Includes The Article Diary Of Amelia Knight, An Oregon Pioneer Of 1853 And Other Matters Of Historic Interest.

Gathers diary selections, describes the historical background of each writer, and discusses the changing function and content of diaries.

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narratives, comprises excerpts from pioneer and missionary letters, diaries, journals, and memoirs-many previously unpublished-accompanied by biographical information and historical background.

The Bidwell-Bartleson party may have been generally forgotten, but the group was the first true emigrant train to cross South Pass. If the memories of these men has dimmed, the road they followed has not, for the route is one of the most famous in the history of human migration-the Oregon Trail. Saleratus & Sagebrush chronicles the journeys of these and many other emigrants on the trails west. Robert Munkres relates the stories about the famous and indispensable Fort Bridger and Fort Laramie, the fork in the road at Soda Springs, women's lives on the trail, the family dog, and tales of Indians, friendly and not-so-friendly are richly enhanced by photographs and several reproductions of works by William Henry Jackson.