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Santa Fe & the Trail (1965)

1965 · Short film · 19 min

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Synopsis

This 1965 Encycloped Brittanica educational film focuses on the Santa Fe Trail; a 19th century route through central North America which connected Missouri and Santa Fe. A span of the area along this route opens the film which Native American tribes had inhabited in 1830 (:19). A herd of Buffalo grazes through the pasture and Native Americans had hunted them for their hides and their meat (:25). A character named Jessup Greg steers a wagon as he was making his third trip across the plane with his brother Adam (:44) to sell goods in Santa Fe. A map follows depicting the United States and Mexican territories in 1830 showing that Santa Fe at the time was still Mexican territory (:59). The Santa Fe trail began at Independence on the Missouri River (1:11) and the wagon route is zoomed in on which spanned 800 miles. Along the trail, there were few landmarks (2:20) or water sources and Native American tribes could be hostile (2:35). Jessup’s wagon gets stuck in a river while attempting to cross. Pockets of quicksand could cost the caravan horses and supplies (2:52). The Mexican flag flies in Santa Fe; (3:19) an isolated outpost in 1830. Santa Fe was founded by Spanish explorers and missionaries in 1610 (3:24). The area was controlled by the Royal Government in Madrid (3:30) while under Spanish rule and while under Mexican rule it was still considerable distance from the capitol of Mexico City (3:35). Characters Diego Montoya, his father and grandfather are introduced (3:52). His…

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Details

Running time
19 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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