When Old Trails Were New

This story of Taos, New Mexico covers some four centuries of history. It is the story of a village that never gave up despite periods of drought, violence from unfriendly Indians and other hazards of frontier life. At one time, Taos was even the site of a short-lived but bloody rebellion against the United States government. Grant tells this and other fascinating true stories of a settlement that was home to trappers and explorers and later to artists and writers. Among its famous and best-known citizens was the mountain man, Kit Carson. BLANCHE CHLOE GRANT was born in Leavenworth, Kansas in 1874 and died in Taos, New Mexico in 1948. A graduate of Vassar College, she also had studied art at the Art League in New York City and attended other art schools. She continued her successful art career in painting throughout her life but began a second career as a writer after moving to Taos in 1920 and this brought dramatic changes for her. She first took on the job of editor of the "Taos Valley News" and began her years of research into the history of Taos and the Southwest. This led then to a series of books, many of which were about Taos and the people who lived there. Her art also changed and she painted Native American and Western subjects. Although an active participant in the Taos art scene, she continued to show paintings in New York. Gradually her main interests turned to her writing. Her books included "Dona Lona, When Old Trails Were New," "Taos Indians" and she edited a biography of Kit Carson based on his notes, "Kit Carson's Own Story of His Life," all available again from Sunstone Press.