When Martha Summerhayes (1844–1926) came as a bride to Fort Russell in Wyoming Territory in 1874, she "saw not much in those first few days besides bright buttons, blue uniforms, and shining swords," but soon enough the hard facts of army life began to intrude. Remonstrating with her husband, Jack Wyder Summerhayes, that she had only three rooms and a kitchen instead of "a whole house," she was informed that "women are not reckoned in at all in the War Department." Although Martha Summerhayes's recollections span a quarter of a century and recount life at a dozen army posts, the heart of this book concerns her experiences during the 1870s in Arizona, where the harsh climate, rattlesnakes, cactus thorns, white desperadoes, and other inconveniences all made for a less-than-desirable posting for the Summerhayeses. First printed in 1908, Vanished Arizona is Summerhayes's memoir of her years as a military wife as her husband's Eighth Regiment conducted Gen. George Crook's expedition against the Apaches. It was so well received that she became an instant celebrity and the book a timeless classic. The book retains its place securely among the essential primary records of the frontier-military West because of the narrative skill of the author and her delight in life.
Louise Barnett is a professor of American studies at Rutgers University and the author of a number of books, including Touched by Fire: The Life, Death, and Mythic Afterlife of George Armstrong Custer, available in a Bison Books edition.
PrefaceI. Germany and the ArmyII. I Joined the ArmyIII. Army House-KeepingIV. Down the Pacific CoastV. The SlueVI. Up the Rio ColoradoVII. The Mojave DesertVIII. Learning How to SoldierIX. Across the MogollonsX. A Perilous AdventureXI. Camp ApacheXII. Life Amongst the ApachesXIII. A New RecruitXIV. A Memorable JourneyXV. Fording the Little ColoradoXVI. Stoneman's LakeXVII. The Colorado DesertXVIII. Ehrenberg on the ColoradoXIX. Summer at EhrenbergXX. My DelivererXXI. Winter in EhrenbergXXII. Return to the StatesXXIII. Back to ArizonaXXIV. Up the Valley of the GilaXXV. Old Camp MacDowellXXVI. A Sudden OrderXXVII. The Eighth Foot Leaves ArizonaXXVIII. California and NevadaXXIX. Changing StationXXX. Fort NiobraraXXXI. Santa FéXXXII. TexasXXXIII. David's IslandAppendix
"Written by the wife of an Army officer stationed in Arizona from 1874 to 1878, Vanished Arizona provides a clear picture of life on the frontier and the hardships faced by both the men and the women."—True West "Vanished Arizona is a classic and highly recommended to all those readers-even those keeping drug stores-who want to learn more about the distaff side of Army life during the late nineteenth century."-Roger D. Cunningham, Journal of America's Military Past
