From a riverboat worker who dressed as a woman to the abolitionist who died for his beliefs, It Happened on the Underground Railroad offers a gripping look at heroic individuals who became a part of the famous "road" to freedom. Read about Peter Still, a former slave who came to the Philadelphia Antislavery Society in search of his family, only to discover that the man sitting in front of him was his brother. Meet the individuals who may have inspired characters in the novels Uncle Tom's Cabin and Beloved. Learn about the bakery where Frederick Douglass was first helped to freedom. And experience the heart-pounding fear of a man who mailed himself north.

Many of the events that took place along the Oregon Trail are well known--the perils the Applegate family faced as they rafted down the raging Columbia River, the plight of the Donner Party as they found themselves snowbound and starving at Truckee Lake. But do you know the whole story?
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It Happened on the Oregon Trail r"eveals the stories of these well-known events as well as many lesser-known happenings, providing insights about the adventurous emigrants who, beginning in the 1840s, headed west in covered wagons in search of a better life. The hardships and the joys of the 2000-mile journey across plains, mountains, and deserts come alive in this entertaining and informative book.

The brave pioneers who made a life on the frontier were not only male-and they were not only white. The story of African-American women in the Old West is one that has largely gone untold until now. The stories of ten African-American women are reconstructed from historic documents found in century-old archives. Some of these women slaves, some were free, and some were born into slavery and found freedom in the old west. They were laundresses, freedom advocates, journalists, educators, midwives, business proprietors, religious converts, philanthropists, mail and freight haulers, and civil and social activists. These hidden historical figures include Biddy Mason, a slave who fought for her family's freedom; Elizabeth Thorn Scott Flood, a teacher determined to educate black children and aid them in leading better lives; and the mysterious Mary Ellen Pleasant, a civil rights crusader and savvy businesswoman. Even in the face of racial prejudice, these unsung heroes never gave up hope for a brighter future.

Many of the events along the Oregon Trail are well known--the perils of the Applegate family as they rafted down the raging Columbia River, the plight of the Donner Party as they found themselves snowbound and starving at Truckee Lake. But do you know the whole story?
It Happened on the Oregon Trail includes these events as well as many lesser-known happenings, providing insight about the adventurous emigrants who, beginning in the 1840s, headed west in covered wagons in search of a better life. These stories reveal the hardships and the joys of the 2,000-mile journey as the travelers left from the "jumping-off" cities along the Missouri River to cross the plains, mountains, deserts, and rivers to reach their final destinations in Oregon and California.
You'll read about Lafayette Tate, who experienced "trail justice" for committing murder; about Catherine Hickman and David Parks, who met on the Trail and were married in a trailside wedding; and about Solomon Butcher, a frontier photographer, who captured life on the Great Plains.
In an easy-to-read style that's entertaining as well as informative, Tricia Martineau Wagner recounts some of the most captivating moments from our nation's great westward migration.

The word "cowboy" conjures up vivid images of rugged men on saddled horses--men lassoing cattle, riding bulls, or brandishing guns in a shoot-out. "White "men, as Hollywood remembers them. What is woefully missing from these scenes is their counterparts: the black cowboys who made up one-fourth of the wranglers and rodeo riders. This book tells their story. When the Civil War ended, black men left the Old South in large numbers to seek a living in the Old West--industrious men resolved to carve out a life for themselves on the wild, roaming plains. Some had experience working cattle from their time as slaves; others simply sought a freedom they had never known before. The lucky travelled on horseback; the rest, by foot. Over dirt roads they went from Alabama and South Carolina to present-day Texas and California up north through Kansas to Montana. The Old West was a land of opportunity for these adventurous wranglers and future rodeo champions. A long overdue testament to the courage and skill of black cowboys, " Black Cowboys of the Old West" finally gives these courageous men their rightful place in history. Praise for an earlier book by the same author: "Whether you are a history enthusiast or a lover of adventure stories, "African American Women of the Old West"" "presents the reader with fascinating accounts of ten extraordinary, generally unrecognized, African Americans. Tricia Martineau Wagner takes these remarkable women from the footnotes of history and brings them to life." --Ed Diaz, President of the Association for African American Historical Research and Preservation