his district. He was a fine marksman, excellent horseman, of strong
character and sound judgment. His disposition was quiet, amiable and
gentle. One of those boys who did things without boasting and did
everything the best he could.

At about this stage of his life his father put him out as an apprentice
to learn a trade. The trade he was to learn was that of "saddler."
However, the boy languished under the confinement and did not take to
the business. He was a hunter and trapper by training and nothing else
would satisfy his nature.

One night about two years later when Kit was a young man eighteen years
old a man who chanced to pass his father's humble home related his
adventures. He told how much was to be earned by selling buffalo robes,
buckskins, etc., at Santa Fe, New Mexico. He drew beautiful word
pictures of wealth that could be attained in the great Spanish capital
of New Mexico, more than a thousand miles from Missouri.

At last several able-bodied men decided to equip some pack mules and go
to the great bonanza. They intended to live on game which they would
shoot on the way. Kit heard of the party and applied to them to let him
accompany them. They were not only glad of his offer to go, but
considered they had a great need for him because he was so "handy" among
the Indians. It turned out that Kit engineered the whole party. He had a
military demeanor. When the mules were brought up and their packs
fastened upon their backs, which operation required both skill and
labor, it was Kit who ordered the march, which was conducted with more
than ordinary military precision.

Kit Carson was a beloved friend of several tribes of Indians. He learned