"The journey west, from the Missouri River to the Pacific coast, was made by some quarter of a million Americans during the 1840s and 1850s, and stands as one of the great human adventure stories of all time. When gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill, California, in 1848, the immigration took on an urgency and a scope that would never be matched again.".

"This work draws heavily from the diaries of 17 men and women who made the four month, 2,000 mile trek to California during 1849 and 1850. The diarists tell of the adventures, hardships, desires, concerns, deprivations, sicknesses, and deaths along the way, and of crossing the last great obstacle - the "Elephant," as many of them called it - the high ridge of the Sierra Nevada."--BOOK JACKET.