Martha of California / A Story of the California Trail by James Otis : (full image Illustrated)

FOREWORD
The 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 HOMES
In 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,
CONTENTS
A Change of Homes
Joe Bowers
The Reasons for Moving
Mother's Anxiety
How We Were to Travel
Our Movable Home
Leaving Ashley
Eben Jordan
On the Road
Eben's Predictions
What We Heard about California
The First Encampment
Night in Camp
The Town of Independence
Kansas Indians
Looking into the Future for Trouble
A Stormy Day
A Lack of Fuel
Making Camp in a Storm
A Thunderstorm
Another Company of Pikers
The Stock Stray Away
An Indian Village
I Weary with so much Traveling
Eben's Boasts
Suffering with Thirst
In Search of Water
Quenching our Thirst
Making Butter
A Kansas Ferry
The Surprise at Soldier Creek
Bread Making
Prairie Peas
Eben as a Hunter
A Herd of Buffaloes
Excitement in the Camp
A Feast of Buffalo Meat
Curing the Meat
A Wash Day
Uncomfortable Traveling
Ellen's Advice regarding the Story
Indians and Mosquitoes
Prairie Dogs
Colonel Russell's Mishap
Chimney Rock
At Fort Laramie
Cooking in Front of a Fireplace
Trappers, Hunters, and Indians
On the Trail Once More
Independence Rock
Arrival at Fort Bridger
With our Faces toward California
At Bear River
The Coming of Winter
Utah Indians
A Dangerous Trail
Sunflower Seeds and Antelope Stew
A Forest Fire
The Great Salt Lake
Eben as a Fisherman
Grasshopper Jam
A Deserted Village
The Great Salt Desert
Preparing for a Dangerous Journey
Bread and Coffee Making
Breaking Camp at Midnight
The Approach to the Salt Desert
A Plain of Salt
Like a Sea of Frozen Milk
Salt Dust
A Bitter Disappointment
Coffee instead of Water
A Spring of Sweet Water
The Oasis
Searching for Water
The Beautiful Valley
Snake Indians
A Scarcity of Food
Springs of Hot Water
In the Land of Plenty
The Truckee River
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