It is necessary to notice here the work of one J. V. Brower, who some years ago came into Kansas and pretended to fix beyond question the exact spots visited by Coronado. He published three books on the transactions of Coronado. He made maps of Quivira and the adjacent country … Read more

The French were ever seeking to develop trade with the Indians, and when commercial relations were established they were fostered and closely guarded. As early as 1718, Sieur Presle, now supposed to have been a stockholder in the Company of the Indies, had suggested that Etienne Venyard Sieur de Bourgmont … Read more

The best authorities on the subject of the Oregon Trail are the publications of the Government. It is not possible to set out here all those consulted in the preparation of this chapter—space will not permit it. Explorations and Surveys for a Railroad Route from the Mississippi River to the … Read more

The principal authorities on the Spanish explorations of Kansas are: George Parker Winship, in The 14th Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1896. Hubert Howe Bancroft in the History of Arizona and New Mexico, 1889. Spanish Explorations in the Southern United States, edited by Frederick W. Hodge, 1907. Spanish … Read more

One of the most important stations on the Santa Fe Trail, as originally located, was Bent’s Fort. It was situated on the Arkansas River in what is now Bent County, Colorado. It is deemed necessary to give some account of it because of the fact that it was the largest … Read more

The discovery of gold in California very nearly upset the world. No event of a like nature ever created such excitement. From every state parties and individuals set out for the gold fields on the other side of North America. Very nearly every man in Missouri who could do so … Read more

Of the military expeditions over the Oregon Trail, only that of Albert Sidney Johnston will be mentioned in this work. After the establishment of Fort Laramie there were many military tours to the westward from Fort Leavenworth. In 1857 there was an uprising in Utah known as the Mormon Rebellion, … Read more

Whereas the Congress of the United States of America, being anxious to promote and direct commercial and friendly intercourse between the citizens of the United States and those of the Mexican Republic, and, to afford protection to the same, did, at their last session, pass an act, which was approved … Read more