Ham, Eggs, and Corn Cake

F. Beadle Erastus

Description

Three years after the Kansas-Nebraska Act embroiled the plains states in a struggle that presaged the war to come, the irrepressible Erastus F. Beadle left his home in Buffalo, New York, and set out for the territories to see about some land. Specifically, Beadle had a stake in the Sulphur Springs Land Company, an enterprise that proposed to build the community of Saratoga just north of Omaha for prospective settlers, who were arriving by the boatload. In diary pages and letters home, Beadle noted his impressions—the details, anecdotes, and characters that filled his days—and in doing so, left a remarkable record of a bygone way of life in the American West.

 

Beginning with his three-month journey westward, Beadle takes us from the hardships and amusements of travel on the "Big Muddy" to the magnificent sight of a prairie fire at night, from the political propaganda abroad in the "slavery stronghold" of Kansas to the realities of doing business on the Nebraska frontier. Whether describing roads or water routes, mishaps or accommodations, finances, politics, or daily life, Beadle writes with an immediacy and character that make his diary as entertaining as it is informative—a living, intimate chapter of American history.

Sujets

• Histoire
• USA
• United States of America
• History of the Americas
• États-Unis
• History

Informations

• Publié par: Bison Books
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2001
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780803202450
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Erastus F. Beadle

Ham, Eggs, and Corn Cake A Nebraska Territory Diary

Erastus F. Beadle Introduction by Ronald C. Naugle

University of Nebraska Press Lincoln and London

Introduction ©2001by the University of Nebraska Press All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Catalogingin Publication Data Beadle, Erastus Flavel,1821–1894 [To Nebraska in ’57] Ham, eggs, and corn cake : a Nebraska Territory diary / Erastus F. Beadle ; in troduction by Ronald C. Naugle. p. cm. Originally published as: To Nebraska in ’57: a diary of Erastus F. Beadle. New York: New York Public Library,1923. isbn 080326187x(pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Beadle, Erastus Flavel,1821–1894— Diaries.2. Pioneers—Nebraska—Diaries. 3. Frontier and pioneer life—Nebraska. 4. Nebraska—Social life and customs— 19th century.5. Omaha Region (Neb.)— Social life and customs—19th century. 6. Omaha Region (Neb.)—Biography. 7. Beadle, Erastus Flavel,1821–1894— Journeys—Middle West.8. Frontier and pioneer life—Middle West. I. Title. f666.b36 2001 978.2'02'092—dc21 2001027704

Contents

Introduction, ix The Diary,1 Index,123

Maps and Illustrations

Map1. A Portion of Nebraska Territory, xxv Map2. Saratoga in presentday Omaha, xxvi Map3. Rock Brook Farm in presentday Omaha, xxvi “The Cabin I preempted in,”98 Rock Brook Farm,99

ronald c. naugle

Introduction

The lure of the West is an indelible part of American history, legend, and folklore. The cast of characters and human drama associated with the development of the United States and its expansion westward to fill the continent have shaped American character and values. They have defined what America is; sadly, for others they have illustrated what America is not. The myth and the reality at times appear inseparable. What is truth? What is fiction? The diary of Erastus Flavel Beadle is the diary of a man lured by the myth of the West as a place of adventure, a new start, a chance to get rich. It is also the diary of a man who faced realities that drew him back to the East, from which he had come. The diary is one man’s brief account of life in Nebraska Territory in1857, and it provides snapshots of a human drama as it plays out in business, culture, and politics. Beadle’s diary furnishes a picture of the reality of one small piece of the nineteenthcentury American West and a glimpse into the dreams and hopes of a group of men for the creation and future of Saratoga, a western city to rival all others (see map1). Erastus F. Beadle was born in Pierstown, New York, (immediately north of Cooperstown) on11September1821, the son of Flavel and 1 Polly Fuller Beadle. There is little recorded information about his early life. Biographical dictionaries and encyclopedias contain brief and sometimes conflicting information, but there is general agreement that during Beadle’s early years his parents moved several times, once as far