History of Fort Lyon, (Bent County) Colorado United States of America

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Christopher Carson, "Kit Carson," soldier, was born in Madison county, Ky., Dec, 24, 1809. In early childhood he was taken to Missouri by his parents who settled in Howard county, then an almost unbroken wilderness. During his childhood he lived out of doors, becoming an expert hunter and fisherman, but acquiring no knowledge of books. In 1824 he was apprenticed to a saddler, but after serving two years he joined an exploring expedition. The following eight years he spent in hunting and trapping, meanwhile acquiring a knowledge of French, Spanish, and about ten Indian dialects. The depreciation in the value of furs led him to abandon the occupation of trapper, and from 1832 to 1840 he was engaged as hunter for Fort Bent, a trading post belonging to American merchants. While thus employed he was married to a beautiful Indian girl, who died shortly after the birth of a daughter. In 1842, when the child was six or seven years old, her father placed her in a school at St. Louis, Mo., and while returning from this visit he met Lieut. John C. Fremont, who had been commissioned by the government to explore the country between the frontiers of Missouri and the Rocky mountains. Carson was engaged as guide to the expedition, and proved invaluable on account of his knowledge of the territory and his acquaintance with the Indians. He also accompanied Fremont on his second expedition to the west, the party reaching Fort Lawson, on the Sacramento river, while the Mexican war was in progress. On two occasions during the war, Carson was directed to carry despatches to Washington. The first journey, a distance of four thousand miles, he accomplished in three months, and while he was in Washington, President Polk appointed him lieutenant in the U. S. rifle corps. On his second expedition he learned that the senate had refused to ratify his appointment. About 1853 he was appointed Indian agent by the U. S. government, an office for which he was peculiarly adapted and in which he rendered great service to the country. For his gallant and efficient services in the Union army during the civil war he was made brevet brigadier-general of volunteers in 1865. From the close of the war to his death he was employed as an Indian agent. See Life of Kit Carson (1869), by Charles Burdett. He died at Fort Lyon. Col., May 23, 1868.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

History of Fort Lyon, (Bent County) Colorado

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