Here are the men who pioneered trade between Saint Louis and Santa Fe, the hardships they endured, the wonderful scenery they travelled through and wrote about, the huge amount of goods they moved, and the fun they had in Santa Fe and along the trail. Drawing from letters, diaries, reports, and first-hand reminiscences, Dary fleshes out the story of the men who opened commerce with Spanish America. There are Indians and mountain men, traders and trappers, merchants, surveyors, government commissioners, Spanish people, Americans, Frenchmen, and people of almost every other nationality.

A splendid recreation of an important part of American history, fully illustrated with photographs and woodcuts of the period.