Forgotten Books: History of the Old Santa Fe Trail by Henry Inman

Cover of an old edition of the book "The Old Santa Fe Trail: The Story of a Great Highway" by Henry Inman - Public Domain. 

Colonel Henry Inman was an interesting guy. He was a frontiersman, a veteran from the Indians and Civil War, and served with the controversial cavalry commander George Amstrong Custer. 

Inman was also friend to one of the most known folks of the Old West: Buffalo Bill - all thanks to his legendary cowboy shows. Some even said that Inman and Buffalo Bill looked alike.  

Henry Inman became a journalist and wrote a lot about the West. One of his books was The Old Santa Fe Trail: The story of a Great Highway. 

Buffalo Bill wrote the preface and said about the author:

He was familiar with all the famous men, both white and savage, whose lives have made the story of the Trail, his own sojourn on the plains and in the Rocky Mountains extending over a period of nearly forty years.

The Santa Fe Trail is a legend on itself. It doesn't need presentation. 

This old route of the West connected Missouri to New Mexico through the dangerous central area of North America. It became a "highway" for traders and emigrants. 

In the 18th century, French explorers tried to connect Illinois and Santa Fe, but challenged by Indians and Spaniards, they couldn't do it.

William Becknell was the man behind the Santa Fe Trail. His quest began searching for a route wide enough for wagons trains in 1821. In the same year, he found and traveled the trail. 

The Santa Fe Trail would help the U.S. Army during the invasion of New Mexico in 1846 and would serve commercial ventures until 1880.  

The city of Santa Fe was strategically located close to the northern end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. This overland route allowed to travel to Mexico City from San Juan Pueblo, a Native American town a little north from Santa Fe. 

The name of this town was changed in 2005 to Ohkay Owingeh. This was the original name and meant "place of the strong people". It was inhabited by the Tewa Native Americans - Check this interesting photo from 1896. 

To cover the 900 miles of the Santa Fe Trail was not easy task. Guarded by stormy weather, rattlesnakes, and Comanches and Apache Indians, the route cut through mountains, hot deserts, and dangerous plains - image of the trail through Kansas.  

Henry Inman says in the book that Santa Fe is the oldest town in the United States, older than St. Augustine. He also affirms that the Indian town that existed before on the spot - El Teguayo - was a lot older. 

One of the chapters of The Old Santa Fe Trail is dedicated to the legendary Kit Carson. 

On the conflicts with the Native Americans, Henry Inman wrote: 

The author of this book, although having but little compassion for the Indians, must admit that, during more than a third of a century passed on the plains and in the mountains, he has never known of a war with the hostile tribes that was not caused by broken faith on the part of the United States or its agents.

Interesting book with old perspectives.   

 

(This book is available in Amazon - the previous link is affiliate, meaning that we may receive a small commission on your purchases without additional cost to you. Thanks for your support.)