Fort Bent was a trading post; belonged to a company of merchants of whom Messrs. Bent and Vrain, residing at the fort, were partners.  Immediately upon Mr. Carson’s arrival there, he was so well known and his capabilities so well understood, that he received an earnest application to take the position of hunter for the fort.  He accepted the office and filled it for eight years with such skill and fidelity that never did one word of disagreement pass between him and his employers.  His duties were to supply a camp of about forty men with all the animal food they needed.

When game was plenty, this was an easy task, but often wandering bands of Indian hunters would sweep that whole region around rendering the labors of Mr. Carson extremely difficult.  For unfrequently he would wander from sunrise to sunset over prairie and mountain, in pursuit of game; but rarely did he return without a mule load.  At times he extended his hunting trips to a distance of fifty miles from the fort.  During these eight years thousands of buffalo, elk, antelope and deer, fell before his rifle, besides a vast amount of smaller game.

The skill which he displayed, and the success which that skill secured, excited the admiration alike of the red men and the white men.  He was universally known by the Indians, and was respected and beloved by them.  Fearless and alone he wandered over mountain and prairie, frequently meeting bands of hunters, and warriors, and entering the lodges of the savages, and sleeping in them without encountering any harm.  They admired his boldness, and an instinctive sense of honor led them not to maltreat one who had ever proved their friend, and who trusted himself so unreservedly in their power.

His familiarity with the Indian language enabled him to converse familiarly with them.  He was as much at home in the wilderness as the most veteran hunters of their tribes.  In the huts of the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, Kiowas and Comanches he was always a welcome guest.  They appreciated the vast superiority of his intellect.  Often groups of men, women and children would linger around the central fire of the lodge till after midnight, listening to his entertaining stories of adventure and peril.

One incident which occurred at this time, speaks volumes in reference to Mr. Carson’s character as a lover of peace, and is deserving of perpetual remembrance.

The Sioux tribe of Indians who could bring a thousand warriors into the field had invaded the hunting-grounds of the Comanches.  Several skirmishes had already taken place, in which the Comanches had been worsted.  The chiefs sent a deputation to Kit Carson, whom they regarded as a host in himself, to come to their aid, and to take the leadership of one of their bands.  Carson promptly responded to their call.  He met the Comanche chiefs in council, and so represented to them the blessings of peace and the horrors of war, that they consented to send a deputation, to effect if possible, an amicable settlement of the difficulty.