Show KT Grandson Grandson- and Rival Rival- l AH yAi N 1 4 0 j jt t t 9 A J 1 7 b 4 r x IVY 1 T Tr r- r Y r i rf l t 2 I c oc R By Dy JOHN DICKINSON SHERMAN A GROVE KA KAN will celebrate Its centen- centen centennial Dial nial August 10 It was there one hundred years Iii II I I ago that the Un United 1 t cd h States government go took of- of official of-A of tidal recognizance of the Santa Fe Fo Trail by making v Yn v Y n a treaty with the tir Pawnee 7 1 and Osage Indians for the unmolested passage of the caravans traveling between behnen Missouri and New Mexico l So In a n sense sense It Is the cen cen- centennial tennial of the Santa Fe Fo Trail This summer the Boone family of othe the United States gathered In Kentucky Ken- Ken Kentucky tucky In celebration of the one hun and fiftieth anniversary of the th settlement of that state by Daniel Boone It Is an nn Interesting coincidence dence dance that the Santa Fe Trail cele cele- celebration celebration bration should call public attention to Daniel Dnniel Boones Boone's grandson and grandson and rival In public estimation as ns woodman hunter scout and fighter Indian Indian fighter Carson Carson- For tile the Santa Fe Ic Trail without with with- without out ut Kit Carson Is like Hamlet with Hamlet out This centennial of the Santa Fe Trail really opens up the whole story of the winning of the lie West Vest For the Santa Fo Fe Trail led to the acquisition of Texas the Mexican War Var the oc- oc occupation oc- oc occupation oc occupation of California the Overland the Pony Express and the meet meet- meetIng meeting meeting ing of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific at Ogden And for forty years Kit Carson had hadn hada n Ll hand baud In It all all- all First he lie was Iden Iden- Identified Identified tided with Bents Bent's Fort on the Arkansas Ar- Ar Arkansas Ar Arkansas kansas In Colorado the famous trad trad- trad-Ine trad fag Ing post of the famous Bent Brothers In In Its time the most fum famous us of all the trading posts west of the Mississippi Mississippi sippi Successively he lie won fame LIS as asan nn explorer as us guide for Fremont and his right hand man In the California expedition dispatch bearer as os scout and dispatch dispatch- bearer as ns Indian agent and as ns United States Army officer Possibly no fron fron- frontiersman had more to do with settling the West Certainly no man had more Influence for peace with the Indians Here Is a brief chronology that hints at his Ills made mady many activities 1809 Born 1 0 Born In Madison county Kentucky Ken Ken- Kentucky tucky Kentucky 1811 1111 taken to Howard county Missouri 1824 apprenticed d to in fn Franklin l Ran Han Ilan away to Join Santa Fe caravan 1828 1826 settled nettled In Tao Taos N M II 22 1829 Trapping trip to San Francine I bay 32 trapping In Hockles and ih 3 t 1 Hunter 40 40 Hunter for Dents Dentt fort Colo Colo- Colorado Colorado rado 1842 Outdo 44 Guld for f r Fremont 1845 1 45 with Fremont In California 48 1846 U ISU-U round trips tripe nia Califor- Califor California nia to with dispatches Drove 1853 l 63 sheep cheep Now New N w Mexico I to t California 1854 Indian Indian agent for New N w Mexico ll 1862 Fought l 64 Confederates and Navajos NavaJoa colonel First Regiment neB New N 1 Volunteers breveted br brigadier generaL deputation Visited 1868 Visited Washington with deputation tation of Indians died at Fort Lyon Colo lo T UV IU I T r I CoL Calvin D Cowles U S A A- A Are retired re- re retired re retired tired of Hartford Conn Conn- Conna a 0 kInsman of Kit Is preparing a n genealogy of ot the Carson family and says say Kit was a abom born fighter It appears that William WlIIlam Carson founder of ot the family came come from the north of ot Ireland settled In Pennsyl Pennsyl- Pennsylvania Pennsylvania vania vania and ond about 1740 1790 migrated rated with the Boones and other families to North Carolina There he lie had abundant op opportunity op- op opportunity opportunity for acquiring n a taste for fighting Indians He married Eleanor McDuff l In North Carolina and had sev sey- seyen sev- sev seven seven en children the tir oldest of ot whom was Lindsay father tather of Kit born In 1 1759 Lindsay moved mo to South Carolina about 1780 1750 In 1792 he took his fam- fam family fam fam- famIly family ily to Madison count county Kentucky Ills His wanderIngs stopped In 1811 when he established n a home In Howard county MIssourI lIe He joined with other set tiers set tiers In occupying Coopers Cooper's fort tort be- be between between be between tween and Boonesboro from 1812 to 1815 Kit was the tir tenth of ot the fourteen children of Lindsay Carson All All the sons of ot Lindsay without exception went west after Indians and buffalo There Thero are descendants scattered nil all allover over oyer the Middle West and tho the Mountain region Now No that the In- In Indian In Indian dian dlan Is guarded on the th the