Wagon TracksVolume 6Issue 4 Wagon Tracks Volume 6, Issue 4 (August1992)

Article 1

1992

Wagon Tracks. Volume 6, Issue 4 (August, 1992)Santa Fe Trail Association

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AUGUST 1992VOLUME 6

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MEXICAN GRAVES MYSTERYSOLVED; HOAX CONFIRMED

THE questionable story of the deathof 28 New Mexican teamsters on theSanta Fe Trail in present WabaunseeCounty, KS, reportedly murdered byoutlaws in 1844, has received consid­erable attention (see WT for Feb. &Nov. 1990 and Aug. 1991). Thesourcefor the story was Matt Thomson's EarlyHistory of Wabaunsee County (1901).Harry C. Myers, military historian andsuperintendent of Fort Union, NM,questioned the accuracy of the ac­count (Nov. 1990 WT). It was Myers,too, who "discovered" the informationthat was available for all to see (howdid we all miss it?) in the publicationof the papers from the Trinidad Sym­posium, where the Santa Fe Trail As­sociation was born in 1986. in an arti­cle by David Dary, "Storied Silver, Fa­bled Gold: Buried Treasure Legendsalong the Santa Fe Trail," The Santa FeTraU: New Perspectives (Denver: Colo­rado Historical Society, 1987), pp. 98­102.

Dary, formerly professor of journal­ism at the University of Kansas andpresently director of the school ofjour­nalism at the University of Oklahoma,summarized the story as told by Thom­son in his article (the Thomson storywas quoted in the Aug. 1991 WT). Darydescribed it as "a tale that does notring true" (p. 98). He had searched forconfirmation of the anecdote withoutsuccess in Missouri newspapers andin military records.

He did find evidence. however, thatthe legend was a deception: "tuckedaway in the manuscript section of theKansas State Historical Society inTopeka are two letters relating to thetale, and they confirm that It is a hoax"(p. 100). The letters, written in 1903 byS. B. Harvey and Stephen J. Spear,discounted the story. Spear explainedhow the hoax was fabricated in 1891by William Wetzel, Jr. After quotingfrom Spear's letter, Dary concludedthat "the testimony of Spear andHarvey, in addJti~n to the total lack ofeVidence supporting the tale, leave lit­tle doubt that the legend ... has nobasis in fact." Perhaps, at last, thecontroversy can be laid to rest.

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Ruth Olson, the secretary-treasurer ofSFTA and director of the Santa Fe TraIlCenter at Larned, was married to SFTAmember Reed Peters of Larned on July18,1992, at Garfield, KS, within sight ofthe route of the historic Trail. Congratu­lations and best wishes to them both.May they travel the Trail together formany, many years.

FRIENDS OF ARROW ROCKWIN NATIONAL AWARD

THE Friends of Arrow Rock have beenawarded the prestigious Albert B.CoreyAward by the Am erican Associa­tion for State and Local History inrecognition of recent accomplish­ments, including co-hosting the 1992SFTA Symposium, preserving and re­storing the Sites Gun Shop and SitesHouse, reprinting W. B. Napton's OntheSantaFeTraU in 1857, and printingthe special edition of the Missouri Intel­ligencer. Friends Executive DirectorKathy Borgman helped prepare thenomination which was recommendedby the State Historical Society of Mis­souri.

AASLH regional award chairperson,Susan Miner of Wichita, noted that"The Corey Award is the highest pos­sible award given to a small, largelyvolunteer historical organization. It isnot given every year, only when anoutstanding small organization isdeemed an appropriate winner." Theaward was accom panied by a $500gift. Congratulations to the Friends ofArrow Rock.

NEW MEXICO POINT OFROCKS CERTIFIED BY NPS

by B. F. Winkel

[Winkel is secretary-treasurer of theCorazon de los Cammas Chapter ofSFTAJ

ON July 26, 1992, the Point of Rockslocated on the ranch of Pete and FayeGaines between Springer and Claytonbecame the first New Mexico site to becertified as part of the Santa Fe Na­tional Historic Trail by the NationalPark Service. Approximately 200 peo­ple attended the ceremonies and en­joyed a picnic lunch. Douglas Farisand John Conoboy, NPS officials fromthe Southwest Regional Office in SantaFe, s poke ofthe plans to certify historicsites along the SFNHT and praisedFaye and Pete Gaines for making Point

Faye and Pete Gaines and the replicamarker at the grave of Isaac Allen, Pointof Rocks, New Mexico.

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WAGON TRACKS is the official publicationof the Santa Fe Trail Association. a non-profitorganization incorporated under the laws ofthe State of Colorado. Leiters and articles arewelcome. but they become the property of WTand may be edited or abridged at the editor'sdiscretion. All rights reselVed. Inquiries canbe directed tothe appropriate addresses below.Annual SUbscriptions are obtained throughmembership in the Association. whose duesare fixed per calendar year. Checks should bemade payable to the Santa Fe Trail Associa­tion and sent to the secretary-treasurer.

Membership CategoriesBenefactor SI,OOOPatron S100/yearInstitutional S25/yearFamily Sl5/yearIndividual SlO/year

Editor: Leo E. Oliva, RR 1. Box 31. Wood­ston, KS 67675

President: Bill Pitts. 7811 NE 10th #202,Midwest City, OK 73110Vice-President: Mark L Gardner, PO Box879, Cascade. CO 80809Secretary-TrelL'iurer: Ruth Olson Peters.Santa Fe Trail Center. RR 3, Larned, KS675501993 Symposium Coordinator: Donald C.Hill, 621 San Juan Ave., La Junta, CO 81050Publicity Coordinator: Michael E. Pitel,Tano Rd, Rt. 4. Box 240. Santa Fe. NM87501

All matters relating to Wagon Tracksshould be addressed to the editor:Leo E. Oliva, RR 1 Box 31, Woodston, KS67675 (913) 994-6253, FAX (913) 994­6255.

All inquiries regarding membershipshould be directed to the secretary­treasurer:Ruth Olson Peters, Santa Fe Trail Center,RR 3, Larned, KS 67550 (316) 285-2054.

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This photograph of the real Mrs, Harry Lubers, Denver, on left, was taken at thededication of the DAR Trail marker at Bent's Old Fort on Sept, 12, 1912. Mrs. Lubers,granddaughter of William Bent, Is shown with a niece and a granddaughter of KitCarson. Mrs. Lubers unveiled the marker. (Photo courtesy of Pueblo Library District.)

route. and the obligation we have toguard this heritage.

The dedication of a replica of IsaacAllen's grave stone, made by mem bersof the Corazon de los Caminas Chapterof SFTA. was also part of the program.The replica was made from the samekind ofstone as the original which wasbroken into three pieces earlier in thecentury. Isaac Allen died on the Trailin 1848. The replica stone bears aplaque dedicated to the late RichardWilliams of Springer, one of the foun­ders of the host chapter. Rev. Elmorefrom Springer reconsecrated the 144­year-old grave. A number of other un­marked graves are also found at Pointof Rocks. testifying to the dangers ofTrail travel.

The barbecue picnic. organized byEileen Gonzales-Montoya and ElsieLeDoux, supported by chapter mem­bers' contributions, afforded fellow­ship among Trail enthusiasts from asfar away as Virginia and North Caro­lina as well as from New Mexico, Colo­rado. Oklahoma, and Kansas. The NewMeXico National Guard suppliedcamouflaged netting for shade in whatturned out to be perfect weather. Thestory of Point of Rocks is found else­where in this issue.

POINT OF ROCKS(continued from page 1)

of Rocks available to the public. Thecertification agreement was signed aspart of the program.

The members of the Corazon de losCam inos Chapter hosted the event andwere joined by m embers ofother chap­ters. including the End of the Trail,Mountain Branch. and Cimarron Cut­off. Host Chapter President LeRoy le­Doux welcomed those present andHarry C. Myers from Fort Union andProfessor Mike Olsen from Hil!hlandsUniversity at Las Vegas gave the dedi­cation speeches, stressing the hard­ships encountered on the Trail, thewide variety of people who traveled the

AN ERROR CORRECTED:REAL GRANDDAUGHTER

OF WIWAM BENT FOUNDA photograph accom panying an arti­cle by Mary B. Gamble in the Aug.1990 WT, "William Bent's First Grand­child." mistakenly identified Mrs. JohnCam pbell of Denver as Bent's grand­daughter, Mrs. Harry Lubers, at thededication of the DAR Santa Fe Trailmarker erected at Bent's Old Fort onSept. 12, 1912. The case of mistakenidentity came from a 1979 publication,Bent's Old Fort, by the State HistoricalSociety of Colorado in which Mrs.Campbell was incorrectly identified as"possibly the granddaughter of Wil­liam Bent." Thus it was an honestmistake. Mrs. Gamble recently dis­covered the error when she located thecorrect photo of Mrs. Lubers. Mrs.Cam pbell was the honorary DAR stateregent of Colorado at the time of thededication. With apologies to Mrs.Campbell and Mrs. Lubers. Mrs. Gam­ble has corrected a blooper not of hermaking.

ANOTHER ERRORANOTHER CORRECTION

A typographical error in Mark L.Gardner's fine piece on the ox yoke inthe last issue resulted in the om issionof a couple oflines of text. The mistakewas not Gardner's and the informationleft out was a vital part of the story,including an estimated date of manu­facture of the yoke. The first two sen­tences of the fourth paragraph shouldread as follows (the material omitted isin italics):

William ("Pat") O'Brien, NationalPark Service historian and authorityon Independence and JacksonCounty, Missouri, believes that theyoke's manufacture probably dates be­fore 1850. It is known that William Mc­Coy, the manufacturer named on theyoke, was actively involved in thewagon-making business of that periodunder the firm name ofW. & J. McCoy.

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THE REST OF THE SIXPER CENT STORY

by Harry C. Myers

[Harry C. Myers is superintendent ojFort Union National Monument and aJrequent contributor to WT.]

YOUR indefatigable editor is not theonly person associated with WT whomakes mistakes of commission andomission. The numskull who submit­ted the article on the six per cent dutyfor the last issue forgot to send the listof petitioners which appeared in theAug. 16, 1848, Santa Fe Republican.Then I wondered why the editor failedto print the list with the article. Whenquestioned, he politely informed methat he was still awaiting the list. Evena dunce should have been able to fig­ure that. The omission is hereby recti­fied, and the list has been alphabetizedfor the benefit of readers.

Manuel AlvarezF. X. AubryJ. W.AustinJoseph BerandM. W. Blackwell & ReedR. T. BrentJas. H. BullardJ. P. BurdsellSamuel C. Cal dwellT. J. A. ChambersAuguste CompteB. F. Coons by A. J. Murphy his attorneyA. M. CopelandDavid CopelandW. T. DaltonB. DatzAmos DavisJames Ell iottGeo. H. EstesHerman FeistA. FrenchBta. GoumerJacob HallWade HamptonH. H. C. HarrisonJ. HartleyL. HeadT. A. Heri fordJames Heron

. Joseph HerschHumphrey & CoulterWm. IshP. M. KelleyW. KnoxH. Mayor by his AttorneyIsaac McCartyJ. H. McCutchenJohn W. McElroyJ. E. McIntoshJ. U. McIntoshWm. S. McKnightP. McShaneJ. H. MercureWm. S. MesservyW. MitchellWm.MoreJames M. MullinsAndrew J. MurphyHenry O'Neil

August 1992

C. OvermanFrancis OwensRichard OwensJoseph PaulingJames PayneWm. RaymondWilson RobertsHenry Root Thomas RowlandW. T. B. SandfordP. B. SheeleyLewis D. SheetsWm. R. Ski lIingerSlaughter & Bean by Joseph NangleJames SpeedT. F. Speigelburg(Charles) Spencer & (James E.) SabineSol. P. SubletteM. SwabacherP. R. TullyAJax. ValleJ. B. VerdenJohn WareSam B. WatrousWebb & Doan by their AttorneySamuel WetheredJ. M. White & Bro.A. WilliamsN. WilliamsHenry WinslowWoods & Hi ck:s

LARNED RENDEZVOUS ASUCCESS, SYMPOSIUM SETFOR OCTOBER 14-17, 1993

RENDEZVOUS '92 at Larned, May28-30, was another successful andwell-attended conference. The lateRuth Olson, now Ruth Olson Peters,and the staff at the Santa Fe TrailCen ter and Steve Linderer and thestaff at Fort Larned NHS are com­mended for planning and hosting theoutstanding program. The conferencefocused on the Indians and the Trail,form ing part of a series begun at LasVegas, NM, in 1990, with a conferencethat emphasized Hispanics and theTrail. It is hoped that another confer­ence somewhere else along the Trail in1994 will look closely at Anglo-Ameri­cans and the Trail.

The SFTA governing board, underthe able direction of President BillPitts, had a busy and fruitful sessionprior to the Rendezvous program. Thedates for the next Symposium wereannounced by Program CoordinatorDon Hill. It is not too soon to beginplanning to be present at Bent's OldFort NHS and La Junta, October 14­17, 1993. The board approved a num­ber of proposed changes to the SFTAbylaws which will be considered at theSymposium. Other topics of discus­sion included the budget and possibil­ity of increasing SFTA dues, relation­ship of chapters to the SFTA, publica­tions, and cooperative projects withthe National Park Service. '

PLEASE PASS THE CRACKERSby Mary B. Gamble

[Mrs. Gamble, Springfield: CO, is anactive member oj the Cimarron Cutoffand Wagonbed Springs chapters andaJrequent contributor to WT.]

TRAIL buffs who attend the Santa FeTrail AsSOCiation Sym posium at Bent'sOld Fort, Oct. 14-17, 1993, should askSupt. Don Hill if his store has G. H.Bent Company's crackers for sale. Tra­ditionally, he should stock up on thesecrackers, once sold at the fort.

John Bent, founder of the Bent fam­ily in America, came to New Englandin 1638 and settled at Sudbury, Mass.,the next year. His descendant, JosiahBent, was a resident of Milton, Mass.•by lSOI when his family began itscracker (or hardtack) manufacture,his wife and daughter doing all thebaking, and he delivering crackersfrom his saddlebag<;.

The fascinating story of the Bents'cracker business is related in Ameri­cana Magazine (Feb. 1992), MTime­Honored TasteMby Nancy Naglin. Shewrote. Mas the nation grew and settlersmoved west, the cracker business be­gan to take off. Bent's Fort, the mostimportant way station on the Santa FeTrail, for instance, was built by two ofJosiah's cousins in the 1830s and pro­vided countless travelers with achance to buy the family's crackers."Under Josiah's grandson, George H.Bent, the company introduced com­mon crackers and assumed the nameofG. H. Bent Company.

Bent's crackers are said to be madeof high-quality wheat and cold water,Mwhich im part a soothing, basic tastethat compliments many foods." Thistreat which started out as biscuits, orhardtack, is still used by present-dayCivil War reenactors. MIn a 1914 mem­oir, George Bent claimed the familyproducts were the essential ingredientin the cheese-and-cracker courseserved 'in the finest dining rooms fromMaine to Rhode Island.' An. elegantmenu used on the Atchison, Topeka &Santa Fe Railroad on Dec. 12, 1911,lists Bent's water crackers alongside

. imported cheeses and French coffee asthe finale of an extravagant dining-carmeal. M

For those Trail buffs who can't waitfor the Symposium in 1993 to see ifDon Hill has Bent's crackers, the G. H.Bent Company, 7 Pleasant St.. Milton,MA 02186 (617) 698-5945 sells itscrackers by mail order and retail.

