Undergraduate Analysis --- O'Neill's Opus

WRITTEN in a biographical age notable chiefly for its iconoclasm, "Kit Carson" is just the sort of book one would expect from a former Rhodes Scholar, a native of the West, and a faculty member of the University of Oklahoma. Stanley Vestal takes all that is laudable in the modern method of biography--its colloquial style, eye for the dramatic, disrespect for mythology and Thompsonesque patriotism without falling into the pitfalls typical of tabloid research and the worship of sex appeal.

True, Kit Carson is pretty well debunked by the present writer, but this would seem to be the result of the unwise writing of his predecessors, the dime novelists, and to some extent of his contemporaries, the scenario writers. These, together with the professional bravadoes who belonged to the Wild West rather than to the Old West, have made Carson, a very simple, almost meek man, into an entirely impossible character.

Mr. Vestal robs him of none of his glory. His marksmanship is still deadly, his virtue is still above the ordinary, and his adventures are still hair-raising. But he now becomes something which he never was before--a human being. Several times he misses his mark; he was, if often more crafty, several times outwitted by the Indians; and his exceptional virtue did not prevent his twice marrying without benefit of clergy.

As a piece of history, "Kit Carson" is also important. The author shows clearly the part played by Carson in opening up the West, his invaluable aid to Colonel Freemont, his part in the Civil War. The economic changes which affected our hero are also dealt with briefly, and the author permits himself some very pungent comments on the U. S. Army and the general misconduct of Western affairs on the part of the Eastern authorities.