This is a survey of the major historic trails of New Mexico and other parts of the American Southwest. These trails were used by Indians, prospectors, soldiers, buffalo hunters, immigrants, and cattle and sheep drovers, and, unlike other, more famous Western trails, were used as a network of two-way trade routes instead of one-way avenues for westward migration. Introductory chapters highlight prehistoric Indian trails, Spanish exploration, and Pecos as a microcosm of the old Southwest. Each subsequent chapter covers an individual trail, describing its history and some of the people who used it. A chronology of New Mexico’s history and trail system is included, as are maps of the most important trails.

Hunt Janin is an American writer living in southwestern France. He has written numerous nonfiction and scholarly books on a range of subjects, including medieval history and cross-cultural studies.
Ursula Carlson is a professor emerita at Western Nevada College, Carson City, Nevada.

Hunt Janin and Ursula Carlson
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 231
Bibliographic Info: maps, appendices, notes, chronology, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2010
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4010-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-5809-7
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      vi

Preface      1

Introduction      5

I. Prehistoric Indian Trails and Trade      17

II. Highlights of Spanish Exploration, Settlement, and Inspection in the Southwest      22

III. The Royal Road: El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro      61

IV. The Old Spanish Trail      71

V. The Santa Fe Trail      89

VI. Military and Cultural Perspectives on the Mexican-American War      113

VII. The Butterfield Overland Mail Route      121

VIII. The Civil War in New Mexico      127

IX. The Long Walk of the Navajos      132

X. The Goodnight-Loving Trail      141

XI. Steel Trails for the Iron Horse      149

XII. The Southern Trails      163

XIII. Historic Trails, Trade, and Travels Today      176

Appendix 1. The Oñate Expedition: Excerpts from Historia de la Nueva México by Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá      185

Appendix 2. “$100,000 Worth of New Goods!” Arrive in Santa Fe      186

Appendix 3. “From Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico”      188

Appendix 4. The Unique Jargon of the Mountain Men      191

Appendix 5. A Fred Harvey Dinner Menu      193

Appendix 6. Excerpts from Geronimo’s Autobiography, My Life      193

Chronology      197

Chapter Notes      201

Bibliography      211

Index      221

“easy to read, well organized…chapter dealing Kit Carson and the Navajos’ Long Walk is exceptional and is worth the price of the book”—Wild West History Journal.