
audiobook
VANISHED ARIZONA - Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman
by Martha Summerhayes
TO MY SON HARRY SUMMERHAYES WHO SHARED THE VICISSITUDES OF MY LIFE IN ARIZONA, THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED
Preface
VANISHED ARIZONA
CHAPTER I. GERMANY AND THE ARMY
CHAPTER II. I JOINED THE ARMY
CHAPTER III. ARMY HOUSE-KEEPING
CHAPTER IV. DOWN THE PACIFIC COAST
CHAPTER V. THE SLUE
Stepping out of a comfortable New England home, a young woman follows her newlywed husband into the remote army outposts of the 1870s American West. Through her eyes we see the stark contrast between genteel domestic life and the rugged, dusty encampments that dotted the desert and river valleys of Arizona. Her letters capture the awe and unease of confronting unfamiliar landscapes, from the towering cliffs along the Colorado to the harsh sun‑baked plains.
As she learns the routines of army housekeeping, she also observes the soldiers' camaraderie and the fragile peace with nearby Apache bands. Her vivid recollections blend practical details—such as cooking over open fires and mending uniforms—with moments of quiet reflection on the vast, open sky. The memoir offers a personal window onto a vanished frontier, inviting listeners to travel alongside a determined woman navigating a world far from her upbringing.
Language
en
Duration
~6 hours (394K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by A Team of Arizona women, and David Widger
Release date
1997-09-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1844–1926
A frontier memoirist with a sharp eye for daily life, she turned her years as an army officer’s wife in the American West into one of the best-known personal accounts of territorial Arizona. Her writing brings wagon travel, remote forts, and the rough edges of 19th-century frontier life vividly close.
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