Mountain man, Indian agent, soldier, and freemason describe one of the most famous people to ever set foot in New Mexico. Who was Christopher Houston "Kit" Carson and was his role in New Mexican History so important? Kit Carson was born on Christmas Eve in 1809 and he became one of the most famous men in the American West. He was raised on the Missouri Frontier. It was dangerous living on these lands and his family was afraid that Native Americans would attack them and their cabin. Carson's father died and it hit the family hard. He did everything in his power to help his mother at home. He refused an education and worked on the family's farm land instead. Carson wanted freedom and adventure so in 1826 at the age of fourteen he left Missouri
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Ever since 1860, when his horse lost its footing on a steep slope and dragged him for quite a distance, Carson had suffered discomfort from an aneurysm. Over time the swollen aneurysm became a painful obstruction in his upper chest that caused frequent coughing and made breathing difficult. A visit to the states for medical consultation convinced Carson that his condition was incurable. Carson moved from his home to the army hospital on May 14 (Barbour 163). Gasping for breath, Kit chatted with the doctor and other visitors when he was not in a chloroform-induced sleep. A few days passed as he reminisced with friends, but he prepared to die. On May 23 he requested buffalo meat and coffee, a favorite meal of the mountain men. He ate, lit a clay pipe, and talked with friends. Suddenly he choked and cried out from the rupture of his artery and passed away as Dr. Tilton cradled his head (Barbour 164). The flag at Fort Lyon was lowered to half mast at 4:25 p.m. A military funeral was speedily arranged for the great hero of the west. Carson and Josepha were both removed from their graves and taken to Taos in 1869, where they were buried in the cemetery with the rights of the Catholic Church (Carter 283). They had no headstones at their gravesites so in 1908 the Masons of Taos put a simple headstone at his grave as well as a similar one for
Ever since 1860, when his horse lost its footing on a steep slope and dragged him for quite a distance, Carson had suffered discomfort from an aneurysm. Over time the swollen aneurysm became a painful obstruction in his upper chest that caused frequent coughing and made breathing difficult. A visit to the states for medical consultation convinced Carson that his condition was incurable. Carson moved from his home to the army hospital on May 14 (Barbour 163). Gasping for breath, Kit chatted with the doctor and other visitors when he was not in a chloroform-induced sleep. A few days passed as he reminisced with friends, but he prepared to die. On May 23 he requested buffalo meat and coffee, a favorite meal of the mountain men. He ate, lit a clay pipe, and talked with friends. Suddenly he choked and cried out from the rupture of his artery and passed away as Dr. Tilton cradled his head (Barbour 164). The flag at Fort Lyon was lowered to half mast at 4:25 p.m. A military funeral was speedily arranged for the great hero of the west. Carson and Josepha were both removed from their graves and taken to Taos in 1869, where they were buried in the cemetery with the rights of the Catholic Church (Carter 283). They had no headstones at their gravesites so in 1908 the Masons of Taos put a simple headstone at his grave as well as a similar one for