Charles Ilfeld and Mercantile Capitalism in the Arid Southwest

Abstract

The history of the Sante Fe Trail has been written and rewritten, replete with colorful episodes of wars and skirmishes, of Indian massacres and Spanish resistance, and of privations of hunger, thirst, and exposure. Regarded from the long-time point of view, these efforts have been far from satisfying. The more basic story of the rooting of capital and the building of towns, for which all these hazards appeared inviting and worth bearing, has received little attention.