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The Taos Trappers
The Fur Trade in the Far Southwest, 1540-1846
By David J. Weber
In this comprehensive history, David J. Weber draws on Spanish, Mexican, and American sources to describe the development of the Taos trade and the early penetration of the area by French and American trappers. Within this borderlands region, colorful characters such as Ewing Young, Kit Carson, Peg-leg Smith, and the Robidoux brothers pioneered new trails to the Colorado Basin, the Gila River, and the Pacific and contributed to the wealth that flowed east along the Santa Fe Trail.
“[Weber] tells a complicated story clearly and well . . . establishing the fact that there was a Mexican as well as an American point of view.”—Southern California Quarterly
“Weber has sorted out the identities of virtually all the significant trappers in the Southwest . . . a remarkable and important achievement.”—Hispanic American Historical Review
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