THE BOOK BEGAN TO WRITE ITSELF!

And so it began:

The author long having had an anxious desire to visit those wild regions upon the great Pacific, which had now become the topic of conversation in every circle, and in reference to which, speculations both rational and irrational were everywhere in vogue, now determine to accomplish his desired object: for which purpose he repaired to Independence, Mo., which place was the known rendezvous of the Santa Fe traders, and the trappers of the Rocky mountains. Having arrived at Independence, he was so fortunate as to find, not only the Santa Fe traders, and the Rocky mountain trappers, but also a number of emigrants, consisting of families and young men who had convened there with the view of crossing the Rocky mountains, and were waiting very patiently until their number should be so increased as to afford protection and insure the safety of all, when they contemplated setting out together, for their favorite place of destination, Oregon territory. The number of emigrants continued to increase with such rapidity, that on the 15th day of May, our company consisted of one hundred and sixty persons, giving us a force of eighty armed men, which was thought ample for our protection. Having organized, and having ascertained that all had provided themselves with the necessary quantum of provisions and ammunition, as well as such teams and wagons as the company had previously determined to be essential, and indispensable, and all things else being in readiness, on the 16th day of May, in the year 1842, all as one man, united in interest, united in feeling, we were, en route, for the long desired El Dorado of the West.

Ah, the birth of the Good Idea! Hell also started out as a Good Idea and the wise among us might contend that Hell is a Good Idea.but I came forth to point the way to California!

I had a good idea of where that way might be and I suggested it in my book. Before long, there would be roadway called the "Hastings Cutoff," but not yet! That, Dear Reader—that road which bore my own good name—was not in my book!

[He stops himself with a hollow pant—a small jerk of restraint.]

For the time being, I had a good idea.

I took off at once to promote my book—as any author does!

Before the book was even quite complete, I started to send around excerpts in the form of letters, from where I was working on it for a short time in New Madrid. Quite naturally, I signed these missives simply, and with most modest anonymity as "A Pioneer."

I hit the boards, so to speak, giving a tour of lectures in earnest! Such lectures were the traveling intellectual circus of entertainment in the heady 1840s. Ralph Waldo Emerson called for a "literature of democracy" and saw the Lyceum movement as its primary forum. However, he was wrong, as he was wrong about so much: regardless of what one thinks about the "literature of democracy"—and, in my opinion, that ought to be very little, indeed, if one is reading the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson—in practice, the Lyceum Circuit was one thing and one thing only: a venue in which to advertise.