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WIWAM BENT'S ORIGINALGRAVE SITE MARKED

THE La Junta, CO, Chapter of theDAR conducted a ceremony andplaced a marker at the site of WilliamBent's original grave near Las Animason May 16. 1992. When William Bentdied on May 19. 1869. he was buriednear his home. His remains weremoved to the Las Animas Cemetery in1906. The new marker is inscribedwith uWilliam Bent, Original GraveSite. May 19, 1869, La Junta ChapterNSDAR." Speakers at the ceremonyincluded SFTA Program CoordinatorDon Hill, supt. of Bent's Old Fort NHS;SFTA member Phil Petersen whoheads up the BoWville RevitalizationCommittee; and SFTA mem her GeraldFaust, chairman of the Bent CountyCommissioners. The La Junta ChapterNSDAR is to be commended for con­tinUing the long-standing project ofthe DAR to mark the Santa Fe Trailand its related historic sites.

FRANZWA RECOGNIZED FORTRAIL WORK

THE Arizona Archaeological and His­torical Society has conferred its ByronS. Cummings Award on Gregory M.Franzwa. director of The Patrice Pressin Tucson (formerly of St. Louis). TheCummings Award. named in honor ofthe principal founder of the society. Isgiven for outstanding research andcontributions to knowledge in archae­ology, anthropology. ethnology, or his­tory.

Franzwa was selected for the awardin recognition of his research into theSanta Fe Trail and his activities towardthe preservation of this national his­toric trail and the sites associationwith it, as well as his work in preserv-.ing segments of the Oregon Trail. Hewas nominated by Dr. Melburn D.Thurman. Plains Indian ethnologistfrom Ste. Genevieve, MO. and sec­onded by Marc Simmons. past presi­dent of SFTA and historian of theAmerican Southwest from Cerrillos.NM.

In addition to being founder and di­rector ofthe 25-year-old Patrice Press.Franzwa has written a dozen books.His best known are The Oregon TrailRevisited. Maps oj the Oregon Trail,Santa Fe Trail Revisited, and Maps ojthe Santa Fe Trail. He has long beenrecognized as an expert cartographerfor these two trails and acts as consult­ant for the National Park Service. Hisquarterly newsletterJolio is a forum fortrail preservation. He is currently atwork on a study of the Lincoln High­way. Congratulations Gregory!

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BENTRUPHONOREDATCAMPAMACHEMEMOR~L

SFTA Ambassador Paul Bentrup,Deerfield. was among the honoredguests at the annual memorial cere­monies at Camp Amache near Gran­ada. CO. on May 23, marking the 50thanniversary of the opening of the WarRelocation Center in 1942. Cam pAmache, named for the Cheyenne wifeof John W. Prowers. housed more than10,000 Japanese-Americans (citizensof the U.S. of Japanese ancestry) im­prisoned there during wwn in viola­tion of their civil rights. Bentrup wasquoted as saying. uAt Gettysburg wealmost lost the country; at Amache, wealmost lost the Constitution." Bentrupwas honored for helping keep watchover the site and reporting conditionsto Denver during the past decade. dur­ing which time he has attended theannual memorial services.

. At Camp Amache at least 120 pris­oners died and 400 babies were born.More than 100 young men fromAmache served in the U.S. Army inEurope, and 31 of them gave their livesfighting for the country that impris­oned their families. Although the re­mains of the camp have Virtually dis­appeared. memorials are maintainedat the site to honor those who died. andformer prisoners and people from thecommunity gather there each year to

.remember the tragic time.

CLAPSADDLE HONORED

SFTA Ambassador David Clapsaddle,Larned, was selected as a finalist in theTake Pride In America National AwardsProgram. He was nominated for hiswork and leadership in marking theFort Hays-Fort Dodge Trail. a branchof the Santa Fe Trail, and marking theWet and Dry routes of the Santa FeTrail from near Larned to Fort Dodgein Kansas. It is nice to see his effortsrecognlzed.He was Invited to Washing­ton. D.C.• where the awards were pre­sented. Congratulations David!

NEWSLETTER FOR FRIENDSOF THE PALACE

SFTA member Mary Jean Cook, SantaFe, is the editor of an excellent news­letter. COMPADRES, published for theFriends of the Palace of the Governors(Los Compadres del Palacio) at SantaFe. The premier Issue includes news.messages from the director of the Pal­ace and president of the Friends. cal­endar of upcoming events. Informationabout the Palace, plans for develop­ment. and a fine article by Mary JeanCook, "Gov. James S. Calhoun Re­membered," which tells the story of

Calhoun's fatal trip over the Santa FeTrail in 1852. Calhoun, the first terri­torial governor, was extremely ill andattempted, unsuccessfully, to reach"the States" via the Trail. He died alongthe way. Cook also unravels the mys­tery surrounding Calhoun's final rest­ing place.

Tojoin the support group and receiveCOMPADRES. write to Friends of thePalace, PO Box 9312, Santa Fe, NM87504-9312, or call (505) 827-6474.Congratulations to MaryJean Cook foran outstanding publication.

CIMARRON COUNTY TOHAVE MUSEUM &GALLERY

by Helen French JuddTHE dream of several CimarronCounty, OK. people will become a re­ality soon, when a new museum andart gallery opens its doors to the pub­lic. Funds for the project. with theCimarron County Historical Society incharge. are being made possible by aone-million-dollar gift from the estateof Charles C. French. a former BoiseCity resident.

French graduated from the BoiseCity schools in 1937 and earned de­grees at Panhandle A&M (now Pan­handle State) in Goodwell, OK, andColumbia University in New York City.He also attended UCLA, Los Angeles.After serving his country In World WarII he lived In Los Angeles the rest of hislife. He died Oct. 6. 1991, and wasburied In the Boise City Cemetery.

Julius W. Cox. a Boise City residentsince shortly after statehood, willedhis home. designed by the late BruceGoff (a University of Oklahoma profes­sor of architecture and a student ofFrank Lloyd Wright) to the CimarronCounty Historical Society. Cox, now aresident of Cimarron Nursing Home.was owner of Cox Farm Implement Co.in Boise City and served in the statelegislature. A few months ago he gavethe society possession of his homewhich will be used for the museum.

Mrs. Bea Edgington. a Boise Cityresident, has given the society threeand one-half acres adjoining the Coxhouse. on which additional museumbuildings will be erected. Mrs. Edging­ton and her late husband. Don. ownedBoise City Machinery Co. for manyyears.

So the d reams of a lifetime for Cimar­ron County to have a museum and artgallery will soon come true, thanks tothe generosity of these special people:Charles French. Julius Cox, and BeaEdgington. The story of the CimarronRoute of the Santa Fe Trail throughpresent Cimarron County will be in­cluded in the museum exhibits.

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POINT OF ROCKS, NEW MEXICOby Harry C. Myers

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DONA TULAS PRESENTEDAT EXPO '92

by Michael E. Pitel

[Pitel has served as SFTA publicitycoordinator since the founding in1986.J

VANANN Moore. a professional ac­tress from Belen, NM, took her one­woman performance of Dona Tules,the prominent Santa Fean who was apopular figure during the heyday oftheSanta Fe Trail, to Expo '92 in Seville,Spain, in July 1992. As many as125,000 visitors to the U.S. Pavilionthere caught her and 19 other castmembers In 22 performances of MVivaSanta Fe!" The hour-long musical wasperformed there from July 6-18.

MViva Santa Fe!" was written by JayStewart and features Ms. Moore in thelead role. She has portrayed Dona Ma­ria Gertrudls Barcelo for several years.Those who attended the Santa Fe Sym­pos�um in 1989 will recall her perform­ance as Susan Shelby Magoffin.

COUNCIL GROVE TRAIL·FESTIVAL, SEPl: 26 & 27

THE Santa Fe Trail Arts Festival andChili Cook-Off at Council Grove Sep­tember 26-27 Is a celebration of thecultures and history of the KawIndianNation, the Santa Fe Trail, and thefrontier community of Council Grove.MVoices of the Wind People," a multi­media historical pageant will highlightthe festival. Members of the Kaw Na­tion whose ancestors lived on the res­ervation around Council Grove willpresent the Indian culture. DavidClapsaddle ofLarned will portray SethHays, founder of the white settlementof Council Grove. Current residents ofthe town will portray townsmen of theTrail period. An authentic wagon trainand a pack train are to be part of thepageant.

The production will be presented inan outdoor amphitheater on Saturday,July 26, at 8 p.m. Admission to thefestival is free, but there Is a charge forthe pageant. Ajurled art show and saleofSouthwestern art will begin at 8 a.m.Saturday. The Chill Cook-Off judgingwill be at 6 p.m., followed by a Chilifeed and sale.

Sunday events will be held at the oldStone Barn built by town father SethHays. A church service at 9:30 a.m.will be followed by a prairie cookoutand a mini trail ride. Pioneer living­history demonstrations will be giventhroughout the day. For more informa­tion, contact the Council Grove Con­vention and Visitors Bureau at (800)732-9211.

August 1992

[This is twenty-third in a series onhistoric sties and museums along theTraU. Myers is superintendent ofFortUnion National Monument and a

frequent contributor to WT. He thanksFaye and Pete Gaines for theirassistance with the preparation ofthis article.J

LESS than 37 million years ago, at atime when the Sangre de Cristo Moun­tains of northeastern New Mexico hadbeen pushed and shoved upward, mol­ten rock under the plains to the eastwas moving upward. At a point be­tween what Is now Springer and Clay­ton. the molten rock broke through thecrust of Dakota Sandstone coveringthe earth and began to cool very rap­idly. As time, rain, and wind weatheredthis extrusion of now solidified rock,Its present form came into being.Cracks developed in the rock and rain­fall from the mountains found Its waydown slope into the ground and theDakota sandstone. Some water foundan outlet in the cracks, creating aspring. And as human beings cameinto the area it was called many namesat different times, but the earliest onewe remem ber Is Point of Rocks. 1

Point of Rocks, New Mexico, Is one ofseveral geological features on theSanta Fe Trail with the same name. ItIs a mesa which rises 300-400 feetabove the surrounding low rollinghills. Erosion gave the mesa a saucershape, but did not erase HogbackButte, the ridge on the eastern sidewhich rises 300-400 feet higher still.The rapid cooling of this volcanic ex­trusion caused small crystals to formin the fine-grained rock. Most rocksonly contain three or four commonminerals, but over fifty rare and un­usual minerals have been found insmall cavities or in. this rock itself.Even ifnot for the Santa Fe Trail. Pointof Rocks would be a noted point in theannals of geology. 2

But it Is the human story which con­cerns us, and Point of Rocks probablyhas been used by humans for at least10,000 years. In 1926 the Folsompoint was found about 30 miles north­northeast of Point of Rocks. Early In­dians hunted the now extinct forerun­ner of modern-day bison. And as theyhunted it is probable that they campednear and drank from the springs ofwater which run out of the cracks atPoint of Rocks.

A portion ofthe mesa appears to havebeen fortified at some time by rockslining portions of the edge of the mesa.Apishapa Focus Sites, a seml-seden-

tary hortlculturallife way that evolvedout of the Plains Woodland Tradition,are common along the Cimarron Seco(Dry Cimarron) River which runs northand east of PoiDt of Rocks. Severalsites in that area have fortifications onmesas, which are attributed to the Ap­ishapa Focus dating to AD 940. Com­petition for resources led to violence asone Indian group fought another forgame, land, and water. The PlainsWoodland Tradition Is thought to havemoved westward in prehistoric times,giving evidence of a cross- plains con­nection long before Colum bus arrivedin the new world. 3

Some early Spanish exploring ven­tures may have traveled close to Pointof Rocks. With the settlement of SantaFe in 1610. Spanish expeditionsmoved more frequently eastward to theplains and noted that Indians. whowere later called Jicarilla Apaches, oc­cupied the area of Point of Rocks. Al­though they probably did not have amajor campsite there, the farm ing andhunting JicarUlas were noted as hav­ing a major village about 40 miles west(in the area of present Cimarron) in1719 by New Mexico Governor AntonioValverde. Some writers have specu­lated that La Jicarilla (a peak In theland of the JicarUla Apaches) noted byJuan de Ulibarri while on his 1706journey was probably Capulin Vol-~~~~~.~O miles northeast of Point of

Other Indians of historic times wereknown to have used Point of Rocks asa cam psite or stopping place. From thePueblos of Taos and Picuris on thewestern side of the Sangre de CristoMountains, expeditions from eachpueblo, and sometimes jointly,crossed the mountains annually tohunt buffalo on the plains. A well-worntrail from Rayado to the Point of Rockswas noted by Lieutenant Jonathan G.Parke in 1851 while Investigating thepracticability of a wagon road betweenthose two places. Since Rayado wasthe outlet of an early trail over themountains to Taos, it is evident thatthis well-worn trail was us&d by bothPlains and Pueblo Indians.

Between the 1820s and I840s, theJicarilla Apaches were content to letthe wagons roll through their home­lands without serious molestation.Coming from the Missouri Valley. thewagon trains entered the area from thenortheast and camped. nooned, or gotwater at the crossing of Rock (Carrizo)Creek. They continued on to Whet­stone Creek. noted for its stones suit-

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able for honing knives, to Don Carlosand Palo Blanco Creeks, and then onto Point of Rocks about 10 miles west.There travelers gained their the firstview of the magnificent Rocky Moun­tains. For those on their first trip west,the snow-capped Sangre de Cristosmust have been a breathtaking sightwhich signaled that the march acrossthe flat prairies would soon end. Al­though the Wagon Mound was, now insight, the caravans had to head for theRock Crossing of the Canadian River(El vado de Piedras) and then south tothe Wagon Mound.

George Sibley, ~urveyingthe ~rail forthe United States in 1825, when closeto Rabbit Ears. sketched his view look­ing west and,n9te'd the Poin{of ~bckswas Mmound No.6." When/the partyarrived at Point of Rock,s/;:;,bley andsurveyor Joseph C. Brown climbed to

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the top ,and admired the view of theMRange of Mountains." As they left the

\Point, Sibley noted the Mvery plainTrace, which leads directly to the Passof the Mountain, by which Mules usu­ally enter the Valley of Taos." Sibleytook this trace direct from Point ofRocks into Taos instead of goingthrough San Miguel vi~ the RockCrossing of the Canadian.

Josiah Gregg in his Commerce of thePrairies (first published in 1844).calledPoint of Rocks a Mdiminutive spur pro­jecting from the north ... at the foot ofwhich spring.. a charming little fountof water." Manuel Armijo, leading acommand in 1843 searching for Tex­ans reputed to be in the area robbingthe caravans of New Mexican traders,reached Punta de Perla (Point of Rocks)on May 13 and noted that water wasabundant, wood scarce, and pasturegood. Santa Fe trader James JosiahWebb recorded that he p~ed MthePoint of Rocks an~ Willow creek" in1844 heading east.

