The Bidwell-Bartleson party

the long version

A determined party of men and women, including a Methodist minister and a group of Jesuit missionaries and their mountaineer guide, set out for the West Coast in 1841. Crossing the Kansas territory and the length of Nebraska and Wyoming, they encountered a tornado and hailstorm, Native Americans, stampeding buffalo and difficult river crossings. Their journey took them through the pristine landscape of the plains and over the Rockies. In southern Idaho, the missionary. Party and their guide left the California-bound settlers. Thirty-four undaunted adventurers persisted, often without water, between the bleak salt flats and the trackless mountains, pushing late in the season into the Sierras. They survived on the last of their pack animals and even a coyote for food. The party, including Nancy Kelsey, the first white woman to cross the Sierra Nevada mountains, straggled into the San Joaquin Valley on October 30, after six arduous months. On the trail. Gathered here for the first time are all known first-hand accounts of this historically significant expedition. Rich with the enthusiasm and bias of their time, these personal narratives fully document their route and capture the poignant details of their adventure.