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The Prairie Traveler

by Marcy Randolph Barnes

Literature & Fiction » Genre Fiction » Historical

Added by: Sam Green (Lo...

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Randolph Barnes Marcy (1812-1887) served as an officer for the Army of the United States. He wrote his book The Prairie Traveler in 1859 especially for the Department of State and its publication was financed by the United States government. This work is considered valuable as it was devoted to the overland migration in the country in the first decades of the 19th century. Marcy researched the routes and the preparation of the immigrants who were moving to California including the wagons, horses, food, packing, the journey itself with many obstacles including rivers, drinkable water on the routes, creating a fire, avoiding animals, first aid and many other aspects of the traveling from the Eastern Coast to the Western. His book contains citations from Turkish and French immigrants who had immigrated to the North Africa and Sahara as well as Marcy's personal impressions from colonization of the American West.

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...and making themselvesridiculous by abortive attempts to neigh and bray, while the calf, unconscious of its attractive qualities, stood trembling in theirmidst. ""If several large troops, " says Charles Darwin, "are turned into onefield to graze in the morning, the muleteer has only to lead the_madrinas_ a little apart and tinkle their bells, and, although theremay be 200 or 300 mules together, each immediately knows its own bell, and separates itself from the rest. The affection of these animals fortheir madrina saves infinite trouble. It is nearly impossible to losean old mule, for, if detained several hours by force, she will, by thepower of smell, like a dog, track out her companions, or rather themadrina; for, according to the muleteer, she is the chief object ofaffection. The feeling, however, is not of an individual nature, for Ibelieve I am right in saying that any animal with a bell will serve asa madrina. "Of the attachment that a mule will form for a horse, I will cite...