Land of Enchantment

The Santa Fe Trail was one of the great commercial routes across the West, frequented more by merchants than by emigrants. Hence women travelers were few on the Santa Fe Trail, and Land of Enchantment is one of the few firsthand accounts by a woman of life on the trail. The author, Marian Russell (1845-1936), dictated her story to her daughter-in-law in the 1930s. Published in a limited edition in 1954 and highly praised by scholars, that edition has become virtually impossible to obtain.

This forgotten classic paints a vivid picture of nineteenth-century New Mexico as seen by a bright young girl from the age of seven on. Mrs. Russell’s memories of several well-known western figures are not only delightful reading but make this book a useful addition to the region’s history.