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Monday, February 18, 9-10:30 pm ET
Combining archival materials of the period with re-creations, this program brings Kit Carson, the legendary trapper, scout and soldier, to vivid life.
His exploits on the American frontier inspired dozens of dime
novels, but the stories told in these wildly popular books belie
the complexities of the real Kit Carson, whose life embodies the
contradictions that are the story of the American West. An
illiterate mountain man, he was fluent in Spanish and five Indian
languages; he twice married Native-American women, yet led a brutal
war against the Navajo. When the West was a mystery to most
Americans, Carson mastered it, and his expertise made him not only
famous but also sought-after. Eventually, by helping to spur a
migration that would change the West forever, he unwittingly became
an agent in the destruction of the life he loved. Combining rich
archival materials of the period with original re-creations, this
program brings the legendary trapper, scout and soldier to vivid
life and provides a lens on a pivotal but little-understood era in
American history.