this book is a piece of mormon history and americana. this is the true story of a pioneer boy. it could be compared to a laura ingalls wilder book's historical account of 1800s life.
ben was born in ohio in 1837. children will love the parts talking about ben's dog.
in 1842, little ben and his family traveled west, bumping across indiana and illnois in a wagon, all the way to the mississippi river along the iowa border.
it shows their life alongside the tribes of sauk and fox indians and later, the ute tribe.
the people who followed joseph smith began to have other people in this area not want them there. eventually, the latter-day saints knew they needed to find a home farther west. they wanted to live in peace.
in february 1846, a long train of covered wagons, drawn by horses, mules, and oxen, crossed the frozen mississippi river. by may and june the same year, hundreds of other wagons crossed into iowa, each riding the ferry, making their way to the missouri river valley.
many families stopped in western iowa at pigeon creek, because the u.s. army needed 500 of their men to volunteer from the mormon battalion to help fight in the war with mexico.
they, again, co-existed near different indian tribes, the pottowatamies and the omaha.
the book tells about a trip down the missouri river to st. joseph, missouri. ben sees slaves working at plantations.
note: for the tribes and the slaves and later on for spanish-speaking people in california, some of the book's words and content would not be considered politically correct today.
the book shows the unpleasant, realistic parts of life in those days and those locations, such as hunger, violence, discrimination, guns, and theft.
the book brings up historical moments, as on page 52, when it talks about the gold rush in california.
in 1851, president young told the saints living along the missouri river to begin planning their trip to the new homeland in the valley of the mountains.
by 1852, ben's family joined the caravan west.
a printed guidebook helped the pioneers know what to expect along the way, with interesting spots and landmarks to watch for.
their wagon train saw buffalo, antelope, and more indian tribes. they camped each night.
some families settled around salt lake city, utah. others traveled farther into the utah valley. some went on to california.
ben's family home was first named battle creek, then changed to pleasant grove. here in the utah valley, among the willows and oakbrush, they found deer, fish, mountain sheep, jackrabbits, and sagehens. they farmed and built cabins.
in 1855, ben took a long trip to california with his uncle, delivering goods in mule-driven, huge covered wagons. they crossed through parowan, utah, down through las vegas, nevada, then through the mojave desert. they saw joshua trees and coyotes, finally arriving in san bernardino.
while in california, they took horseback rides, had picnics, danced at home parties, herded cattle, branded calves, broke mustangs, learned how to lariat, learned some spanish words, and hauled lumber from a sawmill. during ben's time on the california trail, he saw los angeles, the pacific ocean, and ships out on the water.
ben needed to return to utah to help his family. his father worked as a foreman in a large salt lake city wagon shop. his family owned a farm and a home shop.
this book is beloved by collectors and lds families. it covers a leader being chosen, brigham young, president of the twelve apostles. it discusses difficult times, such as the martyrdom of prophet joseph smith and his brother.
author howard roscoe driggs/illustrations by perry driggs
vintage item, as-is, with the first blank page showing an ink pen, handwritten inscription: "bob hastings, rt 3 box 548, mesa, arizona; from daddy: he mailed this book to me from salt lake city, while he and mama were there for the national bee convention jan. 1948"
the hardcover book is intact, but shows aging and yellowing, with spots on pages, small tears on several pages, a small hole/tear on page 75, and a tear on page 91.
please look through the many photos included of this copy of the book for sale. you will see exact condition, as well as the content and illustrations.
14 chapters/108 pages/10" tall x 8" wide
publisher: stevens & wallis/salt lake city, utah, 1944
the book is typically listed for $80 and up and usually sold-out.
