Appendix LII
History of the Santa Fe Trail

Foreword

This Appendix is written entirely from excerpts from one book: "The Santa Fe Trail," by Robert Luther Duffus, published 1930.(1)  R.L. Duffus was an experienced feature writer for the New York Times.

In an "Author's Note" in his book, Duffus says: "This volume does not pretend to exhaust the historical possibilities of the Santa Fe Trail -  I have attempted to put together material which has heretofore been scattered, and thus to revive interest in one of the most heroic -- and glamorous of all the episodes of the Western Movement." His bibliography included one hundred and eighty articles and books on his subject.

This Appendix is made from my abstracted excerpts from the book.

History of the Santa Fe Trail

Pre-History of the Trail Route.(1)	Page
It probably existed for centuries as a game trail; made by the buffalo as they came east to the grasslands and which the Indians used as they hunted the buffalo eastward and northward from the crowded Rio Grande and Pueblo areas.	pp.4-5
The earliest use of the trail roads by white men appear to be in 1527, when Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca led a band from Tampa, Florida in a search to the west for gold; after eight years of travel, they met ca. 1536 with Captain Diego de Alcaraz on the frontier of Mexico marking the first crossing of the American Continent by white men.	pp.6-7
In ca. 1541, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, while explor­ing east and north from Baja California and the Rio Grande area, appears to have investigated the trail route and to have gone as far east as Wichita, Kansas; he is credited with being the first white man to have crossed from the Rio Grande to the Missouri River.	pp.10-11
Spain takes control of the Western End of the Trail Route.	p.17
The conquest of New Mexico was the work of Juan de Oñate, a private citizen of Old Mexico under contract by the Viceroy of Mexico, Don Luis de Valesco, and who was later sanctified by King Philip of Spain. After eight years of preparation he set out in 1598 with an expedition of 400 men down the Conchos and up the Rio Grande, passing near the present El Paso, Texas, into the Pueblo country, where he successfully persuaded the Indians to submit to Spanish rule, although he did have one pitched battle with the Indi­ans of Acoma, which he won, teaching the Indians a clear lesson that they must submit to Spanish rule.	pp.15-16
The ambitious Oñate, learning from the Indians of the great trail to the East led a force of eighty men down the Canadian River across the present State of Oklahoma to Wichita, Kansas. He killed a thousand Indians and then marched back west on the trail route.	p.16
Onate did not found the City of Santa Fe, which was ac­tually founded in 1609 by Pedro de Peralta.	p.17
The trail route was now known to the Spaniards but was sparely used. About 1634 Captain Alonzo Baca is said to have gone as far east as the Arkansas River.
Quivira was a mythical City of Gold alleged by the Indi­ans and, ca 1654, Peñalosa, ruler of the little colony at Santa Fe during the 1661-1665 period.	p.17
The western end of the trail route was still relatively unexplored, although it was as easy for the people of New Mexico to travel to Kansas as it was for them to travel into Old Mexico.
The French Assume Control of the Eastern End of the trail Route.	p.18
Although it can well be said that the trail had been discovered by the Spanish from the west, the French, from their settlements in Kaskaskia and St. Louis, in the Illi­nois region, commenced to use the eastern part of the trail route in the 1690's to trade with the Indians and the Span­ish settle­ments in the Rio Grande.	pp.20-21
By 1717 the French were trading with Santa Fe, where they were treated with great hostility by the Spanish trad­ers from Old Mexico. By 1720 the Spanish traders actually attacked and killed French traders; but both Spanish and French traders were driven off by the Pawnees.	pp.24-25
When the French traders were not openly being attacked by Spanish forces, they smuggled goods west in trading com­petition with the Spanish. By 1727 they had a Fort at Cuar­telejo, very close to the City of Santa Fe.	p.21
By 1740 they had negotiated a peace treaty with the Co­manches for settling disputes between the Comanches and al­lied Indian tribes; had this treaty been kept and the Indian tribes consolidated, the story of the West would have been of the Indian not the white man. But the French were to­tally unsuccessful in preventing war among the Indian tribes. And any caravan that traded with one tribe was con­sidered to be fair game for war with all other tribes.
