Susan Shelby Magoffin was an unlikely traveler when she set off on the Santa Fe Trail in June of 1846 with her husband, Samuel Magoffin, an experienced trader familiar with the conditions on the trail. Susan grew up in Kentucky, where her grandfather Isaac Shelby had been the first governor. Used to a household filled with servants, Susan was also formally educated.
She was only 18 when she married 45-year-old Samuel Magoffin in November 1845. Just over six months into their marriage, they loaded trade wagons and set off from Independence, Missouri, following the Santa Fe Trail—a route her husband had frequently taken in his trading operations. Their outfit, according to her diary—published as Down the Santa Fe Trail and Into Mexico: The Diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847—included 14 big wagons, each one pulled by six yoke of oxen, a baggage wagon, a light Dearborn wagon that carried her maid, Jane, and was pulled by mules, and another wagon in which Susan herself rode. The fact that she traveled with a lady’s maid shows her status not only as a Santa Fe trader’s wife, but also as a woman from a wealthy Kentucky family.
In camp at night, Susan had a tent for sleeping, but it was a luxury accommodation with a bed and mattress, chairs and a table attached to the large center pole. The floor was a piece of carpet made from sail duck.
As the journey began, Susan wrote in her journal whenever the carriage stopped for a break, remarking on the treeless prairie that stretched ahead of their wagon caravan. The quiet stillness of the first Sunday morning on the trail contrasted with the earlier days when teamsters cursed oxen not yet accustomed to pulling wagons.
Susan wrote of prairie flowers, wild roses and a party of U.S. Army Dragoons who overtook their caravan en route to Santa Fe as tensions escalated between the United States and Mexico.
Across the Wide Missouri
This story is from the July - August 2021 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July - August 2021 edition of True West.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WESTERN ART MUSEUMS OF THE YEAR
Visionary museums from coast to coast showcase the West's best artists and artwork.
DISCOVER THE WEST
Museums from coast to coast celebrate our Western heritage for all generations.
Amber Waves of Grain and Flowers
Kansas is still the breadbasket of America.
In Search of Hugh Glass
Travel the Rocky Mountain West to discover the truth about the legendary mountain man.
SPUR TALK
The day Bill McDonald rode over the hill leading the Appaloosa, Slim and I were repairing the corrals. Slim was running Pete Coleman's little ranch about three miles south of Cow Springs, New Mexico. I was just a snotty-nosed, freckle-faced kid at the time.
THE LEGENDARY FOUR SIXES
The ranch was founded 155 years ago by men and women who are as mythical as they are real.
YELLOWSTONE COWBOYS
THE REAL STORY OF TEDDY BLUE AND HOW HE BECAME MONTANA'S GREATEST COWBOY
Under Western Skies
The annual Scottsdale Art Auction was a tour de force of classic and contemporary art of the West.
If You Thought Dude Ranching Days Were Over....
Montana's original wants to set you straight.
The Indians and the Jesuit
Father de Smet built the first permanent settlement in Montana.