Brief Description: Tree watches passersby on the Santa Fe Trail
Geographical Setting: New Mexico, North America, Santa Fe, United States
Historical Era: 19th Century
Date Range: 1810-1820
Keywords: American Westward Expansion, Bent's Fort, Santa Fe Trail
Original Publication: 1942
Suitable for Grades: 3-7th
Target Audience: Middle Grade
Librarian's Review
In 1610 a cottonwood seed takes root at a strategic location on an old “Indian trail.” Over the next 200 years, the tree witnesses a series of natives, Spanish, French and American peoples pass along the Santa Fe Trail. The author ingeniously continues the story beyond the tree’s lifetime when a wagoner turns her dead wood into an ox yoke. The descriptions of the end points of the trail, Independence, MO and Santa Fe, NM, as well as Council Grove (an important stopping point along the trail) in 1834 are especially instructive. As was his specialty, the author includes hand drawn maps and diagrams.