Cover; Title Page; Copyright Page; Table of Contents; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Before Becknell; 2. â#x80;#x9C;Vacantâ#x80;#x9D; Land; 3. Cleared Land; 4. Bentonâ#x80;#x99;s Road; 5. Regulation Revisited; 6. Benton Vindicated; 7. On the Upper Arkansas; 8. Tribal Annuities and Bison Robes; 9. Trade Alcohol; 10. Roads Unregulated; Notes; Bibliography; Index; Back Cover
Summary
Santa Fe Trail Association Award of MeritIn the culture of the American West, images abound of Indians drunk on the white man's firewater, a historical stereotype William Unrau has explored in two previous books. His latest study focuses on how federally-developed roads from Missouri to northern New Mexico facilitated the diffusion of both spirits and habits of over-drinking within Native American cultures. Unrau investigates how it came about that distilled alcohol, designated illegal under penalty of federal fines and imprisonment as a trade item for Indian people, was nevertheless easily obt
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 173-182) and index