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Trails West
A photographic adventure presented by the National Geographic Society of the trails of the Old West. Follow the Santa Fe Trail with its Native American and Spanish flairs of ceremony and rich colors. Then face the Oregon Trail as the life of traders and settlers of the 1850s is spectacularly illustrated. The Mormon Trail shows the Exodus to Zion amidst the lush prairie grasslands. The California Trail follows with incredible photographs of the diverse landscape and true stories of the adventures facing those who took this route. The Gila Trail lead from El Paso, Texas across the desert to San Diego and Southern California. Finally the Bozeman Trail chronicles the advent of a cross country railroad through Wyoming and Idaho. Several forts were erected to protect settlers from Native Americans fighting to retain their homelands. The stories are thrilling and the photographs spectacularly picture the land and it is and what the settlers would have encountered over 150 years ago.
207 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
October 4, 2015
“Trails West” published by National Geographic Society in their “Special Publications” series in 1979 is one of those books from my younger days that sparked within me an ardent interest for tales from the Old West, which later developed into a full blown fascination for the paintings related to its frontiers and endless hours of Western and Spaghetti Western movies. With in the pages of this attractively designed “coffee table” book, the reader can literally experience the adventures related to the life of the traders and settlers from the early 1800s who ventured deep into west blazing new trails in search of new economic, and social pastures. “Trails West” is the story of the early settlers and the historic trails they traveled, and their contributions to the socio-political fabric of the America as a nation.
Compiled by a panel of six authors, this book borrows heavily from letters, journals and sketchbooks kept by the emigrants from the time period while reconstructing the Old West with its all thrills and wilderness as it was when the early settlers came there more than 180 years ago. The book brings back the real stories of those men and women who headed to the “lands beyond sundown” and the hardships they met during this emigration to the west.
‘Emigrants Crossing the Plains’ drawn by F.O.C. Darley, 1872
For many of the early westering emigrants the motivation for the travel was trading – and of course, gold prospecting -; for many it was the promise of fertile lands, better economic conditions and better prospects of jobs; for some it was a journey in hope of religious freedom by avoiding persecution; and for some it was the sheer adventure of such a journey which demanded volumes of endurance. Numerous such travelers paid with their life as accidents, diseases, altercations with native tribes, harsh and hostile landscapes and unpredictable weather interfered with their emigration and the reader will come across all these elements while reading about these journeys told through the eyes of these actual emigrants.
Of the multitude of routes, which were available for a traveler opting to go across the Western United States, the “Trails West” inspects six of the major trails:
The Santa Fe Trail
A trail of more than 900 miles, which connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico was a route that snaked through prairie, mountain and desert and was a major “Highway of Commerce” when it was opened in 1821 until the abandonment in 1880 with the advent of a railroad. The trail offered the travelers two branches to choose between; one which was a difficult passage for the wagons as it angled through the Colorado Rockies or another branch, the ‘Cimarron cutoff’, which offered a shortcut of about 100 miles at the expense of the risk of a scarcity of water sources.
Arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe, an 1844 Lithograph
“Trails West” introduces this trail to the reader by detailing the commercial and historic aspects that it offers by looking at various factors like the rich Native American history and the ceremonies the Spanish influences, the various dangers that the travelers had to endure while on this trail – with cholera being an ever present danger -, the various forts and trading posts that were present during the high days of the trail and finally getting him acquainted with modern day expeditions that travel through this trail – on foot, horseback, wagon or automobile – as a pilgrimage in capturing the spirit of the Santa Fe trail travelers. If the reader is familiar with the National Geographic magazine or their articles then he can get an idea about the level of detailing that goes into the textual information that is involved in the narrative. It is well balanced by period paintings, rare photographs, sketches and modern day photos that capture panoramic vistas of the trail. By mixing the travel narratives and excerpts from early documents along with a modern day travel along the trail the epic journey across these routes is made visually alive for the reader.
With the same level of detailing the book inspects five more historic trails like “The Oregon Trail”, which was blazed by the fur traders and missionaries during 1830s; “The Mormon Trail”; “The Bozeman Trail”; “The Gila Trail” and “The California Trail” while bringing alive their historic perspectives by including the historic monuments and other interesting sights from also in the narrative.
This is a richly illustrated ‘coffee-table’ book meant for casual reading and for getting acquainted with travel journals and other rare documentations and paraphernalia related to these trails. It is more of a guide to traveling along these trails than being a complete historic volume on these emigrations, as no narration of these commercial and cultural journeys can be complete without a mention about the impact these emigrations had on the Native Indians. In the confrontations between the settlers and the Native Indians who inhabited these lands, huge and horrific massacres happened. The book mentions them only briefly without going into the depths.
“Trails West” brings to the reader the glory, bravery, hardships and tragedies of the frontier life in the American Old West through the eyes of the men and women who were actually there. The easy to read text is accompanied by more than 130 high quality photographs and historical illustrations, which adds to the value of the volume.
