Carson, Kit (1809-1868), was a famous American frontiersman. He became known as a skillful and daring hunter, guide, and soldier.
Early life.
Carson, whose real first name was Christopher, was born in Madison County, Kentucky, on Dec. 24, 1809. His family moved to Boon’s Lick, Missouri, near Arrow Rock, when he was 1 year old. At the age of 14 or 15, Kit was sent to work for a saddlemaker. He hated the job and ran away in 1826 to join a group of traders headed for Santa Fe, in what is now New Mexico. From 1829 to 1841, Carson worked in the fur trade. He trapped beavers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Wyoming, and the Rocky Mountains and took part in many fights with Indians.
Rise to prominence.
John C. Frémont, who became a famous government explorer, hired Carson in 1842 to guide his party along the Oregon Trail to South Pass in the Rockies in Wyoming. The expedition passed safely through the rugged mountains. Frémont praised Carson in his official reports, which helped make Carson well known. In 1843 and 1844, Carson helped guide Frémont’s second expedition, which included a survey of Great Salt Lake in Utah and part of the Oregon Trail. In 1845, Carson guided the explorer’s third expedition from Colorado to California and north into Oregon. 
The Mexican War broke out in 1846, and Frémont and his group returned to California. They joined the American settlers there in a revolt against the Mexicans who controlled the region. The Americans defeated the Mexicans, and Frémont sent Carson to Washington, D.C., with messages, including news of the victory. But at Socorro, New Mexico, General Stephen W. Kearny ordered Carson to guide him to California. Kearny’s troops were attacked by Mexicans at San Pasqual, California, near Escondido. Carson and two others slipped through the enemy lines to seek help from American forces stationed in San Diego. They had to walk or crawl for about 30 miles (48 kilometers), but Kearny’s troops were rescued.
Military career.
After the American Civil War began in 1861, Carson was made colonel of the New Mexico Volunteer Regiment. In 1862, he fought the Confederate forces in a battle at Valverde, New Mexico, near Socorro. Carson was later ordered to lead a campaign against the Apache Indians to force them to live on a reservation. In the fall of 1862, Carson gathered about 400 Apache and placed them on a reservation near Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
Carson then led a campaign against the Navajo people. By destroying their crops and animals, he forced about 8,000 Navajo to accept reservation life (see Navajo ). In November 1864, Carson fought the Kiowas, Comanches, and other Plains tribes at Adobe Walls, an abandoned trading post in Texas. His force of about 400 men retreated after being attacked by 1,500 to 3,000 Native Americans. Carson was made a brigadier general in 1865 and took command of Fort Garland in Colorado the following year. Carson resigned from the Army in 1867 because of illness. He died on May 23, 1868.
See also Frémont, John C. ; Kearny, Stephen W.
