Recreates in text and photographs the day-to-day life of a pioneer family living in a newly-formed Spanish settlement in the Southwest during the eighteenth century.

Between 1850 and 1912, Territorial New Mexico was home to a diverse mix of peoples. Contesting with those who had lived in the region for thousands of years, an array of newcomers arrived: Hispanic settlers, Anglo homesteaders, ranchers, cowboys, sheepherders, merchants, railroad men and-perhaps its chief adventurers-treasure hunters and prospectors. "Lost Treasures & Old Mines" brims with stories of gold fever, copper ore and SILVER mining in the...

A woman's account of life on the frontier, told in letters to her sister. In 1867, Abigail Conklin, her husband and their children head west in a wagon train to New Mexico. The letters describe the primitive conditions, the back-breaking work, and the constant presence of death, whether from of nature or Indians. She also describes the raising of children, racial and religious tensions, and the stark beauty of the Southwest.