Vanished Arizona: Recollections of My Army Life

Vanished Arizona: Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman

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Wild Life in the Far West: Cosimo Classics; edition unabridged and with an Introduction by W. Turrentine Jackson edition July 1, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. The heart of this book is the time Martha Summerhayes spent during the s in Arizona as an army wife. Raised in comfortable circumstances on the East Coast, she was intelligent and educated, but unprepared for the harshness of life in Arizona.

Bad food, extreme heat, discomfort and dangerous animals and people were all parts of her life. She sometimes despaired, but never quite gave up. She was a keen observer of all that she experienced. She recognized the problems caused by bad Indian agents and deplored the misery imposed on soldiers by foolish members of temperance societies. Occasionally, there are surprising omissions: This is a very good book , but should it get a four or a five?

Martha was too charming to merit less than a five. One person found this helpful. Her experiences traveling with her officer husband and his unit by sea and land into the sparsely populated desert of Arizona Territory are highly readable. She describes as colorful a cast of characters as you could find in any work of fiction. Unlike many accounts of western adventure, this book presents the day-to-day challenges of a family making its home in some of the most primitive conditions imaginable. A sophisticated and educated lady, trained to defer to her husband, contends with preparing meals with mess hall implements and limited supplies, keeping a home and belongings clean and serviceable, and traveling wherever the Army sends her husband.

I was much upset by the dreadful dust, which was thick upon everything I touched. We had to hasten our toilet, as they were striking tents and breaking camp early, in order to reach before noon the next place where there was water. Sitting on camp-stools, around the mess-tables, in the open, before the break of day, we swallowed some black coffee and ate some rather thick slices of bacon and dry bread.

I wore a small derringer, with a narrow belt filled with cartridges. An incongruous sight, methinks now, it must have been. A young mother, pale and thin, a child of scarce three months in her arms, and a pistol belt around her waist! Perhaps it was just as well for me that I did not know about it in advance.

The sure-footed mules picked their way over these sharp-edged rocks. There was not a moment's respite. We asked a soldier to help with holding the baby, for my arms gave out entirely, and were as if paralyzed. The jolting threw us all by turns against the sides of the ambulance which was not padded , and we all got some rather bad bruises. We finally bethought ourselves of the pappoose basket, which we had brought along in the ambulance, having at the last moment no other place to put it.

So a halt was called, we placed the tired baby in this semi-cradle, laced the sides snugly over him, and were thus enabled to carry him over those dreadful roads without danger. He did not cry much, but the dust made him thirsty. I could not give him nourishment without stopping the entire train of wagons, on account of the constant pitching of the ambulance; delay was not advisable or expedient, so my poor little son had to endure with the rest of us. The big Alsatian cavalryman held the cradle easily in his strong arms, and so the long miles were traveled, one by one. I'm a native of Arizona and am always interested in the history of my state.

As I read the book several things were interesting. First, was how did people survive here in the late eighteen hundreds? Second, how did they get from place to place? Finally, do the places mentioned still exist and have I been there? Additionally, the book gives an insight into how people lived long before modern technology made life much easier in the desert. I could actually envision the places named, which have greatly change in interim years.

I love this book. I purchased it in book form also. Made me feel I was there with the people in this book.

Catalog Record: Vanished Arizona; recollections of my army life | Hathi Trust Digital Library

I have read it many times and will keep doing so at times. A true history of a woman's journey with her army husband in the 's. Awesome book if you like the past of the Old West soldiers life with their families. Preview — Vanished Arizona by Martha Summerhayes. In , when Martha Summerhayes came as a bride to Fort Russell in Wyoming Territory, 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, that she had only three rooms and a kitchen instead of "a whole house," she was inform In , when Martha Summerhayes came as a bride to Fort Russell in Wyoming Territory, 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.

Thrapp observes in his introduction the harsh climate and "perennial natural inconveniences from rattlesnakes to cactus thorns and white desperadoes, all made [it] a less than desirable posting for the married man and his wife. Summerhayes prepared a new edition reprinted here , which was published in , the year of her death. Among "the essential primary records of the frontier-military West," the book "retains its place securely because of the narrative skill of the author, her delight in life—all life, including even, or perhaps principally, army life and people—and because it is such a joy to read.

Paperback , pages. Published April 1st by Bison Books first published Martha Summerhayes , John W. Summerhayes , William T. Worth , Jack Mellon. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about Vanished Arizona , please sign up.

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Lists with This Book. This superbly entertaining account of the adventures of the wife of a lieutenant in the army is a fast and absorbing read. Summerhayes was raised in Nantucket and partly educated in Germany so imagine her shock when she follows her husband to Wyoming and then Arizona during the Apache wars of the 's.

