Branches of the Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail, a vital artery of commerce and cultural exchange in the 19th century, stretched from the burgeoning settlements of Missouri across the vast plains of Kansas and into the heart of Santa Fe, New Mexico. This historic trade route wasn’t a single, unwavering path but rather a network of choices, presenting travelers with distinct options that catered to varying priorities and circumstances. Predominantly, the Santa Fe Trail offered two major branches: the Cimarron Route and the Mountain Route. Each possessed its own unique advantages and disadvantages, shaping the experiences of countless individuals who traversed this iconic trail during its vibrant heyday.
The story of the Santa Fe Trail begins with William Becknell, a Missouri entrepreneur who, in 1821, embarked on a pioneering journey that would forever alter the landscape of trade and westward expansion. Initially, Becknell and his companions followed the northern bank of the Arkansas River, which then served as the international boundary separating the United States and Mexico. Their journey took them through Kansas and into what is now eastern Colorado. Historical accounts traditionally state that they crossed the Arkansas River near its confluence with New Mexico and proceeded over the formidable Raton Pass before finally reaching Santa Fe. This initial path laid the foundation for what would later be known as the Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail.
However, recent historical investigations have cast doubt on the exact route taken by Becknell’s initial expedition. The 1993 discovery of the diary of Pedro Ignacio Gallego, a Mexican Captain who encountered Becknell during his first journey, has prompted a reevaluation of the historical record. Gallego’s writings, coupled with Becknell’s own journal entries describing the landscape, suggest that the party may have misidentified the Canadian River. Instead of traversing Raton Pass, evidence points to a crossing somewhere between the Arkansas River and Puertocito Piedra Lumbre in Kearny Gap, situated south of present-day Las Vegas, New Mexico. Regardless of the exact path, wagon trains later solidified the route through Raton Pass as the primary Mountain Route.
Upon returning to Missouri, Becknell’s party charted a different course, one that crossed eastern New Mexico, ventured into present-day Oklahoma, and traversed Kansas before recrossing the Arkansas River and returning to the United States. This return journey marked the genesis of the Cimarron Route, also known as the Cimarron Cutoff, which offered a more direct path across the plains.
The success of Becknell’s initial venture spurred him to organize a second expedition in 1822. This time, he equipped three prairie schooners with goods and deliberately chose the Cimarron Route, recognizing that the mountainous terrain of the Mountain Route would be impassable for his wagons.
As the Santa Fe Trail evolved over time, various paths and trails emerged, but the fundamental choice remained the same. Upon reaching western Kansas, near present-day Cimarron, the trail bifurcated. The Mountain Branch continued west along the Arkansas River towards Bent’s Fort in Colorado, before turning south through Raton Pass into New Mexico. The Cimarron Cutoff, in contrast, carved a more direct diagonal path southwest through Oklahoma. These two paths eventually converged in present-day Watrous, New Mexico, where they continued south towards Santa Fe.
The Cimarron Route: A Shorter Path with Greater Risks
The Cimarron Route, celebrated for its directness, quickly became the preferred choice in the early years of the Santa Fe Trail. Its appeal stemmed from its shorter distance, reducing travel time by as much as ten days, and its suitability for wagon travel.
However, this shortcut came at a cost. The route earned a reputation for its scarcity of water, a defining characteristic that shaped the landscape and the experiences of those who dared to cross it. The Cimarron River, from which the route derived its name, meandered through southwestern Kansas and northeastern Oklahoma. Depending on the departure point from the Arkansas River, travelers faced a grueling journey of fifty miles or more to reach the Cimarron. The landscape was characterized by poor grazing land, limited water sources, and the ever-present threat of a dry riverbed. The sandy Cimarron River, often devoid of water, transformed this section of the trail into one of the most perilous. This dreaded waterless stretch became known as the Cimarron Desert, Waterscape, or, by the Mexicans, the Jornada del Muerte, the Journey of Death.
The trail sliced southwest across the Cimarron River valley near present-day Ulysses, Kansas, before reaching the first reliable water source since leaving the Arkansas River. Lower Cimarron Spring, also known as Lower Springs and Wagon Bed Springs, provided a crucial respite. Located on the north bank of the Cimarron River, approximately 11 miles south and 1.5 miles west of Ulysses, it marked a point of survival for many travelers. However, tragedy also marked this location. It was near Wagon Bed Springs that the renowned hunter, trapper, and explorer Jedediah Strong Smith met his demise in 1831. Lost in a maze of buffalo trails and desperately seeking water for his dying animals and suffering men, Smith finally found the Cimarron River but was killed by Comanche Indians. His body was never recovered.
From Wagon Bed Springs, the path continued into Morton County, past Point of Rocks, and through the Cimarron National Grasslands, a landscape that remains remarkably similar to its appearance during the Santa Fe Trail’s heyday. The trail then followed the Cimarron River southward into present-day Cimarron County, Oklahoma, where it crossed the river at Willowbar Crossing and continued southwest to Cold Springs. At Cold Springs, Autograph Rock (located on private land) still bears the carved names of countless travelers who sought refreshment at the springs. The trail then passed by Camp Nichols, a short-lived military outpost established by Christopher "Kit" Carson in 1865. Finally, the trail exited Oklahoma and entered Union County, New Mexico, passing by landmarks such as Rabbit Ears Mountain, McNee’s Crossing, and Wagon Mound, before rejoining the Mountain Route at Watrous, New Mexico.