The intermittent creek that runs justsouth of Point of Rocks, in addition tobeing called Willow Creek, was calledDon Carlos on an 1851 map. But bothGeorge Sibley and Manuel Armijo lo­cated Don Carlos Creek about 11 milesto the east, and Sibley said It wasnamed for a great victory over the Co­manche a long time ago by Spanishtroops whose commander was namedDon Carlos. In 1774 Don Carlos Fer­nandez led 600 Spanish troops andmilitia east from Santa Fe in retaliationfor Comanche raids. They caught theIndians 50 leagues east of Sailta Feand attacked the encampment of 80lodges. Several fam lUes fled and therest took refuge in a pond in a woodedravine. where they were killed withoutmercy. Only 115 women and childrencame out alive. An estimated 400 Co-

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manches were killed and taken pris­oner along with about one thousand,horses and much spoil. 8

With the onset ofthe Mexican War in1846. General Stephen W. Kearny'sArmy of the West invaded New Mexicovia Bent's Fort and Raton Pass, laterto be known as the Mountain Route ofthe Trail. Thus they missed the Pointof Rocks. Many of the volunteer unitsthat followed Kearny to New Mexicoused the original Santa Fe Trail, laterknown as the Cimarron Route, andthereby passed Point of Rocks. One ofthe most astute observers to comedown the Trail, Dr. Frederick Wis­lizenus, preceded Kearny into NewMexico in 1846, and he traveled theCimarron Route. Wislizenus joined Al­bert Speyer's Santa Fe bound caravanin Independence on the eve of the dec­laration of war with Mexico in May1846. On June 20 he passed Point ofRocks and noted a Mclear mountainstream" coming out of the rock. whichconsisted of Ma mass of large blocks ofsienite, towering to the height of sev­eral hundred feet. "9

Later in 1846 various units of theMissouri Volunteers and the MormonBattalion passed Point of Rocks ontheir way to Santa Fe and the MexicanWar. In 1847 the enlistments of theone-year volunteers expired, and newvolunteer units came to replace them.Many of the returning veterans as wellas the westbound volunteers passedPoint of Rocks. 10

After the Mexican War Point of Rockshad a reputation of being a dangerouspoint on the Trail, a place where Indi­ans frequently raided wagon trains.The first known death of an Anglo­American at Point ofRocks occurred in1848. On August 26. 1848, SergeantJohn W. Story. Company A, 5th lllinoisVolunteer Infantry. died on his wayhome at Point of Rocks. Disease orsickness was probably responsible forStory's death as it was for so manyother soldiers during the war. IsaacAllen, whose grave stone still exists,died at Point of Rocks also in 1848. Hemust have been held in great respect,for his stone was of the hard granite­like rock found on the Point. His nameand date of death chiseled into thehard stone, argue that his death wasnot taken lightly by his companions.Unfortunately, his grave stone andgrave are the only evidence that hrrbeen found to document his death. 1

In May 1848 George Gibson. formerMissouri Volunteer and editor of theSanta Fe Republican. expressed appre­hension while camped at Point ofRocks. He had seen smoke in severaldirections and Mother indications of In­dians being in the neighbourhood.

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with whom we have no particular de­sire to form an acquaintance, as theyare Camanches or Apaches or both."Gibson formed no aCfiuaintances andmade it home safely. 1

The killing ofJames M. White and histraveling companions along with theabduction of his wife in 1849 by Indi­ans, was often reported to have takenplace at Point of Rocks. while in fact ittook place several miles east. However.Kit Carson said Mrs. White's blackfemale servant's body was found closeto the Point. Given this testimony, it islikely that this unnamed black femaleis buried at Point of Rocks. 13

The California Gold Rush of 1849brought an increase oftravelers on theTrail. H. M. T. Powell passed the Pointbefore he realized what it was. He re­marked that, had he known. he wouldhave made a sketch of it. The map hecarried placed it farther west from thecreeks his party had passed. How un­fortunate that Powell did not returnand put his im pressions on paper.Powell did remark that, as theyrounded the Point. they Mhad a splen­did view of the Rocky Mountains fromthe Plains for the first time." He alsotook note of the fine spring in a gorgein the rocks. 4

In May of 1850 the westbound mailparty from Independence was killed atWagon Mound. About a month there­after, a detachment of troops from LasVegas commanded by Lt. Ambrose E.Burnside escorted the mail east. Theyencountered a party of New Mexicancibolleros (buffalo hunters) who toldBurnside that they had met thedoomed mail party at the Point ofRocks on May 5 and had traded somehorses or mules with them. Based onseveral contradictions Burnside sus­pected the buffalo hunters may havebeen the murderers. Later informationindicated that JicarillaApache and UteIndians had killed all 10 of the party. 15

Anna Maria Morris, accompanyingher husband Major Gouverneur Mor­ris on their way to Santa Fe, recordedin her diary when they passed Point ofRocks in July of 1850. She was sur­prised that she did not see the remainsof the White party; MSCUlis of the m ur­dered party so conspicuously dis­played in the sand as I expected." How­ever her husband found a skull with abeautiful set of teeth. She remarkedthat it seemed the most favorable placefor an ambusc'\ie that they had seenon the journey.

By 1851 the army leadership had abetter understanding of their job inNew Mexico and began to look for al­ternative sites for military posts. Lt.Jonathan G. Parke was directed toreport upon the practicability of mak-

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ing a wagon road from the exJsting Postof Rayado to the Point of Rocks. WithLieutenant Richard S. Ewell, a dra­goon escort, and a wagon with a via­meter, Parke left Rayado on March 28,1851, heading for the Point of Rocks.They followed Rayado Creek as far asthe Bent's Fort Road (MountainRoute), crossed the creek at an excel­lent ford, and Uentered upon a well-de­fined trail, which Capt. Ewell informedme joined the Cimmaron road at thePoint of Rocks." They continued on tothe Point of Rocks, a distance of 42miles. Parke noted that the uwell de­fined trail," makes an excellent wagonroad. At the Point he made two piles ofstones marking the junction of theroads and dug a shallow trench mark­ing the direction of the road to Rayado.Parke implied in his report that thedirect way to Las Vegas was betterbecause it was 20.3 miles shorter thanvia Rayado. In another report dated aday earlier, Parke also recommendedthat the Post at Rayado be moved tothe Cimarron River, cl?~e to presentCimarron, New Mexico.

However, four months later ColonelEdwin V. Sumner arrived to takecharge of the Ninth Military Depart­ment, and in July of 1851 Fort Unionwas established near the junction ofthe Mountain and Cimarron routes ofthe Trail. Soon after the new post wasestablished, Sumner sent MajorJames H. Carleton and a detachmentof First Dragoons up the CimarronRoute to help protect travelers fromIndians. Thereafter patrols from FortUnion frequently moved past Point ofRocks on the lookout for trouble. 8

William Carr Lane, newly-appointedgovernor of New Mexico Territory,came down with a bad case of Urenalcalculus on the right side," in 1852just before reaching Point of Rocks onhis way to Santa Fe. Major Carletonwith six dragoons and Governor Lanein an ambulance made a forced marchfrom the Point to Fort Union whereLane recovered from his illness. On theTrail again in 1853, returning to hishome, Lane only noted hills or moun­tains on their left as his party passedthe Point of Rocks. Perhaps Lane wasa better governor than observer. 19

Violent death came to the Point ofRocks area once again in 1859 whentwo sergeants of the First Dragoonswere killed by Indians. Sergeants J.Kelly and J. Berry were on furlough,possibly returning to the States, whenon January 25, they were killed nearWhetstone Creek about 20 miles eastof the Point, close to where the WhiteParty was killed. 20

The Civil War brought more trafficpast the Point of Rocks and increased

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military protection. New Mexico Vol­unteers recruited from the mountainvillages of northeastern New Mexicopatrolled the Cimarron Route fromFort Union to the Arkansas River on aregular basis. With increased Indianactivity in 1865, Colonel Kit Carson,New Mexico Volunteers, establishedCamp Nichols in present CimarronCounty, Oklahoma. Marian Russell,wife of Lieutenant Richard Russell inCarson's command, begged Carson toallow her to accompany the commandto establish the camp. Carson refused,believing that it was too dangerous,but promised to bring her as soon asit was safe. In June of 1865 Kit Carsonreturned to Fort Union for Marian Rus­sell and on their way to Cam p Nichols,Carson had Marian dismount from herhorse and stand by a pile of stones. Itwas where the White p'arty was killed,east of Point of Rocks. 21

With the end of the Civil War and thelaying of rails across the plains, a railhead was established at Granada,Colorado. Trail traffic shifted to thewest of Point of Rocks and ranchesbegan to occupy the plains.

Today Point of Rocks is the ranch ofPete and Faye Gaines, little changedfrom the days of the Trail, except forfences and their home at the base ofthe Point. The spring that proVidedsuccor to travelers now provides thehouse and a bountiful garden with theclear water. Eleven known graves exJstin the vicinity, all of which have beenrobbed sometime before the turn ofthecentury. With the exception of that ofIsaac Allen, none of the graves havetombstones and the names of thosewho occupy the graves are not known.Most likely one grave is occupied bySergeant John W. Story who died thesame year as Isaac Allen in 1848. An­other possibility is a grave of the blackfemale servant of the White familykilled in 1849. Who rests in the othergraves remains a mystery. Perhapsthey too were Trail travelers struckdown by disease or by violent death atthe hands of their companions or Indi­ans. It is possible that the remains ofthe White party and the two soldierskilled in 1859 were interred at Point ofRocks. Ifso, then people of a variety ofethnic origins are represented. Mr.White was an Anglo, his male servantwas a mulatto, and his female servantwas black. Two Hispanics were alsokilled with his party and shortly after­ward a cibollero (buffalo hunter) whowas killed at the same spot was prob­ably a Pueblo Indian. Thus, Point ofRocks represents and has meaning forall of the peoples who traveled theSanta Fe Trail.

On Sunday, July 26, 1992, Point of

Rocks was certified as the first site inNew Mexico as a part of the Santa FeNational Historic Trail. Pete and FayeGaines welcome guests to Point ofRocks Ranch to view the Santa Fe Trailruts and the grave sites. To reach theranch, travel from Clayton or Springer,New Mexico, on U. S. Highway 56 to aroadside park between mile markers23 and 24. On the east side ofthe parkis County Road C52. Travel north onC52 seven miles, turn east (right) ontoCounty Road C53 and travel two milesto a UT" intersection. Turn north (left)and within a mile you will reach thehome of Pete and Faye. Please call inadvance to make sure your visit willnot disrupt ranch operations andplease treat the property with all re­spect. Pete and Faye can be reachedby calling (505) 485-2473, or by writ­ing HCR 60, Box 27, Springer, NewMexico 87747.

NOTES

1. Jerry Williams, ed., Southwestern Field SchoolGuidebook (Albuquerque: University of New Mexico,1991), 114.

2. Ibid.

3. Joe Winter, Stone Circles, Ancient Forts, and OtherAntiquitiesofthe Dty Cimarron Valley: A Study oftheCimaffon Seco Indians (Santa Fe: New Mexico His­toric Preservation Division, 1988),36,39,76-77.

4. Dolores A Gunnerson, The Jicarilla Apaches: AStudy in SuNival (DeKalb: Northern Illinois Univer­sity Press, 1974), 186-189,205,252-253

5. Jonathan Parke to II L Mclaws, April 15, 1851,letters Received, Adjutant General's OffICe, Micro­film 567, roll 449, National Archives.

6. Kate L Gregg, The Road to Santa Fe: The Journaland Diaries of George Champlin Sibley (Albuquer­que: University of New Mexico Press, 1952), 103­104. Considering Sibley's route with the survey teamwith reference to II Parke's 1851 map which showsa direct route from Point of Rocks to Rayado, itseems likely that Sibley did not cross the Canadianat the Rock Crossing but used a trail to Taos viaRayado that crossed the Canadian sewral milesnorth of the Rock Crossing. If this is true, many SantaFe Trail maps will need to be revised. It is a questionin need of further study.

7. Josiah Gregg, Commerce of the Prairies (Norman:University of Oklahoma Press, 1954), 73-74; Gen­eral Armijo's 'Diary of Operations' Huntington U­brary; and James Josiah Webb, Adventures in theSanta Fe Trade, 1844-1847 (Glendale: The ArthurH. Clark Co., 1931),71.

8. Gregg, Road to Santa Fe, 103; Armijo, 'Diary ofOperations'; and Alfred B. Thomas, Forgonen Fron­tiers: A Study of the Spanish Indian Policy of DonJuan Bautista de Anza, Governor of New Mexico,1777-1787 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press,1932), 62-63. W.W.H. Davis in EI Gringo or NewMexico & Her People (Uncoln: University Press,1982), 82, says another battle between the Spanishand Comanches took plaoe near Rabbit Ears in1785. Although he also mentioned the action by DonCarlos Fernandez, he said it took place in 1783.

9. Adolph Wislizenus, Memoir of a Tour to NorthemMexico, Connected with Colonel Doniphan's Expe­dition in 1846 and 1847 (Albuquerque: ,Calvin Hom,1969),15.

10. Daniel Tyler, A Concise History of the MormonBanalion in the Mexican War, 1846-1847 (Chicago:The Rio Grande Press, 1964), 158-165.

11. Thomas D. Hall, Medicine on the Santa Fe Trail(Arrow Rock: Morningside Bookshop, 1971), 136.

12. Robert W. Frazer, Over the Chihuahua and Santa

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: Wagon Tracks. Volume 6, Issue 4 (August, 1992)

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SAMUEL BOWMAN WATROUS, PIONEER MERCHANTby James E. Romero, Jr.

Fe Trails, 1847-1848, George Rutledge Gibson'sJournal (Albuquerque: Uniwrsity of New MexicoPress, 1981),68.

13. John Greiner, Notes of an Interview with Kit Carson,R1541 (a), Huntington Ubrary; and Harry C. Myers,'Massaae on the Santa Fe Trail: Mr. White's Com­pany of Unfortunates' Wagon Tracks, 6 (Feb1992):18-25.

14. Douglas S. Watson, ed., The Santa Fe Trail toCalifornia, 1849-1852: The Journal and Drawings ofH. M. T. Powel/(NewYork: Sol lewis, 1981),63-64.

15. Marc Simmons, 'The Wagon Mound Massaae:The Mexican Road: Trade, Travel, andConfrontationon the Santa Fe Trail, ed. Mark L Gardner (Manhat­tan: Sunflower UniwlSily Press, 1989), 50; and A. EBurnside to II P. W. L Plympton, June 12, 1850,M1102, roll 2, frame 0334, NA.

16. Kenneth L Holmes, Coversd Wagon Women, Diar­ies & Letters from the Western Trails, 1840-1890, vol.II, 1850 (Glendale, The Arthur H. Clark Com pany,1983),35.

17. Parke to Mclaws, April 14 & 15, 1851, M567, roll449, NA. .

18. Robert M. Utley, Fort Union (Washington: U. S.Department of the Interior, 1962), 20.

19. Ralph E. Twitchell, Historical Sketdr of GovernorWilliam Carr Lane together with Diary ofhis Journeyfrom St. Louis, Mo., to Santa Fe, N. M. July 31st, toSaptember9th, 1852 (Santa Fe: Historical Society ofNew Mexico, 1917), 44-45; and William G. B. Car­son, ed., 'William Carr lane Diary: New MexicoHistorical Review, 39 (October 1964): 305-307.

20. Adjutant General's Office, Chronological Ust of Ac­tions, &c., With Indians from January IS, 1837 toJanuary, 1891 (Fort Collins: The Old Army Press,1979), 19.

21. Utley, Fort Union, 39; and Marian Russell, Land ofEnchantment (Albuquerque: UniwlSily of New Mex­ico Press, 1986), 101-102.

3RD ANNUAL OKLAHOMATRAIL TOUR, OCTOBER 3

THE Cimarron County Historical So­ciety is again sponsoring a tour of thesection of the Santa Fe Trail whichcrosses the county. On Saturday, Oc­tober 3, 1992, participants will meet at7:30 a.m. at the Cimarron County FairBuilding in Boise City and leave by8:00 a.m. The morning will be spentvisiting sites northeast of Boise City,including Trujillo Springs, and thegroup will return to Boise City forlunch. During the afternoon severalmore Trail sites will be visited, includ­ing Flag Springs, Cold Springs/Auto­graph Rock and Signature Rock sites,the Aubry Trail connection, and CampNichols.

Tour members must furnish theirown off-road vehicle for the trip, ifpossible. Limited space will be avail­able for those needing rides. Reserva­tions are required and maybe made bycallingJoan Walton at (405) 544-3245,JoAnn Wells' at (405) 544-3077, orJoan Wells at (405) 544-2716. There isno charge for the tour but donationsmay be made to the Cimarron CountyHistorical Society. Reservations for thenoon lunch must be made and paid forin advance. Inquiries may be ad­dressed to the Cimarron County His­torical Society, PO Box 655, Boise City,OK 73933.

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[This is fourteenth in a series onmerchants and personalities on theTraU. Romero is a member of SFTAand the great-great-grandson ofSam­uel and Tomacita Watrous. He servedin the USAF for 27 years and waswith GTE World Headquarters inStamford, CT,for 15 years. A residentof Lompoc, CA, Romero was appoint­ed to the California Telecommunica­tion Advisory Board in 1987. Hegathered this information about S. B.Watrous while researching hisfamUyhistory and kindly prepared thisarticlefor WT.]

