Narcissa Whitman - Diaries and Letters 1836

Narcissa Whitman was the very first woman to cross the American west in a covered wagon. Her writings provide surprising details about the 2000-mile journey on the Oregon Trail. And these letters rank among the most important of the early 1800s—because they were republished in hundreds of newspapers, influencing many to consider the trip west. Before Narcissa (and her companion Eliza Spaulding), most experts thought women were too fragile to make the journey west. Narcissa Whitman proved them wrong.