Böcker i Southwest Heritage-serien

"Here are pages with delicately-carved poems, fragrant with the sage of high mesas, light as a cirrus cloud, warm as red blood, vibrant as the strings of a violin. The reader catches glimpses, feels touches of the sensitive character of the poet, sensitive not so much to darkness as to light in all its nuances of color, movement, and design. Of acid there is not a trace. There are cloud-shadows, the flight of a fairy, altars, the turn of the earth, lilac roots, turquoise in the wind. "The author has divided her book into two parts, but the poems arrange themselves into four spheres: poems close to the earth, fantasy, sketches of children, glimpses of the native Southwest. New Mexico is symbolized in a new way: placid burros become ancient hills; chili burns with new fever; natives pray in the cool recesses of a church under an anciently carved statue of Joseph; sheep and goats whiten the rock-ribbed hills." (From "The New Mexico Quarterly," February, 1934, Volume IV, Number 1.) MARGARET HALLETT POND, who became known as PEGGY POND CHURCH, was born on a ranch in the Territory of New Mexico in 1903 at a place called Valmora. She was the daughter of Ashley Pond Jr., son of a wealthy Detroit attorney, and Hazel Hallett Pond, the granddaughter of a former governor of Arkansas who retired from politics to become a rancher in Mora County. As a teenager, Peggy was sent to boarding schools in California and Connecticut, and by the time she entered Smith College, her poetry had already achieved recognition and won awards. Peggy married Fermor Spencer Church in 1924 and they were the parents of three sons. She died October 23, 1986, a date of her "own choosing." In addition to "Foretaste," originally published in 1933, she is the author of "Familiar Journey" and "The Burro of Angelitos" (both in new editions from Sunstone Press), as well as "Ultimatum for Man" and "The House at Otowi Bridge" among others. In 2010, a children''s story written by Peggy in the 1930s was published as a bilingual book titled "Shoes for the Santo Ni├▒o," and in 2011 the story was adapted to become a children''s opera.

In this, her second volume of poetry, Peggy Pond Church pursues the course indicated in "Foretaste" first published in 1933 and now in a new edition from Sunstone Press. In "Familiar Journey" there is the same dark feminine principle further amplified in this collection of personal lyrics. Both the title poem and the rest of the contents show the author''s progress along the road all must travel. Most of the images used in these poems reflect nature; most keen and sharp and freshly worded, signifying an observance of the small things that are individual, accurate and vivid. In the group of poems written about her children, Mrs. Church''s phrasing is felicitous, and in these her personal lyric voice becomes universal. Rarely, too, will be found the sheer poetry which is in "Christ''s Birthday." The utter simplicity of phrase, coupled with the strength and delicacy of imagery, in this one poem make it the most remarkable of the contents of the volume. Here is pure rightness of word; pure beauty of image. MARGARET HALLETT POND, who became known as PEGGY POND CHURCH, was born on a ranch in the Territory of New Mexico in 1903 at a place called Valmora. She was the daughter of Ashley Pond Jr., son of a wealthy Detroit attorney, and Hazel Hallett Pond, the granddaughter of a former governor of Arkansas who retired from politics to become a rancher in Mora County. As a teenager, Peggy was sent to boarding schools in California and Connecticut, and by the time she entered Smith College, her poetry had already achieved recognition and won awards. Peggy married Fermor Spencer Church in 1924 and they were the parents of three sons. She died October 23, 1986, a date of her "own choosing." In addition to "Familiar Journey," originally published in 1936, she is the author of "Foretaste" and "The Burro of Angelitos" (both in new editions from Sunstone Press), as well as "Ultimatum for Man" and "The House at Otowi Bridge" among others. In 2010, a children''s story written by Peggy in the 1930s was published as a bilingual book titled "Shoes for the Santo Ni├▒o," and in 2011 the story was adapted to become a children''s opera.