ERASTUS Bowman Watrous, wholater changed his first name toSamuel, was born in New England inNovember 1816, the son of Erastusand Nancy Bowman Watrous. He wasa descendant of an English family be­gun in the thirteenth century by SirGilbert Waterhouse and his wife isa­bella De Longvale. Jacob Waterhouse(1606-1676) and his Wife Hannahcame to America in 1630. Their de­scendants settled in Massachusetts,Connecticut, and Vermont. In 1713Gideon Waterhouse of Connecticutshortened his last name to Watrouswhich continued as the family namefor his line, including Erastus Bow­man Watrous.

Watrous was orphaned at age 1:tandleft the Vennont home of his uncle andheaded west in 1832 when he was 16.He worked at St. Louis for awhile andmoved to the new community of West­port in 1834. In the spring of 1835 hesigned on with a wagon train goingfrom Independence to Santa Fe. Fam­ily tradition alle~ 'that he workedhard, from early morning until late atnight, at everything he could find to doduring the winter of 1834-1835 so hecould become a valued mem ber of awagon train. When he left Missouri heowned a new hunting knife and hadsome money in the pocket ofa newvestlike the ones worn by other teamsters.

Watrous and the wagon train de­parted Independence in May. Accord­ing to Josiah Gregg's compilation, atotal of 140 men and some 75 wagonstook merchandise valued at $140,000over the Trail in 1835. At CouncilGrove the caravan was organized, re­pairs were made, and hardwood lum­ber was cut for repairs on the Trail.From Council Grove the long wagontrain moved out, and the wagons oftentraveled in four parallel columns onthe plains so in case of an Indian at­tack each column could quickly ma­neuver to fonn a hollow square for

defense. Indians were usually not themajor problem. however. for therewere rain, mud, flood, heat, insects.wind, and the mules and oxen to han­dle. Amidst the hardships of Trail life.young Watrous learned about han­dling draft animals and avoiding dan­gers along the way. He was fascinatedwith New Mexico, a vast domain withopportunity. Watrous was especiallyimpressed with the beautiful MoraRiver valley and the Sapello River andreturned to where the two joined sev­eral years later to settle.

It is not clear what Watrous did afterthe wagons reached Santa Fe. Appar­ently he married a Lamonite womanwho bore him a son, Joseph. Thewoman supposedly died within a shorttime of Joseph's birth. Erastus prob­ably did not remain long at Santa Fe.He became interested in the placermines near Taos and went there. Tra­dition says that Watrous consideredthe gam ble of finding gold. where na­ture held the stakes, as risky businesswhich did not appeal to his shrewdNew England mind. He seemed to be aborn trader and opened a small storeto sell necessities to the miners. Thesource of his funds to start this busi­ness is not now remembered but hemay have borrowed from the wagon­master for whom he had worked on theTrail. The Watrous store prosperedand Erastus was looking for a wife whocould also be mother to his son.Joseph. He married Tomacita Crespin,daughter of a wealthy miner. She wasdescribed as beautiful, with smallhands and feet, the seemingly trans­parent skin, flashing eyes, and blue­black hair of the Spanish aristocracy.She was also very young. Erastus andTomacita had six children: Mary An­tonette (Johnson) who was my great­grandmother, Emeteria (Gregg),Sam uel Jr. (born after Erastuschanges his name), Belina (Wilden­stein), Mary (Tipton), and Louise (Kroe­nig). Tomacita also reared Joseph.

The Watrous business increased andhe began to put gold away, more per­haps than ifhe had mined it. He devel­oped a tanning business and manu­factured deer skin clothing. He had anumber of employees, including ahunter, tailor, and several laborers.The deer meat was sold and the skinswere made into suits. Erastus wasconsidered an excellent hunter andmay have been the best rifle-shot inNew Mexico. He could not tolerate thenotion of leaving a wounded deer orbear to suffer, so he bought and

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trained a greyhound (which cost himover $1 (0) to assist him. The dog wastied to Erastus's belt while hunting. Ifhe failed to kill an animal, Erastusreleased the dog to find the woundeddeer or bear so he could kill it quickly.

It was Erastus's shooting skill thatled to the change of his first name. Oneof his best friends was named Samuel.One day while they were hunting to­gether, Samuel dared Watrous toshoot at a mark on a wager. Erastusreportedly declared that betting wasnot his trade but, he continued, MI havea terrible first name. I like your name.Samuel. so I will bet you one name forthe other. I will do it." Erastus won thebet and immediately changed hisname to Samuel. From that day in1838 he was known as Samuel Bow­man Watrous. It is not known if hisfriend took the name Erastus.

Samuel worked extremely hard at hisbusiness and the strain began toshow. He became ill. Tomacita triedherb teas and homemade poulticesand plasters. but without success. Thefever would not leave and Samuel be­came thin and wasted. Tomacita triedthe patent medicines that stood on theshelves of their store. But nothinghelped, not even the bitter doses of Dr.Spolon's Elixir of Health, the label ofwhich said, MWhoever goes to partiesand eats too much trash of all kinds,oysters and ice creams, cold tongueand cream kisses, sugar plums andcelery, drinks too much brandy, hock,sherry, Madera. and cham pagne willbe relieved by this marvelous medica­tion." It did not cure Watrous, but thenoysters, ice cream, sugar plums, andcelery were rare in San Pedro. At herwit's end, Tomacita sent to Santa Fefor a doctor who told Samuel that hisonly hope for health lay in the open; hemust live in the outdoors.

Tomacita saw to it that was doneimmediately. With several burrosloaded with provisions and bedding.Samuel Watrous left his wife, children,home, and store and went walking intothe hills. For a few years his fam ily onlyknew him as a visitor, returning brieflyonly a few times a year. Tomacita

.reared the children and operated thestore with success. Meanwhile,Samuel was learning about life in In­dian country and may have tradedwith Indians. The years in the out­doors cured him of whatever ailmenthe suffered, and in 1844 Samuel soldhis store and moved to La Junta, thejunction of the Mora and Sapello riv­ers. He obtained a one-seventh inter­est in the Scolly Land Grant, givinghim title to over 10,000 acres. At" LaJunta he established the Watrousranch on the north side of the Mora.

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and there he also operated a store totrade with Indians and travelers on theSanta Fe Trail. In time he built a largehome and store and developed a con­siderable ranching operation. Little in­formation has been found about Wa­trous's business at La Junta.

Watrous reportedly was highly re­spected by Indians. It was said that noIndian was ever turned away from hisranch hungry. Indians were fed andgiven shelter overnight or as long asWatrous thought they should stay. Healso acquired Indians and hired themas servants. The Indians apparentlyrespected Watrous and his tradingpost, and it was believed that no Indi­ans ever attacked him there. From therecords of Fort Union, however, it isclear that some Indians did steal cattleand sheep from Watrous's ranchesand some of his herders were killed byIndians.

Tomacita died in 1856. The sameyear Samuel married Rose Chapinfrom St. Joseph, Missouri. They hadone child who was stillborn. WhenRose 'died, Samuel married her sister.Josephine. They had two children,Charlie and Rose. The ranch and storecontinued after the Indians were goneand the Trail was supplanted by therailroad.

In the 18808 there developed an un­usual situation wherein Joseph, oldestson of Sam uel, and Josephine,Samuel's fourth Wife, became ex­tremely jealous of Samuel Jr., appar­ently because Samuel Jr. was the fa­vorite of his father. Josephine andJoseph allegedly plotted the death ofSamuel Jr. It was said that Josephshot and killed Samuel Jr. on the roadto Cherry Valley (now Shoemaker),New Mexico. in March 1886. The bodywas not found for two days. andSamuel Sr. could not believe that thebody was that of his son.

After the burial, Samuel supposedlyaccused Josephine and Joseph of kill­ing Samuel Jr. During an argument,which was overheard by the servants,shots were heard. When the servantsentered the living room, Samuel laydead with two bullet wounds in hishead. Newspaper reports· referred tohis death as a suicide. Since he diedfrom two bullet wounds to the head,suicide seems unlikely. No one wasever charged with Watrous's death. Hewas buried and became part of thehistory of the Trail. Following Samuel'sdeath, it was reported that Josephinewould never again speak to any ofSamuel's children except for Josephand her own, Charlie and Rose.

Samuel Bowman Watrous (who ex­cept for name changes might still beknown as Erastus Bowman Water-

house) had been a merchant on theSanta Fe Trail for several years. Al­though much remains to be learnedabout the man and his business, thissummary provides an overview of hisinteresting life. When the AT&SF Rail­way built into New Mexico in 1879,railroad officials changed the name ofthe community at the junction of theMora and Sapello rivers from La Junta(because they already had a La Juntain Colorado) to Watrous, thereby hon­oring the pioneer settler and trader.The Watrous home (which includedhis store) north of the Mora River stillstands on the north edge of the townof Watrous and forms the headquar­ters for the present Doolittle Ranch.

NATIONAL TRUST FORHISTORIC PRESERVATION

J 1M Lindberg. field representative atthe Denver regional office of the Na­tional Trust for Historic Preservation,wants Trail people to know about theorganization and its financial assis­tance programs. The mission of theNational Trust. chartered by Congressin 1949, is to foster an appreciation ofthe diverse character and meaning ofour American cultural heritage and topreserve and revitalize the livability ofour communities by leading the nationin saving America's historic environ­ment. The regional office in Denverprovides technical and financial assis­tance to individuals and organizationsin eight states (it should be noted thatMissouri. New Mexico, and Texas arein other regions; Colorado, Kansas,and Oklahoma are in the Denver re­gion).

The Trust's Preservation ServicesFund awards small Mseed grants" tohelp non-profit and public organiza­tions initiate preservation projects.There are three application deadlineseach year: Feb. I, June 1, and Oct. 1.The maximum grant is $5,000 whichmust be matched by local funds.

The National Preservation LoanFund provides low interest loans andloan guarantees to non-profit or publicorganizations for the purchase, stabi­lization, or rehabilitation of historicproperties. These funds must also bematched locally. There is no specificdeadline for loan fund applications.

For more information about the Na­tional Trust, its programs, and detailsabout its services. contact Jim Lind­berg. National Trust for Historic Pres­ervation, 511 16th St, Suite 700, Den­ver, CO 80202 (303) 623-1504. Lind­berg spends part of his time in the fieldand, if you have a project you wouldlike him to look at when he is in yourarea, just let him know.

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JAMES BRICE'S TRAIL REMINISCENCES, PART II

PROTECTING nlEMSELVD AND THE MAIL fROM THE INDIANS

[Theflrst installment ofJames Brice'sReminiscences of Ten Years Exper­ience on the Western Plains appear­ed with an introduction in the lastissue. It is continued here and will beconcluded in the next issue. Specialthanks are extended to the Bricedescendantsforpermission to reprintthis important item. The entire textwill also be reprinted as a separatebooklet later.]

November, 1859. Col. Hall. one of themail contractors. instructed me to takeall the public documents at CouncilGrove and Pawnee Fork and deliverthem at Santa Fe. If the commandingofficer at Fort Larned would not fur­nish an escort, deposit the mail at thePost Office. get a receipt for it andreturn to Independence. When I ap­plied to Capt. David Bell, the com­mander, informing him of the instruc­tions given me by the mail company.he told me he could not furnish anescort; that I would meet one at 'theCimarone Crossing of the ArkansasRiver; they would return with me toFort Union. I asked him for a letter tothe officer in command, but he de­clined, saying it was not necessary. Myoutfit consisted of eight assistant,three loaded wagons, six mules,hitched to each wagon, and six orseven extras for emergencies. I hadseventy-five miles to travel before Icould find out if my doubts were wellfounded about the escort returningwith me to Fort Union. I met the troopscamped at the point Captain Bell toldme. Informing the officer in commandthat Captain Bell told me he wouldreturn with me to Fort Union. the gen­tleman informed me that his rationswere almost exhausted. his horsesbare-footed and he could not returnwith me. It was three hundred miles toFort Union. without a Post Office orhabitation, through a savage territory,regular range for Kiowa and Co­manche Indians, then at war with thegovernment. I concluded it was toodangerous with the small force I had,to proceed further.

Traveling back to the junction ofroads. to go by way of Ratone, fiftymiles further than the regular mailroute, and believing I could deliver themail at Santa Fe on schedule time. Westarted on the new route. althoughnone of us were ever over the roadbefore. Going by the way of PleasantEncampment, Sand Creek, Bent's NewFort, fording the Arkansas River atBents Old Fort, thirty-five miles fur-

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ther west, continuing the route by IronSprings, fording Picket Wire at Trini­dad, over the Ratone Mountains, Max­well's Ranch. Reowal Calhoun'sRanch. reaching the Santa F.e Trailregular mail route six miles north ofFort Union. Stealing a march on thehostile Kiowas, meeting only a smallband of friendly Cheyennes. Theyseemed well pleased when I gave thema little sugar and coffee. Arriving atFort Vnion on time. leaving all myhelpers but two to have everythingready when I returned from Santa Fewith the Eastern mail. Reaching mydestination on schedule time. with thefirst mail to cross the Ratone Moun­tains. fifteen months before the servicewas changed from the Santa Fe Trailto supply Fort Wise, which was re­ported February 22d, 1861. On myreturn trip with the Eastern mail, Itraveled with an escort in charge ofSergeant Speed. who was bringing theremains of Col. May, an army officerwho died at Fort Union, to be for­warded to Baltimore, Maryland, for in­terment. He did not have a full com­pany; asked me to have my men standguard; I told him they would, and thatI would stand guard myself whencalled on. I was sitting by the camp fireour first night out from Fort Union,when the Sergeant accosted one of hisown teamsters, Jones, "I heard thatyou said you would not stand guard. itmaybe ifyou don't I will make a spreadeagle out of you." We had a deep snowall the way from Fort Union to Mis-'souri, but no spread eagles. I remainedwith the military escort until I came tothe stations where the company keptrelays of fresh animals. Bidding good·

bye to Sergeant Speed and thankinghim for his protection and courtesy, Istarted for my destination, visiting allPost Offices on the route. arriving atIndependence on schedule time, toSanta Fe and return.

[The following letter appears at thispoint in the text.)

WHITTIER STATE SCHOOL, WHITTIER. CALJ.P. Greenly, Superintendent,H.N. Coffin, M.D.Whittier, Cal., Sept. 22, 1905.

James Brice, Esq.,Kansas City, Mo.

