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Between 1841 and 1866, more than 500,000 people followed trails to
Oregon, California, and the Salt Lake Valley in one of the greatest
mass migrations in American history. This collection of travelers'
accounts of their journeys in the 1840s, the first volume in a new
series of trail narratives, comprises excerpts from pioneer and
missionary letters, diaries, journals, and memoirs--many previously
unpublished--accompanied by biographical information and historical
background.
Beginning with Father Pierre-Jean de Smet's letters relating his
encounters with Plains Indians, and ending with an account of a
Mormon gold miner's journey from California to Salt Lake City,
these narratives tell varied and vivid stories. Some travelers fled
hard times: religious persecution, the collapse of the agricultural
economy, illness, or unpredictable weather. Others looked ahead,
attracted by California gold, the verdant Willamette Valley of
Oregon, or the prospect of converting Native people to
Christianity. Although many welcomed the adventure and adjusted to
the rigors of trail life, others complained in their accounts of
difficulty adapting.
Remembrances of the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails have
yielded some of the most iconic images in American history. This
and forthcoming volumes in "The Great Medicine Road" series present
the pioneer spirit of the original overlanders supported by the
rich scholarship of the past century and a half.
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