I haven’t read anything of late except books that I needed
for research. I picked up this book in the library and thought it would be as
dry as dust to read, but I was desperate for the information it might have
contained. Well, what a surprise. I actually read the whole lot, not just the
sections that I thought I would need. Normally, I would skim through the pages
looking for information, but I actually read this book from cover to cover. It
is called Days On the Road, Crossing the plains in 1865, and was the diary of Sarah
Raymond Herndon. She was a 24 year old school teacher who left her native
Missouri with her mother and brothers, to join a wagon train heading along the
Oregon Trail. They were four months on the trail. She kept a diary and it made
for a fascinating read.
The reason I was interested in this kind of information is
I have recently started writing Western Romance, and I wanted to get a better feel
for the hardships people endured out on the plains. I am multi-published in
historical romance set in Australia, and very familiar with our history, but
American history, well, I can do with a little help.
I really enjoyed reading about Sarah and her mother straining
milk into a butter churn that had a lid, and fixing it to the front of the
wagon, where it was churned into butter by the motion of the wagon. How clever
was that.
What I really found interesting (maybe it’s the romantic in
me), was the fact that with so many single young men available, a couple of
doctors and reasonably well to do gentleman who were interested in Sarah, she
had no interest in any of them. She did
eventually marry, but not in this story.
A few months after the family’s arrival in Virginia City, a
school was started and Sarah became a teacher there, earning the princely sum
of $125.00 per month. So, you can see this book was a goldmine of information
on day to day living for someone like me.
The Sherriff’s
Outcast Bride.
A vengeful man tells a lie, and Becky Tucker’s reputation is
ruined. Castigated and shunned by the townsfolk, she leads a life of servitude
on her stepfather’s ranch.
Desperate to escape, she accepts a reluctant marriage
proposal from the sheriff of Blackwood, Ryan Mulligan.
To find happiness together they will need to overcome dark
secrets from the past, betrayal and
treachery.
For a short time, only 99 cents Amazon Kindle.
Interesting post, Margaret. What lured you away from Australian historicals? I learned so much about your country's past reading your books!
ReplyDeleteSarah's story sounds fascinating! I love reading true and fictional stories of the old west in America. Another good true stories is 'Women of the West" I will download your new story. Best wishes. www.dianamccollum.weebly.com
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