"Now the Santa Fe Trail belongs to the keening wind. It belongs
to summer rains and to the fearful snows of winter. It is owned
by the prairie dog, the jackrabbit, the rattlesnake... And for a
brief interval it is mine, by adoption, since I choose to stake my
claim on a tiny fragment of its shining history."


When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821 the Santa Fe Trail began to boom. Used, in parts, for many years previous by...