Compiled by a panel of six authors, this book borrows heavily from letters, journals and sketchbooks kept by the emigrants from the time period while reconstructing the Old West with its all thrills and wilderness as it was when the early settlers came there more than 180 years ago. The book brings back the real stories of those men and women who headed to the “lands beyond sundown” and the hardships they met during this emigration to the west.
‘Emigrants Crossing the Plains’ drawn by F.O.C. Darley, 1872
For many of the early westering emigrants the motivation for the travel was trading – and of course, gold prospecting -; for many it was the promise of fertile lands, better economic conditions and better prospects of jobs; for some it was a journey in hope of religious freedom by avoiding persecution; and for some it was the sheer adventure of such a journey which demanded volumes of endurance. Numerous such travelers paid with their life as accidents, diseases, altercations with native tribes, harsh and hostile landscapes and unpredictable weather interfered with their emigration and the reader will come across all these elements while reading about these journeys told through the eyes of these actual emigrants.
Of the multitude of routes, which were available for a traveler opting to go across the Western United States, the “Trails West” inspects six of the major trails:
The Santa Fe Trail
A trail of more than 900 miles, which connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico was a route that snaked through prairie, mountain and desert and was a major “Highway of Commerce” when it was opened in 1821 until the abandonment in 1880 with the advent of a railroad. The trail offered the travelers two branches to choose between; one which was a difficult passage for the wagons as it angled through the Colorado Rockies or another branch, the ‘Cimarron cutoff’, which offered a shortcut of about 100 miles at the expense of the risk of a scarcity of water sources.
Arrival of the caravan at Santa Fe, an 1844 Lithograph
“Trails West” introduces this trail to the reader by detailing the commercial and historic aspects that it offers by looking at various factors like the rich Native American history and the ceremonies the Spanish influences, the various dangers that the travelers had to endure while on this trail – with cholera being an ever present danger -, the various forts and trading posts that were present during the high days of the trail and finally getting him acquainted with modern day expeditions that travel through this trail – on foot, horseback, wagon or automobile – as a pilgrimage in capturing the spirit of the Santa Fe trail travelers. If the reader is familiar with the National Geographic magazine or their articles then he can get an idea about the level of detailing that goes into the textual information that is involved in the narrative. It is well balanced by period paintings, rare photographs, sketches and modern day photos that capture panoramic vistas of the trail. By mixing the travel narratives and excerpts from early documents along with a modern day travel along the trail the epic journey across these routes is made visually alive for the reader.
With the same level of detailing the book inspects five more historic trails like “The Oregon Trail”, which was blazed by the fur traders and missionaries during 1830s; “The Mormon Trail”; “The Bozeman Trail”; “The Gila Trail” and “The California Trail” while bringing alive their historic perspectives by including the historic monuments and other interesting sights from also in the narrative.
This is a richly illustrated ‘coffee-table’ book meant for casual reading and for getting acquainted with travel journals and other rare documentations and paraphernalia related to these trails. It is more of a guide to traveling along these trails than being a complete historic volume on these emigrations, as no narration of these commercial and cultural journeys can be complete without a mention about the impact these emigrations had on the Native Indians. In the confrontations between the settlers and the Native Indians who inhabited these lands, huge and horrific massacres happened. The book mentions them only briefly without going into the depths.
“Trails West” brings to the reader the glory, bravery, hardships and tragedies of the frontier life in the American Old West through the eyes of the men and women who were actually there. The easy to read text is accompanied by more than 130 high quality photographs and historical illustrations, which adds to the value of the volume.
March 30, 2017
Although this was a book I bought on the mark-down rack at Half Price Books years ago, it could as easily have been a National Geographic magazine. Lots of pictures, of course, and a little more text than they'd typically cram in. I wasn't disappointed, exactly, but it could have had a little more meat to it. (Make that idiom legumes in the pot if you're a vegetarian)
I liked The Mormon Trail...Marching to Zion by Charles McCarry best. He put a bit of personal adventure in and he'd clearly been a historian of the trail for years, driving or walking every mile of it. Also good and was The Gila Trail...Pathway in the Desert by Don Dedera, but it was quite as long or as well written.
The book will get a spot on my shelves for a while longer, at least until I get a chance to go see some of its sights.
I liked The Mormon Trail...Marching to Zion by Charles McCarry best. He put a bit of personal adventure in and he'd clearly been a historian of the trail for years, driving or walking every mile of it. Also good and was The Gila Trail...Pathway in the Desert by Don Dedera, but it was quite as long or as well written.
The book will get a spot on my shelves for a while longer, at least until I get a chance to go see some of its sights.
April 4, 2016
Must've picked this up at the dump some time ago. I picked it up this morning for some breakfast reading. Lots of pictures of modern day views of these trails and of modern-day folks re-creating the treks of their ancestors. Wallace Stegner is the author of a section about one of the trails. "Hard Road West" is another good book on the subject and has a lot to say about the geology the pioneers faced. I may go back and read more of the text at some point.
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January 1, 2011Section A-1, By National Geographic
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews