Pueblo Hardscrabble Greenhorn

Pueblo, Hardscrabble, and Greenhorn were among the very first white settlements in Colorado. In their time they were the most westerly settlements in American territory, and they attracted a lively and varied population of mavericks from more civilized parts of the world-from what became New Mexico to the south and from as far east as England. The inhabitants of these little walled towns thrived on the rigor and freedom of frontier life. Many were ex-trappers full already of frontier expertise. Others were enthusiastic neophytes happy to escape problems back home. They sought Mexican wives in Taos or Santa Fe or allied themselves with the native Indian tribes, or both. The fur trade and the illegal liquor trade with the Indians were at first the mainstays of their economy. As time went on they extended their activities to farming illegally on the land owned by the Indians and trading their crops and other trade articles. They enjoyed themselves hunting, gambling, trading, and with their women, freely mixing Spanish, Indian, and Anglo-American cultures in a community without laws or bigotry. This idyll was brought to a close by the Mexican War and the lure of the California Gold Rush of 1849. The expectation of a railroad on the Arkansas brought many of the settlers back, only to be scared away again by the massacre of Pueblo by the Utes in 1854 of which Mrs. Lecompte has reconstructed a very complete record. When the gold seekers rushed to Pikes Peak in 1858 and stayed to establish farms and towns, some of the pioneers of the early days returned with them, and shared their skills and knowledge to make possible the permanent settlements that resulted. Mrs. Lecompte has documented the history of the region from diaries, letters, and the reports of such distinguished passers-by as J. C. Fremont and Francis Parkman. The result is a complete and compelling account of a neglected part of American frontier life. It is illustrated with more than fifty photographs and contemporary drawings.

The Trade and Intercourse Acts passed by Congress between 1796 and 1834 set up a system for individuals to receive monetary compensation from the federal government for property stolen or destroyed by American Indians. By the end of the Mexican-American War, both Anglo-Americans and Nuevomexicanos became experts in exploiting this system—and in using the army to collect on their often-fraudulent claims. As Gregory F. Michno reveals in Depredation and Deceit, their combined efforts created a precarious mix of false accusations, public greed, and fabricated fear that directly led to new wars in the American Southwest between 1849 and 1855. Tasked with responding to white settlers’ depredation claims and gaining restitution directly from Indian groups, soldiers typically had no choice but to search out often-innocent Indians and demand compensation or the surrender of the guilty party, turning once-friendly bands into enemy groups whenever these tense encounters exploded in violence. As the situation became more volatile, citizens demanded a greater army presence in the region, and lucrative military contracts became yet another reason to encourage the continuation of frontier violence. Although the records are replete with officers questioning accusations and discovering civilians’ deceit, more often than not the army was forced to act in direct counterpoint to its duties as a constabulary force. And whenever war broke out, the acquisition of more Indian land and wealth began the cycle of greed and violence all over again. The Trade and Intercourse Acts were manipulated by Anglo-Americans who ensured the continuation of the very conflicts that they claimed to abhor and that the acts were designed to prevent. In bringing these machinations to light, Michno’s book deepens—and darkens—our understanding of the conquest of the American Southwest.

While eyewitness accounts of the Civil War by enlisted men are uncommon, even scarcer are personal narratives from the Civil War in the West. These journals and letters were written by Lewis Roe, an Illinois farm boy who served in the 7th U.S. Infantry and the 50th Illinois Volunteer Infantry between 1860 and 1865. They offer details of an epic march from Fort Bridger, Wyoming, to New Mexico, a firsthand account of the Battle of Valverde (1862), and Roe’s efforts to understand ongoing events as the country rushed toward the outbreak of hostilities. Later in the war, Roe documented the Union occupation of Rome, Georgia, and the battle of Allatoona, and left us a candid account of an enlisted man’s experiences with Sherman’s army on its March to the Sea and in the Carolinas Campaign. His relative objectivity and attention to everyday details make this valuable record a lively read.