- Joined
- Apr 12, 2000
- Messages
- 363
Just ran across this and figured yall would like the pic. and info.
Is This Kit Carson's Hatchet?
In 1928 a Kansas resident donated this hatchet to the Kansas State Historical Society, claiming it was a saddle ax once used by Kit Carson, the famous scout. No information was offered on how the donor acquired the hatchet, nor if he had ever met Carson.
Many years later, curators at the Kansas Museum of History researched the hatchet in an attempt to discover if it indeed had been used by Carson. Experts agreed the hatchet was representative of the type used by trappers and scouts from the early- to mid-1800s. Mountain men, especially, preferred a hatchet handle with a metal ring on the end to hold a cord loop. This allowed the tool to be hung from a saddle horn or dangled from the trapper's wrist while he waded through water setting traps.
Whether or not this hatchet actually was owned by Kit Carson, it is nevertheless a unique piece among museum collections.
Is This Kit Carson's Hatchet?
In 1928 a Kansas resident donated this hatchet to the Kansas State Historical Society, claiming it was a saddle ax once used by Kit Carson, the famous scout. No information was offered on how the donor acquired the hatchet, nor if he had ever met Carson.
Many years later, curators at the Kansas Museum of History researched the hatchet in an attempt to discover if it indeed had been used by Carson. Experts agreed the hatchet was representative of the type used by trappers and scouts from the early- to mid-1800s. Mountain men, especially, preferred a hatchet handle with a metal ring on the end to hold a cord loop. This allowed the tool to be hung from a saddle horn or dangled from the trapper's wrist while he waded through water setting traps.
Whether or not this hatchet actually was owned by Kit Carson, it is nevertheless a unique piece among museum collections.
