Ever wonder what New Mexico was like in the nineteenth century? In 1876, newspaperman William D. Dawson undertook a series of journeys that took him the entire length of the territory from the D&RG railhead near Fort Garland, Colorado, to the Mesilla Valley and west to the mines of Silver City and Pinos Altos, New Mexico. Here for the first time in print since they appeared in the pages of The Santa Fe Daily New Mexican nearly a century and a half ago, are descriptions of New Mexico's towns, its agriculture, wineries and mines; farmers, merchants, vintners, miners, soldiers, Indians, outlaws, and pretty girls--all the elements that we imagine constituted this great frontier--drew Dawson's attention and found their way into his reports, leaving us an extraordinary portrait of New Mexico as it was mas antes, in the old days. AUTHOR INFO: Robert J. Torrez was the State Historian at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives in Santa Fe from 1987 until his retirement in December 2000. Born and raised in the northern New Mexico community of Los Ojos, he has contributed to several books and published more than one hundred scholarly and popular articles on various aspects of New Mexico history and culture in New Mexico Historical Review, New Mexico Magazine, True West, Tradicin Revista and other regional and national publications. His monthly column, Voices From the Past, appears in Round the Roundhouse, the state government employees newspaper. His previous book, UFOs Over Galisteo and Other Stories of New Mexico's History, was published in 2004. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK: Just before the railroads came to New Mexico territory, the Santa Fe Daily New Mexican printed arunning account of their reporter's travels up and down the Rio Grande from the San Luis Valley to Mesilla and west to Silver City and Tierra Amarilla. Lively sketches of the countryside, the towns, farms, wineries, army posts and even spas at the hot springs all found a place in his dispatches. Casual readers and historians alike are indebted to Robert Trrez for bringing these scenes of New Mexico some 130 years ago, not to be missed, to a modern audience.-John P. Wilson, historian REVIEWS Dawson's submissions were important in that they provided current information on New Mexico's communities, industries, forts, residents, and geographic features. They are as interesting to read today as encapsulations of New Mexico history. Dawson's articulate images of the string of communities along the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico are picturesque.- New Mexico Magazine Robert Trrez, who was the state historian at the New Mexico State Records Center and Archives from 1987 to 2000, has compiled and edited Dawson's accounts to present a fascinating and insightful portrait of New Mexico as it was 130 years ago. Dawson provides another kind of insight into the attitudes prevalent in New Mexico during this time. Despite Dawson's somewhat ethnocentric viewpoint, his reports provide an illuminating account of the changing New Mexico environment during the late 1870s. Trrez's compilation adds another perspective to the understanding of how New Mexico developed during this crucial time in its past and will interest both casual readers and scholars of state history.-La Herencia Magazine