Children's Voices from the Trail: Narratives of the Platte River Road by Rosemary Gudmundson Palmer (review)

JuanIslands disputewith Great Britain, and this timeHarney's "diplomacy" almost pushed the United States into war. Exasperated, the secretary ofwar reassignedHarney in i860 to theDepart ment of the West, headquartered inSt.Louis. The Civil War did not benefit Harney's career, al thoughhewas one of only fourwith the rankof general intheregular U.S. Armywhen theconflict began. Blamed for the secession ofMissouri ? Harney was falselythought tobe a Confederate sympathizer because of his ties to slaveholding in-laws ? in amater of months he was relieved ofhis command, officially retiringin1863.In 1867, Harney returned to public service as part of an Indian peace commission, and, fora brief time, he administered a Sioux reservation inDakota Territory.Inhis private life, he divorced hiswife andmarried his housekeeper ? decidedly non Victorian conduct?and generallykept tohim self. Having penned no journals during his years inuniform and having kept only a fewpersonal papers,Harney had nothing to editor publish as reminiscence ? or apologia ? an activity that consumed many ofhis fellow retiredofficers. As a source of good anecdotes about himself,how ever,Harney amused only one journalist,who recorded only a few tales forpublication in 1878. To achieve thisbiography, Adams had todelve deeply intounpublished sources in eight states and theNational Archives. Serious scholars are gratefulforhis efforts. Oregon, by theway, hon ors theman with the town ofHarney, Harney Valley,Harney Lake, andHarney County, named in 1889,theyear thegeneral died. Children sVoices from theTrail: Narratives of thePlatte River Road By Rosemary Gudmundson Palmer Arthur H. Clark Company, Spokane, Wash., 2002. Illustrations, tables, notes, bibliography, 336 pages. $39.50 cloth. Reviewed by Susan Badger Doyle Pendleton, Oregon During the western emigrant trails era, 1841-1869,at leastone-fifthof alloverland travelers were children. While excellent studiesof theadult experienceon the western overland trails are available, untilnow therehas been a dearth of similar analysis of young people's experiences. Children sVoicesfrom theTrail:Narratives of the PlatteRiverRoad provides amuch-needed com prehensive, scholarlystudyof children'sand ado lescents'perspectives on theoverland experience. Rosemary Gudmundson Palmer methodi callyanalyzes 23diaries, letters, and journalswrit tenby young Euro-American pioneers and 430 reminiscences by adults who made the trekas children. The contemporary documents were writtenby childrenaged tenthroughsixteen, with most of the writersbeing girls. A notable strength of the work isPalmer's classificationand descrip tion of the differenttypesof documents in the study.She asserts thatdaily diaries, contempo raryletters,and journals (rewrittendiaries) ex press an immediate and personal response to the experience, in contrast to reminiscences, which have been filteredthrough memory and laterex perience. She further examines thetypesofdocu ments in termsof theage, gender, and personal ityof the writer. Palmer deftly weaves extracts from thedocu ments intoa thematicnarrative thatreveals each child'svaried and unique perspective on theover land experience.The documents revealhow nine teenth-centuryculture influencedyoung people's opinions, attitudes, interests, and fears,although indifferent ways. Diary entries focus narrowly 286 OHQ vol. 104, no. 2 on daily life on thetrail, while reminiscenceswrit ten laterinlifeexpand on theexperience and pro vide fullercontext.Reminiscences have distinct forms that Palmer characterizes as "I remem ber" and "we remember" accounts. "I remem ber" recollectionsarepersonal childhoodmemo ries,while the "we remember" types are those reinforcedor alteredover timeby familyor com munity. The young people's documents express rela tionshipswith parents, siblings, train members, and others on the trail.Diary and letter writers differed from reminiscencewriters inexpressing feelingsabout parents and siblings.Diarists oc casionallymentioned family members, but older pioneers remembered familyas amajor aspect of theoverland experience.Other train members and people encountered along the trailare com mon topics inyoung people's accounts. Reflect ing Victorian prejudices, youngwriters often re vealedmixed feelingsabout "Missourians,"Mor mons, and Indians. Indians are particularly evident intheaccounts. Descriptions of theirap pearance and behavior during encounters on the trailare often graphic, revealing asmuch about the Indians as thewriters who recorded their observations.An enlighteningchapter isdevoted to the"Goldilocks"motif in thedocuments. This was thecommonly held belief among emigrants that Indianswere fascinatedwith golden-haired white children, forwhom theywould offer to trade many horses. Palmer's study iswell written and flows smoothly through awide range of topics. It isa pioneeringwork thatdraws upon theearlier work ofnoted scholars, including John Mack Faragher, Lillian Sch?ssel, Glenda Riley, ElliottWest, and John D. Unruh. In focusingon young people, this work fillsa void and isa significantcontribution...