ALONG THE SANTA FE TRAIL

Lively with authentic detail, mostly (according to a note) in the original words of Marion Sloan Russell (1845-1936) as recorded by her daughter-in-law in the 20's: an account of the first of Marion's many journeys on the trail from Kansas to Santa Fe, when, in 1852, her widowed mother agreed to become cook for some army officers. Wadsworth has chosen well, including homely details of daily life, children's games, descriptions of the strange, beautiful land, and a taste of earlier attitudes (``sometimes, far away, we hear the war whoop of the Indians''). Watling, a British-born Canadian, provides dramatic, well- designed watercolors with panoramic sweeps that are rich in detail, though depicting tepees on a New Mexican mesa is an unfortunate lapse. Otherwise, excellent source material. Note on Russell's later life. (Autobiography/Picture book. 7-11)