reservations and the buffalo Is about extinct wrote one of the Carsons Carson I nm am at nt a loss lo to know what their descendants will do for pastime So It may be as Colonel Cowles says buthe that Kit was vas a born fighter but 1 he did not look the part To he be sure the portrait reproduced from a paint paint- painting ling ing In the capitol at Denver does look rather warlike Anyway Ana way tills this born fighter was n a little bowleg legged bow ed blond with a n soft sott voice and a gentle Jentle disposition lIe was only five feet foet six Inches tall his legs being too short for the lie rest of hum hIm He lIe was strongly built with long arms and weighed about pounds ills complexion and hair were rather rut her light and his eyes ees were blue He lIe was honest reticent and modest Vl The Indians called Kit fit Vi nis Little Chief They feared him It Js is true because of ot his efficiency as us a alighting alighting lighting fighting man But nut th they y respected him for tor Ills his honesty fair dealing and and aull they loved lo him for his friendliness He lIe spoke their lan Ian II e visited them and and played with their the children children the last a sure road to tol their their heir favor In time he came to know theIr lu habits and customs custom their ways lit of thinking their mode of ot warfare The They knew that he lie knew and knew and In that lay hl Ills cis Influence for peace Many Inny times h lip he acted as mediator and pre pre- prevented l vented bloody battles among the I tribes ribes As Indian agent lie ho headed oft off wan nn an uprising Kits Kit's early days dus as ns hunter and r were a time of savage uJo per per- sonar encounter s Men Ien enforced the their r rights as they saw them with rifle pistol and knife knite At the annual rendezvous rendezvous OUS of the trader fur-trader duels to the th e death were of ot common occurrence Yet Kits Kit's disposition was so 10 peace peas peaceable able and his way so Inoffensive tha t so far tar as a known he had but one per per- personal per per- personal sonar encounter and encounter and that was vas thrust thruston thruston t on him In tho early Thirties at a rendezvous In the tho Green River coun coun- country country country try of Wyoming n a French trapper trappe r named pursued an nn Arapaho Arapah o maid who appealed to Kit for tor pro pro- protection protection protection She Site got It there thereupon thereupon thereupon upon mounted and rode through the til e rendezvous with his rifle announcing g that he was looking for Kit Kit was wa s Instantly In the saddle Both men me n fired together ball grazed graze Kits Kit's scalp Kits Kit's pistol ball shattered shatter forearm and ond caused his kl death Kit fell In love with the Arapah o maid and married her She died otter r Kit Jut had become famous There vas wa waa wasa s a daughter Adaline Kit took her t this to his old home In Missouri The charming charming landscape Where landscape re Kit Ii Carson Trapped Trapped-Is Trapped Is a view from the tic front porch of my cabin In Tahosa Valley feet up In Rocky Mou Moun Mountain i tarn tain National park the land was tva bought from the government ten yea I before the Hie park was created In la the th e background Is la Longs Long's Long Peak King of the Hockles Kit lit trapped rapped there with wit h two companions the winter of 31 1830 1830 In 1875 walls of ot his S 8 by 10 30 log cabin cabi n were still standing and the stone chim chim- chimney chimney nn ney and fireplace were Intact Va Wan Wanton Vaton n- n ton campers burned the cabin some some- som some bod carried off oft most of the stone stonework ston stonework e work To protect the spot I set upa up upa u ua p a great slab of ot pine appropriately y ca rued Other changes wrought by a century y of settlement and civilization ar are e worth noting Kit probably took tools y hea y toll of the beaver but they v gre gre w many again file rhe level le land shown show was all nil made by the filling of ot the th e beaver ponds with slit silt The Tho stream which still flows among the llie he willows willow was In Kits Kit's day dllY considerable When I Estes stes Parle became a summer resort resor t a keeper hotel In Tahosa Valley went we stream strEam up threw a n dam damn across an and ty tt diverted a large part of Its flow to t this te his own needs Trappers Incessantly y kept after tile the lie beaver until only onty eight t individuals were known to exist In tit the many streams of ot the region Then the th e settlers waged waed war on the trappers Bocky Mountain 1 National park established established In 1915 1015 automatically became becam e er a wild life sanctuary Now the beaver beave r are back In numbers on the very ve ry stream Kit Carson trapped almost a 8 century ago Their dams have lunde wad e three sizeable ponds In la my front yard SometImes I almost wish Kit would woul d come back to back to save my aspens |