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Into the Unknown: Adventure on the Spanish Colonial Frontier (Wild West Collection, V. 7)
Into the Unknown Adventure on the Spanish Colonial Frontier - Wild West Collection, V. 7 Author:Susan Hazen-Hammond Until now, the compelling stories in Arizona Highways' Wild West Collection have centered on American adventures, outlaws, and pioneers scrambling to realize their manifest destiny in the 19th and 20th centuries. In Into the Unknown, readers will discover a cast of Spanish-speaking characters who lived in an earlier era, when the land that was t... more »o become the Wild West made up the northern frontier of New Spain. Seasoned writer Susan Hazen-Hammond confesses that her fascination with Spanish colonial history began when she "came across Diego Perez de Luxan's journal of the Espejo Expedition in 1582-83 into what is now Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. "I started reading and couldn't stop, as simple, powerful sentences re-created the world the explorers found themselves in . . . . long before the United States came into existence, many of the elements we associate with the Wild West already were present. "Pioneers wrestled with the land and themselves. They fought off Apaches. They didn't pretend to be saints; they gambled, swore, shot their friends, and engaged in tempestuous affairs. . . . (They) set the pattern of rugged individualism, raw courage, inventiveness, and the ability to survive seemingly impossible circumstances that have characterized the West ever since. "Some people couldn't wait to get here. Others couldn't leave fast enough. But through the Centuries, those who reached the northern frontier of New Spain shared this bond: They lived and died, lured -- and sometimes driven -- by the power and appeal of the unknown." Into the Unknown is the seventh volume in the Wild West Collection. Earlier releases in the popular series include "Days of Destiny," "Manhunts and Massacres," "They Left Their Mark," "The Law of the Gun," "Tombstone Chronicles," and "Stalwart Women."« less