Tells the stories of sixteen women who drove cattle up the trail from Texas during the last half of the nineteenth century.

"Examines in rich detail the daily lives of pioneer women". -- Journal of American History. "Anyone interested in women's history and western history will want to read this". -- Pacific Historical Review. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

Contains papers presented at the fourth annual Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium held June 9, 2007 in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Profiles a number of prominent and exceptional women throughout the history of the Rocky Mountain West and highlights the political, cultural, economic and social conditions which these women helped to shape.

'Swift-moving tales, always readable, often captivating. Dary is ever the master of narrative. This is a contribution to the literary heritage of the state.' -Thomas Isern, coauthor of Plainsfolk

Cowgirl Trail is part of a six-book series about four generations of the Morgan family living, fighting, and thriving amidst a turbulent Texas history spanning from 1845 to 1896. Although a series, each book can be read on its own. In 1884 Maggie Porter returns to the Rocking P Ranch. The sanatorium was not able to save her mother and now her father’s health is failing. When the cowboys walk off the job leaving no one to drive the cattle to market, head ranch hand, Alex Bright, cannot convince the men to stay. How could Alex let this happen? Maggie is desperate to save the ranch and she turns to the town’s women for help. The new cowgirls must herd, rope, and drive the cattle to market. With only two days left, outlaws charge the small band of cowgirls in an effort to start a stampede. The cattle begin to scatter. Will they lose everything? Where will their help come from?

In drought-stricken Arizona, twenty-four- year-old Azalea Brown suddenly finds herself a widow. She has three hundred head of cattle and a dozen saddle horses, but no money as her husband had gambled it all away. What is more, she has no official papers to prove the ownership of her herd. The scheming Josefina Brown de Flores claims to be her husband's long-lost daughter and steals Azalea's herd before anyone can stop her. Who can Azalea trust to ride with her on a roundup to claim her rightful property? Coming along are two frightened girls escaping from a violent saloon owner; the choice for them seems to be bedroom or kitchen, and they want neither! Life on the cattle drive, with all its dust and dangers, centers on the chuck wagon and its pots and pans and sacks of corn. The author gives us mouth-watering details of making egg gravy, black bean frijoles, and molasses pie. There are also calves to eat, goats, and even rattlers seasoned with herbs and spices, to add to the pot. Phyllis de la Garza brings all her knowledge of the Old West to her storytelling skills, bringing vividly to life the dust and dangers of a vast cattle drive and the struggle for women to survive and thrive.