The lack of water wasn’t the only challenge posed by the Cimarron Route. The threat of Indian attacks loomed large. While the government had established treaties with the Kanza and Osage tribes in Kansas to guarantee safe passage, no such agreements existed with the Comanche, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Apache, who had long inhabited the Plains traversed by the Cimarron Cutoff. In the early days of the trail, the Native Americans viewed the travelers with curiosity, often allowing passage in exchange for supplies.
However, as more and more people encroached upon their territory, this dynamic shifted. Santa Fe traders increasingly favored the Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail, particularly after the construction of Bent’s Fort along the Arkansas River near present-day La Junta, Colorado, in 1833. The dangers posed by Indian attacks grew so severe that the Cimarron Cutoff was nearly abandoned in the 1840s.
Indian attacks intensified across the entire trail due to the Pike’s Peak gold rush in 1858 and the surge in westward migration following the passage of the Homestead Act in 1862. The Sand Creek Massacre in 1864, in which Colonel John Chivington’s Colorado Militia slaughtered Black Kettle’s band of Cheyenne, further fueled Native American resentment. In retaliation, Indian raiders began to target settlements and travelers along the Santa Fe Trail west of Council Grove, Kansas, resulting in deaths and livestock losses. In response, several forts were established, including Fort Larned in 1859 and Forts Zarah, Dodge, and Aubrey in 1864, all within Kansas.
Believing that the white men had violated treaty terms and driven them from their lands, the attacks persisted. In 1867-68, approximately 210 people were killed by Indians in Kansas. The arrival of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in Sheridan, Kansas, in June 1868, marked a turning point. Westbound freight was then transported southwest via a wagon road to Fort Lyon, Colorado, on the main trail. The Cimarron Route was subsequently abandoned, and long-distance traffic on the Mountain Route east of Fort Lyon dwindled.
The Mountain Route: A Safer, Wetter, but More Challenging Path
The Mountain Route of the Santa Fe Trail, while presenting its own set of challenges, offered distinct advantages. The abundance of water and relative safety from Indian attacks made it a desirable alternative to the Cimarron Cutoff. Although approximately 100 miles longer, it became the preferred route during periods of drought and heightened Indian hostilities along the Cimarron Cutoff.
The Mountain Branch of the Santa Fe Trail continued to follow the Arkansas River from west of Dodge City through Gray, Finney, Kearny, and Hamilton Counties in Kansas. Numerous historical sites and visible Santa Fe Trail ruts can still be found in this region, including the Cimarron Crossing, a natural landmark known as Indian Mound, and the site of the former Fort Aubrey.
The trail then entered Colorado, passing by Old Granada, Bent’s Fort, Boggsville, Fort Lyon, and the old Wooton Ranch before encountering the treacherous Raton Pass. Here, the steep and unforgiving terrain often required wagons to be dismantled and hoisted over rocks and ledges, adding days to the journey to Santa Fe. Early travelers documented the presence of broken wagon remnants strewn throughout Raton Pass.
In contrast to the Cimarron Cutoff, which offered a direct route but lacked water and was vulnerable to Indian attacks, the Mountain Branch, though longer and more physically demanding due to Raton Pass, provided a safer and more reliable path.
The route of the Mountain Branch largely follows present-day I-25 over Raton Pass (along the railroad tracks). It parallels Highway 64 to Cimarron, New Mexico, crossing in front of the Visitor Center and across the Cimarron River to Old Town. The two branches converged near the modern town of Watrous, New Mexico, and the sprawling complex of Fort Union. The combined trail then continued through several Hispanic settlements and the historic ruins of Pecos Pueblo before emerging from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and into the Santa Fe Plaza.
Regardless of the chosen path, travelers along the Santa Fe Trail faced numerous hardships. The caravans were vulnerable to the harsh elements of the Plains, deserts, and mountains along the 900-mile trek. These included droughts, torrential rains, severe lightning storms, wolves, fires, and stampeding bison herds. Summers were hot and dry, while winters were often long and bitterly cold. The scarcity of food and water further amplified the risks. River crossings posed particular challenges, as even shallow Plains rivers contained sinkholes, quicksand, and other hazards that demanded careful navigation.
In 1825, Congress authorized federal protection for the Santa Fe Trail, even though much of it lay within Mexican territory. Despite the Cimarron Route’s heightened vulnerability to Indian attacks, raids intensified across the entire trail as Native economies deteriorated, rendering the Santa Fe trade a perilous endeavor. Over time, travelers began to favor oxen over horses and mules, as Indians were less inclined to raid caravans for oxen.
For years after the trail fell into disuse, it was marked by a continuous trail of destroyed wagons, animal remains, and discarded supplies, testaments to the arduous journey undertaken by those who sought fortune and opportunity in the American West.