As a sixth generation, native Arizonan I found this to be utterly fascinating! Apr 28, Ron rated it really liked it Shelves: Summerhayes gets the "Beginner's Benefit. It's especially good when the reporter--Martha Summerhayes--puts enough of herself into her story that the reader gets to know her bents and inclinations. Some of her foibles are common to us all; some unique perhaps to well-raised eastern women of the nineteenth century. Not great writing but kudos for remembering and reflecting in such a detailed, valuable way and occasional moments of concise and spot on clarity of expression.

As with all memoirs of this genre female, white, prudish puritanical upbringing, heading west the practicalities fraught with prudery is frustrating but genuine; her unresolved conflict between connection to the desert and constant hatred of it is fascinating. Reading between the lines is necessary. Oh my god, she was PREGNANT while d Not great writing but kudos for remembering and reflecting in such a detailed, valuable way and occasional moments of concise and spot on clarity of expression.

Constant complaints about not having a nurse probably means she's having trouble breastfeeding and her child is starving to death. I need to re-read with a map at hand. Dec 17, J. What a great addition to Western-American history! I cannot recommend this highly enough to those of you interested in the "life" part of the phrase "military life. It should prove fascinating to anyone interested in the late 19th Cen What a great addition to Western-American history! It should prove fascinating to anyone interested in the late 19th Century, but especially to those with specialized interest in her place and circumstances.

She's also a fine and evocative writer. There's something uncommonly "fresh" about her writing style that is not typical of "military memoirs. Jun 18, Thebarrys10 rated it it was amazing Shelves: For we who live in AZ. It made me want to take a road trip to see all the places she lived as an army wife in the 's. Can you imagine sleeping outside in the summer because the tents and rude cabins were too hot and having to put hair around you to keep the snakes, spiders and scorpions away?

Martha is a much better man than I am!!! Okay, it's travel for me, non-fiction or history for Sandy. Fascinating if you like books that allow you to picture how people lived in other times. Hard to imagine surviving Arizona summers not only without air-conditioners, but with corsets and petticoats. Jan 30, Chris Babcock rated it really liked it Shelves: Wonderful description of life as an army wife in mid to late s in Arizona. Gives a good sense of how little there was but what beauty surrounded them. Army wives or people interested in the Old West. I will never complain about the heat down here again.

Really enjoying this so far! Jan 25, Carol rated it really liked it. I loved the stories of early Arizona, though I don't care for the author; too much complaining! Sep 07, Pat rated it really liked it.

Being an Arizona native, and having lived all over the state, I found this memoir of life in Arizona in the s very interesting. Growing up and living with the summer heat here, but with the modern conveniences of air conditioning and paved roads, and running water in the house, indoor bathrooms, and all of those things, this book gives a needed perspective to the toughness, especially of the women who lived here before any of those improvements. Interesting non-fiction account of Army life in AZ during the 's.

Having lived in AZ for about 40 years, it was fascinating to read about the harsh conditions and the desolation at the Army outposts.

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We recently visited Fort Camp Apache and so it was interesting to read about Martha's ordeal, as a new bride to a second lieutenant, living in that remote wilderness. Could have trimmed that parts that were not about Arizona.

Vanished Arizona; recollections of my army life

Very strange how the author does not mention being pregnant. Great detail about life on the frontier. Sep 24, Janet rated it it was amazing. Fascinating story of a young bride with her army husband and their experiences in Arizona during the late 18th century. She is a young woman who is totally unprepared for life in the 'wild' west. Her stories of traveling from camp to camp in Arizona and having to make a home in extremely harsh and primitive conditions is awe inspiring. Especially moving is when she has her first child, far from anyone who can help her. She is completely ignorant of childbirth and caring for a newborn.

I couldn' Fascinating story of a young bride with her army husband and their experiences in Arizona during the late 18th century. I couldn't help but wonder how many young women today would survive these conditions. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Arizona, life as an army wife, and anyone wanting to read a story of someone who doesn't give up but makes the best she can of life in a difficult situation. Memories The heart of this book is the time Martha Summerhayes spent during the s in Arizona as an army wife.

Raised in comfortable circumstances on the East Coast, she was intelligent and educated, but unprepared for the harshness of life in Arizona. Bad food, extreme heat, discomfort and dangerous animals and people were all parts of her life. She sometimes despaired, but never quite gave up. She was a keen observer of all that she experienced. She recognized the problems caused by bad Indi Memories The heart of this book is the time Martha Summerhayes spent during the s in Arizona as an army wife.

She recognized the problems caused by bad Indian agents and deplored the misery imposed on soldiers by foolish members of temperance societies. Occasionally, there are surprising omissions: This is a very good book , but should it get a four or a five? Martha was too charming to merit less than a five.

Jul 19, Lee rated it liked it. This is one military wife's memories of time served in some brutal isolated country In the latter part of the 19th century.

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