life was spared, to
become one of the most valuable members of the party.
Having driven the savages away, the Americans began or rather
resumed their regular business of trapping. The beavers were so
abundant that they met with great success. When the rodents seemed
to diminish in number, the hunters shifted their quarters, pursuing
their profession along the numerous streams until it was decided
to divide into two parties, one of which returned to New Mexico,
while the other pushed on toward the Sacramento Valley in California.
Carson accompanied the latter, entering the region at that early day
when no white man dreamed of the vast wealth of gold and precious
metals which so crowded her soil and river beds that the wonder
is the gleaming particles had not been detected many years before;
but, as the reader knows, they lay quietly at rest until that
eventful day in 1848, when the secret was revealed by Captain
Sutter's raceway and the frantic multitudes flocked thither from
the four quarters of the earth.
CHAPTER II.
California -- Sufferings of the Hunters -- The Mission of San
Gabriel -- The Hudson Bay Trappers -- Characteristics of Carson
-- He Leads the Party which Captures an Indian Village and Secures
some Criminals.
California, one of the most magnificent regions of the earth, with
its amazing mineral wealth, its rich soil and "glorious climate,"
has its belts of sterility and desolation, where the bones of many
a traveller and animal lie bleaching in the sun, just as they fell
years ago, when the wretched victim sank down and perished for want
of food and water.
The hunting party to which Carson was attached numbered eighteen, and
they entered one of those forbidding wastes, where they suffered
intensely. All their skill in the use of the rifle was of no
avail, when there was no game to shoot and it was not long before
they were forced to live on horse flesh to escape starvation. This,
however, was not so trying as might be supposed, provided it did
not last until the entire party were dismounted.
Fortunately, in their straits, they encountered a party of Mohave
Indians, who sold them enough food to remove all danger. These
Indians form a part of the Yuma nation of the Pima family, and now
make their home on the Mohave and Colorado rivers in Arizona. They
are tall, well formed, warlike and industrious cultivators of the
soil. Had they chosen to attack the hunters, it would have gone ill
with the whites, but the latter showed commendable prudence which
might have served as a model to the hundreds who came after them,
when they gained the good will of the red men.
Extricating themselves from the dangerous stretch of country, the
trappers turned westward until they reached the mission of San
Gabriel, one of those extensive establishments formed by the Roman
Catholic clergy a hundred years ago. There were over a score, San
Diego being the oldest. Each mission had its priests, a few Spanish
or Mexican soldiers, and scores, hundreds and sometimes thousands
of Indian converts who received a scant support and some religious
instruction.
The Mission of San Gabriel was by no means the largest in
California, and yet at the time of Carson's visit it owned 70,000
head of cattle, 200 horses, 3,000 mares, hundreds of mules, oxen
and sheep, while the vineyards produced 600 barrels of wine every
year.
Those old sovereigns of the soil dispensed hospitality without
stint to all who knocked at their gates. When the trappers caught
sight of the Mission, as they rode out from the wilderness, they
knew what awaited them in the way of entertainment. They were
treated right royally, but remained only one day.
Not far away they reached another Mission of less extent than the
former, but, without halt, they pressed steadily forward toward the
Sacramento River. The character of the section changed altogether.
It was exceedingly fertile and game was so abundant that they feasted
to their heart's content. When fully rested, they proceeded to the
San Joaquin river down which they began trapping.
While thus employed, they were surprised to discover signs of
another trapping party near them. They wondered where they came
from and it did not take them long to learn that their neighbors
were a company of trappers belonging to the Hudson Bay Company
-- that enormous corporation, founded two centuries before, whose
agents and employees tramp over British America, far to the northward
of the frozen circle, and until a recent date hunted through Oregon.
The two parties were rivals in business, but they showed excellent
sense by meeting on good terms and treating each other as friends.
They trapped near each other until they came to the Sacramento once
more, when they parted company. The Hudson Bay trappers started
for the Columbia River, while the one to which Carson was attached
went into camp where they were for the rest of the summer. With
the approach of warm weather the trapping season ended and they
devoted themselves to hunting and making ready for cold weather.
