Kit Carson's Own Story of His Life

by Kit Carson

In 1826 a seventeen-year-old Christopher 'Kit' Carson ran away from his job as apprentice to a saddler in Franklin, Missouri and joined a merchant caravan bound for Santa Fe in the far Southwest. The flight marked his entry into the pages of history. In the decades that followed, Carson gained renown as a trapper, hunter, guide, rancher, army courier, Indian agent, and military officer. Along the way, his varied career as a frontiersman elevated him to the status of a national hero, on a par with Daniel Boone. In 1856, while at home with his family in Taos, New Mexico, Kit (being illiterate) dictated his autobiography, which dealt with the innumerable adventures he had experienced to that point. However, some of the most significant episodes in his life would unfold in the ensuing years, leading up to his death in 1868. Since Taos artist and writer Blanche Chloe Grant first edited and published the Carson manuscript in 1926, it has become the central source for all subsequent biographers. In 1935 Milo Milton Quaife annotated another edition under the title of Kit Carson's Autobiography , published by Lakeside Press of Chicago, and afterward reprinted by the University of Nebraska Press. Western historian Harvey Lewis Carter followed suit with publication of the most heavily edited version yet, with his 'Dear Old Kit': The Historical Christopher Carson (University of Oklahoma Press). Sunstone Press by electing to bring back into print Miss Grant's original 1926 book, regarded perhaps as the handiest of the three published versions, calls attention anew to this pioneering memoir of the celebrated Kit Carson.

180 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2001

Reviews

[Dianne Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

Christopher (Kit) Carson was referenced in the W Cather book, Death Comes for the Archbishop. I therefore wanted to follow up with this book that I recently picked up. When books link up in this way, there is such a magic in reading.
I found this to be quite interesting, though it was not particularly well written.
On the second page I found myself very amused and won over. A man in the party had accidentally shot himself in the arm. The text, as dictated by Carson, read,
"One of the party stated that he could do it" (amputate the arm).
The footnote read *Carson himself. He was only 17 at the time. Imagine that!

[Brian Hale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this. Saw the experiences Carson had through his eyes. I'm glad his history was captured.

[Conrad Wesselhoeft · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kit Carson blazed historic trails across the American West. His life of adventure and conflict in the untamed mountains and deserts is unparalleled. It's a story of passion, grit, sacrifice, deceit, strength, love, loyalty, cruelty. On and on.

Kit was the quintessential mountain man who seemed to be everywhere as frontier history was being made. He was a multi-shaded mix of peacemaker and warmonger, hero and villain.

Sadly, he was no storyteller. Or perhaps the fault lies with his anemic memoirists, Col. and Mrs. D.C. Peters. The result is a book as dry as sun-baked adobe--one that possesses all of the riveting plot twists of an actuarial table. It may be the most boring memoir ever written by a man who lived a fascinating life. For a year, this short book rested on my bedside table serving double duty as a sleep aid.

I really should give it one star. However, I'm giving it two, because it teaches this lesson: if you've lived an epic life, and want that life jotted down, don't let a well-meaning acquaintance do the jotting. Choose your biographer carefully.

For a full-blooded account of Kit Carson's momentous life, try BLOOD AND THUNDER, by Hampton Sides.

[Chris Kemp · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting.