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 Fe--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 fa