During the mid-nineteenth century, a quarter of a million travelers—men, women, and children—followed the “road across the plains” to gold rush Californ

During the mid-nineteenth century, a quarter of a million travelers—men, women, and children—followed the “road across the plains” to gold rush Californ

During the mid-nineteenth century, a quarter of a million travelers--men, women, and children--followed the "road across the plains" to gold rush California. Th

A sweeping narrative of a classic journey

During the early weeks of 1848, as U.S. congressmen debated the territorial status of California, a Swiss immigrant and an itinerant millwright forever altered