[Transcriber's note: The spelling irregularities of the original have
been preserved in this etext.]
VANGUARDS
OF THE PLAINS
[Illustration: I COULD NOT SPEAK THEN, FOR ONE SENTENCE WAS RINGING IN
MY EARS--"I WAS ALWAYS THINKING OF YOU"]
VANGUARDS OF
THE PLAINS
A ROMANCE OF THE OLD SANTA FÉ TRAIL
BY
MARGARET HILL McCARTER
AUTHOR OF
_The Price of the Prairie_
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
[Illustration]
VANGUARDS OF THE PLAINS
1917, Harper & Brothers
Printed in the United States of America
DEDICATION
This story of the old Santa Fé Trail would do honor to the memory of
those stalwart men who defied the desert, who walked the prairies
boldly, and who died bravely--_vanguards_ in the building of a firm
highway for the commerce of a westward-moving Empire.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
PART I
CLEARING THE TRAIL
I. THE BEGINNINGS OF A PLAINSMAN
II. A DAUGHTER OF CANAAN
III. THE WIDENING HORIZON
IV. THE MAN IN THE DARK
V. WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST
VI. SPYING OUT THE LAND
VII. "SANCTUARY"
VIII. THE WILDERNESS CROSSROADS