- 528 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub
About this book
An acclaimed historian's "compellingly told" year-by-year account of the pioneering efforts to conquer the American West in the mid-nineteenth century (
The Guardian).
In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by Midwestern farmers to Oregon and California from 1840 to 1849—between the era of the fur trappers and the beginning of the gold rush. Even with mountain men as guides, these pioneers literally plunged into the unknown, braving all manner of danger, including hunger, thirst, disease, and drowning.
Employing numerous illustrations and extensive primary sources, including original diaries and memoirs, McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His authoritative narrative investigates the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used, the roles of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else.
The climax arrives in McLynn's expertly re-created tale of the dreadful Donner party, and he closes with Brigham Young and the Mormons beginning communities of their own. Full of high drama, tragedy, and triumph, "rarely has a book so wonderfully brought to life the riveting tales of Americans' trek to the Pacific" ( Publishers Weekly).
In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by Midwestern farmers to Oregon and California from 1840 to 1849—between the era of the fur trappers and the beginning of the gold rush. Even with mountain men as guides, these pioneers literally plunged into the unknown, braving all manner of danger, including hunger, thirst, disease, and drowning.
Employing numerous illustrations and extensive primary sources, including original diaries and memoirs, McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His authoritative narrative investigates the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used, the roles of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else.
The climax arrives in McLynn's expertly re-created tale of the dreadful Donner party, and he closes with Brigham Young and the Mormons beginning communities of their own. Full of high drama, tragedy, and triumph, "rarely has a book so wonderfully brought to life the riveting tales of Americans' trek to the Pacific" ( Publishers Weekly).
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Yes, you can access Wagons West by Frank McLynn in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in History & Military & Maritime History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.
Information
INDEX
accidents on the overland trail, 208–09
drownings, 2, 19, 117, 134, 150, 152, 157, 162–63, 170–71, 190, 216, 225, 251, 433
firearms discharged, 2, 66–67, 72, 76, 108, 109, 112, 117, 146, 197, 209, 338, 433
crushing by wagons, 151, 208, 209, 218, 289, 338, 406, 419, 433
antelope, 62–63, 71, 74, 81, 83, 102, 141–42, 190, 191, 198, 203, 206, 212, 221, 240, 243, 294, 305, 399, 406, 407
Apache Indians, 16, 92, 97, 439, 440
Applegate Jesse, 23, 320, 321, 322, 323, 324–45, 423, 425
and 1843 ‘Cow Column’, 39, 47, 135–36, 139–40, 142, 143, 144, 146, 147–48, 149, 153–54, 163, 167, 168–69, 170, 173, 186
and the Applegate Cutoff, 314–18, 323, 324, 325, 423, 425
Arapaho, 11, 16, 202, 437
Arizona, 5–6, 10, 30, 41, 97, 426
Baker, Jim, 74–75
Bannock Indians, 216, 305, 318, 333, 439
Barlo...
Table of contents
- LOGO
- HALF TITLE
- BY THE AUTHOR
- TITLE
- COPYRIGHT
- DEDICATION
- CONTENTS
- ILLUSTRATIONS
- PREFACE
- INTRODUCTION
- ONE: MANIFEST DESTINY
- TWO: THE REASONS WHY
- THREE: TO BOLDLY GO
- FOUR: THE WOMAN IN THE SUNBONNET
- FIVE: THE GREAT MIGRATION
- SIX: THROUGH FLOOD AND FAMINE
- SEVEN: 'NEVER TAKE NO CUTOFFS'
- EIGHT: CALIFORNIA CATCHES UP
- NINE: TRAGEDY IN THE SNOWS
- TEN: SAINTS AND SINNERS
- EPILOGUE
- BIBLIOGRAPHY
- NOTES
- INDEX