![Down the Santa Fé Trail and into Mexico; the diary of Susan Shelby Magoffin, 1846-1847, edited by Stella M. Drumm. 1926 [Leather Bound]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41lEh+adxtL._SY445_SX342_.jpg)
Rarely, even a dedicated bookworm, who has imbibed innumerable books on a plethora of subjects, encounters a story where a narrator's voice becomes alive, distinct and unique. Susan Shelby Magoffin's diary, from 1846-1847, reveals a young American woman wise beyond her years, a delightful encounter between author and reader. The hardships of the journey down the Santa Fe Trail and into Mexico exacted a severe toll on Susan's health - she died at 28. But what a richly lived life this intelligent, finely observant individual had. Her diary expands beyond the confines of its subject matter, to a larger relevance of what a gift it is to look through another's eyes, into their consciousness from long ago, share for awhile their intimate world.
There is one drawback to this memoir: the totally heavy-handed editing of Susan's diary in the 1920's by the prudish and racist librarian and amateur historian Stella M. Drumm. One can be thankful that Drumm convinced Susan's daughter to allow publication of the diary, but at what cost! At least what remains has not been lost to history, as appears the case with the rest of Susan's personal journals. Drumm's stilted footnotes, added to the narrative in 1927, are quite detailed, but are outdated compared to the early original diary, and contain several historic inaccuracies. The extensive footnotes intrude on the flow of Susan's voice, and Drumm chose to exclude later writings, so that the diary ends with shocking abruptness. Susan loved her little dog Ring, and constantly mentions him through the early narrative. Suddenly, he is gone from the text, exhibiting yet more of Drumm's censorious editing decisions. It is surprising that as much of Susan's original voice remains, despite chopping by Drumm.
There is room for misunderstanding when scholars attempt to box Susan into a PC corner, but that approach is irrelevant. Susan's comparison of her miscarriage to the birth of an Indian baby in Fort Bent just underlines her sadness that for all her care and an attentive physician, she still lost her baby. The love and grief of her husband and herself are beautifully described, but this is a resilient young woman, proud of her family's pioneer heritage. This and her faith give her the strength to express her curiosity about the world she and her husband explore. There is a wonderful, dry self-irony, Susan mocks herself time and again, though some may misunderstand this, when she is expressing amusement at herself and the "human condition." Encounters between herself and other cultures are not PC, but no one is spared, least of all herself. It is important to keep in mind the historic context in which this personal journal was written; given this, Susan is remarkably open and curious about other cultures, many times comparing Spanish society as being more civilized than what she was familiar with back home. The things she is critical of, she notes honestly, but without the sweeping prejudice typical of her time period. Susan learns to speak Spanish and goes on to attend Mass is southern New Mexico and Mexico, writing respectfully of her host's culture, gardens, faith, and food, to the point of stating in pure Kentucky vernacular of 1847, "I shall make me a recipe book" (p 209).
More importantly, there is a hidden narrative in these pages that Drumm did not succeed in concealing. Susan and her husband were deeply in love, his respect and cherishing of his young bride is apparent, and her delight in this clear. But Susan's voice changes tone after an encounter in Santa Fe with Dona Juliana, who intrudes upon her hospitality, coming into her home and calling her a little girl, rather than the respectful term Senora. This lady was a great "friend" of the Magoffin brothers. Samuel was 45 years old to Susan's 18 when they married months before this journey. He and his older brother James made the trip to Santa Fe many times as prosperous traders, and maintained a house near the plaza. Dona Juliana is like the snake in the grass trying to steal the joy of the couple, deriding the young bride in the guise of compliments to her husband, in a language Susan is later to become fluent in. After this woman from Sam's past shows up one more time, never to visit again, an elderly Spanish lady comes to visit, and informs Susan that she would have to teach her how to handle men better. The ebullient, effervescent lightness departs from Susan's voice after this. Then, William Magoffin, Samuel's much younger brother, arrives in Santa Fe to join their wagon train. After they depart Santa Fe, for weeks on end Susan cares for William while he is sick, not mentioning her husband at all. Susan suffers torments of guilt, stating her flesh is weak and sinful. Was she attracted to William? After one of Susan's tormented entries, there is a blank spot, where only the date remains (perhaps another instance of Drumm's editing). In El Paso, while Sam is attending business, another older woman asks Susan if she is worried that her husband might be with his other senorita. Susan states that she could have "cried her eyes out" (p 212). Although she knows her husband is loyal, it's clear he engaged in other relationships before marrying. In Mexico, Susan suffers through another pregnancy, stating that, "this thing of marrying is not what it is cracked up to be" (p 245). The diary ends soon after this. Susan gets sick and loses another child. Thankfully, she and her husband seem reconciled before the diary's abrupt end, her tone regained some of its earlier delight.
After all his young wife's suffering, Sam sells their wagons and never works in the trade again, though he could have made a fortune. William too never pursues the family business, instead, he becomes a doctor. James, the older brother who helped Americans and Mexicans negotiate the territory of New Mexico, remained in the trade, based in El Paso, and made a fortune. Howard R. Lamar's introduction provides an excellent historic context for the mysterious role of James, and the profitable business of the Santa Fe traders. Lamar mentions that Susan wrote an earlier diary as well, that "filled an entire volume," about her marriage and an "initial honeymoon trip of six months to New York and Philadelphia" (p xi). One can assume that Susan, such a wonderfully communicative and observant person, continued to document her life after the Mexican sojourn. I wish that someone would unearth Susan Hart Shelby Magoffin's earlier volume and publish it, along with any additional diaries.
Superb read (not a mystery) and evocative account of NM history:
Death Comes for the Archbishop (Vintage Classics)
Another original and almost lost Western (Montana) voice:
The Story Of Mary MacLane & Other Writings
Spanish Perspective:
Romance of a Little Village Girl (Paso Por Aqui : Series on the Nuevomexicano Literary Heritage)
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Fabienne
Not exactly waht I was aming for
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