Author: Gary L. Ecelbarger
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 9780807125809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Tall and handsome, vigorous and hot-tempered, fearless to a fault, Frederick W. Lander (1821–1862) became one of the most name-recognized Americans in the years 1854 to 1862. A top-notch railroad and wagon-road engineer in the western territories, a popular lyceum speaker, a published fic-tion writer and poet, an adept negotiator with Native Americans, and an agent for the Lincoln administration and the Union army, the Massachusetts native attracted newspaper coverage from coast to coast for his renown and versatility. His name evoked emotion and passion among his friends and associates, including artists, poets, explorers, engineers, soldiers, and politicians, but at his untimely death early in the Civil War, he quickly and tragically descended into anonymity. With an energy that befits his subject, Gary L. Ecelbarger brings to life this intriguing, romantic personality of the nineteenth century, tempting the imagination to consider what Lander might have accomplished had he lived longer. Using more than five hundred unpublished letters and documents written by Lander and his colleagues, superiors, and subordinates, Ecelbarger delves into all of the major aspects of Lander’s life but focuses upon its final chapter in the Civil War. Promoted directly from unpaid aide-de-camp to brigadier general, Lander was quickly dubbed “the great natural American soldier” by Lieutenant General Winfield Scott for his brilliant promise as a military leader. The author offers a richly detailed narrative of Lander’s courageous participation in three campaigns during the first year of the conflict: Rich Mountain, May–July, 1861; Ball’s Bluff, September–October, 1861; and the previously undocumented campaign against Stonewall Jackson, January–March, 1862. Ecelbarger studies Lander’s flaws, attributes, and achievements to provide a judicious, comprehensive analysis of his actions and character. In Frederick W. Lander, he produces the spellbinding story of a once-forgotten hero who now appears life size.
Frederick W. Lander
Author: Gary L. Ecelbarger
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 9780807125809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Tall and handsome, vigorous and hot-tempered, fearless to a fault, Frederick W. Lander (1821–1862) became one of the most name-recognized Americans in the years 1854 to 1862. A top-notch railroad and wagon-road engineer in the western territories, a popular lyceum speaker, a published fic-tion writer and poet, an adept negotiator with Native Americans, and an agent for the Lincoln administration and the Union army, the Massachusetts native attracted newspaper coverage from coast to coast for his renown and versatility. His name evoked emotion and passion among his friends and associates, including artists, poets, explorers, engineers, soldiers, and politicians, but at his untimely death early in the Civil War, he quickly and tragically descended into anonymity. With an energy that befits his subject, Gary L. Ecelbarger brings to life this intriguing, romantic personality of the nineteenth century, tempting the imagination to consider what Lander might have accomplished had he lived longer. Using more than five hundred unpublished letters and documents written by Lander and his colleagues, superiors, and subordinates, Ecelbarger delves into all of the major aspects of Lander’s life but focuses upon its final chapter in the Civil War. Promoted directly from unpaid aide-de-camp to brigadier general, Lander was quickly dubbed “the great natural American soldier” by Lieutenant General Winfield Scott for his brilliant promise as a military leader. The author offers a richly detailed narrative of Lander’s courageous participation in three campaigns during the first year of the conflict: Rich Mountain, May–July, 1861; Ball’s Bluff, September–October, 1861; and the previously undocumented campaign against Stonewall Jackson, January–March, 1862. Ecelbarger studies Lander’s flaws, attributes, and achievements to provide a judicious, comprehensive analysis of his actions and character. In Frederick W. Lander, he produces the spellbinding story of a once-forgotten hero who now appears life size.
