On the Santa Fe Trail

by Marc Simmons

Overview

On the Santa Fe Trail, a collection of first-hand accounts by nineteenth-century overlanders, offers an intensely personal view of that arduous trip. In retrospect, the history of the Santa Fe Trail—crossing forests, prairies, rivers, and deserts—seems overlayed with the gloss of romance and chivalry. It is set off by heroic attitudes and picturesque adventures. And it has left a deep imprint on one region of the American West.

The trail crossed parts of five modern states—Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, and New Mexico. From the perspective of the overland trade, those five are forever bound in historical communion. The route began in Missouri and ended, after almost a thousand miles, in New Mexico. But it was Kansas that claimed the largest share of the trail: from a beginning point at either Kansas City or Fort Leavenworth it angled across the entire state, exiting over four hundred miles later in the southwestern corner. It would be no exaggeration to say that trade and travel on the Santa Fe Trail derived much of its special flavor from the Kansas experience and that, in turn, the presence of the trail went a long way toward shaping the early history of the state.

Many participants in this story, overlanders of various kinds, wrote down what they saw and learned on the way to Santa Fe. It is with that in mind that Marc Simmons has here collected a dozen narratives and reports from the middle years of the trail's history—from the early 1840s to the late '60s—that is, just after New Mexico had passed into American hands. It was a period of intense Indian-white conflict and before the establishment of rail lines along the route. The authors of these narratives—among them several teenagers, a Spanish aristocrat, an Indian agent, a German immigrant lady, a government scout, and a young New Mexican drover of the peon class—qualify as plain folk who, without quite intending to, got swept up in the westering adventure. Simmons has written an introduction to the collection and to each of the narratives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780700603169
Publisher:	University Press of Kansas
Publication date:	12/18/1986
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

Introduction

1. Report of Manuel Alvarez, 1842

2. Report on Winter Travel, 1852

3. Trail Letter by Michael Steck, 1852

4. James M. Fugate’s Adventures, 1853

5. Narrative by Hezekiah Brake, 1858

6. David Kellogg's Diary, 1858

7. Henry Smith’s Recollections, 1863

8. Ernestine Franke Huning’s Diary, 1863

9. Reminiscences of George E. Vanderwalker, 1864

10. Major John C. McFerran’s Report and Journal, 1865

11. Captain Charles Christy’s Memoirs, 1867

12. Jose Librado Gurule’s Recollections, 1867

Appendix A. To Santa Fe via the Cimarron Cut-off

Appendix B. To Santa Fe via the Bent’s Fort Route

Recommended Readings

Index

What People are Saying About This

C. Robert Haywood

Provides humor and human interest as well as describing the dangers, hardships, and joys of the crossing. The reader will have an excellent understanding of the daily routine of trail life.
—(C. Robert Haywood, author of Trails South: The Wagon Road Economy in the Dodge City Panhandle Region)

Glenda Riley

One of the great strengths of this collection is its diversity; included are writings by an army major, Indian agent, German immigrant woman, and a New Mexican drover….These travelers offer a wide an enlightening range of perspectives regarding the demanding conditions of the Santa Fe trail. Simmons has wisely supplemented the narratives with useful lists of trail sites, illustrations, a map, and suggestions for further reading. The volume provides significant insights for anyone interested in understanding the westering experience.
—(Glenda Riley, author of Women and Indians on the Frontier)

Dee Brown

Vivid impressions….A book that will endure.

Editorial Reviews

"The casual reader will find the accounts fascinating and often fun, while historians and writers interested not only in trail histories but in western and frontier history, social history, and ethnic history will find this both enjoyable reading and a ready reference to rare sources dealing with various aspects of the nineteenth-century West."—Journal of the Southwest

"A wonderful contribution to Western American. . . . Vivid impressions. . . . A book that will endure."—Dee Brown, author of Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

"One of the great strengths of this collection is its diversity; included are writings by an army major, Indian agent, German immigrant woman, and a New Mexican drover. . . . These travelers offer a wide and enlightening range of perspectives regarding the demanding conditions of the Santa Fe trail. Simmons has wisely supplemented the narratives with useful lists of trail sites, illustrations, a map, and suggestions for further reading. The volume provides significant insights for anyone interested in understanding the westering experience."—Glenda Riley, author of Women and Indians on the Frontier

"Provides humor and human interest as well as describing the dangers, hardships, and joys of the crossing. The reader will have an excellent understanding of the daily routine of trail life."—C. Robert Haywood, author of Trails South: The Wagon Road Economy in the Dodge City-Panhandle Region

"A significant contribution to the literature of the trail."—David Dary, author of Cowboy Culture and True Tales of Old-Time Kansas

From the Publisher