Westward from a 14 Year Old's View

One of the earliest records of the overland crossing is that of Martha Ann Morrison in 1814 as a girl of 13.  She recalled in later years her journey as a young girl:

"At 13 and 14 we were considered young ladies.  The men had a great deal of anxiety and all the care
of their families, but still the mothers had the families directly in their hands and were with them all the time, especially during sickness.

Some of the women I saw on the road went through a great deal of suffering and trial.  I remember distinctly one girl in particular about my own age that died and was buried on the road.  Her mother had a great deal of trouble and suffering.  It strikes me as I think of it now that mothers on the road had to undergo more trial and suffering than anyone else."

Next time...The Division of Labor on the Trail

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Today in Pioneer History:  On this day, July 22, 1793,  Alexander Mackenzie reaches the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first Euro-American to complete a transcontinental crossing north of Mexico, more than a decade before Lewis and Clark,