Turbulent Taos

Book excerpt: Revolutions, native conspiracies and subsequent insurrections, filthy mountain men sleeping on the dirt and wrestling with grizzlies, radical priests, belligerent American soldiers, betrayal, violence, early forms of commerce, and other enthralling accounts are part of this small New Mexico town’s history. Complete with illustrations and archived photographs, “Turbulent Taos” is Den Galbraith’s groundbreaking examination of Taos’s wild past in its pre to post territorial days. Informative and entertaining, the narrative reads like a boozed-up solitary poet smiling into the calm desert night. Huddle with the pueblo natives as they consult the spirits of the dead to revolt against the onslaught of Spanish imperialism in 1680. Learn what “The Massacre of 1760” was all about. Who were some of the first Americans to arrive? Who was Kit Carson? Why has Taos always been a hotbed for political turmoil? Galbraith takes the reader on a journey from the vast expanse of early pueblo life to the artist colonies that have flourished since the late 19th century. Everything in between is hell. Men of all color have shed blood on this sacred land that makes one visualize the blood red reflection of the setting sun ricocheting off the intimidating Sangre de Cristo Mountains that shroud Taos.