All trade both by the Spanish and France was done by pack horse and mule. Very occasionally the French used wag­ons.
But in 1755 Marie Theresa of Austria declared war on Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Russia and French joined with her; then in 1757 England joined with Prussia.
In America the French and their Indian allies, and the English and their Indian allies, fought their own bitter war.	p.25
By 1763, England triumphed, and the French presence in America van­ished, Canada going to England, together with all French territory east of the Mississippi Valley.	p.25
The western part of the Mississippi Valley went to Spain, and with it the key city of New Orleans.
Thus the French menace to New Mexico politically was removed.	p.25
But trading was another matter, and as late as 1795, the Governor of New Mexico was arresting all French traders they were imprisoned and their goods confiscated.
But French hunters still hunted illegally in the moun­tains north of New Mexico, continued to trade with the Indi­ans, and the French trader also ille­gally continued trade with the Indians. This illegal trade was concen­trated in the village of Ferendez de Taos, which grew to a population of 1351 by 1799.
The Indians brought buffalo hides, deer hides, beaver skins, and brought home knives, guns, ammunition, blankets, liquor, and anything that suited their fancy. The Spanish Indians, up from Old Mexico brought imported goods from Spain and the great Spanish Milled Dollars which were used as ornaments, especially among the Navajos. This was the hey­day of the vil­lage of Taos, which appeared to be fated to rival Santa Fe as the great trad­ing city of the West.	pp.28-29
By 1800 with Taos as its center, the trading situation had pretty well stabilized. The Spanish were doing all they could to promote their vested interest in protecting the In­dian from Old Mexico, and in prevent­ing trading French and American indians from operating at all.	p.26
The Spanish authorities in New Mexico had a very good thing going; they exacted fear, and duties, charges of many kinds, and kept a good share of their duties for themselves.
New Mexico had a lot with which to trade: maize, wheat, some cotton, gar­den truck, cattle, sheep, goats, mules, burros, and some fruit.	p.29
The Indians had buffalo and deer hides, beaver pelts, and furs.
The traders from Old Mexico were not wise, and let their opportunities slip away; they kept New Mexico poor and in debt, stripping life in New Mexico down to its bare essen­tials.	p.29
But the people of New Mexico, having almost no contact with the out­side world, and accustomed to the shoddy goods coming in from Old Mexico, did not realize how poor they were and were content with their lot.	p.29
But, other traders, particularly the growing number of American traders were offering high-quality goods for sale, excellent cotton goods from New England and London Eng­land, metal products which could not be purchased in Spain or Mexico, up-to-date firearms, tools and the like; and the threatened New Mexican authorities grew ever more cruel to the non-Spanish traders.	p.32
American settlement was advancing steadily westward from the east­ern states and the control of the Mississippi River was recognized as one of supreme importance.
In 1794, Spain, then in control of lands west of the Mississippi, rec­ognizing the immediate threat on the bound­ary between the United States and Louisiana, provided for free navigation of the Mississippi River and in 1800 Spain ceded the Louisiana territory land west of the Mississippi to France.
The United States Takes Over, at the East End.
On 30 Apr. 1803, three American commissioners arranged to buy the Louisiana Territories, and the United States pro­posed to extend its author­ity over the Santa Fe trail roads.	p.33
By 1804, after the Louisiana Purchase, American traders began to trade more aggressively with Santa Fe, but met with violent opposition from the interested New Mexico Govern­ment.	p.32
William Morrison, a trader from Kaskasia was unsuccess­ful, as was James Purcell traded into Santa Fe and settled there.	p.35
The United States exercised no effective control of the Louisiana Pur­chase area west of the Missouri River, and two men, Arron Burr and Gen. James Wilkinson conspired to take over this land and install a government independent of the United States.	pp.36-37
A 27 year-old Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike, perhaps as a tool of the corporation, perhaps as an American patriotic duty, led an expedition to the west to determine where the boundary between the United States and Mexico was located, whether at the Rio Grande as the Americans contended or at the Missouri as Spain contended.	p.38
