The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself, by De Witt C. Peters

Title: The Life and Adventures of Kit Carson, the Nestor of the Rocky Mountains, from Facts Narrated by Himself

Author: De Witt C. Peters

Release Date: July 12, 2005 [eBook #16274]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF KIT CARSON, THE NESTOR OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, FROM FACTS NARRATED BY HIMSELF***

E-text prepared by Alicia Williams, William Flis,
and the Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team
(http://www.pgdp.net)

THE

LIFE AND ADVENTURES

OF

KIT CARSON,

THE

NESTOR OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS,

FROM FACTS NARRATED BY HIMSELF.

BY DE WITT C. PETERS, M.D.,

LATE ASSISTANT SURGEON U.S.A.

WITH ORIGINAL ILLUSTRATIONS,

DRAWN BY LUMLEY, ENGRAVED BY N. ORR & CO.

W.R.C. CLARK & CO.,

KIT AND HIS FAVORITE HORSE "APACHE."

TO

COL. CERAN ST. VRAIN,

OF NEW MEXICO.

Dear Sir,

You were first among the brave mountaineers to discover and direct the manly energy, extraordinary natural ability, and unyielding courage which have attached to the subject of this volume; and, as among the first Americans who put foot on the Rocky Mountains, you are perhaps best acquainted with the history of the men, who, for fifty years, have lived there. Christopher Carson, after a long life, now crowned with successful and honorable achievements, still looks upon you, sir, as his earliest patron, and places your name on the list of his warmest friends. Through a life of unusual activity and duration, which, reflecting honor and renown upon your name, has given you a distinguished position among your countrymen, you have never been known to forget a duty to your fellow man.

For these considerations, the dedication of this volume to you cannot but appear appropriate. That he may continue to merit a place in your confidence and esteem is the earnest desire of

THE AUTHOR.

Fernandez de Taos, New Mexico.

Sir:

We, the undersigned citizens of the Territory of New Mexico, have been acquainted with Mr. Christopher Carson for a number of years, indeed almost from the time of his first arrival in the country. We have been his companions both in the mountains and as a private citizen. We are also acquainted with the fact that for the past few months, during his leisure hours, he has been engaged dictating his life. This is, to our certain knowledge, the only authentic biography of himself and his travels that has ever been written. We heartily recommend THIS BOOK to the reading community for perusal, as it presents a life out of the usual routine of business, and is checkered with adventures which have tried this bold and daring man. We are cognizant of most of the details of the book, and vouch for their accuracy.

CERAN ST. VRAIN,
LIEUT. COL. N.M. VOLUNTEERS.

CHARLES BEAUBIEN,
LATE CIRCUIT JUDGE.

THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

The pages here presented to the public form a book of facts. They unfold for the student, as does no other work yet extant, the great interior wilderness of the territories belonging to the United States. The scenic views, though plainly colored and wrought by the hand of an unpretending artist, inasmuch as they portray a part of the North American continent which is unsurpassed by any other country on the face of the earth, will not fail to interest the American public. In addition to this, the reader is introduced to an intimate acquaintance with the Indian races of the countries which He east and west of the Rocky Mountains. The savage warrior and hunter is presented, stripped of all the decorations with which writers of fiction have dressed him. He is seen in his ferocity and gentleness, in his rascality and nobility, in his boyhood, manhood, and old age, and in his wisdom and ignorance. The attentive reader will learn of his approximations to truth, his bundle of superstitions, his acts 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