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 9780807125809
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
Tall and handsome, vigorous and hot-tempered, fearless to a fault, Frederick W. Lander (1821–1862) became one of the most name-recognized Americans in the years 1854 to 1862. A top-notch railroad and wagon-road engineer in the western territories, a popular lyceum speaker, a published fic-tion writer and poet, an adept negotiator with Native Americans, and an agent for the Lincoln administration and the Union army, the Massachusetts native attracted newspaper coverage from coast to coast for his renown and versatility. His name evoked emotion and passion among his friends and associates, including artists, poets, explorers, engineers, soldiers, and politicians, but at his untimely death early in the Civil War, he quickly and tragically descended into anonymity. With an energy that befits his subject, Gary L. Ecelbarger brings to life this intriguing, romantic personality of the nineteenth century, tempting the imagination to consider what Lander might have accomplished had he lived longer. Using more than five hundred unpublished letters and documents written by Lander and his colleagues, superiors, and subordinates, Ecelbarger delves into all of the major aspects of Lander’s life but focuses upon its final chapter in the Civil War. Promoted directly from unpaid aide-de-camp to brigadier general, Lander was quickly dubbed “the great natural American soldier” by Lieutenant General Winfield Scott for his brilliant promise as a military leader. The author offers a richly detailed narrative of Lander’s courageous participation in three campaigns during the first year of the conflict: Rich Mountain, May–July, 1861; Ball’s Bluff, September–October, 1861; and the previously undocumented campaign against Stonewall Jackson, January–March, 1862. Ecelbarger studies Lander’s flaws, attributes, and achievements to provide a judicious, comprehensive analysis of his actions and character. In Frederick W. Lander, he produces the spellbinding story of a once-forgotten hero who now appears life size.
Frederick W. Lander and the Lander Trail
Author: Jermy Benton Wight
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 218
Book Description
South Pass
Author: Will Bagley
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806145110
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 329
Book Description
Wallace Stegner called South Pass “one of the most deceptive and impressive places in the West.” Nowhere can travelers cross the Rockies so easily as through this high, treeless valley in Wyoming immediately south of the Wind River Mountains. South Pass has received much attention in lore and memory but attracted no serious book-length study—until now. In this narrative, award-winning author Will Bagley explains the significance of South Pass to the nation’s history and to the development of the American West. Fur traders first saw South Pass in 1812. From the early 1840s until the completion of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads almost forty years later, emigrants on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails used South Pass in transforming the American West in a single generation. Bagley traces the peopling of the region by the earliest inhabitants and adventurers, including Indian peoples, trappers and fur traders, missionaries, and government-commissioned explorers. Later, California gold rushers, Latter-day Saints, and families seeking new lives went through this singular gap in the Rockies. Without South Pass, overland wagons beginning their journey far to the east along the Missouri River could not have reached their destinations in a single season, and western settlement might have been delayed for decades. The story of South Pass offers a rich history. The Overland Stage, Pony Express, and first transcontinental telegraph all came through the region. Nearly a century later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated South Pass as one of America’s first National Historic Landmarks. An American place so rich in historical significance, Bagley argues, deserves the best of historical preservation efforts.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806145110
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 329
Book Description
Wallace Stegner called South Pass “one of the most deceptive and impressive places in the West.” Nowhere can travelers cross the Rockies so easily as through this high, treeless valley in Wyoming immediately south of the Wind River Mountains. South Pass has received much attention in lore and memory but attracted no serious book-length study—until now. In this narrative, award-winning author Will Bagley explains the significance of South Pass to the nation’s history and to the development of the American West. Fur traders first saw South Pass in 1812. From the early 1840s until the completion of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads almost forty years later, emigrants on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails used South Pass in transforming the American West in a single generation. Bagley traces the peopling of the region by the earliest inhabitants and adventurers, including Indian peoples, trappers and fur traders, missionaries, and government-commissioned explorers. Later, California gold rushers, Latter-day Saints, and families seeking new lives went through this singular gap in the Rockies. Without South Pass, overland wagons beginning their journey far to the east along the Missouri River could not have reached their destinations in a single season, and western settlement might have been delayed for decades. The story of South Pass offers a rich history. The Overland Stage, Pony Express, and first transcontinental telegraph all came through the region. Nearly a century later, President Dwight D. Eisenhower designated South Pass as one of America’s first National Historic Landmarks. An American place so rich in historical significance, Bagley argues, deserves the best of historical preservation efforts.
Lander
Author: Carol Thiesse
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439625301
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
Before Lander became a town, the area had already been the summer hunting grounds for numerous Native American tribes, seen a few rendezvous, and had become a freighting hub. Supplying goods for the miners in the South Pass area and goods for the cavalry and natives at Fort Washakie, the freight wagons rolled year-round. When the Lander townsite was plotted in 1880, the main road remained wide enough that a 20-hitch team could turn around. As more people settled in the area, Lander became an agricultural-based town. It was known throughout the state for its abundance of produce, hay, blooded horses, cattle, and sheep. But it was not all work for the settlers; the Wind River Mountains also beckoned. Lander, located at the edge of the southern half of the Shoshone National Forest, became an outfitting stop for alpinists, scientists, and others seeking adventure. Once word of the vast elk and deer herds and the abundance of trout in those high mountain lakes was out, hunters and fisherman came from all over. It also did not take long for Western adventure writers to highlight that Lander was a good place for tourists who wanted to experience the romance of the west through horseback riding, camping, and mountain adventures.
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1439625301
Category : Photography
Languages : en
Pages : 132
Book Description
Before Lander became a town, the area had already been the summer hunting grounds for numerous Native American tribes, seen a few rendezvous, and had become a freighting hub. Supplying goods for the miners in the South Pass area and goods for the cavalry and natives at Fort Washakie, the freight wagons rolled year-round. When the Lander townsite was plotted in 1880, the main road remained wide enough that a 20-hitch team could turn around. As more people settled in the area, Lander became an agricultural-based town. It was known throughout the state for its abundance of produce, hay, blooded horses, cattle, and sheep. But it was not all work for the settlers; the Wind River Mountains also beckoned. Lander, located at the edge of the southern half of the Shoshone National Forest, became an outfitting stop for alpinists, scientists, and others seeking adventure. Once word of the vast elk and deer herds and the abundance of trout in those high mountain lakes was out, hunters and fisherman came from all over. It also did not take long for Western adventure writers to highlight that Lander was a good place for tourists who wanted to experience the romance of the west through horseback riding, camping, and mountain adventures.
At Sword's Point
Author: William P. MacKinnon
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806156740
Category : Latter Day Saints
Languages : en
Pages : 705
Book Description
Drawing on author-editor William P. MacKinnon's half-century of research and a wealth of carefully selected new material, At Sword's Point presents the first full history of the conflict through the voices of participants-leaders, soldiers, and civilians from both sides. MacKinnon's lively narrative, continued in this second volume, links and explains these firsthand accounts to produce the most detailed, in-depth, and balanced view of the war to date.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806156740
Category : Latter Day Saints
Languages : en
Pages : 705
Book Description
Drawing on author-editor William P. MacKinnon's half-century of research and a wealth of carefully selected new material, At Sword's Point presents the first full history of the conflict through the voices of participants-leaders, soldiers, and civilians from both sides. MacKinnon's lively narrative, continued in this second volume, links and explains these firsthand accounts to produce the most detailed, in-depth, and balanced view of the war to date.
Grenville Mellen Dodge in the Civil War
Author: James Patrick Morgans
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147662142X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
In 1861, Colonel Grenville Dodge organized the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment and led them off to war. They had few uniforms or weapons and were more of a mob than a military unit, but Dodge shaped them into a fighting force that won honors on the battlefield and gained respect as one of the best regiments in the Union army. Promoted to the rank of major-general, Dodge became one of the youngest divisional, corps and departmental commanders in the Army. A superb field general, he also organized a network of more than 100 spies to gather military intelligence and built railroads to supply the troops in the Western Theater. This book covers Dodge's Civil War career and the history of the 4th Iowa, who fought at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Atlanta.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 147662142X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 205
Book Description
In 1861, Colonel Grenville Dodge organized the 4th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment and led them off to war. They had few uniforms or weapons and were more of a mob than a military unit, but Dodge shaped them into a fighting force that won honors on the battlefield and gained respect as one of the best regiments in the Union army. Promoted to the rank of major-general, Dodge became one of the youngest divisional, corps and departmental commanders in the Army. A superb field general, he also organized a network of more than 100 spies to gather military intelligence and built railroads to supply the troops in the Western Theater. This book covers Dodge's Civil War career and the history of the 4th Iowa, who fought at Pea Ridge, Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Atlanta.
