Traveling on horseback while injured; looking for major travel routes in the Old West

[todeskun]

Two semi-related questions.

1.

Comments

[twilight2000]

So - "Old West" - has different meanings to different populations - historians think of Ohio and Tennessee Valley as the Old West - which may confuse some of your searches (just as an FYI).

"Late 1800's" is post most of the big gold rushes, so maps will be affected by that as well. In the 1870's, Tombstone, AZ was in the middle of a Silver Rush - and both NM and AZ are still territories at this point (heck, AZ just becomes it's own separate territory in 1863. It was part of NM territory till then), so roads aren't necessarily reliable. Good Census Maps

Some online libraries for further research (map libraries)
UnivTexLib
UnivTexRef

General research on the Old West (in case you don't already have it bookmarked ;>)
OldWest

[todeskun]

Thanks so much for the links! The maps are extremely helpful.

And, yeah, I'm well aware of the issues of trying to research the "old west". *sigh* And especially trying to research anything West of the Rockies.

[aubergine_pilot]

I've got a book from ~1895 sitting at home right now which may have relevant maps. (Can't recall the title properly off the top of my head or I'd mention that here, it's something close to The Great West: As It Was And As It Is.) Not sure I can get scans within the next few days, but I can certainly try! Worst case scenario it'll take 'til the weekend.

[todeskun]

Really? That would be fantastic! My google-fu is weak when it comes to searching for things like major routes/cities that existed in the Southwest in the late 1800s.

[badgermirlacca]

Well, there was at least one Civil War battle in NM.

You can purchase maps of the New Mexico Territory that date from 1851. Try Googling, and if you have a good university library nearby, they may be able to help.

[todeskun]

I've tried googling for maps of the NM Territory but most of them are, as you say, from the 1850s, and don't include Texas; since MC is traveling from approximately 20 miles North of Bargor, TX, and is trying to get out of Texas as fast as he can, I really need a map that has both the Texas Panhandle and the NM territory. Based on what little information I've been able to dig up on the ghost towns/settlements, many of the ones listed on those maps were nonexistent by the time my story takes place (1874) (for example, Ft. Bascom was abandoned in 1870) which makes figuring out travel routes extra fun. :)

[badgermirlacca]

Do you mean Borger, Texas? I believe at the time you're talking about, that was actually IN NM Territory. Take a look at http://www.historicmapsrestored.com/media/maps/statemapsj-r/new_mexico_territory_1857_a.jpg. Looks to me like all the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles, as well as Arizona, were part of the Territory.

[todeskun]

Yep, sorry, I meant Borger.

[lizvogel]

20-30 miles/day sounds believable to me under those circumstances, based on having done similar research a while ago (and on my father's description of the effect of morphine -- "That's the good stuff!").

You might find this useful: http://www.cgsc.edu/carl/docrepository/FM2_15.pdf. It's a US Cavalry manual which includes charts on how to mix walk & trot in various proportions to achieve desired speeds. It's from 1941, but I doubt horses changed that much between the late 1800s and then.

[todeskun]

Awesome! Thanks for the link! And, yeah, I figured it would be within the realm of plausibility to allow the MC to travel a little faster once he's all doped up -- although that assumption was based entirely on inferences about what laudanum does to a person's perceptions/pain tolerance drawn from the Aubrey/Maturin books. So it's nice to know that there's non-fictional supporting evidence out there. :D

[rabidsamfan]

In the American west it really matters exactly what year you're talking about. Gold rushes and silver rushes meant towns popping into existence in less than a year, and boom/bust economies and drought cycles meant many of those same towns deserted in even less time. It may not have been as noticeable between Texas and New Mexico, but the effect happened even where the mining didn't.

You're may be looking for a branch of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro if your character is looking for a well travelled road, even though it never really got into modern Texas. (Now if it was the Oklahoma panhandle, it would be the Santa Fe trail...) You might also try checking into the history of any highways which go your route, as most of the highways (especially the pre-interstate highways) tended to get built along the easiest routes, where people had already established roads. Next best bet is looking for stagecoach routes and timetables and travelers guides. (I've seen them for Colorado, not your area, though.)

[rabidsamfan]

(And of course, now you've answered someone with year and place, so please ignore half of what I said...) *goes off to figure out where Barger TX is*

[todeskun]

He's heading back to SE NM in late June/early July of 1874, and he's basically traveling across the upper half of the Texas Panhandle; he'd also want to get out of Texas and into NM as fast as possible, for character-driven reasons. I've been able to place 3 towns/settlements that existed at that time frame and could, conceivably, be on the route he'd take: Tascosa, TX; Ft. Sumner, NM; and Roswell, NM. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out any more information. I've tried googling for stage coach routes, but most of what I've been able to find dealt with stagecoach construction, what it was like to travel in a stagecoach, and timetables for stagecoaches back east. If you have any additional search terms, I would really appreciate it!