Kit Carson

                Kit Carson was born on December 24, 1809, in Madison County, Kentucky.  His family moved to Missouri where he was apprenticed to a saddle maker.  He ran away and joined a wagon train carrying goods to Santa Fe, New Mexico.  He became a trapper and roamed the plains between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean.

                Carson married an Native American woman and lived in the wilderness; his abilities at hunting and trapping soon surpassed those of the Indians.  When his wife passed away, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, in order for his daughter to receive an education.  There he met John Charles Fremont and became his guide on several expeditions.

                Carson married a Spanish woman and lived in New Mexico.  He was with Fremont in the conquest of California in 1846-1847.  He was an agent for the Ute and Apache Indians for seven years beginning in 1853.  He served the Union in New Mexico and Colorado during the Civil War.  Following the war he resumed his duties as an Indian agent and served the Native American people until he passed away on May 23, 1868, in Fort Lyon, Colorado.