This heroic bronze sculpture of Kit Carson is widely considered to be the finest equestrian statue in North America . It is located in Trinidad ’ s Kit Carson Park , at the corner of Kansas Avenue and San Pedro Street .
to Colorado , ill health forced him to resign from his ranching business . Early that
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I cannot express my surprise at beholding such a small , stoop-shouldered man
art piece is widely considered to be the finest equestrian statue in North America .
“ blue eyes , and nothing to indicate extraordinary courage of daring . He spoke but little and answered questions in monosyllables .”
Colonel Edward W . Wynkoop : same year , at the urging of Washington and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs , Carson journeyed to Washington D . C . where he escorted several Ute Chiefs to meet with the President of the United States to plead for assistance to their tribe . Soon after his return , his wife Josefa died on April 23 , 1868 from complications after giving birth to their eighth child . Only a month after her passing , he was laid to rest due to an abdominal aortic aneurism in Fort Lyon , Colorado on May 23 , 1868 .
His last words , “ Goodbye friends , adios compadres .” He and his wife Josefa ’ s bodies were transported to their final burial in Taos a year after their deaths .
Carson is commemorated in a heroic bronze sculpture in Trinidad ’ s Kit Carson Park at the corner of Kansas Avenue and San Pedro Street . A friend of Kit Carson , Trinidad ’ s mayor Daniel L . Taylor commissioned the statue and donated the land for the eight-acre park . It was dedicated on June 1 , 1913 . The bronze
Kit Carson – First Hand Accounts
Exaggerated versions of Carson ’ s exploits in dime novels made him a legend in his own time . Kit ’ s life as an American frontiersman including being a mountain man , fur trapper , wilderness guide , Indian agent , and American Army officer earned him his place in history . Expecting to meet a man bigger than life , most were surprised at his small stature . Here are accounts from two of Carson ’ s contemporaries .
General William Tecumseh Sherman , 1847 :
“ His fame was then at its height , and I was very anxious to see a man who had achieved such feats of daring among the wild animals of the Rocky Mountains , and still wilder Indians of the plains I cannot express my surprise at beholding such a small , stoop-shouldered man , with reddish hair , freckled face , soft
“ Kit Carson was five feet five and one half-inches tall , weighed about 140 pounds , of nervy , iron temperament , squarely built , slightly bow-legged , and those members apparently too short for his body . But , his head and face made up for all the imperfections of the rest of his person . His head was large and well shaped with yellow straight hair , worn long , falling on his shoulders . His face was fair and smooth as a woman ’ s with high cheekbones , straight nose , a mouth with a firm , but somewhat sad expression , a keen , deepset but beautiful , mild blue eye , which could become terrible under some circumstances , and like the warning of the rattlesnake , gave notice of attack . Though quick-sighted , he was slow and soft of speech , and posed great natural modesty .”
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