He was born in Madison County, Kentucky. During his career throughout the desert Southwest, he was a trapper, guide, military scout, Indian agent[?], soldier (rising to the rank of brigadier general), and rancher. His renown initially came from guiding John C. Fremont on an expedition to map the western trails to the Pacific Ocean. Descriptions in Fremont's popular report of his expeditions made Kit Carson famous.
He fought against the Mexicans in California in the 1840s, played a part in the Civil War, and in the 1860s waged a brutal economic war against the Navajo to force them onto their appointed reservation.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump