Frontier Life- Primary Sources/Narratives

Letters and journals during the 19th century give one knowledge and help them to better understand what one was experiencing during times such as the westward expansion. Based of the reading of John Addison Salvin's letters written around 1853 one might learn that St. Jo is a place to make good money "almost, as it is the starting point for emigration both for Oregon and California." John mentions that wages were fair in Portland Oregon, he made about seven dollars, therefore one might infer that seven dollars in one day was a normal daily profit. Later he explains that he claimed land in portland and makes the statement that  "Uncle Sam gives it to me for living on it four years." This explains that one can claim land just for being there first or the longest, and helps one to understand how land was handled during that time. Later he mentions that he was offered five hundred dollars for ten acres and refused it, because he believed the lands value would grow in time. One can compare the differences of prices of land today from then with this information. This letter makes clear that education was good in Oregon, the churches were fine, and then prices of groceries had lowered since before. These letters provide a lot more information one might learn about the Westward Expansion and the Frontier, but these are just a few...