The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mills in California in 1848 caused thousands to give up their homes in the eastern states and head West. To avoid the Sierra Mountains, which in winter could be deadly, a party led by William Lewis Manly (1820-1903) attempted to follow a trail that took them through Death Valley. Manly's efforts to save the group are just part of his remarkable story, starting as a boy in New England and then Michigan and Wisconsin, having encounters with the Mormons, and being part of the expansion of America and the saga of California pioneer life with the demands of the...

When the proper time came the property holder would send off to the collector an itemized list of all his property, and at another the taxes fell due. A farmer who would value his property at two thousand or three thousand dollars would find he had to pay about six or seven dollars. All the money in use then seemed to be silver, and not very much of that. The whole plan seemed to be to have every family and farm self-supporting as far as possible. I have heard of a note being given payable in a good cow to be delivered at a certain time, say October 1, and on that day it would pass from house...