In 1852, the author (1834-1918) traveled with his brother and their father to the Sacramento Valley of California, where they spent five years mining for gold and served in the Rogue River War. In 1857 he and his brother started back to Iowa but were delayed by the outbreak of war between the Utah Mormons and the United States.
Clyde A. Milner II is a professor of history and director of the Heritage Studies program at Arkansas State University. Carol A. O'Connor is a professor of history and associate dean¿of humanities and social sciences at Arkansas State University. They are coeditors (with Martha Sandweiss) of The Oxford History of the American West.
