Considering all the circumstances of the journey, through two thousand miles of diversified wilderness, during which we rested each night in a different spot; it seems providential that, on every occasion when the time came for making camp, a supply of water and fuel was obtainable. Without these essentials there would have been much additional suffering. Sometimes the supply was limited or inferior, sometimes both; especially during those trying times in the westerly portion of the Humboldt region; but we were never without potable water nor fire, at least for the preparation of our evening meal. Nature had prepared the country for this great overland exodus from the populous East; a most important factor in the upbuilding of the rich western empire, theretofore so little known, but whose development of resources and accession of inhabitants since have been the world's greatest marvel for more than half a hundred years. As I look back, through the lapse of nearly sixty years, upon that toilsome and perilous journey, notwithstanding its numerous harrowing events, memory presents it to me as an itinerary of almost continuous excitement and wholesome enjoyment; a panorama that never grows stale; many of the incidents standing out to view on recollection's landscape as clear and sharp as the things of yesterday. That which was worst seems to have softened and lapsed into the half-forgotten, while the good and happy features have grown brighter and better with the passing of the years. Whether pioneers in the most technical sense, we were early Californians, who learned full well what was meant by "Crossing the Plains." END. [Transcriber's Notes: Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible, including obsolete and variant spellings and other inconsistencies. The transcriber made changes as indicated to the text to correct obvious errors: 1. p. 15, awkardness --> awkwardness 2. p. 44, we though best --> we thought best 3. p. 45, knowldege --> knowledge 4. p. 68, maner --> manner 5. p. 74, consciouses --> consciousness 6. p. 103, characteristc --> characteristic 7. p. 114, unusal --> unusual 8. p. 149, "tenderfoot' --> "tenderfoot" 9. p. 153, "good Indian' --> 'good Indian' Several occurrences of mismatched quotes remain as published. Also, some illustrations have been repositioned to appear between paragraphs, causing some to move to a different page, but page numbers in the Contents remain as published. End of Transcriber's Notes]