Here is a perceptive account of daily life in New Mexico a century ago as seen through the eyes of an educated woman. Intimately described are the joys and sorrows of the wife of an Army officer stationed at various posts in New Mexico in the 1860s, including Fort Bliss, Santa Fe, Taos, and Fort Union. Sometimes with humor and sometimes with awe she recounts local customs and manners.

One cannot help but admire the undertone of wifely pride found on every page as she faces the problems of keeping her family happy and properly fed and clothed. James Magoffin, Kit Carson, and General H. H. Sibley are but a few of the famous figures of that day she speaks of.

Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who also spent much of her married life following her husband from post to post, wrote the Foreword which adds a new dimension and charm to this reprint of one of the notable personal narratives concerning the history of the southwest.