The Nevadan: The True Story of One Man's Journey Across the American Frontier Paperback - 2011

From the publisher

The Nevadan is an accurate account of Johann Schmidt's experiences in 1866 and 1867 as he left Virginia City, Nevada Territory, astride his California horse 'Franky' in a diary kept by one of America's many rugged pioneers. In this case, the work covers his trek from Virginia City, Nevada, to the east coast of the United States by horse, on foot, by wagon train, and by railroad as he overcame the problems of crossing the hot, flat country of Nevada; the notorious forty-mile Utah desert; mountains and plains with their wildlife; Indians; and the cities he had never been in before. He utilized whatever was at hand for food, transportation, communication, shelter, and protection. Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Schmidt, AKA 'Henry Smith, ' kept a very detailed diary in which he chronicled a myriad of events, places and people that picture the historical, communications, transportation, geographical and even political growth of the United States in 1866 through early 1867. 'Henry Smith' was a rugged pioneer and he unceremoniously captures the old west in the narrative of this diary. He has left an entertaining dialogue describing the perils and hardships of travel across the developing American west in 1866. He exemplifies the fortitude, determination and honesty that early Americans brought to this country and gave it the name of a country 'run by the people, for the people and of the people.