This is Angela Odell, and you are listening to Real Cool History for Kids, a podcast show featuring history told from a distinctly biblical worldview perspective. Welcome to an adventure.

Welcome to episode 150 of real cool history for kids. This episode is for Thaddeus Kane, who wanted to hear the story of Kit Carson.

Hi, Thaddeus. This one's for you.

The sun blazed high over the untamed lands of the American West, casting long shadows over the rugged terrain.

Dust swirled in the wind as the man on horseback rode steadily forward.

His sharp eyes scanned the horizon.

His name was Kit Carson.

Kit Carson was a brave and courageous frontiersman who became famous for exploring the American West.

Though not very tall, Kit was strong, quick, and had a quick wit, a strong faith and sharp eyes that took in the world around him.

His story is one of adventure, of courage, and a deep sense of duty.

He would become known as one of the greatest frontiersmen in American history.

But let's start at the beginning. Kit was born on December 24, 1809 in Kentucky.

His name was Christopher, but he soon went by the nickname Kit. Kit grew up in a time when

life was hard and survival depended on skill and perseverance. He was raised in a Scots-Irish

Presbyterian household and learned about how God loved him from an early age. When he was a young boy,

Kit's family moved to the Missouri frontier, where life was even more filled with challenges, wild animals and harsh

winters and the constant threat of attack from raiders. Like many frontier children at the time,

Kit didn't have the opportunity to go to school for very long, but what he lacked in book learning,

he made up for in hard work and life skills.

In August of 1826, when he was only 16 years old, Kit ran away from an apprenticeship to a saddlemaker to set out on his own.

He didn't want to make saddles.

He wanted adventure out in the west. So he joined a group of

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