It will be borne in mind that Kit Carson was still a youth, not
having reached his majority. He was of short, compact stature, no
more than five feet, six inches tall, with light brown hair, gray
eyes, large head, high forehead, broad shoulders, full chest,
strong and possessing remarkable activity. Even at that early age,
he had impressed the veteran hunters and trappers around him as
one possessing such remarkable abilities, that, if his life was
spared, he was certain to become a man of mark. If we should attempt
to specify the particular excellencies in which he surpassed those
around him, it would be said that while Carson was one of the most
fearless men who lived, yet he possessed splendid judgment. He
seemed to know instinctively what could be accomplished by himself
and friends in positions of extreme peril, and he saw on the moment
precisely how to do that which often was impossible to others.
His knowledge of woodcraft and the peculiarities of the savage
tribes around him was as perfect as it could be. He was a matchless
hunter, and no man could handle a rifle with greater skill. The
wilderness, the mountains, the Indians, the wild animals -- these
constituted the sphere in which nature intended Kit Carson should
move and serve his fellow men as no one before or after him has
done.
Added to these extraordinary qualifications, was the crowning
one of all -- modesty. Alas, how often transcendent merit is made
repelling by overweening conceit. Kit Carson would have given his
life before he would have travelled through the eastern cities, with
his long hair dangling about his shoulders, his clothing bristling
with pistols and knives, while he strutted on the mimic stage as
a representative of the untamed civilization of the great west.
Carson was a superior hunter when a boy in Missouri, and the
experience gained among the experienced hunters and trappers, soon
caused him to become noted by those who had fought red men, trapped
beaver and shot grizzly bears before he was born. And yet it could
not have been that alone: it must have been his superior mental
capacity which caused those heroes of a hundred perils to turn
instinctively to him for counsel and guidance in situations of extreme
peril. Among them all was no one with such masterful resources in
that respect as he.
While the trappers were encamped at this place, a messenger visited
them from the Mission of San Rafael, with a request that they would
help chastise a party of Indians, who, after committing some outrages
at the Mission, had fled to an Indian village. When a demand was
made for the surrender of the refugees, the villagers not only
refused to give them up, but attacked the party and drove them
off. Appreciating the importance of upholding their authority, the
priests sent to the trappers for assistance in bringing the guilty
ones and their friends to terms.
As soon as the request was made known, Carson and eleven of his
companions volunteered to help their visitors. Thus reinforced,
the company from the Mission set out again for the Indian village.
Nothing can attest more strongly the skill and bravery of Kit Carson,
than the fact that he was at once selected to lead the party on
its dangerous errand. While he was as modest as a woman and with a
voice as gentle and persuasive, he could not be ignorant of his own
capacities, and he assumed charge without any pretense of unfitness.
It is easy to understand the great care required in this expedition,
for the warriors in the village, having beaten off their assailants,
naturally looked for their return with reinforcements, and, in
order to insure success, it was necessary that the attack should
be a surprise.
Having brought his men quite close to the village unperceived, Kit
gave the signal and the whole company swept through the place like
a cyclone. There were a few minutes of terrific fighting, during
which a score of warriors were killed, and then the entire village
was captured. Carson as the leader of the assailants, demanded
the surrender of the offenders against the Mission. Not daring to
disobey such a summons, they were delivered up to the authorities,
and Carson, seeing nothing more to do for his friends, returned with
his companions to camp and resumed hunting and their preparations
for cold weather.
CHAPTER III.
The Trapper's Life -- Indian Horse Thieves -- Carson's Skilful
Pursuit and Surprise of the Savages -- Arrival at Los Angeles --
Trouble with the Authorities -- A Singular Escape.
The trappers being in the heart of the Indian country, with hostile
on every hand, were cautious in all their movements. When one of the
grizzled hunters in the depths of the wilderness fired his gun at
some deer, antelope or bear, he hastily reloaded his rifle, listening
meanwhile for sounds of the stealthy footprints of his enemy. He
knew not when the treacherous shot would be sent from behind the
rock or clump of bushes, but he had learned long before, that, when
he penetrated the western wilds and followed the calling of trapper,
he took his life in his hands and he was ready to "go under,"
whenever the fate so decreed.
The most flagrant crime on the frontier is horse stealing. He who
shoots one of his fellow men has a chance of escaping punishment
almost as good as that afforded in civilized communities, but if he
steals a horse and is caught, his case is hopeless. It may be said
that the value of the animal to the hunter or trapper is beyond all
calculation, and, inasmuch as the red man is equally appreciative,
Carson always warned his friends to be on the watch against the
dusky thieves. Sentinels were on guard while others slept, but the
very calamity against which they thus sought to protect themselves
overtook them.