For a number of years prior to 1922, one of Santa Fe, New Mexico's most colorful and famous residents was Charles Angelo Siringo (1855-1928), popularly known as "the cowboy detective." A small, wiry man, he was friends with practically everyone in town. In 1916 Governor William C. McDonald persuaded Siringo to accept a commission as a New Mexico Mounted Ranger for the state Cattle Sanitary Board. The only thing unusual about that was Charlie Siringo's age, a ripe 61. Undaunted, he saddled up and with a pack horse started for his headquarters at Carrizozo in Lincoln County. His duty was to run down outlaws and stock thieves in southern New Mexico. "During my two years as a ranger," Siringo said, "I made many arrests of cattle and horse thieves and had many close calls with death staring me in the face." Obviously, Governor McDonald had made a wise choice when he tapped this hard-riding, fast-shooting "senior citizen" for the dangerous ranger job. But Siringo was more than a law man. He put in countless nights writing up his experiences. When his book," A Texas Cowboy," appeared, its author achieved fame overnight. "A Lone Star Cowboy," published in 1919, and which Sunstone Press has chosen to include in its Southwest Heritage Series, contained many of the stories in his earlier books and the author says in his preface: "This volume is to take the place of A Texas Cowboy." Meanwhile, soon after publishing his recollections, Siringo joined the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency, whose branch offices covered the West. He remained with the firm for two decades. After leaving the Pinkertons, Charlie Siringo did a good bit of roaming before settling in Santa Fe. Because of the name he'd made in publishing, he had access to many persons, on both sides of the law. From them he got first hand information that he later incorporated in a new book called "Riata and Spurs." In that work, the writer had wanted to include some of his own daring adventures while serving with the Pinkertons. But the Agency threatened a lawsuit if he revealed any of their professional secrets. So the cowboy detective had to delete some of his best material. Siringo's experiences as the quintessential cowboy and determined detective helped romanticize the West and its myth of the American cowboy.

Nina Otero-Warren's book, Old Spain in Our Southwest (1936), recorded her memories of the family hacienda in Las Lunas, New Mexico.

Miguel Antonio Otero served as the first Hispanic governor of the U.S. Territory of New Mexico, from 1897 to 1906. He was appointed to the office by President William McKinley. Long after his retirement from politics, Governor Otero wrote and published his memoirs in three volumes, a major contribution to New Mexico history. But he also published a biography in 1936 titled "e;The Real Billy the Kid."e; His aim in that book, he proclaimed, was to write the Kid's story "e;without embellishment, based entirely on actual fact."e; Otero had known the outlaw briefly and also had known the man who killed Billy in 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett. The author recalled Garrett saying he regretted having to slay Billy. Or, as he bluntly put it, "e;it was simply the case of who got in the first shot. I happened to be the lucky one."e; By all accounts, Billy the Kid was much adored by New Mexico's Hispanic population. Otero asserts that the Kid was considerate of the old, the young and the poor. And he was loyal to his friends. Further, Martin Chaves of Santa Fe stated: "e;Billy was a perfect gentleman with a noble heart. He never killed a native citizen of New Mexico in all his career, and he had plenty of courage."e; Otero was especially admiring of Billy because as a boy in Silver City, "e;he had loved his mother devotedly."e; Such praise must be viewed in the context of the times. Other people, of course, saw Billy as an arch-villain. MIGUEL ANTONIO OTERO rightly distinguished himself as a political leader in New Mexico where he raised a family and lived out his life as a champion of the people, but he is also highly recognized for his career as an author. He published his legendary "e;My Life on the Frontier, 1864-1882"e; in 1935, followed by "e;The Real Billy the Kid: With New Light on the Lincoln County War"e; in 1936, "e;My Life on the Frontier, 1882-1897"e; in 1939, and "e;My Nine Years as Governor of New Mexico Territory, 1897-1906"e; in 1940.

