"A teenager s fresh look on pre-Civil War life in territorial Santa Fe"
Teenage John Watts came to territorial Santa Fe in 1858 from Bloomington, Indiana. His father believed the clear air of northern New Mexico would be beneficial to John's health. In Santa Fe, they joined John's older brother, J. Howe Watts.
John and Howe are left on their own in Santa Fe much of the time, and John decides to improve his penmanship and foster orderly habits by keeping a daily journal. In a mixture of worldliness and naivete, maturity and boyish enthusiasm, insightful observations of others, and...