PREFACE. 



There are still living, after the lapse of fifty years, 

 many Pioneers, and more of their descendants, to 

 whom I trust the following pages will bear more than a 

 passing interest. To the pioneers they will restore the 

 fast fading recollections of events in which their ex- 

 periences were to a large extent very similar to my 

 own. One by one our comrades are dropping from 

 sight, passing to that new "Eldorado," whose streets 

 are paved with gold, and where the hot blasts of 

 sandy deserts, and the difficulties and dangers of the 

 pioneer's life are unknown. This work, which has 

 been a labor of love, was undertaken after solicitation 

 of those whose judgment I respect. While written 

 entirely from memory, I have endeavored to record 

 simply facts and events as they occurred, and for my 

 narrative lay no claim to literary merit. Whatever 

 its defects I crave the indulgence of my pioneer com- 

 rades, and a generous public. 



I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to R. Guy 

 McClellan, author of "Republicanism in America," 



