Cowtown Wichita and the Wild, Wicked West Book

I was introduced to David Lavender's work many years ago, although I didn't know it at the time. When I was young, my parents had a set of American Heritage books on the bookshelf that I was constantly poring over. One of them was "The American Heritage History of the Great West." This was an overview of the entire westward push from the late 18th century through the 19th century. This book planted the seed of interest in the history of the West. It was a seed that would not fully germinate until many years later.

Fast forward nearly 40 years to 2015. After my father passed away I brought the set of American Heritage books home to read once again (and hopefully inspire my kids to read when they are older), and cracked open the Great West volume and began to read. Since I am now much older and more observant, I learned that David Lavender was the author of this book. As I read the book I found my interest in the early history of the West was re-kindled and led me to seek out additional books on the subject, especially books by Lavender, whose style I enjoy. This finally led me to the book "Bent's Fort," which is a highly regarded history of the Santa Fe Trail and antebellum Southwest.

Bent's fort was a large private trading fort on the Arkansas River in what is now southeastern Colorado. This volume is more a history of the opening of the Santa Fe Trail and the early history of the Southwest than it is about the fort itself; Bent's fort is a kind of centerpiece around which the history of the area revolves.

Before reading this book, I did not have any real knowledge of the opening of the Southwest. It turns out that the Santa Fe Trail was, in part, opened due to the effective closing of the Missouri River to fur trading due to the growing hostility of the Indians and the increasing monopoly of Astor's American Fur Company. The Bent brothers, ever ambitious, were among many who decided to try the newly blazed trail to the Colorado Rockies that ran along the Arkansas River. This was an overland route through arid semi-desert that was fraught with dangers both environmental and human. Indian tribes of varying temperament would at times harry the caravans on their trip. Then upon reaching Taos and later Santa Fe, the capricious Pueblos and Mexicans alternately welcomed or were hostile toward the Americans. This is a story of adventure, toil, privation, terror, sadness and sudden violent death. Even so, these men continually returned to the wilderness finding the growing civilization of St. Louis not to their liking for long.

I enjoy Lavender's style. His books are easily read and informative and he moves the reader along fairly briskly. To me the mark of a good history book is when you get a sense that you are there with the characters, vicariously experiencing their various adventures and trials. Lavender is successful in bringing this to several of the multitude of characters in this book. The strongest characters are, of course, the main protagonists, Charles and William Bent. Others that are fairly well fleshed out are Ceran St.Vrain who is the Bent's business partner and Kit Carson.

The author cites the dearth of reliable sources and admits that he often must resort to the most likely scenario based upon this conflicting information. He always mentions when he is doing so and his analyses certainly make sense and do not detract from the narrative in any way. Copious end notes are as interesting and enlightening as the main text itself and in these Lavender points out places where the sources were such that he had to piece it all together as best he could.

It was sometimes difficult to keep track of the numerous characters who come and go throughout the book. Some of these characters are familiar ones like Manuel Lisa, Jim Beckwourth and Jim Bridger. Others like Sylvestre Pratte were not (at least to me).

Lavender's portrait of the Indians is fascinating. Despite his use of the dated term "savages," his analysis of their ways and relations with the whites and Mexicans are insightful. You will not find the noble savage in this book. What you see is a culture that is fundamentally at odds with the American settlers and merchants. In a sense it appears that the clash between the two cultures was inevitable. The Indians culture of theft was antithetical to the Americans view of private property; stealing livestock was simply a way of life for the plains Indians. Additionally, the Americans could not understand that the chiefs of the various bands could not really control their wild young braves let alone stop them from their depradations with any consistency. Nor did they understand that there were many chiefs and not one leader of the whole tribe. The Indians are painted as touchy, undisciplined, violent and disorganized. Often they are gullible and then alternatively shrewd. The Americans in general are grasping, violent and ruthless. This analysis seems to be pretty accurate to me as both sides were simply people of different cultures who possessed all the standard human flaws. The Bents, particularly William, had generally honest dealings with the Indians. The Cheyennes were "their" Indians and they tried to treat them fairly. Throughout the book we see the Indians becoming ever more dependent on the largesse (and whiskey) of the Americans. This is something that the Bents see as well. When the government finally took an interest in the Indians of the Southern Plains and assigned an Indian agent there, Lavender writes:

"Headquarters of Fitzpatrick's new agency was to be Bent's Fort. William heard it gloomily. Not because of Broken Hand. The mountains had produced no better men than Tom Fitzpatrick; if agent there must be, he would fill the job well. But from the fort's inception the government had not given one solitary hoot about the Cheyennes and Arapaho. They were Bent, St.Vrain Indians, their lives and the company's life interlocked in mutual honesty for mutual benefits. Now…who could tell? But one prediction was safe: things would never be the same again.

While the Indian trade is the main focus of the Bent, St.Vrain Company, we also learn about their dealings with the alternatively friendly and hostile Mexicans. The remote province of New Mexico is essentially lawless and desperately poor. The locals both rely upon the Americans for trade goods that are not available from Mexico City and are hostile to the successful Americans who they deeply resent. The result is a complex cocktail of emotions that is further fueled by the expansionism first of Texas and later the United States and culminating in a war that threatens to destroy the Bents and their company.

Lavender's book is an interesting and well written history of the Santa Fe Trail and the trade that flourished along it during the years prior to the Civil War. I enjoyed it greatly and recommend it to anyone who is interested in the settling of the West.