



Produced by Melissa McDaniel and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)







Transcriber's Note:

  Inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have
  been preserved. Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_ and bold text by =equal
  signs=.




  [Illustration: Map to illustrate the Story of Martha of California]




     MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA

     A STORY OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL

     BY
     JAMES OTIS

     [Illustration]

     NEW YORK -:- CINCINNATI -:- CHICAGO
     AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY




JAMES OTIS'S PIONEER SERIES


  =ANTOINE OF OREGON=: A STORY OF THE OREGON TRAIL.

  =BENJAMIN OF OHIO=: A STORY OF THE SETTLEMENT OF MARIETTA.

  =HANNAH OF KENTUCKY=: A STORY OF THE WILDERNESS ROAD.

  =MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA=: A STORY OF THE CALIFORNIA TRAIL.

  =PHILIP OF TEXAS=: A STORY OF SHEEP RAISING IN TEXAS.

  =SETH OF COLORADO=: A STORY OF THE SETTLEMENT OF DENVER.




COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY
MRS. A. L. KALER.

COPYRIGHT, 1913, IN GREAT BRITAIN.




MARTHA OF CALIFORNIA.




FOREWORD


The author of this series of stories for children has endeavored simply
to show why and how the descendants of the early colonists fought
their way through the wilderness in search of new homes. The several
narratives deal with the struggles of those adventurous people who
forced their way westward, ever westward, whether in hope of gain or
in answer to "the call of the wild," and who, in so doing, wrote their
names with their blood across this country of ours from the Ohio to the
Columbia.

To excite in the hearts of the young people of this land a desire to
know more regarding the building up of this great nation, and at the
same time to entertain in such a manner as may stimulate to noble
deeds, is the real aim of these stories. In them there is nothing
of romance, but only a careful, truthful record of the part played
by children in the great battles with those forces, human as well as
natural, which, for so long a time, held a vast portion of this broad
land against the advance of home seekers.

With the knowledge of what has been done by our own people in our own
land, surely there is no reason why one should resort to fiction in
order to depict scenes of heroism, daring, and sublime disregard of
suffering in nearly every form.

                                                             JAMES OTIS.




CONTENTS


                                                    PAGE
  A CHANGE OF HOMES                                     9
  "JOE BOWERS"                                         10
  THE REASONS FOR MOVING                               12
  MOTHER'S ANXIETY                                     14
  HOW WE WERE TO TRAVEL                                15
  OUR MOVABLE HOME                                     18
  LEAVING ASHLEY                                       19
  EBEN JORDAN                                          22
  ON THE ROAD                                          25
  EBEN'S PREDICTIONS                                   26
  WHAT WE HEARD ABOUT CALIFORNIA                       27
  THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT                                 28
  NIGHT IN CAMP                                        31
  THE TOWN OF INDEPENDENCE                             32
  KANSAS INDIANS                                       34
  LOOKING INTO THE FUTURE FOR TROUBLE                  35
  A STORMY DAY                                         36
  A LACK OF FUEL                                       38
  MAKING CAMP IN A STORM                               40
  A THUNDERSTORM                                       42
  ANOTHER COMPANY OF PIKERS                            43
  THE STOCK STRAY AWAY                                 45
  AN INDIAN VILLAGE                                    47
  I WEARY WITH SO MUCH TRAVELING                       48
  EBEN'S BOASTS                                        50
  SUFFERING WITH THIRST                                51
  IN SEARCH OF WATER                                   53
  QUENCHING OUR THIRST                                 55
  MAKING BUTTER                                        57
  A KANSAS FERRY                                       58
  THE SURPRISE AT SOLDIER CREEK                        60
  BREAD MAKING                                         62
  PRAIRIE PEAS                                         63
  EBEN AS A HUNTER                                     65
  A HERD OF BUFFALOES                                  66
  EXCITEMENT IN THE CAMP                               67
  A FEAST OF BUFFALO MEAT                              68
  CURING THE MEAT                                      69
  A WASH DAY                                           71
  UNCOMFORTABLE TRAVELING                              72
  ELLEN'S ADVICE REGARDING THE STORY                   74
  INDIANS AND MOSQUITOES                               75
  PRAIRIE DOGS                                         77
  COLONEL RUSSELL'S MISHAP                             79
  CHIMNEY ROCK                                         81
  AT FORT LARAMIE                                      82
  COOKING IN FRONT OF A FIREPLACE                      84
  TRAPPERS, HUNTERS, AND INDIANS                       85
  ON THE TRAIL ONCE MORE                               87
  INDEPENDENCE ROCK                                    88
  ARRIVAL AT FORT BRIDGER                              90
  WITH OUR FACES TOWARD CALIFORNIA                     92
  AT BEAR RIVER                                        93
  THE COMING OF WINTER                                 94
  UTAH INDIANS                                         97
  A DANGEROUS TRAIL                                    98
  SUNFLOWER SEEDS AND ANTELOPE STEW                   100
  A FOREST FIRE                                       102
  THE GREAT SALT LAKE                                 104
  EBEN AS A FISHERMAN                                 105
  GRASSHOPPER JAM                                     107
  A DESERTED VILLAGE                                  109
  THE GREAT S