The treatment of Native Americans through whose traditional lands the railroad often crosses is a major part of Across America on an Emigrant Train. Murphy cites numerous examples of how Native Americans were portrayed in supposedly accurate travelogues of the 1870s, and he points out that some of the documents were written by people who had never made the westward trip—who were inventing images of Native Americans out of their imaginations. Thus, Native Americans were depicted as animal-like savages or as simple-minded brutes who were doomed by civilization. Indeed, a few writers seemed to look forward to their extinction.

Independent-minded Stevenson, who appears to have long been determined to think for himself, has enjoyed numerous opportunities to mix with people of different classes by the time he begins seeing Native Americans during his journey. His view is, "The eviction of the [tribes], the ill-faith...