Category: U.S. History

September 8 This day in Trail history – A composite journey along the California Trail – September 8, 1849 "Without breakfast we pushed on until we came to Steep hollow (rightly named) where we took breakfast and looked round a little among the miners for we had reached the Diggings. We beheld for the first [...]

This is the final month of my daily diary excerpts from a "virtual journey" along the California Trail, posted on social media for the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, Nevada. During September the portion of trail covered during this hypothetical journey is shown in the Google Earth image, starting near Winnemucca, Nevada and continuing [...]

August 22 This day in Trail history – A composite journey along the California Trail – August 22, 1853 "I went a ducking in the morning but with the exception of ½ Doz. snakes got no game at all. We left camp at 12 –                 passed over the hills 2 or 3 miles to [...]

August 15 This day in Trail history – A composite journey along the California Trail – August 15, 1849 "Our road leads south, along the foot of the mountain, at the top of which is snow, and where we found a lot of warm springs, that are great curiosities. These springs are of different sizes [...]

August 8 This day in Trail history – A composite journey along the California Trail – August 8, 1850 "Went 25 miles down the [Humboldt] river. Met a company going back from California. One of their company was shot in the breast with an arrow while on guard, and he died. Our provisions are nearly [...]