Blood of the Prophets
Author: Will Bagley
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806186844
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 556
Book Description
The massacre at Mountain Meadows on September 11, 1857, was the single most violent attack on a wagon train in the thirty-year history of the Oregon and California trails. Yet it has been all but forgotten. Will Bagley’s Blood of the Prophets is an award-winning, riveting account of the attack on the Baker-Fancher wagon train by Mormons in the local militia and a few Paiute Indians. Based on extensive investigation of the events surrounding the murder of over 120 men, women, and children, and drawing from a wealth of primary sources, Bagley explains how the murders occurred, reveals the involvement of territorial governor Brigham Young, and explores the subsequent suppression and distortion of events related to the massacre by the Mormon Church and others.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806186844
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 556
Book Description
The massacre at Mountain Meadows on September 11, 1857, was the single most violent attack on a wagon train in the thirty-year history of the Oregon and California trails. Yet it has been all but forgotten. Will Bagley’s Blood of the Prophets is an award-winning, riveting account of the attack on the Baker-Fancher wagon train by Mormons in the local militia and a few Paiute Indians. Based on extensive investigation of the events surrounding the murder of over 120 men, women, and children, and drawing from a wealth of primary sources, Bagley explains how the murders occurred, reveals the involvement of territorial governor Brigham Young, and explores the subsequent suppression and distortion of events related to the massacre by the Mormon Church and others.
Shepherds of Coyote Rocks: Public Lands, Private Herds and the Natural World
Author: Cat Urbigkit
Publisher: The Countryman Press
ISBN: 1581571577
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 315
Book Description
Cat Urbigkit journeys alone to spend a season on Wyoming’s open range tending to a herd of domestic sheep as they give birth amid the challenges of nature – from severe weather to a wealth of predators. Her only companions are the livestock guardian animals (BIG dogs and a pair of burros named Bill and Hillary!) that repeatedly prove their worth in devotion to protecting the herd. Cat Urbigkit journeys alone to spend a season on Wyoming’s open range tending to a herd of domestic sheep as they give birth amid the challenges of nature – from severe weather to a wealth of predators. Her only companions are the livestock guardian animals (BIG dogs and a pair of burros named Bill and Hillary!) that repeatedly prove their worth in devotion to protecting the herd. Urbigkit offers interesting reflections on the role of pastoralists around the globe and on the controversial issue in the Western US of private livestock herds being run on public lands. The intimate ways in which abstract public policy plays out on the open range is eye-opening. More than a tale of herding sheep, Shepherds of Coyote Rocks is an action-packed true story that reveals the broad spectrum of the human relationship with nature, from harmony to rugged adventure.
Publisher: The Countryman Press
ISBN: 1581571577
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 315
Book Description
Cat Urbigkit journeys alone to spend a season on Wyoming’s open range tending to a herd of domestic sheep as they give birth amid the challenges of nature – from severe weather to a wealth of predators. Her only companions are the livestock guardian animals (BIG dogs and a pair of burros named Bill and Hillary!) that repeatedly prove their worth in devotion to protecting the herd. Cat Urbigkit journeys alone to spend a season on Wyoming’s open range tending to a herd of domestic sheep as they give birth amid the challenges of nature – from severe weather to a wealth of predators. Her only companions are the livestock guardian animals (BIG dogs and a pair of burros named Bill and Hillary!) that repeatedly prove their worth in devotion to protecting the herd. Urbigkit offers interesting reflections on the role of pastoralists around the globe and on the controversial issue in the Western US of private livestock herds being run on public lands. The intimate ways in which abstract public policy plays out on the open range is eye-opening. More than a tale of herding sheep, Shepherds of Coyote Rocks is an action-packed true story that reveals the broad spectrum of the human relationship with nature, from harmony to rugged adventure.