Historians have long admired Ralph Emerson Twitchell's "The Leading Facts of New Mexican History," considered the first major history of the state. Put succinctly by former State Historian Robert J. Tórrez, Twitchell's work (of which this is one of the first two volumes Sunstone Press is reprinting in its Southwest Heritage Series) has "become the standard by which all subsequent books on New Mexico history are measured." As Twitchell wrote in the preface of his first volume, his goal in writing "The Leading Facts" was to respond to the "pressing need" for a history of New Mexico with a commitment to "accuracy of statement, simplicity of style, and impartiality of treatment."Ralph Emerson Twitchell was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 29, 1859. Arriving in New Mexico when he was twenty-three, he immediately became involved in political and civic activities. In 1885 he helped organize a new territorial militia in Santa Fe and saw active duty in western New Mexico. Later appointed judge advocate of the Territorial Militia, he attained the rank of colonel, a title he was proud to use for the rest of his life. By 1893 he was elected the mayor of Santa Fe and, thereafter, district attorney of Santa Fe County. Twitchell probably promoted New Mexico as much as any single New Mexican of his generation. An avid supporter of New Mexico statehood, he argued the territory's case for elevated political status, celebrated its final victory in 1912, and even designed New Mexico's first state flag in 1915. Just as Twitchell's first edition in 1911 helped celebrate New Mexico's entry into statehood in 1912, the newest edition of the text and illustrations, including the "Subscriber's Edition" page of Number 1,156 of 1,500, serves as a tribute to the state's centennial celebration of 2012. In the apt words of an editorial in the "Santa Fe New Mexican" at the time of Twitchell's death in 1925: "As press agent for the best things of New Mexico, her traditions, history, beauty, glamour, scenery, archaeology, and material resources, he was indefatigable and efficient."

In the author's 1924 introduction, titled "A Retrospect," he says that the story "of old Santa Fe embraces a period of more than three hundred years." He further states that "it was the farthest north established seat of government of the Spanish crown in the New World during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries." And with that, this remarkable book unfolds a detailed and thoughtful history beginning in 1598 and continuing through 1924. Chapters are devoted to events preceding the founding of the city; the Pueblo Revolution; the reconquest of the city by General Diego de Vargas; its twenty-five years as a Mexican provincial capital; the city during the military occupation period; and includes stories about Billy the Kid, Governor Samuel B. Axtell and the Santa Fe Ring. With many illustrations, this book is a valuable resource for everyone interested in the history of the American Southwest. Ralph Emerson Twitchell was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on November 29, 1859. Arriving in New Mexico when he was twenty-three, he immediately became involved in political and civic activities. In 1885 he helped organize a new territorial militia in Santa Fe and saw active duty in western New Mexico. Later appointed judge advocate of the Territorial Militia, he attained the rank of colonel, a title he was proud to use for the rest of his life. By 1893 he was elected the mayor of Santa Fe and, thereafter, district attorney of Santa Fe County. Twitchell probably promoted New Mexico as much as any single New Mexican of his generation. An avid supporter of New Mexico statehood, he argued the territory's case for elevated political status, celebrated its final victory in 1912, and even designed New Mexico's first state flag in 1915. In the apt words of an editorial in the "Santa Fe New Mexican" at the time of Twitchell's death in 1925: "As press agent for the best things of New Mexico, her traditions, history, beauty, glamour, scenery, archaeology, and material resources, he was indefatigable and efficient."

Adolph F. Bandelier, Charles Fletcher Lummis, and Father Anton Docher are names closely associated with the early colonial days in New Mexico. All of these characters appear in this narrative of Isleta Pueblo which tells the story of Father Docher's life in the Indian pueblo from the day when he first arrived along the road that was bad, but the sunset beautiful in 1891 until the time of the death of his two great friends, Bandelier and Lummis, and his own death several months later in 1928. Father Docher's job was not an easy one, but his great patience and understanding helped him through many difficulties. The story goes into many of these and into much of the legend and superstition of Isleta Pueblo which the Padre encountered during his long life there. He was particularly interested in the story of Father Padilla, the Franciscan friar who came with Coronado's band, whose body was buried in the church at Isleta but which refused to stay underground. JULIA KELEHER was a member and Professor in the English Department of the University of New Mexico from 1931 to her retirement in 1959. She was also a professional writer and edited each of her brother, William A. Keleher's books, all of which have been published by Sunstone Press in its Southwest Heritage Series. Her collaboration with Elsie Ruth Chant resulted in this fascinating collection of incidents for all readers interested in the American Southwest. She was married to Lloyd Chant and raised two children, George Ashley Chant and Julia Jane Chant.