Somewhere beyond the shining mountains lay mysterious, forbidden Santa Fe. Young Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and his exploring party braved Indians, freezing weather, and the army of New Spain to reach that city, only to be seized, threatened, and driven away.
Nothing, however, could long delay our westward expansion. When Mexico won independence from Spain, traders with pack animals and wagon trains endured thirst in the deserts, blizzards in the mountains, and battles with fierce Apaches, Comanches, and Pawnees to bring merchandise to Santa Fe. They returned with rawhide bags filled with silver coins and gold dust.
The Santa Fe Trail from Independence, Missouri, across Kansas, and then southwestward took its continual toll of lives. But brave young men in search of wealth and adventure made the round trip, year after year. Kit Carson was only sixteen when he hit the trail. Of the four Bent brothers who built their huge fort on one branch of the trail, two were in their teens.
This is the true story of the Santa Fe Trail, of the turbulent explorers, traders, and fighters surging westward. It is the well-told, accurate record of an exciting era which will live again for every reader who turns these pages.
—from the dust jacket
For centuries the restless human race surged westward—across the Atlantic, over the Appalachian barrier, down the broad Ohio, across the fertile Midwest, and finally, with much hardship, through the deserts and over the shining mountains to the Pacific.
One of the most dramatic moments in that great westward movement came when young Lieutenant Zebulon Pike, with only twenty soldiers and one civilian physician started westward from St. Louis toward the forbidden and mysterious city of Santa Fe. Later other young men followed in his footsteps—Kit Carson, the four Bent brothers, and finally General Kearny and his footsoldiers, who helped to bring the Far West under the stars and stripes.
David Lavender, a westerner born and bred, knows every inch of the Santa Fe Trail. He is the perfect guide for any young reader eager to share the excitement of the famous trail which brought wealth to some, death to others, and adventure to many.
Sterling North
General Editor
—from the book
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