In this first comprehensive history of the fur trade in the Far Southwest, David J. Weber has utilized Spanish, Mexican, and American sources to describe the development of Taos trade and the early penetration of the area by French and American trappers. There such colorful characters as Ewing Young, Kit Carson, Peg-leg Smith, and the Robidoux brothers pioneered new trails to the Colorado Basin, the Gila River, and the Pacific and contributed to the wealth that flowed east along the Santa Fe Trail.