"Dear old Kit" : the historical Christopher Carson, with a new edition of the Carson memoirs

The Figure of Kit Carson strides through the literature of the American West in heroic size. Trader, trapper, scout, brigadier general of New Mexico Volunteers, and many other things besides, he has appealed to the public imagination as no other frontiersman has. Many biographies and who versions of his “autobiography” have been published. Yet much of the legend still remains to be separated from the facts, declares the author of this new biography. “I am an admirer of Carson,” says Mr. Carter, “and have no wish deliberately to debunk him, but I am interested in correcting the statements of uncritical hero worship many by many writers.” Kit is allowed to speak for himself, as far as possible, through an exact transcription of his dictated reminiscences made from the manuscript in the Newberry Library, Chicago. Persons and places are clearly identified, and Kit’s slips of memory are corrected in the definitive annotation of his account. One hundred years of speculation about the identity of the man who transcribed Carson’s story is ended. Mr. Carter has established positive identification, based on carefully assembled facts. A new assessment of Kit’s character and reputation is included, as well as an annotated account of the last years of his life. The figure of Kit Carson strides through the literature of the American West in heroic size. Trader, trapper, scout, brigadier general of New Mexico Volunteers, and many other things besides, he has appealed to the public imagination as no other frontiersman has. Many biographies and two versions of his "autobiography" have been published. Yet much of the legend still remains to be separated from the facts, declares the author of this new biography. "I am an admirer of Carson," says Mr. Carter, "and I have no wish deliberately to debunk him, but I am interested in correcting the statements of uncritical hero worship made by many writers." Kit is allowed to speak for himself, as far as possible, through an exact transcription of his dictated reminiscences made from the manuscript in the Newberry Library, Chicago. Persons and places are clearly identified, and Kit's slips of memory are corrected in definitive annotation of his account. One hundred years of speculation about the identity of the man who transcribed Carson's story is ended. Mr. Carter has established positive identification, based on carefully assembled facts. A new assessment of Kit's character and reputation is included, as well as an annotated account of the last years of his life. This fresh look at America's greatest western hero will interest professional historians as well as all readers who head straight for the "western" shelf in bookstores -- Book jacket The figure of Kit Carson strides through the literature of the American west in heroic size. Trader, trapper, scout and Brigadier General of New Mexico Volunteers, he became larger than life. In this factual biography, Carter shows that Carson's life was as adventurous as the myths describing him. AT THE HEIGHT OF THE FUR TRADE in the Far West, about the year 1835, it is probable that there were nearly three thousand men associated in one way or another with the business of gathering beaver pelts, either by trapping or by trading for them with the Indians. 'The Kit Carson memoirs, 1809-1856'(p. 38-149) were first published in 1926 under title Kit Carson's own story of his life.