Wyoming Road Trip by the Mile Marker
Author: Brook Besser
Publisher: NightBlaze Books
ISBN: 0984409300
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
NEW REVISED EDITION that simplifies the highway naming and adds a number of new features that make the book easier to understand and navigate. Contact [email protected] with any questions. Please read this entire description and the notes at the end... Yellowstone National Park is the focal point of Wyoming; however, there is so much more if you know where to look. Hidden gems like badlands and petroglyphs can be found in the plains and valleys, and with 15 mountain ranges over 9,000 ft, Wyoming is hardly the boring prairie that many people envision. Even where the plains seem unspectacular there is a rich history along pioneer trails that served as the gateway to the west throughout the 19th century. This book identifies ALL of this, and is simply a book you should not be without. Most Wyoming travel guides are written to explore a specific subject or location, but it would take a stack of books to cover the state for all subjects. Think of these books as a mile wide and 100 miles deep. This remarkable guide, on the other hand, has most everything in the entire state laid out by the highway mile markers so you will always know what is ahead and exactly how to get there. This book covers National Parks and Monuments, State Parks, sightseeing, camping, picnicking, hiking, historical sites, archaeological sites, rest areas, RV dumps, and general points of interest. The book has over 1900 entries, so think of it as 100 miles wide and 10 miles deep -- enough information to get around, but not an overload of information to wade through. Without a book like this putting together a trip across the state requires a great commitment of time and effort. The author knows this, because he has done it many times. In order to provide massive amounts of information into a book of reasonable size and cost, first off the book, it is not a pocket guide but instead is full A4 paper size measuring 8.3 x 11.7 x 0.5 inches. If this was a pocket guide it would be well over a thousand pages. Secondly, the book is laid out in a clear and concise report style format. The descriptions are brief and to the point and not filled with colorful adjectives. Instead the book uses a simple 5-star "Cool Rating" to convey the author's opinion of the impressiveness of each attraction. In addition, the first two lines for each attraction provide the mileage, GPS coordinates, elevation, which entity owns the land, and a grid system that corresponds to the maps in the book, or can locate the attraction on any map. The detailed directions are also condensed to generally fit on a single line. Just to put a final point on the amount of information in this book, the index is extracted directly from the book itself, and therefore is so comprehensive that it contains over 2,300 entries. So, don't think of whether you should buy this book or that book, this book stands on its own or as the ultimate companion book to any other Wyoming travel book. It will pay for itself many times over in time and fuel savings. If you put it in perspective, the price of the book is around what it costs to operate a vehicle for about 30 miles; maybe 10 or 20 in a big RV -- pretty insignificant. Complete coverage of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Fossil Butte National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site, Snowy Range, Bighorn Mountains, Wind River Mountains, Sinks Canyon State Park, Guernsey State Park, Glendo State Park, Keyhole State Park, Green River Lakes, Casper Mountain Park, Jackson Hole and much more. NOTES: Because grayscale photos never do justice to things of beauty, the book contains no photos. However, dozens of color photos can be seen on the book website wyomingroadtripbythemilemarker.com.
