badbobby Loc: texas

Kit Carson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Kit Carson
Born
December 24, 1809
Richmond, Kentucky
Died
May 23, 1868 (aged 58)
Fort Lyon, Colorado
Resting place
Kit Carson Cemetery
Taos, New Mexico
Residence
Taos, New Mexico
Nationality
American
Occupation
Mountain man, frontiersman, guide, Indian agent, United States Army officer
Known for
Opening the American West to European settlement
Carson City, Nevada namesake
Spouse(s)
Waanibe
Making-Out-Road
Josefa Jaramillo
Military career
Allegiance
United States of America
Union
Service/branch
Union Army
Rank
Brevet Brigadier General
Commands held
1st New Mexico Volunteer Cavalry Regiment
Battles/wars
Mexican–American War
Battle of San Pasqual
Jicarilla War
Battle of Ojo Caliente Canyon
American Civil War
Battle of Valverde
Navajo Wars
Battle of Canyon de Chelly
Plains Indian Wars
First Battle of Adobe Walls
Signature

Christopher Houston Carson (December 24, 1809 – May 23, 1868), better known as Kit Carson, was an American frontiersman. He was a mountain man (fur trapper), wilderness guide, Indian agent, and U.S. Army officer. Carson became a frontier legend in his own lifetime via biographies and news articles. Often exaggerated, versions of his exploits were the subject of dime novels.
Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 to become a mountain man and trapper in the West. In the 1830s, he accompanied Ewing Young on an expedition to Mexican California and joined fur trapping expeditions into the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married into the Arapaho and Cheyenne tribes.
In the 1840s, he was hired as a guide by John C. Fremont. Fremont's expedition covered much of California, Oregon, and the Great Basin area. Fremont mapped and wrote reports and commentaries on the Oregon Trail to assist and encourage westward-bound American pioneers. Carson achieved national fame through Fremont's accounts of his expeditions. Under Fremont's command, Carson participated in the conquest of Mexican California at the beginning of the Mexican–American War. Later in the war, Carson was a scout and courier, celebrated for his rescue mission after the Battle of San Pasqual and for his coast-to-coast journey from California to Washington, DC to deliver news of the conflict in California to the U.S. government. In the 1850s, he was appointed as the Indian agent to the Ute Indians and the Jicarilla Apaches.
During the American Civil War, Carson led a regiment of mostly Hispanic volunteers from New Mexico on the side of the Union at the Battle of Valverde in 1862. When the Confederate threat to New Mexico was eliminated, Carson led forces to suppress the Navajo, Mescalero Apache, and the Kiowa and Comanche peoples by destroying their food sources.
Carson was breveted a Brigadier General and took command of Fort Garland, Colorado. He was there only briefly: poor health forced him to retire from military life. Carson was married three times and had ten children. The Carson home was in Taos, New Mexico. Carson died at Fort Lyon, Colorado, of an aortic aneurysm on May 23, 1868. He is buried in Taos, New Mexico, next to his third wife Josefa Jaramillo.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

When visiting the Kit Carson home/museum in Taos, N.M., I was always surprised by how physically small a man he must have been, as his clothes still on display during my visits years ago were tiny. Historical reports claimed he was of average height. I have to assume men were much shorter during the first half of the 1800s. I thoroughly enjoyed the museum and its displays, as well as the town of Taos & its casino.

badbobby Loc: texas

Slat
when I was just a tot
my dad would tell me tales of when he was a cowboy
one of the stories he told was of William Bonney
AKA Billy The Kid
dad said that although he didn't know Billy personally
he had seen him around
dad said Billy was a skinny runt
and a weakling.but that nobody would fool with him
because he was a known cold blooded killer
dad also told me the tale about the mountain lion that kept stealing newborn calves from the herd
dad said he stayed up one night and caught the lion in the act
and followed the cat to a big tree where the cat drug the calf into a knothole in the tree
dad said he stuffed his handkerchif in the knothole and no more calves disappeared
so
I never knew if he was tellin the truth or just funnin me

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Well, ol' buddy, rest assured that we Marines will always tell you the absolute truth.

badbobby Loc: texas

I cain't resist
'you can't handle the truth'

Mikeyavelli

...then did he have to resort to cactus leaves to wipe himself?

Mikeyavelli

When not visiting the liquor stores when we travel, my wife and I go visit forts. I am astounded at how small the beds are, the clothing, the doorways, the dishes and table napery. In the past 100 years, we've grown as humans.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

Given my travels and experience from visiting museums, historical sites, etc., I share that same assessment.

Mikeyavelli

Most unnerving, was the display of surgical instruments and the detailed description of their usage.
Of particular discomfort, was the dedicated tool for testicular injuries.
Just shoot me.