Introduction to Volume X

In this, the tenth and final volume of text in the series (to be followed by a volume containing the series index, bibliography and other reference materials), we again find ourselves using words such as “poignant, ” “moving, ” and “touching, ” as we seek to unlock the innermost feelings of these women as they traveled from the Missouri/Mississippi heartland to the Pacific slope states.

The emotional reactions which these women experienced in the face of both triumph and tragedy on the western trails has been a source of unending fascination. Our intent in presenting these materials has been to expose a broad audience to the original source material compiled by women on the overland trails. We have left to others to analyze the data and interpret it. We preferred to let the women speak for themselves.

Travel was faster in the 1870’s and 1880’s than in previous decades. Horses and mules predominated, rather than the oxen so relied upon in earlier migrations. This was made possible because there was plenty of grain available at farms and towns along the way. Some of them drove cattle, but none of the diarists published herein used oxen for wagon power. When towns were not near at hand, there were railroad stations along the way, which were often used as camping grounds. The travelers often followed the Union Pacific line westward. Communication along the route was greatly improved, and the travelers could often send and receive mail at stopping places.

We want to thank especially John W. Evans, Librarian at Eastern Oregon State College in LaGrande, who has been kind enough to copy and edit the original diary of Sarah Collins. He plans to donate this diary to the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.

For those who have not read the introduction to the first volume of this series, we reiterate some salient points which have been used to guide the editorial hand. It is a major purpose to let the writers tell their own story in their own words with as little scholarly trimming as possible. The intent in this publication of primary sources is to transcribe each word or phrase as accurately as possible, leaving misspellings and grammatical errors as written in the original.

Two gestures have been made for the sake of clarity:

1. We have added space where phrases or sentences ended and no punctuation appeared in the original.

2. We have put the daily journals into diary format even though the original may have been written continuously line by line because of the writer’s shortage of paper.

There are numerous geographic references that are mentioned over and over again in the various accounts. The final volume in the series will include a geographical gazeteer, in addition to an index and bibliography to aid the reader.

The scarce and unusual in overland documents have been sought out. Readily available accounts are not included, but they will be referred to in the final volume along with the bibliography. If the reader knows of such accounts written while on the journey, please let us know. Our goal is to add to the knowledge of all regarding this portion of our history—the story of ordinary people embarked on an extraordinary experience.

KENNETH L. HOLMES

Monmouth, Oregon, 1991