One dark night a number of Indians stole by the sentinels and
before their presence was discovered, drove off the major part of
the horses. In the morning, when the alarming truth became known,
the employer of the trappers asked Carson to take twelve of the
men and do his utmost to recover those that were stolen. Carson
assented at once, and, in his quiet, self possessed fashion, collected
his comrades who were speedily in the saddle and galloping along
the trail of the thieves.
It may strike the reader that an offhand statement like the foregoing
relates to a proceeding of no special difficulty or peril. A party
of brave white men were pursuing a company of Indian horse thieves
and the chances of escape and capture were about equal. Thus the
matter presents itself to the ordinary spectator, whereas the truth
was far different.
In the first place, the savages, being as well mounted as their
pursuers, were sure to maintain a swift pace, so long as they
believed any danger threatened. They would keep a keen watch of the
back trail and would be quick to detect the approach of enemies.
If pressed hard, they would act as the Apaches and Comanches do,
when they find the United States troops at their heels -- break up
in so many small parties that it is impossible to follow them.
First of all, therefore, Carson had two achievements before him
-- and the accomplishment of either seemed to render the other
impossible: he must travel at a faster rate than the thieves, and,
at the same time keep them in ignorance of his pursuit. It is on
such occasions that a man's woodcraft and knowledge of the country
serve him so well. Many a time, during the career of Kit Carson,
did he outwit the red men and white criminals, not by galloping
along with his eye upon their footprints, but by reasoning out with
unerring skill, the destination or refuge which the criminals had
in mind. Having settled that all important question, he aimed at
the same point and frequently reached it first. Thus it came about
that often the fugitive, while hurrying along and glancing furtively
behind him, suddenly found himself face to face with his pursuer,
whose acquaintance with the country enabled him to find the shorter
route.
It took Carson only a few minutes to satisfy himself that the
criminals were heading for the Sierra Nevada Mountains, but, inasmuch
as they were following a direct course, he could only take their
trail. Where there were so many animals in flight, it was impossible
to hide their tracks and the thieves made no attempt to do so.
They struck the horses into a sweeping gallop, which with a few
interruptions they maintained until they were a hundred miles from
the camp of the white men and among the fastnesses of the Sierras.
Then it was the red men made a careful survey of the trail behind
them. The black penetrating eyes scanned the country with a
piercing keenness which it would seem shut out all possibility of
concealment. Nowhere could they detect the faint smoke climbing
toward the sky from among the trees nor could they gain sight
of the line of horsemen winding around the rocks in the distance.
Nothing resembling a human being was visible. Surely they were
warranted in believing themselves perfectly secure.
Such being their conclusion, they prepared for a great feast. Six
of the stolen horses were killed and the red men became as ardent
hipophagi as was the club of advanced Parisians a short time ago.
The roasted meat tasted as fine to them as though it was the choicest
slices from the bison or deer, and they ate and frolicked like so
many children let loose for a holiday.
But in the midst of their feast was heard a series of frightful
yells and whoops. The appalled Indians had scarcely time to turn
their eyes when a dozen horsemen, that seemed to have risen from
the very ground, thundered down upon them. Carson and his men
had overtaken the thieves and they now swept down upon them with
resistless fury. The fight was as short as it was fierce. The red
men fell on the right and left, and those who escaped the wrath of
the trappers, scattered and ran as if a hundred bomb shells were
exploding around them. Every horse stolen (except the six killed
for the feast) were recovered and Carson took them back to camp
without the loss of a man.
The hunters stayed until early autumn, when their employer decided
to go to New Mexico. The journey led for a great portion of the
way through a country over which they had travelled, and which
therefore was familiar to them. After halting a brief while at the
Mission of San Fernando, they arrived at Los Angeles, which like
the rest of the country as the reader knows, belonged to Mexico.
As it was apparent that the horsemen were hunters and trappers, the
authorities demanded their written license to pursue their calling
in Mexican territory. Such was the law and the officials were
warranted in making the demand, but it need not be said that the
party were compelled to admit they had nothing of the kind in their
possession.
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