Publisher: NightBlaze Books
ISBN: 0984409300
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
NEW REVISED EDITION that simplifies the highway naming and adds a number of new features that make the book easier to understand and navigate. Contact [email protected] with any questions. Please read this entire description and the notes at the end... Yellowstone National Park is the focal point of Wyoming; however, there is so much more if you know where to look. Hidden gems like badlands and petroglyphs can be found in the plains and valleys, and with 15 mountain ranges over 9,000 ft, Wyoming is hardly the boring prairie that many people envision. Even where the plains seem unspectacular there is a rich history along pioneer trails that served as the gateway to the west throughout the 19th century. This book identifies ALL of this, and is simply a book you should not be without. Most Wyoming travel guides are written to explore a specific subject or location, but it would take a stack of books to cover the state for all subjects. Think of these books as a mile wide and 100 miles deep. This remarkable guide, on the other hand, has most everything in the entire state laid out by the highway mile markers so you will always know what is ahead and exactly how to get there. This book covers National Parks and Monuments, State Parks, sightseeing, camping, picnicking, hiking, historical sites, archaeological sites, rest areas, RV dumps, and general points of interest. The book has over 1900 entries, so think of it as 100 miles wide and 10 miles deep -- enough information to get around, but not an overload of information to wade through. Without a book like this putting together a trip across the state requires a great commitment of time and effort. The author knows this, because he has done it many times. In order to provide massive amounts of information into a book of reasonable size and cost, first off the book, it is not a pocket guide but instead is full A4 paper size measuring 8.3 x 11.7 x 0.5 inches. If this was a pocket guide it would be well over a thousand pages. Secondly, the book is laid out in a clear and concise report style format. The descriptions are brief and to the point and not filled with colorful adjectives. Instead the book uses a simple 5-star "Cool Rating" to convey the author's opinion of the impressiveness of each attraction. In addition, the first two lines for each attraction provide the mileage, GPS coordinates, elevation, which entity owns the land, and a grid system that corresponds to the maps in the book, or can locate the attraction on any map. The detailed directions are also condensed to generally fit on a single line. Just to put a final point on the amount of information in this book, the index is extracted directly from the book itself, and therefore is so comprehensive that it contains over 2,300 entries. So, don't think of whether you should buy this book or that book, this book stands on its own or as the ultimate companion book to any other Wyoming travel book. It will pay for itself many times over in time and fuel savings. If you put it in perspective, the price of the book is around what it costs to operate a vehicle for about 30 miles; maybe 10 or 20 in a big RV -- pretty insignificant. Complete coverage of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Devils Tower National Monument, Fossil Butte National Monument, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Medicine Lodge State Archaeological Site, Snowy Range, Bighorn Mountains, Wind River Mountains, Sinks Canyon State Park, Guernsey State Park, Glendo State Park, Keyhole State Park, Green River Lakes, Casper Mountain Park, Jackson Hole and much more. NOTES: Because grayscale photos never do justice to things of beauty, the book contains no photos. However, dozens of color photos can be seen on the book website wyomingroadtripbythemilemarker.com.
The California Trail
Author: George R. Stewart
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803291430
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
In 1841 and 1842 small groups of emigrants tried to discover a route to California passable by wagons. Without reliable maps or guides, they pushed ahead, retreated, detoured, split up, and regrouped, reaching their destination only at great cost of property and life. But they had found a trail, or cleared one, and by their mistakes had shown others how to take wagon trains across half a continent. By 1844 a great migration was in progress. Each successive party learned from those who went before where to cross rivers and mountains, when to rest, when to forge ahead, and how to find food and water. Increased experience was translated into better wagon designs, improved understanding of climate and terrain, and better-supplied and -organized caravans. George R. Stewart's California Trail describes the trail's year-by-year changes as weather conditions, new exploration, and the changing character of emigrants affected it. Successes and disasters (like the Donner party's fate) are presented in nearly personal detail. More than a history of the trail, this book tells how to travel it, what it felt like, what was feared and hoped for.
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
ISBN: 9780803291430
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 354
Book Description
In 1841 and 1842 small groups of emigrants tried to discover a route to California passable by wagons. Without reliable maps or guides, they pushed ahead, retreated, detoured, split up, and regrouped, reaching their destination only at great cost of property and life. But they had found a trail, or cleared one, and by their mistakes had shown others how to take wagon trains across half a continent. By 1844 a great migration was in progress. Each successive party learned from those who went before where to cross rivers and mountains, when to rest, when to forge ahead, and how to find food and water. Increased experience was translated into better wagon designs, improved understanding of climate and terrain, and better-supplied and -organized caravans. George R. Stewart's California Trail describes the trail's year-by-year changes as weather conditions, new exploration, and the changing character of emigrants affected it. Successes and disasters (like the Donner party's fate) are presented in nearly personal detail. More than a history of the trail, this book tells how to travel it, what it felt like, what was feared and hoped for.