Kit Carson and the Indians - Hardcover

Dunlay, Tom

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0803217153 ISBN 13: 9780803217157

Publisher: University of Nebraska Press, 2000

Synopsis

Often portrayed by past historians as the greatest guide and Indian fighter in the West, Kit Carson (1809–68) has become in recent years a historical pariah—a brutal murderer who betrayed the Navajos, an unwitting dupe of American expansion, and a racist. Many historians now question both his reputation and his place in the pantheon of American heroes. In Kit Carson and the Indians, Tom Dunlay urges us to reconsider Carson yet again. To Dunlay, Carson was simply a man of the nineteenth century whose racial views and actions were much like those of his contemporaries.

About this title

About the Author

Tom Dunlay (1944–2003) was a freelance writer and historian. He is the author of Wolves for the Blue Soldiers: Indian Scouts and Auxiliaries with the United States Army, 1860–90 (Nebraska 1982).

Reviews

Nebraska historian Dunlay (Wolves for the Blue Soldiers) goes to great lengths in searching for the real Kit Carson and finds the truth somewhere between his image as the romantic superhero of dime novels and the negative image of an Indian killer drawn in recent years by revisionist historians and Native Americans. Arguing his position plainly and thoroughly, the author relates how Carson (1809-1868), an unlettered son of the Missouri frontier, went on to a multifarious career: trapper, western guide and scout, Indian agent, combat soldier, U.S. Army officer, leader, adviser, policeman and peacemaker. Dunlay's Carson is a modest and complex man, riddled with contradictions that have contributed largely to his conflicting reputation as Indian slayer and friend (he is credited with bringing down the Navajo nationAhe viewed the Navajo as rabid warriorsAbut he befriended the Ute peoples, among others. Carson also used his own resources in aiding dispossessed tribal families). Carson had no remorse about employing violence when necessary but could be equally critical of injustices at the hands of the U.S. and of various Indian tribes. In the end, Dunlay succeeds in presenting a man who spent much of his life and efforts solving the problems of both Native Americans and the white settlers, a man who can be criticized and lauded but who clearly contributed to what America has become. As Carson said, "I done what I thought was best.'" This book will find a solid readership among western history buffs and those interested in Native American history and affairs. (Oct.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Carson, once the archetypal frontier hero immortalized in dime novels, has recently suffered from bad press. Various revisionist historians have dismissed him as a shameless self-promoter, a greedy manipulator, and a racist who cold-bloodedly lied to induce the surrender of the Navajos. Dunlay, a freelance writer and historian, doesn't recanonize Carson, but he does present a more balanced portrait that evades the trap of holding Carson to current standards of enlightened attitudes. Undoubtedly, Carson had an entrepreneurial spirit, but Dunlay convincingly illustrates that Carson generally played by the rules in seeking his advancement. While Carson displayed the typical contempt for and mistrust of Indians characteristic of nineteenth-century westerners, he was quite capable of forging amicable relations with individual Indians. Dunlay is a scrupulously fair biographer whose admiration for his subject doesn't interfere with his judgment. This work is a valuable contribution to our knowledge of one of the West's more colorful historical figures. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0803217153
• ISBN 13: 9780803217157
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 537