American Minute for May 23rd:

Fur trapper, Indian agent, and soldier; this was Kit Carson, who died MAY 23, 1868. Kit Carson's exploits west of the Mississippi were as famous as Daniel Boone's east. In January of 1868, Kit Carson was appointed superintendent of Indian Affairs in Colorado. Though suffering severe breathing pain, he brought the Ute Indian Chiefs to Washington, DC., to arrange a treaty. As they toured northern cities, meeting crowds and posing for pictures with western military notables John C. Fremont and James Carleton, Kit Carson became wearied. He almost died while staying with the Indian Chiefs at New York City's Metropolitan Hotel. Kit Carson wrote: "I felt my head swell and my breath leaving me. Then, I woke...my face and head all wet. I was on the floor and the chief was holding my head on his arm and putting water on me. He was crying. He said, 'I thought you were dead. You called on your Lord Jesus, then shut your eyes and couldn't speak.' I did not know that I spoke...I do not know that I called on the Lord Jesus, but I might - it's only Him that can help me where I now stand..." Kit Carson ended: "My wife must see me. If I was to write about this, or died out here, it would kill her. I must get home."

www.AmericanMinute.com