"Many nights we lay in our tent, or under the wagons, we heard either the loud barking of the gray wolf, or sharp querulous tones of the coyote, snapping and snarling [near] our head." Most people know that traveling the Emigrant Trail in the mid-nineteenth century was hard. They know the pioneers faced danger, disease, and even death. What they may not consider, however, is the endurance and strength of pioneer children. In Stories of Young Pioneers, Violet Kimball has collected memoirs, letters, and journal entries of children who were ages six to nineteen when they made the overland journey. Readers ages ten and older will discover in these pages a window into the lives of emigrant children on the trail. The book is organized by topic--including animals; fun and recreation; and adventures and ordeals--and peppered with detailed profiles of the individual youngsters. Feel the mixed emotions of thirteen-year-old Kate Scott as she leaves the comfort of her home and friends in Illinois for the untamed Oregon Territory. Sit in the driver's seat with thirteen-year-old John Stoughton as he drives his oxen across rocks, water, sand, and icy mountain passes. unwind after a long day by joining in a hand of cards or, better yet, a night of music and dancing. Young historians will find Stories of Young Pioneers exciting reading and a well-researched tool for learning about life on the Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails.

Stories of Young Pioneers: In Their Own Words

Kimball, Violet T.

History

Mountain Press

The enduring saga of Mormonism is its great trek across the plains, and understanding that trek was the life work of Stanley B. Kimball, master of Mormon trails. This final work, a collaboration which he began and which was completed after his death in 2003 by his photographer-writer wife, Violet, explores that movement westward as a social history, with the Mormons moving as "villages on wheels." Like a true social history, this fascinating account in fourteen chapters explores both the routines of the trail-cooking, cleaning, laundry, dealing with bodily functions-and the dramatic moments: encountering Indians and stampeding buffalo, giving birth, losing loved ones to death, dealing with rage and injustice, but also offering succor, kindliness, and faith. Religious observances were simultaneously an important part of creating and maintaining group cohesiveness, but working them into the fabric of the grueling day-to-day routine resulted in adaptation, including a "sliding Sabbath." The role played by children and teens receives careful scrutiny; not only did children grow up quickly on the trail, but the gender boundaries guarding their "separate spheres" blurred under the erosion of concentrating on tasks that had to be done regardless of the age or sex of those available to do them. Unexpected attention is given to African Americans who were part of this westering experience, and Violet also gives due credit to the "four-legged heroes" who hauled the wagons westward.

Villages on Wheels: A Social History of the Gathering to Zion

Kimball, Stanley B.

Americas

Greg Kofford Books, Incorporated

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Books by Kimball, Violet T.