Dr. Beales and Sarah Horn present us with a fascinating story and a grim, dramatic tragedy of the Southwest, 1834-1838. The short-lived attempt by Beales to found a settlement in the heart of Comanche Country is based on his letters and documents plus a contemporary account by one of the colonists published in Germany, 1837. Interesting details appear on Mexican empresarial contracts, land grants, and particularly of the Rio Grande and Texas Land Company.

This is followed by Mrs. Horn's Narrative of captivity in its original 1839 edition. An English lady of some culture, she also relates the ways of the nomadic Comanche tribes. The ransom of the captive Mrs. Horn and Mrs. Harris by New Mexico traders, her experiences in Santa Fe and Taos, and her return to Missouri with a Santa Fe caravan, add a wider scope of interest to the story.