Letters, Stories, and Incidents from the Santa Fe Trail: The Bent’s Fort Years 1833-1849

As people explored and settled the American West, it was common to write home about your new life. Often these descriptive letters would be published in a local paper for the edification of all the folks back east. Letters that were sent home ranged from reports of people traveling, to engaging in new vocations; to marriage notices, births, deaths, obituaries, murders, fights and shootings, legal notices, politics, prices for commodities, and more. Through these letters, we gain a rich and colorful picture of those who traveled the Santa Fe Trail.