Chapter 2 - South Dakota Summary and Analysis

Lane reports that the contents of Chapter 2 were originally written "in a little 5-cent Memorandum book, writing with pencil on both sides of the pages" (p. 17). The chapter is presented verbatim as a daily journal, running from July 17, 1894, through August 30 of that year. The journal includes daily entries during the period indicated except for August 11—it is unclear whether the party traveled on that day or not. The contents report on the progress of a journey from De Smet, South Dakota, to Mansfield, Missouri, made by two families—the Wilder family and the Cooley family—traveling in three horse-drawn wagons. The contents are brief and contain mostly personal observations and reflection. From a historical perspective, the journal is useful because it communicates a vast amount of information about land and food prices...