My Dear Old Comrade: Your letter of the16th received, and I am glad to hear fromyou. My nephew, E. J. Peck, of Larphop, .."­Mo., had written to me that he came across ,you in Kansas City and had a talk with you.You do not seem to remember me, but it isnot strange that you would fail to rememberall the soldiers you met on the plains, wheryou came in contact with so many differentones; while I would naturally recollectnearly all of the old mail hands, for therewere not so many of them. You are mis­taken about the year when Lieut. Long'sparty buried that emigrant family; it was inSeptember or October, '59 instead of '58.The Kiowa outbreak began with the killingof old Pawnee, one of their chiefs, by Lieut.George D. Baird, in the latter part of Sep­tember, '59. I was right alongside of Bairdwhen he shot the Indian, about a mile northof Peacock's Ranch. Our com mander, Maj.SedWick, had started into Fort Riley afterbeing out along the Arkansas River all sum·mer; after Pawnee was killed, we went oninto Riley, but the Kiowas had gone on thewar path and the company I belonged to (K)Capt. Geo. H. Stewart's, was sent back toPawnee Fork where we built sod houses to

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live in and escort mails all that winter.Before going into Fort Riley, just after

Baird killed old Pawnee, on the same after­noon, while we were camped near Pea­cock's Ranch, a mail wagon from Inde­pendence came along: the conductor wasnamed Smith, his brother was one of thedrivers and Bill Cole was the other. Maj.Sedwick detailed Lieut. Otis and ten menfrom each of the four companies, makingforty men to escort the mail through whatwas considered the dangerous ground,from Walnut Creek to Pawnee Fork. I wasone of that escort; you know how that re­sulted in the murder of the two Smiths andnarrow escape of Bill Cole. I was with youon two or three trips I think that winter, butremember none more particularly than onetrip in mid-winter, that we took you clearthrough to Fort Union, it was terribly coldweather the whole trip through and back.Coming back we had two or three feet ofsnow all the way. Going out we were at­tacked by the Indians one night whilecamped on a little branch of Red River. Youwill certainly remember that night. CorporalNewman had charge of the party of twentysoldiers and I was Lance Corporal. Youought to remember one of my chums, BillCrowly, for he was always teasing andjoshing you on that trip. Bill is still living andI get letters from him occasionally. Thedrivers you had that trip were Pat Murrayand John Steel. Among the old hands onthe road at that time, I remember DaveMcKinstry, Frank Cole (a brother of Bill's),Henry Lovell, Bob Carson and others. Afterthe killing of the Smiths, our commandbeing under order for Fort Riley, went on in,but Maj. Sedgwick left Lieut. Long and fortymen at the Big Bend to escort the mail untilhe got orders at Riley to send "K" companyback to the Arkansas to winter.

It was while on this duty that Long's partyfound and buried the murdered family youspeak of, my chum Bill Crowly was one ofthat party, but I was not; I had goneto FortRiley. When we came back to Pawnee Forkto establish our winter quarters, it wasabout the 1st of November. The mail con­tractors (Hall & Porter) sent out some menand an outfit to build a station at PawneeFork; a man named Butts had charge of thejob, but as soon as the mail station wasestablished, Butts went back to Inde­pendence and one Stark came out to takecharge of the mail station. Stark got intotrouble by selling whiskey to the soldiersand he was recalled by Hall & Porter, andthen Butts came on again and remained incharge of the station until we left there inthe spring of '60, to go on the Kiowa expe­dition. Our commanding officer was Lieut.David Bell. During that winter Bell and Buttsbuilt a bridge over Pawnee Fork, but I don'tthink they ever got their money out of it. Belldied that summer, while on sick furlough,at old Point Comfort, Virginia. In the fall of'60, after the Kiowa expedition, we, Sed-

August 1992

wicks com mand, were ordered up to BentsFort to build Fort Wise, afterwards calledFort Lyon, where I put inthe balance of fiveyears and never got to go back to FortLamed but once, that was in the latter partof the winter, about February '61, whenthere was a big snow on. Lamed was thengarrisoned by two companies of secondinfantry with Capt. Julias Hayden in com­mand. Weilsselbum was settled in 1901. Iwrote up and published in the NationalTribune of Washington, D.C., the narrativeof my five years in the army, detailing allabout that winter escorting the mails. Mystory was published under the title, "RoughRiding on the Plains." I expect you wouldbe interest in that part of it, at least youmigt:lt write to the National Tribune and askif they can furnish you the back numberscontaining my story. I will be glad to hearfrom you again; with best wishes for yourhealth and prosperity, I remain your oldcomrade.

. ROBERT MORRIS PECK.Lock box 50, Whittier, Cal.

In 1860 Messrs. Hall & Porter soldtheir unexpired term of the Santa Femail contract to the Missouri StageCompany, known afterwaro as Slem­owns, Roberts & Co. The late Mr. Pres­ton Roberts, of Independence, Mis­souri, was manager and employed meto take charge of their supply stationat Pawnee Fork, where they kept alarge number of mules and other ne­cessities for their employes, instruct­ing me to give no stage passes or bedictated to by anybody. The newmanager made a good many changeson the line, doing away with the heavycovered lum ber wagons, replacingthem with thorough brace ConcordHacks. Establishing new stations tokeep relays of animals to expedite thedelivery of the service. I was only a fewdays in my new position, when thecommanding officer at Fort Lamedbrought a woman to the mail station,whom a wagon master got from Co­manche Indians, on the Santa Fe Trailfor some flour; requesting me to sendher to Kansas City. I told him I wouldsend her by the first mail going East.My wife took charge of her. He sent thePost physician to see her; she beggedthat gentleman, for God's sake not totalk to her! The doctor told me she wasout of her mind and I agreed with him.My wife did everything she could toinduce her to go to bed, thinking shemight sleep and we would learn moreof her history and how she got into thehands ofthe Indians, but all her plead­ings and efforts could not induce herto retire. She sat by the stove all night.I secreted myself and watched her forfear that she would run offor do herselfbodily harm. The Eastern mail arrivedon time and I gave her in charge to the

conductor; I never heard anythingmore about her or where she belonged.

Fort Lamed was then garrisoned bytwo companies, second U.S. Infantry.Capt. JuHas Hayden in command, astrict disciplinarian. He kept a sentinelfrom his headquarters to the mail sta­tion, advising me if Indians wanted tosee him, to bring them to his office. Afew days after the captain had beentalking with me, I brought an Indianthrough the lines, who wanted to seethe commander. When we reached thecaptain's office, he called for his inter­preter to ask the Indian what hewanted. The Indian repied, "My fathersent me to know why you want us tomove camp for?" "Tell him the militaryreservation is ten miles square and wewant the grass close to the Post for ourwn hrses, mules and beef cattle." Theinterpreter told the Indian, who repliedthat he would tell the old man when hewould reach home (meaning his fa­ther). The reply did not suit the cap­tain. "Tell him I am chief of theseguns." pointing to several cannon onthe parade ground. The Indian replied,"I see his guns, they make a big noise,but don't do much harm." "Tell him ifhe don't move before the sun goesdown, I will move him." The Indiansmved immediately when they heardwhat the commander said. PawneeFork was the regular camping groundfor Kiowas, Cheyennes and Arapahoesbefore Fort Lamed was established,and they wanted to continue their for­mer practice; they would come to themail Station at all hours.

Santanta, a Kiowa leader of youngdesperadoes on the frntier days as dogsoldiers, and more feared than lovedby his pale faced brethren, came alongabout midnight with eighteen ortwenty of his band. He would knock onthe door; I would get up out of bed, notknowing who was knocking; openingthe door to see, I was facing thoseIndians mounted in a single file likecavalry soldiers waiting orders fromcommander, wanting to stop with meand get a pass on the stage to CouncilGrove, 200 miles, where he and his_.men were going to see the ComancheIndians. I would tell him that the com­manding officer gave me orders to in­form him when Indians came to themail station, and that he would haveto go and see him. After telling my wifeto bolt the doors, we would start forheadquarters. Santanta was a largeman and would crouch behind me forprotection from stray bullets lf anyshould come our way, he preferredthem to reach me first. When wereached the sentinel, he asked: Whocomes there?' and I answered, Brice,from the mail station, with Santanta tosee the commanding officer. Halt! he

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would call the sergeant of the guard;after all the preliminaries, we would betold to advance. The sergeant wouldwake up the commander from his bed,telling him Santanta with eighteen ortwenty of his band wanted to stop allnight; he would direct the sergeant tolet the men sleep in the guard houseand turn their ponies into the corral.Santanta would decline the invitationand return with me.

While we were seeing the captain theIndians waiting our return, tied theirponies in a ravine close to the mailstation. Sitting around a camp fire, Iwould bring them bread and all thecooked victuals I could find, remainingwith them until their camp fires wentout and that there was no danger ofburning the mail companies haystacks. They would tell me how badlythey were treated by the white peoplekilling their buffaloes and taking theirhunting grounds; I would tell themthat the Big Chief made all the lawsand everybody had to comply withthem. I would pass Santanta in thestage to Council Grove and put hisname on the waybill with initials ofmyname opposite. He carried a buglewhen he got on the seat beside thedriver, he would make as good a callas any post musician; his men wouldcome on a double quick, taking theirplaces each side of the mail coach likea military escort. The herder broughtone ofthe mules in off the pasture thatwas bitten by a rattlesnake. His headwas twice its natural size. I brought aCheyenne Indian to see the animal,who had me to throw him down andsecure him from struggling. He tookmy pen knife, sharpened the point ofthe small blade, tied a cord around it,leaVing one-fourth inch uncovered,pricking the mule around the nostrilswith the uncovered point, blood com­ingfrom each stab; rubbing the bloodypart with gunpowder and telling me tokeep him from water until the nextmorning. I complied with his instruc-

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tions and the mule was all right nextmorning. I had a brood of chickensabout a week old. He asked me to givehim a pair. I could not see what hewanted with them, as thoSe blanketIndians were always on the move.Striking his limbs with both hands,imitating a rooster flapping his wingsto crow, telling me in Spanish hewanted to know when it was near day­Ught. I told him it would be four weeksbefore they could be taken from theirmother. He came one time I was absentand my wife gave him the chickens. Imet him about sundown eight milesfrm the mail station. He had one oneach side ofthe saddle, pointing out tome the rooster from the pullet.

February, 1861, the Santa Fe mailservice was changed from the Cimar­one route by way of Ratone to supplyFort Lyon. The mail company ran twostages from Pawnee Fork to Fort Lyon,250 miles. It took five days to make thetrip each way. There were no stationsbetween those points. Passengers wereprovided with the same accommoda­tions they had on the Cimarone route.Messrs. Slemmons, Roberts & Compa­nys contract expired in nine monthsafter they commenced the service, andat the regular mail letting the contractwas awarded to Messrs. Cottrell, Vick­roy & Company. The late Mr. H.M. Vail,of Independence, Misouri, was one ofthe company, but they did not keep thecontract long until they sold out toMessrs. Bollaw & Sanderson, gentle­men of large means. Mr. Ballow livedat St. Albans, Vermont. Mr. SandersonUved at Kansas City, Missouri; wasmanager and an expert running astage Une, equipping the new enter­prise with new thorough Bmce Con­cord coaches and the best animalsmoney could purchase, expediting theservice from tri-weekly to daily andholding the line against a competitionuntil it became railroad service.

In the winter of 1863 the Eastern

mail got snow-bound about eight mileswest of where Dodge City Is now lo­cated. One of the mules froze to death,after being unhitched from the wagon.One of the drivers started on muleback to inform me of the situation. Hegot only four or five miles until hismule gave out, lying down in the road,and he had to leave him. Seeing theUght of a camp fire, he crossed theArkansas river on the ice, reaching anIndian cam p with hands and feet froz­en. The Indians had to cut his bootsbefore they could get them off, wrap­ping his feet with a buffalo robe, butcould not remove the gloves. The indi­ans brought him and the mule to themail station. There were two army of­ficers, passengers on the stage, sent aletter to the commanding officer at FortLamed, who sent fuel to assist the menI sent to bring passengers and mail tothe post. One of the stages was leftwhere it was snow bound and disap­peared before I could send after it. Ittook several months before I could findout what band of Indians had taken it.I finally located it in Pawnee Creek, .sixty miles from Fort Lamed. Isent twomen with a team to bring it home. Theyhad no trouble in finding it. Thesquaws arranged harness to suitthemselves, made of strips of buffalorobe, using the vehicle to carry theirMpappooses'·over the prairie when theywould be moving to their differentcamps.

When the regulars were relieved atFort Larned it was garrisoned with vol­unteers. Col. Leavenworth was com­manding officer. Indians took more Ub­erties than they had under the formercommander and would prowl aroundthe post at all hours. A good while aftertaps a horseman riding to wards thepost was challenged by the sentinel.Getting no reply, he shot at the in­truder, alarming the garrison by thedischarge of firearms at such an un­usual hour. Officers hastening to findout what was the matter found a deadIndian. The sentinel did not know whothe horseman might be and was carry­ing out his instructions. The Indianswere notified and came to identify thebody and the band he belonged to. Thecommanding officer gave orders tobury the Indian and put a palingaround his gmve. The order was car­ried out. I could see the paling aboutthe gmve while I remained at PawneeFork. A few months after the Indianwas shot by the sentinel, two finehorses, the private property of a com­missary sergeant of the Second Colo­rado troops, broke a way from the manwho was watering them and runningnorth crossed the bridge over Pawnee

. creek a mile from the post. The owneroffered a reward to have them caught

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ChUly.

The newest edition of the offiCial NewMexico state highway map shows theroute of EI Camino Real (or the Chi­huahua Trail) as well as the Santa FeNational Historic Trail which has beenmarked on earlier editions. It is nice tosee state maps highlight historic trails;several other Trail states also includethe routes of the Santa Fe Trail.

The National Park Service recentlypublished the National TraUs SystemMap and Guide showing the 17 na­tional scenic and historic trails. A briefdescription of each trail is included.SFTA is recognized asa support groupfor the SFNHT. This is a fine publica­tion and should soon be available

Missouri River Outfitters ChapterPresident Roger Slusher had an infor­mative item in the Lexington News,June 3. 1992, explaining the routes ofthe Trail in the Lexington area. Hepointed out that the routes are nowshown as part of a new exhibit at theLexington Historical Museum.

Plans for a sprawling business parksouth of Bannister Mall in KansasCity, MO. include a swath of parklandthat will highlight the Santa Fe Trail.Marion Merrell Dow. a pharmaceuticalcompany. is developing the project.

The Friends of Arrow Rock continueto preserve and interpret the historicvillage and welcome members from·everywhere. Membership dues helpkeep the organization going and assistwith its many fine programs at ArrowRock. Annual dues are only $1 O. Sendto Friends of Arrow Rock, PO Box 124, 'Arrow Rock. MO 65320.

Several Council Grove sites were cer­tified by the NPS on June 13. accord­ing to a brief newspaper article whichcame to SFTA. Included were the HaysHouse. Seth Hays Home. Conn StoneStore, Last Chance Store. CouncilOak, Post Office Oak. Kaw Mission,and the Neosho River Crossing. Some­one should have sent the details forWT.

. A free booklet, Santa Fe TraU, makesthe sounds and sites of the nationalhistoric Trail H come alive with legendsof the lusty pioneers who forged theway west between 1822 and 1880."The brochure maybe ordered from theNew Mexico Dept. of Tourism. Room751, 1100 St. Francis Dr.. Santa Fe.NM 87503, or call (800) 545-2040.

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HOOF PRINTS-TRAIL TIDBITS~-

The Morton County (KS) HistoricalSociety and Kirkland Cattle Companyrecently sponsored a two-day wagontrip along the Santa Fe Trail ruts in theCimarron National Grassland. If thisopportunity is offered again. we hopethey will let WT readers know in timeto participate if interested.

An article about travel opportunitiesalong the Trail, by William Childress ofAnderson. MO. recently appeared inthe Air Force Times. Army Times, andNavy Times. He also had a column onthe Trail in the St. Louis Post Dispatch.Childress utilized Gregory Franzwa'sSanta Fe TraU Revisited, which hepraised highly. and followed the Trailto gather inform ation for the pieces. Healso gave a nice plug to SFTA. Thanks

The moment the ranchmen looked forthe troops they were shoUn the back.One of the men made his way off theroof and fell dead in the room whereSimon Ebey, one of the stage drivers.was sick in bed for two weeks. He sawthe Indians taking everything theycould carry off without moving a: mus­cle until the darkness of the nightcovered his movements; making hisway to Fort Lamed. 35 miles. and in­forming the commanding officer of themurders committed by those bloodthirsty demons. The commander im­mediately sent soldiers to the ranch tobury the dead bodies and protect theproperty until it was taken charge ofby the proper parties. The sick manwas taken into the hospital. where heremained until he was able to go towork. The last I heard of him he wasliving at Bumelo. New Mexico.

(continued next issue)

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!QUAWS MOVING PAPOOISES

and brought back. Two mounted sol­diers followed them and crossing thebridge were cut off from the post byIndians, who murdered them and mu­tilated their bodies in such a savagemanner that they had to be carried tothe post in gunny sacks. The poorfellows lost their lives and were cut topieces trying to catch the horses andbring them back to their owner, Indi­ans capturing the four horses aftercommitting the brutal deed.

