Nor was my father the only man who put faith in at least some of
the fanciful tales told concerning the land of California which had
so lately been given up to the United States by the Spaniards. Our
neighbors for miles around were in a state of unrest and excitement,
until it was decided that nearly all would undertake the long journey,
and I could not prevent myself from wondering if Pike County would
not feel lonely to have the people abandon it, for it surely seemed as
if every man, woman, and child was making haste to leave Missouri in
search of the wondrous farming lands.
Mother looked woefully solemn when, on a certain evening, father came
home and told us that he had sold the plantation for about half as much
as it had cost him, and was going to join the next company that set out
from Pike County.
[Illustration]
It was a long time before mother would have very much to say about
the journey, but as the days passed and the neighbors who were going
with us came to our home that they might talk over the preparations
for moving, she became interested in making plans, although again and
again, when we two were alone, she told me that this trailing over two
thousand miles of deserts and mountains was not to her liking.