Great Warriors II

Following the loss of France's territories in North America in 1763, what is now Missouri was ceded to Spain.  Spain and France remained allies after the French and Indian War, which allowed many French traders and trappers on the frontier to continue with business as usually.  Auguste Chouteau, ancestor of mixed-race Shawnee ballerina Yvonne Chouteau, and his stepson Pierre LaClade moved to what is now St. Louis and set up their trading business.  The Spanish realized the possibilities of a trade route accessing the Mississippi River and, in 1792, began tracing a route from Santa Fe, New Mexico to St. Louis, in some parts using well-worn Native trading and hunting trails.  The Santa Fe to St. Louis trail is better known to Americans as the Santa Fe Trail. In the days of the early frontier and during the settlement of the American west, St. Louis remained the staging area for immigrants heading into the unknown.  It was also a trading hub and a natural focal p...

This terminology appears often in western movies, novels and popular histories dealing with Plains tribes and their frequent conflicts with Whites.  Staked plain is a literal translation of the Spanish term, llano estacado.  The staked plain covers eastern New Mexico and Northeastern Texas, 33 counties in Texas and 4 in New Mexico.  A huge escarpment raises this area of the Great Plains up to 3,000 to 5,000 feet in a giant mesa formation.  Estacado in Spanish refers to a palisade, such as one would see around a fort.  The escarpment around this portion of the Great Plains gave the early Spanish explorers the idea of a palisade, hence the name. The stake plains have long hot summers and freezing cold winters.  The land is dry due to low rainfall and difficult to farm.  For soldiers sent here in the 19th century to track down Comanche, Kiowa, Apache and other tribes, a tour of duty could be a death sentence.  Hunger, thirst, and disease from dusty...