In 1806, when Lt. Pike set out from St. Louis, there was actually dan­ger of War between the two countries	p.39
500 militia men under Don Facundo Melares, moved east while Lt. Pike with a very small force, moved west. When they met, Pike was over­whelmed and taken to Santa Fe, ex­actly where he wanted to be.	p.43
Although in actuality a prisoner, Lt. Pike was not treated as one by the Governor. He met a friend, Don Barte­lomow Fernandez, and tried to con­vince him that the United States had no intention of warring with Mexico, and they parted as friends.	p.48
Pike and his comrades returned to the United States via Chihualua, and was treated hospitably all the way.	p.49
But Pike frankly expected that America would invade Mex­ico and that furthermore Mexico was planning to revolt from Spain. He further wrote that 20,000 American troops would assure the success of the anticipated Mexi­can revolution.	p.50
In 1818 Pike published a report urging American trade with Mexico, that New England high grade cloth brought $20.00 a yard, linen for $4.00 and other goods in propor­tion.
Pike received nothing for his success, except fame for his discovery of Pikes Peak.	p.57
In 1811 and 1812, American traders were captured and im­prisoned; a plan to invade Mexico and free them was aborted just before Mexico re­volted against Spain.	pp.57-59
Mexico Takes Over From Spain - at the West End of the Trail.
In 1821, the Mexican Army under Iturbide successfully revolted from Spain. Politically it was a great change, but the Mexican authorities con­tin­ued to protect their trade monopoly and resist American traders, but the New Mexico frontier was open to American traders.	p.66
Becknell Opens the Santa Fe Trail Route.
Although the trail routes had now been known for centu­ries, it is Capt. William Becknell, who opened the Trail to regular commerce and is known as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail."	p.67
Shortly after the Revolution, he led a party all the way from near Franklin, Mo. to Santa Fe, reaching there on 16 Nov. 1821, an important date in the trail history. They were received very hospitably by the authori­ties.	p.68
Also in 1822, a party of 16 traders, led by Col. Ben­jamin Cooper came upon the wagon tracks that had been left by Becknell's wagons earlier that year. The Cooper party, more trappers than traders, carried $4-5,000 of goods.
The Trail Route Becomes "Benton's Road."
If Becknell qualifies as "Father" of the Santa Fe Trail, the Senator Thomas Hart Benton qualifies as "Attending Phy­sician".	p.85
He had long advocated trade across the Plains, Missouri was full of ambitious traders wanting the Trail improved, and Benton had his dream of extending the United States all the way to the Pacific. He recommended that the Trail be surveyed, an and the route marked, all the way to the Arkan­sas River, then the boundary between the new Republic of Mexico and the United States. He went West for a first-hand look at the Trail routes. Taking with him one Augustus Storrs, who was commissioned to make a statement covering present and future trade with Mexico.	p.86
Storrs wrote of the problem of watering the draft ani­mals at proper in­tervals. He also noted that the common tall Missouri grass ended at the Arkansas River, and the shorter, tougher Buffalo grass took over, brown in July, green after the August rain. He also noted that there were already steam­boats on the Missouri River.	p.88
Senator Benton introduced a bill providing for a survey of the trail route, and in early 1825 an appropriation of $30,000 was approved by Pres. Monroe. Pres. Adams, on taking office appointed a commission which ap­pointed Joseph C. Brown to be the Surveyor.	p.89
The survey expedition left Franklin, Mo. on 4 Jul. 1828, and by 4 Sept. they had run their lines to the Arkansas River. After a wait they re­ceived permission from the Mexi­can Government to combine the survey with Mex­ico, and in 1826 the survey was carried into Texas.	p.89
Meanwhile, on 10 Aug. 1825, at a point 148 miles West of Indepen­dence, at a place later called Council Grove, the survey commission made a treaty with the Osage chief, that for $800 in cash and merchandise peaceful passage was to be allowed through their domain. But they were unable to make any deal with the far more dangerous Pawnees and Co­manches.	p.90
The hardwood forest ended at Council Grove, and good firewood and good wood for repairing wagons was no longer available, only the Cotton­wood which could not make a hot cooking fire, and was totally useless as repair material.	p.91
Surveyor Brown noted that the trail route was definitely not a fixed route, that it wandered as weather changed, as short cuts were tried and so on.	p.91