General Sacket. U.S. Army, was apassenger on the coach en route forNew Mexico a few days after thesemurders were committed. I was tellinghim how bold those savages were,murdering people in sight of the com­manding officer's headquarters. I toldthe general I was going to see thecommander, to know when the troopswould be ready to escort the mail toFort Lyon, suggesting to him ifhe seenthe gentleman he might give him alarger force than he would give me. Hereplied: HGet your escort; I can go withany escort. H Remarking at the sametime that General Custer was the manto get after those Indians. About twelveor thirteen years after these remarkswere made by General Sacket, GeneralCuster with 261 men of the SeventhCavalry were murdered by Indians inthe Black Hills region on the LittleHom river, and 52 were wounded. TheIndians never forgave Mr. Peacock forcalling on General Sedgwick's com­mand that killed Pawnee, one of theirband, in 1859. retaining their savageanimosity by plotting to murder himand his men. In less than twelvemonths after the shootingofthe Indianby Lieut. Baird. three of those blood­thirsty savages came to the ranch andtold the men that troops were comingfrom Fort Larned. There were nonecom ing; it was a .pre-arranged plot tomurder Mr. Peacock and his menwhen they would be looking for thecom ing troops. Mr. Peacock and two ofhis men went up on the flat roof of thehouse to see if there was a large forcecom ing. the Indians going with them.

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: Wagon Tracks. Volume 6, Issue 4 (August, 1992)

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Ramon Powers, executive director ofthe Kansas State Historical Society.was recently reappointed to the SF­NHT Advisory Council by Kansas Gov­ernor Joan Finney. Sec. of the InteriorManuel Lujan has appointed Powers toserve as the new chairman of the Ad­visory Council. The next Council meet­Ing Is In Kansas City on Aug. 27-28.

CAMP TALES--CHAPTER REPORTS

Cimarron CutoffPresident David HutchisonWest Star Route Box 35Boise City, OK 73933

Eighteen members and guests of thechapter attended NPS certificationceremonies at Point of Rocks on July26. 1992. Several of these same mem­bers had attended the first NPS certi­fication at Autograph Rock In Okla­homa on Jan. 24. 1991. Followingthe ceremonies on the Pete and FayeGaines' ranch, Cimarron Cutoff mem­bers toured the nearby historic DorseyMansion. After the tour PresidentHutchison conducted a brief businessmeeting at which the group voted topublish a quarterly newsletter Inform­Ing members of upcoming meeting<>.The Elkhart mem bers will be hosts tothe Oct. 19 meeting at the MortonCounty Historical Society Museum.

The trip from the Dorsey Mansion toUS 56 will be long remembered by themembers as a slip-and-slide ride. withfrequent stops over the rain-soakeddirt road. Some of the members met ata cafe In Clayton for the evening meal.

Texas PanhandlePresident Charles H. Pitts3316 Palmer DrAmarillo, TX 79106

No report.

Wagonbed SpringPresident Edward Dowell521 W. JaniceUlysses, KS 67880

The chapter meeting was held atUlysses on July 9, 1992. Karla Frenchpresided In the absence of PresidentDowell. The new historical sign Is Inplace at Wagonbed Spring NationalHistoric Landmark. the text of whichwas com piled by the late chapter presi­dent, Fern Bessire.

Ron and Karla French reported thatthey had attended the Fur Trade En­campment at Bent's Old Fort NHS onJuly 4 and will show their video of theevents at a later meeting. WendellHubbard, Hugoton, gave a detailed re­port of his mapping of the Wagonbed

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Spring site from an aerial photo takenIn the late 1930s. He said the topogra­phy had changed through the yearsdue to floods on the Cimarron River In1914, 1921, and later years.

Mrs. Lucile Lewis told of the yearswhen there was water In the river andher family cut Ice from It In the winterfor storage. She also told of her task Inusing her family's team of horses topull travelers' wagons across thesandy river bed near her home. Feesfor the "ferry" were higher if the team­sters got stuck before they called onher for help.

The fall meetingofthe chapterwill beIn Hugoton on Oct. 8.

Heart of the Flint HillsPresident Donald B. Cress .RR 1 Box 66Council Grove, KS 66846

The sixth annual Trail ride beganSaturday, June 6, 1992, near Larned.A total of 110 people and 14 wagonsenjoyed the six-day ride which traveledover 85 miles along the Trail. Amongsites visited dUring the trip were FortLamed NHS. Santa Fe Trail Center,Ash Creek Crossing, Pawnee Rock,Fort Zarah, Plum Buttes, Ralph'sRuts, Cow Creek Crossing, JarvisCreek Crossing. and the Little Arkan­sas River com plex. From there every­one loaded up and traveled 90 miles toa location southwest of Council Grovenear an old stone corral, unloaded,and followed the Trail Into CouncilGrove where they participated In Wah­Shun-Gah Day on June 13.

Clarence Splttles, who died on May25 at age 84, was greatly missed on theTrail ride. He had participated In allfive previous trips on the Trail and wasplanning to go again this year. He wasalways a cheerful addition to the rides,with his sharp little ponies and colorfulblue wagon covered by a white canopy.He Inspired his children, grandchil­dren, and great- grandchildren to par­ticipate in the annual event.

The chapter Invites everyone to cometo Council Grove for the First AnnualSanta Fe Trail Arts Festival and ChiliCook-Off, Sept. 26-27, 1992. The pag­eant, "Voices of the Wind People," willbe presented Saturday evening. Sept.26. Events on Sept. 27 will be at thestone barn a mile east of CouncilGrove.

Restoration work Is proceeding onthe barn built by Seth Hays, founderof Council Grove. The project receiveda Heritage Trust Fund Grant, admin­Istered by the Kansas State HistoricalSociety, to assist with renovation.When completed, the bam will housea Santa Fe Trail interpretive center andmuseum on the ground level and a

multi-use facility In the upper story.

End of the TrailPresident Carlton R. Damonte7221 Vivian Dr NEAlbuquerque, NM 87109

On April 25, 1992, 35 people gath­ered to hear Marian Meyer speak about·the research for her book on MaryDonoho. She gave everyone a taste ofthe excitement of her research, andher enthusiasm for Mary Donoho keptthe audience enthralled. Mike McDon­ald admitted that he had to make achange In his new book, The Quiz ofEnchantment, because of MaryDonoho.

On April 26. 14 members of the chap­ter went to Wagon Mound and Joinedmembers of the Corazon de los Caml­nos Chapter for a climb to the top ofthe Wagon Mound landmark. It was anarduous climb but, of the 34 Individu­als who started the trek. 25 reachedthe top and were rewarded with a spec­tacular view of the surrounding area,Including Point of Rocks, CanadianRiver Crossing. Fort Union, and Wa­trous. Special thanks Is extended toLeRoy LeDoux, president of Corazonde los Camlnos, for hosting our groupand sharing this great adventure.

On June 20, 45 members from thechapter met at Fort Union NationalMonument for a tour conducted bySupt. Harry Myers. The tour includedFort Union and surrounding sites, in­cluding the towns of Tiptonville andWatrous and the site of the first FortUnion. The location of the original postIs not normally open to the public, andIt was a special treat to be able to visitthere.

The first "Trail Enhancement Party"was conducted by four members onJune 27. Margaret Sears, Anne Ortiz,Harv Lyons, and Carl Damonte droveto Glorieta, NM, approximately 20miles from Santa Fe. They spent themorning cutting grass, pulling weeds,and trimming branches around theDAR Trail marker that was placedthere In 1910. The site had becomeheavily overgrown with vegetation.When the gardening was finished, themarker was once again clearly visiblefrom both the roadway and the rail­road tracks that pass nearby.

Corazon de los CaminosPresident LeRoy LeDouxPO Box 94Wagon Mound, NM 87752

Chapter President LeRoy LeDouxwas recently appointed to serve on theSanta Fe National Historic Trail Advi­sory Council for a two-year term. Le­Doux has been active In SFTA since itwas founded In 1986, and he was in­strumental In forming the Corazon de

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los Caminos Chapter. His interest inthe Trail goes back to his childhood,said LeDoux, "when my grandfatherand I hiked the old trail in the Watrousarea."

In June the chapter meeting washeld at the Kit Carson Museum atRayado, with 23 members and 12guests present. Rayado, an importantstagecoach stop between Cimarronand Ocate on the Mountain Route ofthe Trail, is nestled between severalmesas at Rayado Creek at the edge ofthe Philmont Scout Ranch. The mu­seum occupies the grounds of theoriginal Kit Carson hacienda. a formi­dable adobe construction which con­tains many utensils. tools, and weap­ons ofthe Trail period. Norman Quillinfrom Albuquerque gave a brief reviewof the weaponry of that period, and thetour guides in traditional dress gave usa glimpse of life during the mid-19thcentury.

On July 26, 1992, the chapter hostedthe events at the NPS certification ofPoint of Rocks (see story on page 1).The August meeting is scheduled atWatrous. In September the chapterwill meet at Ocate and in October atBueyeros. For further information, callLeRoy LeDoux at (505) 666-2262.

Wet/Dry RoutesPresident Joanne VanCoevem4773 N. Wassennan WaySalina, KS 67401

The summer chapter meeting washeld July 19, 1992. at the Santa FeTrail Center near Larned. After thebusiness meeting. David Clapsaddlediscussed the various routes thatmake up the Wet and Dry routes. Hethen led a tour of the pre-I859 DryRoute.

The chapter voted to set up a ham­burger stand at the Bluegrass Festivalto be held on the Warner Ranch nearDodge City on Aug. 22 and 23. OnOctober 10 the chapter will sponsor aguided tour of the Wet Route. The costis $10.00 per person, including trans­portation, lunch, and printed materi­als. The fall business meeting will beincorporated into the tour. Reserva­tions for the tour. limited to 90 people,must be made by Sept. 28 with PamWetzel, RR 1 Box 21. Offerle, KS67563. The winter meeting is sched­uled for Sunday. Jan. 17, 1993, ateither Offerle or Kinsley. Leo E. Olivawill be the guest speaker.

Mountain BranchPresident Roberta Cordova202 East Sixth St.Trinidad, CO 81082

There are lots of activities along theMountain Branch this summer. OnJune 6 Ranger Dave Meline gave an

August 1992

Trail Nightingale turned rock cutter?Clara Goodrich, Larned, who presentssinging programs about the Trail, Isshown splitting a piece of post rockunder the careful supervl810n of ArthurSayler at the Wet/Dry Routes gatheringa few month8 ago. Sayler quarried therock u8ed for the marker8 along the Wetand Dry routes. In thl8 exhibit demon­8tratlng how the 8tone Is quarriedGoodrich 18 driving the wedge81nto th~feather8 placed In hole8 drilled Into therock. A few bloW8 of the hammer afterthl8 picture was taken, 8he 8pllt the rockIn two. You have heard of 81nger8 whocan break gla8ses? Well thl8 talentedpermformer can 8pllt rock81

, .interesting Santa Fe. Trail talk andslide show at the state campgroundjust west of Trinidad. On June 13-14Trinidad celebrated its 7th AnnualSanta Fe Trail Festival. On June 20members ofthe chapter participated inthe Santa Fe Trail Mountain Man Ren­dezvous at the NRA Whittington Cen­ter west ofRaton, NM. On June 21 FortGarland observed the 63rd anniver­sary of Pioneer's Day, with a celebra­tion of Spanish culture in the San LuisValley and a review ofthe valley's mili­tary history. June 27 found the SanLuis Valley Historical Society leading acaravan over old La Veta Pass, withstops at the old mining camps ofPlacerand Oakview. On July 1 Mark Gardnerbrought his banjo and knowledge ofthe Trail to Pueblo's EI Pueblo Mu­seum for an evening of song, chatter,and fascinating Trailinformation. Julysaw chapter members participate inthe Corazon de los Cam inos picnic anddedication ceremony at Point of Rocksin New Mexico. A second annual Dino­saur Track Trek is planned for August.

Dodge CitylFort DodgePresident Pat Robison228 CusterFort Dodge, KS 67843

No report.

Missouri River Outfitter.President Roger Slusher1421 South St.Lexington, MO 64067

New officers for the chapter wereelected in April. They are PresidentRoger Slusher, VP Bob Dorian, Sec.Anne Carter, Treas. Glenda Sours. andHistorian Ora Gieschen. The June 27meeting was held in Lexington, MO. inconjunction with the arrival of theSanta Fe Wagon Train from ArrowRock. Mem bers gathered at the homeof President Slusher. toured local his­toric sites. and visited the wagon trainencampment. The August meetingwasscheduled at the Rice-Tremonti Housein Raytown, MO.

Congratulations to Anne and DaveCarter for winning "most authenticcostume" division presented by theLexington Bit and Bridle Club in con­junction with tile wa~n train festivi­ties on June 27.

POST OFFICE OAK-LETTERS-

Editor:I was flattered by the favorable re- .

view of our quarterly, folio, in the lastWagon Tracks. However, I do not agreethat it is as important a publication asyours. It never will be, unless the edi-tors switch places. .

Gregory M. FranzwaThe Patrice Press

1810 West Grand Rd. Suite 108Tucson. AZ 85745

You are very kind, but you know I'dratherfight than switch. stUl. and thinkabout this, ifprlce Is considered, folio IsUXJrth more than WT. if you would likea crack at this Job, I'm sure it can bearranged (infact, the way things havegone inputting this Issue together. 1mayinsist). Keep up your good work withfolio.

EditorEditor:

fm glad to see the article in the lastissue about the refurbishment ofDAR­erected Trail markers in Pawnee, Ed­wards. and Ford counties in Kansas.There is another marker. in LyonCounty, which may have escaped no­tice because of its location and condi­tion. It stands on the west side ofKansas Highway 99 about one-halfmile north of the intersection with U.S.Highway 56. During the summer it isusuallyobscured by tall grass and sec­ond-growth trees. Its lettering has alsobecome illegible.

Stanley CronqUist1901 S Dewey Ave

Bartlesville OK 74003The marker you mention was listed in

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CHIVINGTON AND THE MULES AT JOHNSON'S RANCHby Leo E. Oliva

Jane Mallinson's jlne compUation ofDAR markers in Kansas (WT, Aug.1991). It would be nice if some group,perhaps an SFTAchapter, would under­take the renovation ofsuch markers inneed of nifurbishment. Actually, theTraU markers in several other countieshave already received needed care.Thanksfor bringing this to the attentionofour readers.

Editor

Editor:Bob Rein and I want to extend

thanks to John Cook, Southwest re­gional director of the National ParkSelVlce, for the the Santa Fe NationalHistoric Trail CertUlcates ofApprecia­tion which were presented to us byDavid Gaines in recognition for ourpart in marking the Wet and Dryroutes. It was a big surprise for us.David Clapsaddle, who organized anddirected the project, and Joanne Van­Coevern, president of the Wet/DryRoutes Chapter, also received certUl­cates.

In addition to these two people, wewish to thank a n u m her of others whocontributed much to this enterprise.Steve and Pam Wetzel located ruts andchecked with landowners, and Pam(chapter treasurer) handled the funds.Tim Burgardt assisted the Wetzels Inlocating the routes. Arthur Sayler andhis son quarried the stone posts for themarkers and installed the metalplaques. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Mixheaded the fund-raising campaign.Many others donated eqUipment.trucks, trailers, shovels, picks, strongbacks, refreshments, stories, humor,and wit. And all the mem hers of theWet/Dry Routes Chapter helped buythe stone posts and markers. Thusmany volunteers worked so Bob Reinand I could have these Certificates ofRecognition.

We thank everyone who made theawards possible. The real value ofwhatwe did was to mark important Trailsites so future generations may seeand enjoy them. And this project is anexample of what a SFTA chapter cancontribute to the preservation and pro­motion of our great heritage. We aretruly honored to be a part ofsomethingso worthwhile.

