Wagons Westward: The Old Trail to Santa Fe

by Armstrong Sperry

A journey along the Santa Fe Trail in 1846.

Genres: Historical Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

About the author

Armstrong Wells Sperry was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature. His books include historical fiction and biography, often set on sailing ships, and stories of boys from Polynesia, Asia and indigenous American cultures. He is best known for his 1941 Newbery Medal-winning book Call It Courage.

Reviews

[Abigail Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it.
That’s all that needs to be said.
I love it.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I loved this book! The author does an excellent job of invoking setting; we often felt the heat and sand as we read the story. This is juvenile literature at its best - adventure, a complex but clear story, bad guys vs. good guys, a hero to emulate.

The only drawback is some of the language used to describe American Indians and Mexicans. Having been written in the 1930s, the author uses words that are not acceptable, including ”savages” and “greasers.” As I was reading it aloud, I made substitutions such as “Indians” and “Mexicans.” Sometimes I missed one, though, and we had a good discussion about words, their meaning, their power, how their acceptability changes over time, and how we must read literature in its context, including the time period in which it was written.

[Abigail Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that was a very easy read with well written characters.

[Wayne Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is 1846, on the eve of the war between the United States and Mexico. Fifteen year old Jonathan (Johnny) Starbuck lives with his father in Independence, MO, and watches all the wagon trains heading west, to either Santa Fe or Oregon, wishing he could go with them. His grandfather had moved the family from Virginia west to Kentucky. His father had continued on through Indiana to Illinois. Then after Johnny’s mother died, they had come to Independence where his father was crippled in an accident with a falling tree. Johnny hates his work as an apprentice to a mean Mexican saddle maker named Sabino Roybal, but someone has to provide for their needs. Therefore, after his father’s death, he jumps at the chance to go with scout Pierre Leroux who is leading a wagon train captained by Independence trader Black Jack Bannock to Santa Fe.

However, Johnny hears snatches of conversations by Bannock, a shady character at best, first with Roybal in Independence and then with Bannock’s cook Jake Bailey on the trail, which lead him to believe that there is more to this trip than a mere trading expedition. Something nefarious is going on. What is it? Can he trust Leroux? Will they be attacked by Indians? Can they make it across the burning desert? Author Armstrong Sperry won the Newbery Award in 1941 for his novel of the South Pacific, Call It Courage, which is one of my all-time favorite books. In Wagons Westward he tackles the old American West. It will really give one a sense of what a journey along the Santa Fe Trail in 1846 must have been like. I must issue one warning. This is not a quiet, tame book. There is some rough language. In addition to a number of colloquial euphemisms, the “d” and “h” words appear occasionally, and various forms of the terms “God” and “Lord” are used as interjections.

Also, references to smoking tobacco, drinking alcohol, and even getting drunk occur. Furthermore, the story is intended to be a very realistic account based on solid research, so while I would not call the violence gratuitous, it does contain somewhat detailed descriptions of shootings, killings, scalpings, and massacres that might not be appropriate for small children, sensitive readers, or squeamish stomachs. And the politically correct will not like the way Native Americans are portrayed. However, it is a historically accurate picture of what actually happened and of the kinds of attitudes towards Indians which prevailed at the time, so it would make a good literary complement to a study of that period. And it has a brief glossary of terms. The plot is filled with adventure and excitement, and I think that it is a good book. Pre-teens and young adults, especially boys, who like bang-bang, shoot-‘em-up, cowboy and Indian stories should enjoy it.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars. I read this because I enjoyed the author's Pacific Island based "Call It Courage" and because I've read two books about the Oregon Trail. This focuses on the Santa Fe Trail and an incident of the Mexican War - a shipment of rifles from Independence, MO to Arnijo, governor of NM based at Santa Fe with his forces. Jonathan Starbuck, apprentice saddle-maker, joins this wagon train/caravan on the urging of its scout Leroux. The story is choc-a-block with enemy Indians and Mexicans,various other villains, and mountain-men who seem to epitomize the death of the wild West (under the assault of settlers). Written in the mid-1930s the book suffers from the prejudices of the time. The Mexicans are lazy, shiftless, and villainous; the Indians are savages although Sperry does have an info dump that explains their hostility as based in the wanton slaughter of the buffalo. I read this for my 2019 Reading Challenge.

[Kelby Alloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was The Book i read over and over as a kid. The autistic-special-interest-level of detail that went into describing the protagonist's rifle (octagonal barrel, behind its time but shot truer and further than the new stuff in the story) still sticks in my mind (I did read it half a dozen times...). The old time woodcut-esque illustrations ruined my sense of aesthetic as a kid (in a cool and esoteric way).

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this author.. He wrote Call It Courage, an important book to me. This title was well paced, entertaining and beautifully descriptive. The writing style seemed appropriate to the timeframe and held my interest quite well.
It had a few interesting plot twists but it was pretty predictable. Of course, being written as long ago as it was, it has derogatory and uncomplimentary racial overtones, and descriptive language.