Overland With Kit Carson: A Narrative of the Old Spanish Trail in '48

Rating:
Summary: A tale of two treks -- Old Spanish Trail -- Sante Fe Trail
Review: It took two readings of this book for me to appreciate its value. Only the first half deals with a trek with Kit Carson. I expected more. Carson plays an important, but secondary, role in the story as a whole. The authors descriptions of New Mexico, Santa Fe, and the trail to Independence in 1868, after parting with Carson, acts as a supplemental piece to 'Wah to Yah' and other first person accounts of earlier Sante Fe Trail tales. His accounts of New Mexican priests is a perfect preface to Paul Horgan's 'Lamy of Santa Fe,' first Archbishop of Sante Fe, who was French. The author's style is flowery but vividly informative. It was better the second time around in my opinion, but worth the trip.