Mildon Yeager416 Wichita

Larned, KS 67550Congratulations to you and Bob Rein.as well as Joanne VanCoevem, DavidClapsaddle, and the entire Wet/DryRoutes Chapter. The work you all havedone is a substantial contribution to theident!f1cation, marking, and promotionoj the TraU.

Editor

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BURT Schmitz, who prepared theoutstanding maps of the Glorieta bat­tlefield which were included in the re­print of William C. Whitford's ColoradoVolunteers in the Civa War, the NewMexico Campaign in 1862 (1991), wasdone a disservice when I reviewed thereprint In the Nov. 1991 wr. I did notgive him the credit he deserves forthose carefuIly researched mapswhich are Invaluable to anyone visitingand studying the battlefield, and Istated that he had missed a good op­portunity to challenge the "unsub­stantiated claim that John M. Chiving­ton's troops bayoneted some 500 or600 Confederate mules and horses atJohnson's Ranch on March 28, 1862."My apologies to Schmitz for the errorsof omission and commission.

The above should rectify the matterof omisslon regarding the maps. It waswrong to suggest that Schmitz shouldhave been responsible for challengingthe slaughter of the mules, wrong es­pecially because he had no reason todo so. The burden of proof for thestatement in the review is on thiswriter, and that will eventually be thepoint of this article. First. however, alook at some of Schmitz's obselVa­tions, sent to me as private correspon­dence rather than prepared for publi­cation, may be useful (Schmitz alsomentioned a n urn her ofother topics onwhich I hope he will write spmethingfor ~. For the record, everyoneshould know that Schmitz began hisextensive research activities on theGlorieta battle over 30 years ago, justas this writer began collecting every­thing available on the story of thebayoneting of the mules in 1961.

Schmitz said of the destruction of themules at Johnson's Ranch (presentCaiioncito) that he "did not addressthis because I have never had reasonto consider it anything but a non-is­sue.... I support the probability thatthis event occurred In actuality." Thisis based on interviews with people Inthe area in the late 1950s and early1960s as well as some of the contem­porary accounts and Whitford's re­search, which included interviewswith veterans of the campaign. Sch­mitz expressed interest in evidence tothe contrary, which was intimated Inthe review. He concluded that "control­led archaeological research In the fu­ture will resolve this controversy andconfirm or refute the actual fate ofthose mounts and the location." In theend, he made clear, he was interestedIn the truth. On that we both agree. My

challenge to the story of the destruc­tion of several hundred mules follows,and'I would like to hear from Schmitzand anyone else who has additionalinformation on the subject.

Although the Union troops retreatedfrom the field dUring the course ofbattle on March 28, 1862, at andaround Pigeon's Ranch at the easternend of Glorieta Pass, the apparentConfederate Victory was deceptive.Major John M. ChMngton's command,which followed a route over GlorietaMesa from Kozlowski's Ranch near oldPecos Pueblo to Johnson's Ranch atthe western end of the pass, had deliv­ered what proved to be the decisiveblow to the Confederate invasion ofNew Mexico.

Chivlngton's troops captured and de­stroyed a piece of artillery that TexasColonel William R. Scurry had left he­hind and burned the Confederate sup­ply train of approximately 70 wagonscontaining food, ammunition, cloth­ing, baggage, forage, medical supplies,and other items. Chivington later re­called (Denver Republican, April 20,1890) that the "wagons and su pplieswere run together and set on fire andkept under guard until the ammuni­tion had all exploded and the supplieshad all been consumed, nothing re­maining excepting the irons of thewagons." At Johnson's Ranch, threeTexans were killed, several werewounded, and 17 were captured. OneUnion soldier, Private Simon Ritter,Company A, First Colorado Volun­teers, was injured when the Confeder­ate ammunition exploded.

The impact of the destruction wasfelt by the Texans. Confederate PrivateGeorge M. Brown later informed his"dear wife," In a letter quoted inOvando J. Hollister, Colorado Volun­teers in New Mexico in 1862 (1863),264, "our whole train of seventy wag­ons was burned by the enemy. In oneof the wagons was that trunk of cloth­ing you sent me.... It was burned upwith the rest." Another Confederateprivate, H. C. Wright, recalled manyyears later in a letter to T. L. Greerpublished in the New Mexico HistoricalReview, V (July 1930): 322, "it was agreat shock to us to find that after wehad won the battle we had lost thevictory by our supplies haVing beendestroyed." Wright also remembered(Reminiscences of H. C. Wright,Eugene C. Barker History Center, Uni­versity of Texas at Austin) it was a"dreadful blow. We were left shorn ofeverything. with three or four hundred

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dead and wounded men on our handsand no means to care for them."

Chlvington later claimed that hismen bayoneted over one thousandmules which had pulled the Confeder­ate supply train, although in his offi­cial report of the attack on the Confed­erate base at Johnson's Ranch (OfficialRecords ofthe War ofthe Rebellion, Ser.I, IX, 539), Chivington wrote on March28, 1862, that his troops "capturedabout thirty horses and mules, whichwere in a corral in the vicinity of thewagons." He did not say if those 30animals were taken back with his com­mand (virtually impossible because ofthe terrain), killed, or turned loose. Noofficial report from either side mademention of killing the mules which had

. hauled the supply wagons. A recentlypublished letter allegedly written byone of the Colorado Volunteers 36days after the engagement mentionedthe bayoneting of mules at Johnson'sRanch, but that letter appears to havebeen edited. It is in a private collection,and the owner refuses to show a copyof the original or even to discuss Itscontents by letter or telephone. WhileIt may be authentic, this particularletter cannot be verified at this time. Itseems especially strange that no othercontemporary account of the killing ofmules has been·found.

The uncertainty of how many mules,If any, were killed that day remains aninteresting footnote to the history ofthe engagement at Glorieta Pass. Theearliest publicatlon located that statedmules were killed at Johnson's Ranchwas A. A. Hayes, New Colorado and theSanta Fe TraU (1880), 169, who gave afigure of 200 mules killed withoutspecifying how that was done. Some ofthe material In that book had beenpublished previously In Harper'sWeekly. A Chlvlngton manuscript,"The First Colorado Regiment," datedOct. 18, 1884, located at the BancroftLibrary, University of California, .stated "we bayoneted that day 1100mules." An article written about theFirst Colorado Regiment by Chlvlngtonfor the Denver Republican, April 20,1890, stated that the Confederatemules at Johnson's Ranch "were In acorral a half mile up one arm of theravine. These, it being im possible tocapture and take away, were bayo­neted." He gave no indication of thenumber of mules killed In that piece.Thereafter. the story of killing themules became an accepted part of his­tory, although the numbers variedconsiderably. Apparently several Un­Ion veterans of the Incident at John­son's Ranch recalled some 30 or moreyears after the affair that mules andhorses had been killed.

August 1992

Early in the twentieth century, Wil­liam C. Whitford's Colorado Volunteersin the CivU War, 121 (the review of therecent reprint of which led to this arti­cle), acknowledged that the num ber ofmules reported to have been killed"varied considerably, but the mosttrustworthy made It between 500 and600 . . . all bayoneted." A Chivingtonbiographer, Nolie Mumey, "John. Mil­ton Chlvington: The MisunderstoodMan," Denver Westerners Brand Book,XII (1956): 133, stated "they shot 120mules." Another biographer, ReginaldS. Craig, The Fighting Parson: The Bi­ography of Colonel John M. Chivington(1959), 124, wrote, as had Whitford,that between 500 and 600 animalswere "bayoneted." The same year RayC. Colton, CivU War in the WesternTerritories, 72, declared that "approxi­mately five hundred horses and mulesin a corral near the cam p" were "allbayoneted." That was, wrote Colton, "atask, disagreeable to most Westernfrontiersmen who appreciated goodhorses and mules." Chlvlngton'sclaim of 1100 apparently seemed toomany to be believable lit would haverequired a considerable amount oftime to bayonet that many mules,most of which would not have stoodstill to be slaughtered), so a more rea­sonable num ber was used.

Martin Hall, in Sibley's New MexicoCampaign (1960), 158, stated, as hadChlvington's original report, that ap­proximately 30 horses and mules were"taken from a nearby corral." He thennoted that Chivington's claim of killingmore than 1000 animals had no con­temporary support. In fact, wrote Hall,"H. C. Wright, a [Texan) participant,denies It em phatlcally in his memoirs."Wright also denied It In his letter toGreer, Sept. 7, 1927, NMHR, V (July1930): 322: "Your account says theykilled 1100 mules. At the outside wedid not have over 500, and I for onenever saw or heard of a dead one."Except for one unverified private letter,no Confederate or Union report of theengagements in New Mexico In 1862mentioned the killing of a large quan­tity of mules although they listed Insome detail the other losses at John­son's Ranch.

It seems doubtful that a large num­ber of mules were slaughtered. A fewanimals may have been killed inciden­tally In the action and, conceivably, afew (perhaps as many as 30, the num­ber Chlvington Initially reported ascaptured) might have been killed delib­erately (by shooting and/or with bayo­nets) as a way of striking the mostdevastating blow to the Confederatecamp as possible. Even if 30 muleswere killed, that is a far cry from 500

and especially 1100. Ifmore than a fewwere bayoneted, surely at least one ofthe official reports or other contempo­raneous accounts would have men­tioned it. More likely, the mules wereturned loose to wander away or wereappropriated by citizens in the area.The mules that were left with thewagon train, the exact number ofwhich remains unknown, except forWright's statement that there were notmore than 50D-the only estimateavailable from an eyewitness, were ap­parently gone when Scurry's troopsreturned.

It is incredible, however, that theextermination of more than 1000mules, as Chivington later claimed, orof even 500 could have happened inthe time the troops were at Johnson'sRanch (less than one hour by one ac­count and less than three hours byany account, during which time thetroops descended the mountain, cap­tured the cannon and some of theguards, burned the entire wagon train,and ascended the mountain) or that Itcould have gone unmentioned for al­most 18 years. One would especiallyexpect the Texans to have emphasizedthe loss of the mules along with alltheir other losses,' but so far as isknown none did and at least one de­nied that It happened. Unless somenew, compelling evidence should sur­face, the myth of the massive mulemassacre at Johnson's Ranch shouldbe laid to rest.

ROUTE OF TRAIL THROUGHGLORIETA PASS

BURT Schmitz is acknowledged to bethe leading authority on the route ofthe Trail through Glorieta Pass, basedon extensive field research he did whilepreparing the maps of the battlesfought there in 1862. Schm Itz wouldlike to meet with some Interested SFTAmem bers and walk the entire length ofthe Trail between Pigeon's Ranch andCanoncito (site of Johnson's Ranch).

He has walked it several times sincethe late 1950s, except for those fewparts that have been obliterated byrailroad and housing activities at Glo­rieta and the lower part In ApacheCanyon mangled by the Interstate. Hehas found evidences of alternate "m udweather" side routes along the way.The bridge which figu red in the ApacheCanyon battle on March 26, 1862, stillstands, and the remnants of the foun­dations of Johnson's Ranch housemay still be seen. Perhaps the End ofthe Trail Chapter could arrange forsuch a venture with Schm itz and invitemem bers from other areas to partici­pate. Schmitz's address is 7479 Bollin­ger Rd, Cupertino, CA 95014.

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: Wagon Tracks. Volume 6, Issue 4 (August, 1992)

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COUNCIL TROVE-DOCUMENTS~-

Chuck Olmstead, Junction City, KS,located the following two items in TheSmoky Hlll and Republican Unionnewspaper published in Junction City.The first item on the Kansas ValleyRoute to Santa Fe was copied from theLeavenworth Conservative and ap­peared in the issue ofJan. 3, 1863. Thesecond on the sale of the trading ranchat Walnut Creek appeared in theMCounell Grove Column" published inthe issue of July 9, 1864. 'Thanks toMr. Olmstead for providing these toWagon Tracks.

THE KANSAS VALLEY ROUTE TOSANTA FE

[From the Leavenworth Conservative.] Wecopied, a few days since, an article from theJunction City Union calling upon the busi­ness men of Leavenworth to engage in thework of making good roads up the KansasValley in order to secure themselves per­manently, the advantages and profits ofthelarge Santa Fe and New Mexico tradewhich they are now enjoying. This littleparagraph seems to have excited the ire ofthe Journal, a paper published at KansasCity, a declining village, located below themouth of the Kansas river, in the delectableState of Missouri, and it "goes off" in aleaded column of fustian and falsehood ina vain and feeble attempt to counteract thefair and candid statements of the Union,and to arrest the natural tendency of thingswhich are so rapidly consigning KansasCity to the bottom.

We do not propose to attempt any defenceof the Unio~hat paper being abundantlycapable of looking out for itself-but, asmatter of amusement, we propose to exam­ine some of the facts and logic ofthe Jour­nal urged against the Kansas Valley route.

First, then, as to its logic: It objects to theKansas Valley route because, 1st. "It runsalong the Smoky Hill, whose shallow bedcontains no water except in the wettestseasons, whose shores, along which theroute runs, produce not grass orfuel, whilst

. on the contrary, a boundless expanse ofbarren sands served to encumber the trav­eler and to break down his animals, * * andthe presence of hostile Indians, " &c. Thesewould be good arguments against theroute, if they were true; but, unfortunatelyfor our neighbor's logic, they are all false.The route runs along the Smoky Hill bottomonly about fifty miles-from Fort Riley toSalina-where it strikes off on to SpringCreek, and follows up that stream to withina few miles of the crossing of the SmokyHill; after crossing the latter stream, it runsnear to Cow Creek, until it reaches within afew miles of Big Walnut, when it crossesover to that stream and follows it up towithin eight miles of Pawnee Rock, at which

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latter point it unites with the road from Kan­sas City, within four miles of the Arkansasriver.

All the streams we have named are fed bysprings, and contain water the year round.The bed of the Smoky Hill contains a largesupply of water at the crossing, and is arunning stream all the year round for morethan one hundred and fifty miles fartherwest. For full ten out of the past twelvemonths, the buffalo has been seen, daily,on each side ofthe road, in countless thou­sands, from the Solomon to the head ofWalnut, and the editor would find somedifficulty in convincing these fat beasts thatthe country which they possess was desti­tute of grass and water. Up to Salina, thecountry is settled and well improved. Set­tlements also extend beyond Salina,sparsely, to Smoky Hill crossing. There isnot a single mile of continuous sand roadupon the whole route. The only Indians meton the whole route are the Cheyennes, andalthough some of them are inclined to steal,they are far less hostile or dangerous towhite men than the guerrillas who hangabout Kansas City and infest Missouri.

A 2d objection to the new route to Santa Feis, that "it runs along the alluvial bottoms ofthe Smoky Hill and Kansas rivers"-"theSmoky Hill has to be forded twic&-theKansas once, both subject to sudden fresh­ets, characterized by mud, whilst the vari­ous small streams north of the Kansas riverare crossed on toll bridges. " We quote fromthe Journal, and we ask the reader to con­trast these objections with those first given.Here sandy, grassless, woodless, water­less bottoms become "allUVial," the water­less stream has to be "forded," and theroute "destitute of water" is intersected by"various streams" which have to be crossedon bridges. This is convenient. Those whodo not fancy our neighbor's dry logic cantake his wet. His argument is equal to anyexigency demanded by his case. His facts,however, in this instance, are nearly asfanciful as in the first. The distance by thisroute to Fort Larned is 275 miles-1oomiles of this, from Indianola to Salina, isover Kansas river bottom land from three toseven miles wide; the remainder of the roadis upon second bottom or upland. TheSmoky Hill river is forded once, the Kansasriver is not crossed at all-nary time. Thesoil is "alluvial"-not sand-and like all well­watered soil of that kind is prolific in grassesof the best quality. The rivers and smallerstreams are well supplied with wood.

