El Llano Estacado: Exploration and Imagination on the High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, 1536-1860

by John Miller Morris

This story of the legendary Llano Estacado from 1536 to 1860 informs our understanding of discovery and geography in the Southwest. El Llano Estacado is more than a good read: it is also a native son's meditation on the role of the imagination and myth in how we perceive this unique environment. From the dawn of historic contact with the Southern High Plains, a remarkable series of Spanish, French, Mexican, and Anglo-American explorers and adventurers attempted to make sense of its curious environment. "Lo Llano, " the first part of this saga, is a detective story on the Lost Coronado Trail. The key to this ancient Southwestern mystery - where did the Spanish go in 1541? - is understanding what they saw and how they remembered it in their writings. Part Two, "The Llano Frontier, " studies the three centuries of Spanish exploration and imagination following Coronado. "The Illimitable Prairie, " part three of the study, analyzes the romantic discovery of the Llano in the Anglo imagination. In the final part, "T Great Zahara, " the author rides the trail of the classic Anglo explorers of the Llano: James W. Abert, Randolph Marcy, John Pope, and others. The visual representations of the Llano are also revealed through numerous illustrations of rare maps and lithographs.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

424 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1997

About the author

Dr. John Morris is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science & Geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His areas of specialization are: Historical Geography of Greater Southwest, Exploration and Imaging of the High Plains of Texas, Revelation of 19th Century Culture.
Dr. Morris earned his PhD in Geography at the University of Texas at Austin.
A historical geographer, he is the author of three books, From Coronado to Escalante, El Llano Estacado, and A Private in the Texas Rangers. He is currently working toward submission of a 2-volume, illustrated study of Texas Photographers at the turn of the century, “Lost Artists of the Texas Real Photo.”

Reviews

[Daniel Chaikin · Rating 3 out of 5]

33. El Llano Estacado : Exploration and Imagination on the High Plains of Texas and New Mexico, 1536-1860 by John Miller Morris
published: 1997
format: 2003 Texas State Historical Association paperback
acquired: 2010 from the Texas A&M Press (I visited the building on campus)
read: Jun 18 – Jul 9 time reading: 22:39, 3.4 mpp
rating: 3
genre/style: History theme: TBR
locations: Llano Estacado (west Texas and eastern New Mexico)
about the author: 1952-2017. Born in Amarillo, TX, he was a professor of historical geography at the University of Texas San Antonio.

This is a decent comprehensive history of the Llano Estacado - the curious flat high plains along the Texas-New Mexico border. By high plains, I mean a massive high flat plateau surrounded by cliffs. Before cars this plateau was a four-day trek, without reliable water, and flat as far as the eye can see. When Coronado hunted the mythical gold of Quivira, his guide took him through these plains with the intent to get the Spanish lost and thereby to wear them out and hopefully send them home. It worked to a degree, but cost the guide his life.

A little more on Coronado. His crew was exploring uncharted territory in New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas in 1540. He had no idea where he was, his native guide was faulty, and there were no landmarks. Today no one knows where Coronado actually traveled, or where his major camps were. (Spanish relics have been found - crossbow arrow tips, a gauntlet, other armor - but they are hard to date.)

The name, El Llano Estacado, translates as "the staked plains". The meaning is actually unknown, but the implication is that when everything you can see is flat and monotonous, a stake in the ground is an important landmark.

Morris had fun writing about confused explorers from Cabeza de Vaca and Coronado, through the pioneer trails and initial US surveying. I never fully engaged though. His effort to honor his subtitle makes a lot of text out of some thin history. It was ok, but very very slow. A separate complaint is that this history completely neglects pre-Columbus history, and also most of the recorded native history. It's strictly a white, and later an Anglo perspective.

Recommended if you want to learn about this fascinating area in far west Texas and eastern New Mexico...well, you don‘t really have any other options, besides his sources.

[Bellamy Oughton · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very well researched. The Spanish exploration section is great but the book gets increasingly repetitive and drab as it goes on. Frankly, it could have been 3/4 the length without sacrificing any content.