Labeled as the authentic legend of the West, Kit Carson was a trapper, scout, soldier in two American wars, and a profiteer of the gold rush. Until he was around 35 years old, he lived a challenging and scummy lifestyle that nobody wanted. But by fighting through the troubles of orphanage and the western expansion, Kit Carson earned his fame and fortune. .
Born on Christmas Eve in 1809, Carson spent most of his early childhood in Boone's Lick, Missouri. His father died when he was only nine years old, which forced him into work without receiving an education. He was apprenticed to a saddle-maker when he turned fourteen, but left home for the Santa Fe, New Mexico area in 1826. Carson moved around Western America working as a fur trapper and hunter for 14 years until he received a job offer in 1842 that would put him into the national spotlight. While returning to Missouri to visit his family, Carson happened to meet John C. Fremont, a great explorer of his time, who soon hired him as a guide. Over the next several years, Carson helped guide Fremont through the Central Rocky Mountains and the Great Basin to Oregon and California. His service with Fremont quickly made Kit Carson a national hero, presented in popular fiction as a rugged mountain man capable of superhuman feats. During the Mexican-American War, Carson led the forces of U.S. General Stephen Kearney from New Mexico into California to retake Los Angeles from Mexican control. .
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After the war, Carson returned to New Mexico and took up ranching. By 1853, he and his partner were able to drive a large flock of sheep to California, where gold rush prices paid them a handsome profit. Later that year Carson was appointed federal Indian agent for Northern New Mexico, a post he held until the Civil War forced new duties on him in 1861. He helped organize the New Mexico volunteer infantry, which saw action at Val Verde in 1862.
