The SANTA FE TRAIL And Other Poems Joseph R. Wilson “CREEPING CLOSER TO THE TRAIL.” (P. 15) “The Santa Fe Trail” And Other Poems By JOSEPH R. WILSON, LL.B. International Printing Company Philadelphia 1921 International Printing Company Philadelphia Copyright 1921 By Joseph R. Wilson Copyright By Joseph R. Wilson TO MY WIFE INDEX [Pg 7] [Pg 7] BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FAMOUS SANTA FE TRAIL The early history of the Santa Fe Trail, which runs parallel with the Santa Fe Railroad for hundreds of miles, is somewhat obscured by mystery and tradition, but from historical data in possession of the Museum of New Mexico, at Santa Fe, it can be stated with a large degree of accuracy that the trail was started by Spanish explorers three hundred years ago. The first known expedition by Americans over the trail was made by the Mallet brothers, who arrived in Santa Fe, July 22, 1739. The first trader to follow the trail reached Santa Fe in 1763. It was not until 1804 that LaLande, a trapper and hunter, crossed the trail and made Santa Fe that year. Kit Carson was one of those who struck the trail in 1826, when he was but sixteen years of age. The camping stations along the trail at that time were Diamond Spring, Lost Spring, Cottonwood Creek, Turkey Creek, Cow Creek (now Hutchinson, Kansas), and further on was Pawnee Rock, a famous landmark of sandstone, twenty feet high.
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