What I Saw On The Old Santa Fe Trail

Excerpt from What I Saw on the Old Santa Fe Trail: A Condensed Story of Frontier Life Half a Century Ago What I have written in this series of articles is the plain truth. I doubt if a man could be found living today who crossed the plains on the old Santa Fe road in as early day as I. Some of the facts recorded here have never been recorded in any history of Kansas or any account of the old road. There can never again be a repetition of the scenes. There will never again be great caravans of prairie schooners slowly wending their way across the great American desert. The old Santa Fe road is almost obliterated. Cities and towns have sprung up. Dwellings, school houses and churches decorate the prairie. Horace Greely crossed the plains six years later than I. In his comments he said: There were more buffalo in sight than there are cattle in Illinois. So I offer no other reason for this personal history of pioneer days. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

In this captivating travelogue, James A. Little takes readers on a journey through the heart of the American west. Through vivid descriptions and colorful anecdotes, Little brings to life the people, places, and events that shaped the region's history, offering readers a unique perspective on one of America's most iconic landscapes. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

A classic on all the trials and tribulations of the Santa Fé Trail, the Indian deprevations, the Mexican problems,the Fontier Military, the Fur Trappers, Fur Trade, and Mountain Men, Kit Carson, Uncle Dick Wooten, Buffalo Bill Cody, the Bents, Jim Beckwourth.

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico, pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell,What did James Little see in mid-century on the Santa Fe Trail? Among other things:"Caravans of Prairie Schooners, Forty Wagons, Five-hundred Oxen, Millions of Buffaloes, Thousands of Wild Horses, Antelopes. Big Grey Wolves and Cayotes, Prairie Dog Towns and Jack Rabbits. Rattle Snakes, Lizards and Centepedes, Savage Indians and Mexicans, Strange Sights Crossing the Desert..."This lively and simple account of Little's time in a world now gone is a treasure of 19th century pioneer biographies.

A classic on all the trials and tribulations of the Santa Fe Trail, the Indian deprevations, the Mexican problems, the Fontier Military, the Fur Trappers, Fur Trade, and Mountain Men, Kit Carson, Uncle Dick Wooten, Buffalo Bill Cody, the Bents, Jim Beckwourth.

The Santa Fe Trail was one of the two great overland highways originating in Missouri in the nineteenth century. Several decades before settlers streamed over the Oregon Trail, traders were heading southwest. The caravans carried the wares of Yankee commerce; they returned loaded with buffalo robes and beaver pelts and the rich metals of Mexican mines. The thousand-mile journey “was a perilous cruise across a boundless sea of grass, over forbidding mountains, among wild beasts and wilder men, ending in an exotic city offering quick riches, friendly foreign women, and a moral holiday,” writes Stanley Vestal. Vestal begins where the trail does. He describes outfitting for the trip, the society formed for survival, the hunt for meat, landmarks, and the dangers. He evokes the history and legends surrounding the trail at every point, including figures like Kit Carson, Jedediah Smith, the Bent brothers, and Uncle Dick Wooton.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.