There was another, more important reason to change careers. Kit Carson was smitten with Josefa Jaramillo, daughter of a wealthy and influential Taos family. The first time he saw Josefa, she was wearing a bright yellow dress. It was love at first sight. Her beauty was legendary. Although only in her early teens, she was well dressed and already quite refined. When she was 19, a visitor to Taos, Lewis H.
Carson joined him, taking Adaline with him. While in Missouri, Carson met John C. Kit and Josefa were married in Taos on February 6, , which otherwise was a typical year for him. He met up with Captain Philip St. George Cooke, who needed the now famous expeditionary scout to take a letter to the governor of New Mexico. Along the way he fought a little battle with the Utes. While they were on the Mojave River a party of Indians stampeded the livestock. Two men, in a savage desert, pursue day and night an unknown body of Indians into the defiles of an unknown mountain—attack them upon sight, without counting numbers, and defeat them in an instant.
His services as a scout, hunter and Indian fighter were in demand. Kit Carson was fast becoming a legend in his own time. Every schoolboy knew about his daring deeds.
Carson continued to serve him loyally. On August 28, Carson was ordered to carry military correspondence and records to the secretary of war in Washington. Stephen Watts Kearny in Soccoro. Kearny had quickly conquered New Mexico and now needed a guide. Carson surrendered the dispatches Fitzpatrick would continue with them on to Washington and led the general to San Diego.
Carson, Lieutenant Edward F. Beale and an Indian guide walked barefoot nearly 30 miles from the battle site to San Diego to get reinforcements. Bent had been killed, but his wife, Ignacia Jarmillo, and her sister Josefa had escaped injury by dressing as servants and fleeing to Santa Fe.
After spending a short time with Josefa, Carson continued on to St. Carson then went on to Washington, where he stayed at the Benton home. She also introduced Carson to Washington society. Carson was ill at ease in Washington society. No matter where he went, people wanted to shake his hand. The Washington Union did a major interview, adding to his celebrity status.
Fortunately for Carson, he did not have to stay in high society too long. He has this moment left my room; and a singular and striking man he is! Modest as he is brave…with the bearing of an Indian, walking even with his toes turned in…. By October Carson was in Monterey. I cannot express my surprise at beholding such a small, stoop-shouldered man, with reddish hair, freckled face, soft blue eyes, and nothing to indicate extraordinary courage of daring.
He spoke but little and answered questions in monosyllables. Carson, according to another account, would expose himself to the full light of the campfire only when he lit a pipe. When Carson slept, he used his saddle not only as a pillow but also as a shield for his head. His closest companions were his pistols, which he kept half-cocked at night, and a rifle that he kept under the blanket beside him.
He was always the first one up in the morning. He was a well-disciplined man, completely responsible for himself, his animals and his equipment. He demanded the same of the men who traveled with him. Carson was dismayed at the scope of his growing fame.
Settlers, traveling along the Santa Fe Trail, read dime novels about his exploits by the light of their campfires. One specific incident unnerved the man with nerves of steel. A white woman captured by the Apaches was found dead in their camp. I have often thought that Mrs. White [the slain white woman] read the same…would pray for my appearance that she might be saved. For the first time in his married life, Carson was at home more than he was on the road.
Despite his illiteracy, Carson was a very successful agent for the Utes. Unlike most Indian agents, he sincerely tried to work for the best interests of the tribe. He was constantly at odds with various governmental officials over the way the Indians were treated.
He wanted to live on the reservation with his charges but was not allowed to do so. Almost on a daily basis, he and Josefa fed anywhere from 10 to 20 hungry tribesmen visiting Taos. The Indians of the region respected Carson. Why his integrity is simply perfect. They know it, and they would believe him and trust him any day before me.
By all accounts it was a big, happy family. He negotiated a peace treaty with the Utes during this time before resigning in because of declining health. Carson spent his final months as superintendent of Indian affairs for Colorado Territory. Following a grueling trip to the East Coast in , he returned to Colorado in terrible condition.
After his third and final wife died in April, Carson followed approximately a month later, on May 23, , reportedly delivering the last words, "Doctor, compadre, adios! An icon of the frontiersman days of the American West, Carson is remembered through the designation of such locales as Carson City, Nevada, and Carson Pass in California. Along with the dime novels that bolstered his legend while he was still alive, he was memorialized in Western-themed movies and TV shows like The Adventures of Kit Carson , which aired from to In early , he was featured in the History Channel's documentary series Frontiersmen.
We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. His farewell show in drew 50 million viewers. Rachel Carson was a marine biologist, environmentalist and writer who alerted the world to the environmental impact of fertilizers and pesticides.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. He preserved the Union during the U. Civil War and brought about the emancipation of slaves. George Custer was an American cavalry commander who in led men to their deaths at the Battle of Little Bighorn. James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States.
He served from to , during the build-up to the Civil War. Hiram R. Jefferson Davis was a 19th century U. Novels were created and added on to fame as a manly trapper in the West with Hercules like comparisons of power and strength. Carson, in reality, should be remembered for his impact on the expansion of America and the creation of a mapped out Oregon Trail.
He helped map out the most unforgiving terrain in America through the Rocky Mountains. His knowledge not only helped save the lives of Fremont and his group but to countless Americans traveling across the country. Guiding the American forces in California during the Mexican War helped led the country to victory. The victory brought the last great expansion of territory to the United States.
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