1868 – 1934
Mary Hunter Austin was a colorful and popular author who was a member of the artist community of her time. She lived in California, Taos and Santa Fe as well as spending time in New York and Europe. Among her books “The Land of Little Rain” was published in 1903 and became very popular as a description of the west. This book contained 14 essays among which, in the last chapter was one entitled “The Little Town of the Grape Vines” – (El Pueblo de las Uvas) where all dishes were made with chili peppers.This piece is interesting because, it is obviously about the Grapevine and is worth reading. Google Books has digitized it for the internet and it is available here.
There are numerous hits in google search on “Mary Hunter Austin” which include interesting pictures and biographies. These too, are well worth browsing.