Writer, wife of famed explorer John C. Frémont, and political activist Jessie Benton Frémont was one of the most remarkable women of the 19th century. Closest aide and confidant to her ambitious husband, she penned this tale of her family's western migration. "I saw back into the time when I had learned to know how painful is the process of founding a new country. What loneliness, what privations, what trials of every kind, went to the first steps of even that rich and lovely country of California." It was not gold that drew Jessie Frémont to California in 1848. Gold had not yet been discovered when she left on her journey. The Frémonts were there to make a new life. When bad investments bankrupted the Frémonts, Jessie turned to writing to help support the family. Sharing her husband's anti-slavery feelings, she personally went to Abraham Lincoln to plead to restore her husband's position after he was dismissed for issuing an edict of emancipation in Missouri. She was helpful in getting protection for Yosemite Valley during the Lincoln administration. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1878 Edition.

Excerpt from A Year of American Travel And, in short, we had been where centuries of tradition and fancy and fact had blended into an atmosphere that shut out ordinary ideas, and left us in that charmed and dream-like state of mind which I am afraid can only belong with an old country where everything stays put, where the word fixed has its corresponding meaning in facts. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

A collection of the year's best travel writing selected by Padma Lakshmi

The Negro Motorist Green Book was a groundbreaking guide that provided African American travelers with crucial information on safe places to stay, eat, and visit during the era of segregation in the United States. This essential resource, originally published from 1936 to 1966, offered a lifeline to black motorists navigating a deeply divided nation, helping them avoid the dangers and indignities of racism on the road. More than just a travel guide, The Negro Motorist Green Book stands as a powerful symbol of resilience and resistance in the face of oppression, offering a poignant glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of the African American experience in the 20th century.