By Ox Team to California

"...we had youth in our favor, and an indomitable will to succeed, and I have since learned by experience that a kind providence watches over fools and children."

So begins Lavinia Honeyman Porter in her true tale about emigrating to the American west in 1860, a woman barely twenty, from a privileged background, with a husband hardly older and who was no more suited for wilderness adventures.

It is to our great fortune that Porter's sister much later convinced her to write down her memories of that time. Only fifty copies were printed and bound in 1910 but some have survived.

Every record like Porter's adds to our understanding of one of the greatest migrations in American history but this one in particular was written by a woman who could write. Her musical prose makes an already wonderful true story a joy to read.

As she tells us, "Whoever had the temerity to propose turning their backs on civilized life and their faces toward the far-off Rocky mountains were supposed to be daring with a boldness bordering on recklessness."

This was not a journey to be taken lightly. Many did not complete the journey. Many graves and abandoned goods were passed along the way. Family members left behind were filled with anxious wondering for months. Fifty years later, Lavinia stilled wept when thinking about the parting meeting with her beloved sister.

As young as Lavinia was, she already had one son and discovered shortly before heading out across the prarie that she was again pregnant. Loneliness, objective danger, harsh weather, and more awaited them. This is the story of that journey.

For the first time, this long out-of-print book is available in an affordable, well-formatted edition for e-readers and smartphones.

Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.