As his Survey progressed west, he had many variations to contend with; 45 miles out from Independence, at the site of Gardner, the Oregon Trail branched off. At Pawnee Rock he had to choose between two routes to Dodge City, and he chose the Cimarron cut-off, not recommending the very difficult route over Raton Pass.	p.93; p.96
At Las Vegas, 81 miles from Santa Fe, and 699 miles from Indepen­dence, all the spurs and branches of the trail come to­gether. So Brown had now created a skeleton for the trail, 780 miles in total from Independence, Mo. to Santa Fe, Mex­ico.
The Santa Fe Trail - An Established Commercial Trade Route.
By 1828, the trail was now a bustling trade route be­tween Franklin, at the eastern terminus and Santa Fe at the western end. It was a good road for about a hundred miles, then got progressively rougher as it went west. Water was a constant problem, Indians were a Constant menace, fuel was also a daily problem, and farther west, wood for repair and fuel was one of the most severe worries. Although the trail was now quite well known, travel over it was costly, diffi­cult and dangerous.	p.101
The trading route originally started from St. Louis, but the town of Franklin had developed into a natural staging point, kept growing, and was expected to rival St. Louis as a City.	p.101
But Franklin had been built on an alluvial plain of the Missouri River, and the river had wandered, and eventually Franklin literally slid into the river and disappeared.
Franklin was revived on the opposite side of the river as New Franklin, but it also suffered from the wandering of the Missouri, and be­came the more enduring City of Boon­ville.	p.101
But, in 1828, Franklin was a busy, commercial city, ac­tually the real staging point preparatory to starting the trading caravans on the long trip to Santa Fe.
Goods were brought from the Franklin merchants at from 20-30 per­cent over Philadelphia prices, and expected to make from 40-100 percent on their purchase. Wagons, made in Pittsburgh, were sold in Franklin. Steam­boats were visiting Franklin as early as 1821, and flatboats went from Franklin to New Orleans on the Mississippi. A stage ran regularly be­tween Franklin and St. Louis.	pp.134-135
This is what 6.Benjamin Franklin Massey saw ahead of him, just the trail, and noth­ing more, when he entered into his experi­ences with the Powell Brothers in St. Louis in 1834. All he knew about Santa Fe, came from other travel­ers.
Trading.
Business always came first; some traders sold goods  at wholesale prices, even before they had entered the city. But most traders sought, and got, the far more profitable retail profits. American fine quality cotton goods and anything made of metal almost sold themselves. There were tales of profits of ten to twenty times the St. Louis costs.
Santa Fe - The City Itself.
New Mexico, although technically a part of Old Mexico and answering to Old Mexico, operated itself as though it was an adjoining but separate Country, with its central gov­ernment at Santa Fe.	p.139
The Santa Fe government continued to protect their very profitable tributes from the Mexican traders by levying heavy taxes and fees upon the French and American traders, keeping about 40% for themselves 40% for the governor and the rest unexplained.
But Santa Fe itself welcomed the American trader espe­cially the Mexican traders had long furnished out of date or damaged items, now came the Americans with high quality New England cotton goods, with up-to-date patterns, metal items which could not be manufactured in Mexico and modern arms and weapons.
The trail route was now well traveled and open from the east and Missouri traders were taking large quantities of Mexican gold coin and Mexican Spanish Milled dollars the fa­mous "Pieces of Eight" back to Missouri in such quantities that they actually kept the Missouri treasury in a solvent condition.
The city, geographically was built around a "Presidio", an area about 400 by 800 feet, surrounded by an adobe city wall built for defense pur­poses. Inside was a prison, a Chapel, a small cemetery, a drill ground and military garri­son quarters, and the "Palacio" a long, low government building built in 1605.	p.158
The people lived in white-washed adobe, one-story, huts, without wa­ter, light or plumbing.
There were no schools, no newspapers; all news of the world came from traders.	p.162
There was an Inn, "La Fonda."
The traders traded with the merchants inside the city and with the In­dians, hunters and trappers outside the walls; there were often as many as 18 to 20 thousand Co­manches, Pawnees, and Cheyennes surrounding the City. Santa Fe was not a safe place.	p.181

Sources
1	R.L. Duffus, 1903, "The Santa Fe Trail," Longmans, Green and Co., copyright renewed 1958, by R.L. Duffus, David McKay Company, Inc., New York