s made by Captain
B. L. E. Bonneville, 1832-1836, of which we have the record in
Washington Irving's _The Rocky Mountains_, first published in 1837, in
two volumes. In 1835, Colonel, afterwards General Henry Dodge, covered a
part of the way en route from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1842, J. C.
Fremont traversed the Plains on his first expedition, ending in the Wind
River Mountains, and in 1843-1844, he went over much of the same ground.
Joel Palmer's journal of his travels over the Rocky Mountains, in
1845-1846, was printed in 1852, and has been edited as a part of
Thwaites's _Early Western Travels_. Among the California pioneers, who
went over the route in the mad rush of 1849, was Amasa Delano, who wrote
an illuminating journal, published as _Life on the Plains_, in 1854.
These and many other publications have been consulted in editing the
Frizzell journal.

THE JOURNAL

PREFACE

Agreeable to my promise I now set down to write the incidents of my
journey to Callifornia. Having taken notes by the way, I shall be able
by the assistance of my memory, to give you a full & accurate account of
the "trip." It is now about the middle of December,[1] I am here in
midst of the Sierra Nevada rightly named snowy mountains, the snow has
been constantly falling for the last ten days & still it has not abated;
it is now some ten or twelve feet in this place (Canyan Creek[2]) & on
the mountain tops, fifty or more, there is no passing or repassing at
present, I am shut up in my room, the snow having completely blocked up
both doors and windows, I therefore have lighted my candles & sat down
to amuse myself & "while the tideous hours away" by giving you my
narative.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] December, 1852.

[2] Canyon Creek, a north branch of Trinity R., in Trinity Co., Cal.

CHAPTER I

FROM THE WABASH RIVER[3] TO ST. LOUIS

We (that is George Westall Bethel Elliot, my husband[4] & myself)
started for California on the 14th day of April, with five yoke of
cattle one pony & sidesaddle, & accompanied by several of our friends &
neighbors as far as the first town, where we parted & said our last
_good by_, & turning westward which was to be our course for most of the
way of our long journey.

The first night we put up at widdow womans, we did not camp out, all
though we had intended to commence camping from the start, but it goes
so much "agin the grane" at first, & then there is so many fine people
passing &