A Tramp Across the Continent

In 1884 Charles Lummis was offered a job at a Los Angeles newspaper. He lived in Ohio. He took the job and then walked to California—passing though all the great landmarks we now think of in terms of National Parks. His dispatches elevated him to hero status (of sorts) and his road trip turned out t......more

It's a good story about walking from St. Louis to Los Angeles (or thereabouts) back in the day when one could carry a gun and shoot critters with equanimity, then stop by the cabins of folks living out in the wilds and expect to get a warm bed and hot meal free for nothin'. Has some excellent (very......more

Er... a more sedate, self-promoting version of his trek across the USA in 1884. If given the choice, go with "Letters from the Southwest."......more

A few parts I found less interesting, even skipped the odd paragraph but mostly fascinating account of what it was like to actually _walk_ from Ohio to LA back in the 1880ies. On his route there was very little in way of lodging. Food had to be mostly hunted or otherwise caught on the day. "Roads" me......more

See Kurt & Patrick's reviews. The edition I read was written in 1969. The first couple of entries were pretty gruesome as far as the animals he killed. I suppose that reading it as a serial in the newspaper kept people interested. He mostly follows the railroad. His descriptions become more descripti......more