Journal of the Southwest

The Santa Fe Trail: A Historical Bibliography by Jack D. RittenhouseReview by: Morris F. TaylorArizona and the West, Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn, 1972), pp. 281-282Published by: Journal of the SouthwestStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40168158 .

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REVIEWS 281

Apache history, and he writes well. The scholar will find nothing new in his

retelling of an oft-told tale, but to the reader unfamiliar with the Apache wars his book is a lively, one-volume summary of an interesting episode in American history.

Angie Debo

The reviewer, who resides in Marshall, Oklahoma, is a distinguished authority on the Ameri- can Indian. She recently published A History of the Indians of the United States.

0^1

THE SANTA FE TRAIL: A Historical Bibliography. Compiled by Jack D. Rittenhouse. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1971. 271 pp. $12.00.

Too seldom there comes along a first-class working tool to delight historians, professional and amateur alike. A fine example of this rarity is The Santa Fe Trail: A Historical Bibliography, by Jack D. Rittenhouse. A bibliography usually is not thought of as something to be read for pleasure, but this work contains that

quality as an extra merit. Some bibliographies are simple compilations. This is not said in criticism, because often that is all a biblographer intended, and for some writers even that kind of assistance is a boon. But Rittenhouse has achieved much more than that, his accomplishment placing him far beyond the category of a compiler.

His main list of 681 items is arranged alphabetically according to author, followed by an addenda of thirty-six items, which are possible trail materials that he had no chance to examine. A consecutive numbering covers both groups. All of the items - books, articles, and documents - are treated together, not separated into special classifications. A very adequate index, without main author headings, is made for easy use by giving titles of works in italics; page numbers are in paren- theses, followed by entry numbers. A special feature is an index of pertinent con-

gressional documents from the Fifteenth to the Sixty-third Congresses, each carry- ing an item number.

In many ways the outstanding feature of this bibliography is the extensive annotation of items. Succinct, meaty, candid, and often amusing, Rittenhouse's remarks attest to his thorough searching and scholarly appraisal. And with many items there is information about such varied aspects as copyright, centimeters in

height, facsimiles, folding, leaves, and top edge gilt, as well as the more common-

place data. It is an aid to be told in what library collection a rare item may be found, although in giving that information Rittenhouse does not mean that no other collection has it.

No claim is made to all-inclusiveness. Some limitation was imposed, the focus

being on firsthand accounts of the Santa Fe Trail and works with the trail as a main topic. Biographies are cited if they have primary information about individ-

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282 ARIZONA and the WEST

uals connected with the trail. Fiction and poetry are not listed, except for a few items with titles that imply that they are works of serious history - a cautionary service to researchers, who also are warned against works of doubtful veracity such as some accounts of personal experiences. Nonfiction accounts of the Santa Fe Trail written for juveniles are listed; but county, town, and state histories that are recent rehashes of ordinary information are omitted.

As if the aforementioned qualities were not enough, Rittenhouse wrote an

introductory essay entitled, "Trail of Commerce and Conquest/' which is a fine

piece of historical craftsmanship in its own right. The Santa Fe Trail: A Historical

Bibliography may be viewed with satisfaction by both author and publisher, and no one with a real interest in the Southwest can afford to be without it.

Morris F. Taylor

The reviewer, a history professor at Trinidad State junior College in Colorado, is an authority on the Santa Fe Trail. His recent 'publication is First Mail West.

A DOCUMENTARY HISTORY OF THE MEXICAN AMERI- CANS. Edited by Wayne Moquin & Charles Van Doren. New York:

Praeger Publishers, 1971. 599 pp. $13.50.

Since the Chicano movement propelled Mexican- American studies into uni-

versity curriculums across the Southwest, publishers have responded by encour-

aging the production of readers and texts. In the field of history, the promise has been greater than the production. In 1970 Manuel ServhVs Mexican- Americans made available a number of secondary studies, some previously unpublished, and

nearly all dealing with the twentieth century. In 1971, Moquin and Van Doren's

Documentary History of the Mexican Americans became the first collection of

primary materials treating this ethnic group. As did Servin, the editors wisely focus on Mexicans in the Southwest, resisting the tendency of some writers to confuse the history of Mexico with the history of Mexican-Americans. The editors have

gathered together some fascinating documents which encompass nearly four and a half centuries and illuminate an impressive array of topics, ranging from Cabeza de Vaca to Cesar Chavez.

The editors place surprising emphasis on the Spanish period in a first chap- ter which comprises almost one third of the book. Perhaps that is because an abundant literature on the Spanish Southwest already existed from which they could draw their documents. Unfortunately, they skim the surface of familiar topics, and avoid complex social and economic issues. The first chapter's title, 'The Hispano-Indian Synthesis," offers promise, but the synthesis does not emerge in these pages. Instead, Spaniards are depicted as exploiters of Indians in terms remarkably reminiscent of the Black Legend. Men of "avaricious desires" (p. 2), the Spaniards' "humane intent normally gave way to ruthless exploitation and

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