Martha of California: A Story of the California Trail

FOREWORDThe author of this series of stories for children has endeavored simply to show why and how the descendants of the early colonists fought their way through the wilderness in search of new homes. The several narratives deal with the struggles of those adventurous people who forced their way westward, ever westward, whether in hope of gain or in answer to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, wrote their names with their blood across this country of ours from the Ohio to the Columbia.To excite in the hearts of the young people of this land a desire to know more regarding the building up of this great nation, and at the same time to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to noble deeds, is the real aim of these stories. In them there is nothing of romance, but only a careful, truthful record of the part played by children in the great battles with those forces, human as well as natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast portion of this broad land against the advance of home seekers.With the knowledge of what has been done by our own people in our own land, surely there is no reason why one should resort to fiction in order to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime disregard of suffering in nearly every form.A CHANGE OF HOMESIn case one should ask in the years to come how it happened that I, Martha Early, who was born in Ashley, Pike County, in the state of Missouri, and lived there until I was twelve years old, journeyed across the prairies and deserts to California, the question can be answered if I write down what I saw when so many people from our county went to make new homes in that state where gold had been found in such abundance.For my part, I used to wonder why people should be willing to leave Missouri, enduring the many hardships they knew awaited them on the journey of two thousand miles, in order to buy land in a country where nearly all the inhabitants were Spaniards and Mexicans.I suppose the stories told about the wonderful quantity of gold which had suddenly been found in California caused our people to think particularly of that far-off land. When the excitement of getting rich by digging in the earth a few weeks or a few months had in a measure died away,CONTENTSA Change of HomesJoe BowersThe Reasons for MovingMother\'s AnxietyHow We Were to TravelOur Movable HomeLeaving AshleyEben JordanOn the RoadEben\'s PredictionsWhat We Heard about CaliforniaThe First EncampmentNight in CampThe Town of IndependenceKansas IndiansLooking into the Future for TroubleA Stormy DayA Lack of FuelMaking Camp in a StormA ThunderstormAnother Company of PikersThe Stock Stray AwayAn Indian VillageI Weary with so much TravelingEben\'s BoastsSuffering with ThirstIn Search of WaterQuenching our ThirstMaking ButterA Kansas FerryThe Surprise at Soldier CreekBread MakingPrairie PeasEben as a HunterA Herd of BuffaloesExcitement in the CampA Feast of Buffalo MeatCuring the MeatA Wash DayUncomfortable TravelingEllen\'s Advice regarding the StoryIndians and MosquitoesPrairie DogsColonel Russell\'s MishapChimney RockAt Fort LaramieCooking in Front of a FireplaceTrappers, Hunters, and IndiansOn the Trail Once MoreIndependence RockArrival at Fort BridgerWith our Faces toward CaliforniaAt Bear RiverThe Coming of WinterUtah IndiansA Dangerous TrailSunflower Seeds and Antelope StewA Forest FireThe Great Salt LakeEben as a FishermanGrasshopper JamA Deserted VillageThe Great Salt DesertPreparing for a Dangerous JourneyBread and Coffee MakingBreaking Camp at MidnightThe Approach to the Salt DesertA Plain of SaltLike a Sea of Frozen MilkSalt DustA Bitter DisappointmentCoffee instead of WaterA Spring of Sweet WaterThe OasisSearching for WaterThe Beautiful ValleySnake IndiansA Scarcity of FoodSprings of Hot WaterIn the Land of PlentyThe Truckee RiverA