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What did Kit Carson do for a living?

What did Kit Carson do for a living?

Kit Carson, byname of Christopher Houston Carson, (born December 24, 1809, Madison County, Kentucky, U.S.—died May 23, 1868, Fort Lyon, Colorado), American frontiersman, trapper, soldier, and Indian agent who made an important contribution to the westward expansion of the United States.

Did Kit Carson own slaves?

He, like Jefferson and many other of our founders, owned slaves. Lincoln, probably our greatest president, personally signed the orders approving the Navajo war that Kit Carson reluctantly led during the 1860s. But one needs to remember that it was indeed a war.

Was Kit Carson an outlaw?

The western states in the 1800s were filled with colorful characters, from legendary frontiersmen to notorious outlaws. New Mexico was home to many of them, including Kit Carson, a rancher, trapper, soldier and all-around outdoorsman whose name has become synonymous with the American West.

Was Kit Carson a rancher?

In the 1850s, Carson began to settle down in New Mexico, drawing upon his family’s farm history to become a successful rancher during the profitable Gold Rush era. Under Carson’s command, more than 8,000 Navajo made the 300-mile long walk from present-day Arizona to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, without government aid.

Did Kit Carson marry an Indian woman?

In 1836 Carson married an Arapaho Indian woman. The couple had two children, only one of whom—a daughter—survived. After his first wife died, Carson married a Cheyenne woman.

Is Kit Carson a hero?

American frontiersman, trapper, soldier and guide, Christopher Carson, better known as Kit Carson, is one of the great heroes of the Old West. He served as a United States military guide, an American Indian agent, and a celebrated aide during the Mexican-American War.

Is Kit Carson a hero or villain?

Christopher Houston Carson, or Kit Carson, couldn’t read and couldn’t even write his own name, but he knew how to fight and how to kill. He was the hero of America’s westward expansion – or its villain.

Why is Kit Carson so famous?

A famed mountain man before the Civil War, Kit Carson was responsible for waging a destructive war against the Navajo that resulted in their removal from the Four Corners area to southeastern New Mexico. Carson was perhaps the most famous trapper and guide in the West. He traveled with the expeditions of John C.

What did Kit Carson do at 16?

Carson left home in rural Missouri at 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.

What are facts about Kit Carson?

Kit Carson Biography. (1809–1868) Kit Carson was an American frontiersman, trapper, soldier and Indian agent who made important contributions to the westward expansion of the United States. Kit Carson was an American frontiersman who became an experienced hunter and trapper by his 20s.

Where did Kit Carson die?

Kit Carson looks every bit his 58 years in a photograph taken during a visit to Washington, D.C., in early 1868. A few months later, on May 23, 1868, he died in Boggsville, Colorado Territory, when an aneurism ruptured into his trachea. Kit was buried beside Josefa in Taos.

Where is Kit Carson in Colorado?

The historic Town of Kit Carson is a Statutory Town in Cheyenne County, Colorado, United States. The population was 233 at the 2010 United States Census. The town was named in honor of frontiersman Christopher Houston “Kit” Carson.

What is Kit Carson?

Kit Carson was an American frontiersman, trapper, soldier and Indian agent who made important contributions to the westward expansion of the United States.