Thursday, December 18, 2008

Wagon Train Travel Letters

Manuscript copy of (12) riveting letters home from husband and wife, G. Nelson Allen and E. A. Allen, and daughter Lizzie H. Allen, while they were travelling through the mid and southwest, 1857-1860. It appears as if the copy, nicely penned in an unknown hand, was made circa 1890s-1910.

Letter locales: New Philadelphia, Ohio; Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; Fort Des Moines, Iowa; Cass Co., Iowa; Council Bluffs, Iowa; Fort Kearny, Nebraska. A 13th letter is dated much later, 1887, from Camden, Delaware, but also mentions this trip. 35pp total, octavo and legal.

Fabulous content: Traveling to Pike's Pike; wagon trains as far as the eye can see; men heading for the mines; Sioux Indians; horse stolen; Pawnees begging for food; and more. Great local color and description.

This batch of Wagon Train Travel Letters is up for sale on Ebay Item number: 170287256399.

Letters & Postcards on E-Bay