The third objection which our neighbor hasto the new route is its great length-that, itthinks, gives the old route a decided advan­tage. Let us look at this a moment. TheJournal admits the distance from that placeto Fort Larned-the place where bothroutes meet-to be two hundred andninety-six miles. Now as the mail, andnearly all the stage travel, and most of thefreight taking that route, have to pass, at

this time, from the Hannibal & S1. Joe Rail­road, by way of Leavenworth, to reach thestarting point at Kansas City-the distancebetween Leavenworth and Kansas City­say thirty miles-may properly be added,which makes the total distance 326 miles.

The distance from here to Fort Riley is 130miles; thence to Fort Lamed, 145 miles;total, 275 miles. Our road is twenty-onemiles shorter than the old road, and is asaving of full forty-three miles to three­fourths the freight and travel now seekingNew Mexico. .

At this time there is a line of mail coachesrunning from this city to Fort Larned, and aline from Kansas City to the same point.They start from the respective places on thesame hour of the same day. The coachesup the Kansas Valley reach Fort Lamed,every trip, from five to ten hours ahead ofits rival. Somehow or other, the mail isdivided between them. The mail is made upat S1. Joseph daily.

The mail made up Thursdays at S1. Josephis started from here, reaches Larned thenext Sunday. If sent from Kansas City, itreaches Larned just one year later. Thetraveler who leaves Lamed on Wednesday,by the Leavenworth coach, takes the carsfrom this city on Saturday. The traveler wholeaves Lamed on the same day by theKansas City coach, takes the cars for theEastthe next Monday. By the Leavenworthroute, the time from the railroad to Larnedis forty-eight hours, and the fare twenty­seven dollars; by the other route, the timeis sixty hours, and the far forty-three dollars.

We are not at all inclined, at this time, todisparage the old route. It runs all the waythrough Kansas, and is a good road, andthrough a good country; but the route byway of the Kansas Valley is better andshorter, and to it the attention of travelersand freighters ought to be directed.

At some other time, we may call attentionto the old fogyism of the Govemment inregard to mail service between the Eastand New Mexico.

SALE OF RANCH AT WALNUTCREEK

Mr. Charles Rath has sold the WalnutCreek Ranch to Messrs. Ennis & Graffen­stein. This ranch is on the Santa Fe Road,at the crossing of Walnut Creek, abouttwenty-five miles east of Fort Larned. It isone of the oldest ranches on the road. Mr.William Allison, of Independence, Mo.,owned the ranch, and perhaps first estab­lished it as a trading post. He had greatinfluence with the Indians. After his death aMr. Peacock occupied the ranch for a yearor two and until a party of Kiowas under oldSatank killed him, cleaving his skull openwith a hatchet, cutting his tongue out andthrusting it into the cleft in the head. Mr.Rath has had a good trade there and mademoney, and we wish his successors equalsuccess.

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This list includes new membershipsreceived since the last issue. Thosereceived after this printing will appearin the next issue. If there is an error inthis information. please send correc­tions to the editor. We thank you foryour support.

BacalBloom & Pioneer Museum, PO Box472, Trinidad CO 81082

John & Corrine Afton, PO Box 103, BentonKS 67017

Ancil & Hazel Baker, 3115 Meadowlark Ln,Great Bend KS 67530

Robert Baumgardner, RR 1 Box 437, AvaMO 65608

J. Bronson & Sue Moore, HC 31 Box 10,Tucumcari NM 88401

Patricia Bell & William Ehrhart, 210Baugher Dr, Hanover PA 17331

Tom & Sandy Fitzmaurice, 601 S 21st St,Atchison KS 66002

David & Maggie Grantham, PO Box 91784,Albuquerque NM 87199

Karl & Toni Laumbach, 401 Conway, LasCruces NM 88005

Sonie & AI Liebler, 1612 Stewart Ct, Man­hattan KS 66502

April & Lacey Mann, 1062 Co Rd 101,Walsenburg CO 81089

Tillman (Mac) & Jan McDaniel, RR 3 Box346, Dixon MO 65459

Harold & Darlene Meeker, RR 1 Box 261,GrinnelllA 50112

Michael & Alana Palomino, 645 Mora Ave,Raton NM 87740

Helen & Walter Peters, PO Box 1293, Ar­tesia NM 88211

Kenneth & Beborah Praeger, PO Box 155,Claflin KS 67525

John & Mary Salata, 2902 Airport Rd #106,Colorado Springs CO 80910

Charley & Getha Shoemake, 121 Ave CWest, Kingman KS 67068

Rod & Jane Smith, 2763 Fawn Grove Ct,Colorado Springs CO 80906

William T. & Lori Smith, HCR 74 Box 4, MillsNM 87730

William & Mary Stewart, 11 Hillvale, Clay­ton MO 63105

M/M Gomer Stukesbury, 723 Crescent Dr,Ness City KS 67560

Gaston & Louise Tribble, 1730 N Calhoun,Liberal KS 67901

Gilvin & Karen Walker, 605 W 15th, HarperKS 67058

Evon Acker, 1056 Birch Ct, Fairfield CA94533

Gerald L. Ashbrook, 2604 Vinewood,Pueblo CO 81 005

SteVe Boice, PO Box 27192, Tucson, AZ85726

Kent H. Borges, 975 Terrace Circle, Colo­rado Springs CO 80904

Dorothy Bowman, PO Box 235, PawneeRock KS 67567

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Kathy Rhodes507W 24th St

Odessa TX 79761

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Steve Miner7432 Rockwood Rd

Wichita KS 67206

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from anyone who has or knows of ad­ditional details.

I am researching Elizabeth InmanMathewson. wife of William "BuffaloBill" Mathewson. They were at CowCreek Crossing (Beach Valley) fromabout 164-1866 and later settled inWichita. I need information about herlife prior to her marriage in 1864 andfrom 1866 to 1869. William tradedwith the Kiowa Indians in Oklahoma,

during some of that time. They werefirends with James R. Mead who latermarried Elizabeth's sister Lucy. I haveunverified information that Elizabethlived in St. Joseph. MO. for a whileprior to her marriage and may havelived in Topeka in 1868. I would alsolike to know ifshe was related to Colo­nel Henry M. Inman. Any informationwill be greatly appreciated.

Carol Good NearRR 3 Box 136

Lyons KS 67554

Can some reader explain the back­ground of the DAR Trail marker nowlocated at the Larned airport? Neitherthe DAR nor the Kansas State Histori­cal Society published listings show amarker at that location. Both list fivein Pawnee County, basically at thecurrent locations. the exception beingthe one originally placed at the ceme­tery west of town which was appar­ently moved to the current PawneeFork crossing on the State Hospitalgrounds. All the markers, includingthe one at the airport. carry a 1906date. Also. what became of the cannonthat was placed at the entrance of FortZarah Park east of Great Bend at thesame time the DAR markers wereplaced?

The Comanche National Grasslandlocated in southeast Colorado is look­'ing for volunteer researchers to helpfind specific quotations and graphicson the Mountain Route of the Trail thatwill be used for our wayside exhibitslocated on Highway 350 between LasAnimas and Trinidad. All the researchwill need to be completed by November15. 1992.

Jamie KingsburyComanche National Grassland

PO Box 817La Junta CO 81050

(719) 384-2181 or 384-4236

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LasVegasNMWagon Mound NM

Cimam;m NMTrinidad COLa Junta CO

Lamar COLakin KS

Dodge City KSLamedKS

Sterling KSHilIsboro KS

Counci I Grove KSBaldwin City KS

Independence MOLexington MO

Arrow Rock MONew Franklin MO

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Sept. 20Sept. 21Sept. 22Sept. 23 & 24Sept. 25Sept. 2fj

Sept. 27Sept. 28 & 29Sept. 30Oct. 1Oct. 2Oct. 3& 4Oct. 5Oct. 6Oct. 7Oct. 8Oct. 9

I am a great-great-granddaughter ofMarion Sloan Russell and am collect­ing material on the family history. Ihave much of the readily available ma­terial but would appreciate hearing

My great-uncle, Andrew J. Calhoun,ran the Ocate, NM. station on theSanta Fe Trail. I would appreciatehearing from anyone who has informa­tion on him. Thank you.

Evon M. Acker. 1056BirchCt

Fairfield CA 94533

MAPS NO LONGER FREELINDA Ti~es. City Planning, SantaFe, reports that the response for thefree copies of the Santa Fe Trail FieldInventory Map, mentioned in the lastissue of WT, was overwhelming. Thecity printed only a limited number ofcopies but plans to print more soon.To cover the costs a charge of $2 permap (includes postage and handling)was instituted August 1. At $2 per mapit is still a bargain.

BIKE TREK SCHEDULEPARTICIPANTS in the 1992 Santa FeTrail Bicycle Trek will gather in SantaFe on September 19 and start theirride the following day. This is the thirdannual Trail trek. Folks along the Trailare encouraged to watch for them, wel­come them to Trail sites. assist them.and cheer them on. The following itin­erary indicates where they will be stay­ing each night.

TRAIL RENDEZVOUS ATPAWNEE ROCK

ON Aug. 22-23 "Rendezvous on theRock" was held at Pawnee Rock StateHistoric Site. featuring Santa Fe Trailera reenactors' cam ps (includingPlains Indians, fur trade, Santa Fetraders, Mexican War, Civil War. IndianWars, and pioneers).

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August 1992 19

19

: Wagon Tracks. Volume 6, Issue 4 (August, 1992)

Published by UNM Digital Repository, 1992

Alice Burghart, 8205 Easter Cove, AustinTX 78758

Floye Ellis, 2008 Mohawk Dr, Garden CityKS 67846

Mitchell Ferguson, 2405 4th Circle, DodgeCity KS 67801

Tom Garman, 11117 Arvada, AlbuquerqueNM 87110

Bucky Green, 2618 S Hayes St, ArlingtonvA 22202 .

Lloyd W. Gundy, 5923 Urban Ct, ArvadaCO 80004

Clifford Hahn, 108 Mercury, Osborne KS67473

Bill Hallenbeck, 13315 Woodlake Vlg Ct W,St Louis MO 63141

Laura S. Harrison, 202 Hershell Rd, HotSpringsAR 71913

Margaret Hawley, PO Box 121, Osage CityKS 66523 .

Shon Koenig, RR 1 Box 92, Junction CityKS 66441

Florry H .. Lloyd, 321 Spruce St, Philadel­phia PA 19106

Ron McCoy, ~mporiaStateUniversity, Em­poria KS 55801

Geo. T. McMahon, 21 Woodmere Dr, Co­lumbus NC 28722

Allan Miller, 3304 Hillcrest, Hays KS 67601Earl Miller, 12 Gensinger Rd, Kutztown PA

19530Veleta Mueller, 555 West 8th, Hoisington

KS 67544Jean Nahikian, 10521 Holland St, West­

minster CO 80021Jena B. O'Herin, PO Box 10350, Colorado

Springs CO 80932Keith Rawson, 507 Baptists Dr #3, Paola

KS 66071Kathy Rhodes, 507 W 24th St, Odessa TX

79761Steve Rice, PO Box 93, Melvern KS 66510Jody Risley, PO Box 441, Boise City OK

73933Bill Rogers, 19911 S Valley Pride Rd, Pretty

Prairie KS 67570William C. Stamper, PO Box n6, Springer

NM 87747Paul A. Strawderman, 42 Summer St, Bris­

tol CT 06010Clayton Stevenson, RR 1, Eskridge KS

66423

Charley Taylor, 1001 Greenwood, Bloom­ington IN 47401

Thomas W. Wilson, 216 Chestnut, Hunting­ton WV25705

IL..._T.:.:.R.:::.;,;A~IL::..;:C;.:.A;,;;;;L;;.;EN~D;.;.A~Ro-._~Everyone Is invited to send notices forthis section. Please provide location.date(s). time(s). activity. and addressand/or phone number for more infor­mation. Remember this is a quarterly.The next issue should appear in No­vember. so send information for De­cember and later to arrive by October20. Thank you.Sept. 5-7, 1992: Living-history weekend,

Fort Lamed NHS.Sept. 12, 1992: Rockport's American Dis­

covery Trail- Blazer Day.Sept. 12-13, 1992: BCCC Tour of Fort

Leavenworth Road, gUided by DavidClapsaddle. Contact Elaine Simmons,BCCC, RR 3 Box 136Z, Great Bend, KS67530 (316) 792-2701.

Sept. 16,1992: Diez y Seis de Septiembre,Bent's Old Fort NHS.

Sept. 19, 1992: Santa Fe Trail Day, NewFranklin, MO. Contact Bill Rudloff at(816) 882-5858.

Sept. 19-0ct. 9, 1992: Third An~ualSan!aFe Trail Bike Trek. Contact Willard Chil­cott, 885 Camino Del Este, Santa Fe,NM 87501.

Sept. 20, 1992: Corazon de los CaminesChapter meeting, 2:00 p.m., at Ocate,NM. Contact LeRoy LeDoux at (505)666-2262.

Sept. 26, 1992: Candleli.ght Tour,. FortLarned NHS (reservations required);call (316) 285-6911 .

Sept. 26, 1992: First Annual Santa Fe TrailArts Festival and Chili Cook-off, CouncilGrove, KS, 8:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., withpageant at 7:00 p.m. at the NeoshoRiver Crossing amphitheater.

Sept. 27, 1992: Heart of the Flint HillsChapter parade, program, and annualmeeting of members at Council Grove

Oct. 3, 1992: End of the Trail Chapter tourof Trail ruts on south side of Santa Fe.Contact Margaret Sears at (505) 473-

3124.Oct. 8, 1992: Wagonbed Spring Chapter

meeting at Hugoton, KS.Oct. 10, 1992: Wet/Dry Routes Chapter

tour of the Wet Route. Cost $10.00,includes transportation and lunch. lim­ited to 90 participants. Send reserva­tions to Pam Wetzel, RR 1 Box 21,Offerle, KS 67563.

Oct. 10·11, 1992: 18405 Indian Encamp­ment, Bent's Old Fort NHS.

Oct. 18, 1992: Corazon de los CaminesChapter meeting, 1:00 p. m., at Buey­eros, NM. Contact LeRoy LeDoux at(505) 666- 2262.

Oct. 19, 1992: Cimarron Cutoff Chaptermeeting at Elkhart, KS.

Oct. 24-25, 1992: BCCC Tour to WashitaBattle Site, guided by David Clapsaddle.Contact Elaine Simmons, BCCC, RR 3Box 136Z, Great Bend, KS 67530 (316)792-2701.

Dec. 11-12, 1992: Traditional HolidayCelebration, Bent's Old Fort NHS.

Dec. 12, 1992: Christmas Open House,Fort Lamed NHS.

Jan. 17, 1993: Wet/Dry Routes Chaptermeeting at either Offerle or Kinsley. LeoE. Oliva will be guest speaker. ContactJoanne VanCoevern at (913) 825-8349.

Oct. 14-17, 1993: Santa Fe Trail Sympo­sium, Bent's Old Fort and La Junta, CO.

FROM THE EDITORTHIS issue concludes six years of WT.To all who have contributed to makethis possible. thanks. This edition. likethe last. was prepared without benefitof good vision. My eyes are improvingand I expect to see better than everbefore the next Issue is out. Because Ihave misplaced correspondence re­ceived during recent weeks. along withmany other things. please contact meagain if I have not responded. I alsolost the mailing list in the computer.This has been redone from scratch sothere may be a number of errors.Please send corrections.

Happy trails!-Leo E. Oliva

WAGON TRACKSSanta Fe Trail AssociationRR 1, Box 31Woodston, KS 67675

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

FORWARDING POSTAGE GUARANlEED

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h:gUJa:l1.

NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONu.S.

POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO.2

WOODSTON, KS 87675

August 1992

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Wagon Tracks, Vol. 6 [1992], Iss. 4, Art. 1

https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/wagon_tracks/vol6/iss4/1