Journeys to the Land of Gold: Emigrant Diaries from the Bozeman Trail, 1863-1866

Rating:
Summary: Vicarious Journeys to the Land of Gold
Review: Scholars will appreciate the ten years of research the author put into gathering the 33 firsthand accounts (diaries and reminiscences) of travels on the Bozeman Trail, the last of the western emigrant trails. The rest of us can vicariously enjoy the pleasures and endure the ordeals of the overland trips by reading the direct words of the intrepid travelers. In their quest for the fastest route to the gold fields, the emigrants went through land ceded to the Native Americans by treaty, and were the catalyst for the Indian Wars of the 1860's and 1870's. This effectively closed the trail in 1866. This two volume set includes annotations, and illustrations, maps and photographs, appendices and a glossary, and excellent overview and afterword, as well as introductions to each year the trail was used, and each diary. Doyle has done a truly impressive job of locating and editing the materials, and presenting them in a most useful and readable way. Fans of books such as THE PERFECT STORM and INTO THIN AIR might like to compare the feats of these earlier adventurers. Many of the men, women, and children who emigrated via the Bozeman and other trails had already moved from somewhere else. A restless bunch, "they traveled west because they could".