Joseph Robert Wilson

“ The cursed trip was over,
Save to those left on the way,
The pioneer martyrs
Of the trail to Santa Fe.
[Pg 16]
BLIND BEGGAR OF ALBUQUERQUE
There are faces that pass in a moment,
But his face will live till I die. ”

“ The passenger looking out of the window of the train on the Santa Fe Railroad will see this trail running for miles parallel with the track, and will be able to people it with the historic traditions which have made the Santa Fe Trail one of the most romantic and, withal, one of the most tragic national highways in the United States. ”

“ I’m coming, Squire, Yoick’s tally-ho!” Death shouted, “Hark! Away!”
Yoick’s tally-ho fills loud the room as he springs up from bed,
And the bugle horn sounds merrily in the chamber of the dead;
Gay prancing steeds and huntsmen bold ride blithely by his side,
“Yoicks! tally-ho!” rang from his lips, and back he fell and died.
His kinsmen heard that hunting shout, that old familiar cry,
And in they rushed—too late—too late—to see the good man die.
Two empty tankards on the floor was all that they could see,
And how the host of the Jolly Swan died—is still a mystery.
[Pg 41]
OH! TAMACA.
Oh! ”

“ She makes us kill our rival in our dreams.
Ah! gentle Gentian, what a power is thine,
To be so cruel and yet so divine. WHO LOOKS BEYOND.
There is a grandeur in the man,
Who views with calm that endless sleep ”

“ Note.—The greater part of the information given in this brief history is taken from Twitchell on Leading Facts of New Mexico History.
[Pg 12]
THE SANTA FE TRAIL.
There are moanings on the trail,
From west and eastward bounders,
The host that’s passed forever,
That shall never know it more;
From men and fragile women,
From pioneers and traders,
Whose dying word was “Never,”
Whose pale souls went on before. ”

“ The most terrible part of the trail was the great plain between the Arkansas River and Cimarron Spring. It was over three thousand feet above sea level and sixty-three miles without a water course or pool. The soil was dry and hard and short buffalo grass and some cacti were the only evidence of the parched vegetation. There was not [Pg 10] a shrub or tree of any kind. It was a sandy desert plain and it was here the traveler saw the mirage, a beautiful lake which disappeared as he approached it.
Breakdowns on this plain were frequent, and the Indians most dangerous. ”

“ In spite of this protection, however, attacks by Indians were a common occurrence, [Pg 9] and every caravan had to carry arms and ammunition, and vigilance was never relaxed from the time they left the Arkansas River until they struck the plaza at Santa Fe.
Colonel Viscarra, a handsome, picturesque Spaniard, always mounted on a mettlesome thoroughbred, was probably the most dashing figure in the history of the Santa Fe trail. Tales of his gallantry and daring became folklore among the traders, pioneers and their descendants. ”

“ From the year 1820 many caravans made their way over the trail to Santa Fe, then, as it is to-day, the seat of government. It was here in the old palace that some of the early governors had lived in a semi-royal state, maintaining [Pg 8] a little court and body-guards whose lives were by no means a sinecure, since they were called upon to fight the Indians on many occasions. ”

“ As they proceeded westward it was a common sight to see on the trail, “creoles, polished gentlemen magnificently clothed in Spanish costume, exiled Spaniards escaping from Mexico, and richly caparisoned horses, mules and asses, and a courtesy of the road grew out of a common danger”. ”

“ The first known expedition by Americans over the trail was made by the Mallet brothers, who arrived in Santa Fe, July 22, 1739. The first trader to follow the trail reached Santa Fe in 1763. It was not until 1804 that LaLande, a trapper and hunter, crossed the trail and made Santa Fe that year. Kit Carson was one of those who struck the trail in 1826, when he was but sixteen years of age. ”

“ The early history of the Santa Fe Trail, which runs parallel with the Santa Fe Railroad for hundreds of miles, is somewhat obscured by mystery and tradition, but from historical data in possession of the Museum of New Mexico, at Santa Fe, it can be stated with a large degree of accuracy that the trail was started by Spanish explorers three hundred years ago. ”

“ His thoughts were of the days gone by—as the host of the Jolly Swan, [Pg 39]
He had raised his tankard high and drank to the health of the old friends gone.
There was good old Squire Thornleigh, with his great big raw-boned gray,
And the biggest hearted fellow that e’er waved the “Hark! Away!”
There was Jones, the hunting parson, with his jovial, ringing laugh,
Who could preach a right good sermon and an honest bumper quaff. ”

“ In 1843, the American traders commenced to establish regular communication between Missouri and Santa Fe and in 1849, started to run a stage from Independence, Mo., to Santa Fe. The fare was $250. Each passenger was allowed forty pounds of baggage. The capacity of the coach was ten passengers in addition to the driver and messenger. Relays of horses were stationed along the trail every fifteen to twenty miles.
The vehicles used by the traders and pioneers were for the greater part Conestoga wagons drawn by horses or mules. ”

“ Tasmania, a large, beautiful island to the southeast of Australia, when discovered by Van Dieman, was peopled with a magnificent race of savages, resembling somewhat the American Indian. Civilization, with its attendant advantages and evils, proved too much for the primitive child of the forest. The last Tasmanian, a woman, died in 1885, and the once splendid race is now extinct. ”

“ Cold Spring; Rabbit Ear Creek; Round Mound; Rock Creek; Point of Rocks; Rio Colorado; Ocaté Creek; Santa Clara Spring (Wagon Mound) ; Rio Mora; Rio Gallinas (Las Vegas) ; Ojo De Bernal Spring; San Miguel; Pecos Village; and finally Santa Fe, a distance of 750 miles from Independence, Missouri, the starting point.
The old Santa Fe Trail led from Franklin, Missouri, through Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and New Mexico. [Pg 11] It followed the Arkansas River to Cimarron Crossing (Fort Dodge) to La Junta, Colorado; then south, crossing the Raton Pass, joining the main trail at Santa Clara Spring. ”

“ His hand-full of men, and the predatory and blood-thirsty character of the Indians, made it impossible for him to protect any large part of the trail, and soldiers, traders and their families were massacred by overwhelming numbers, the victims including many women and children. The members of one caravan met their fate in sight of Santa Fe, forty-six days out from St. ”