Title: Memories of the lonesome trail, "Soo" line, Minneapolis, St. Paul and Duluth, Superior
Description: This booklet contains two narratives about the Lonesome Trail, a major route for trappers, woodsmen, and settlers which extended from St. Paul to the head of the lakes at Superior, Wisconsin. The Lonesome Trail later became a route of the Soo Line railroad, for which W.R.Callaway was General Passenger Agent when he wrote this booklet. Memories of the Lonesome Trail was intended as a promotional piece for train travel along the Lonesome Trail, and it is illustrated with scenic photographs. The booklet's first account is based on the oral reminiscences of a missionary's wife, Harriet Peet (Mrs. James Peet). In 1856, according to the narrative, Peet became the first white woman to traverse the Lonesome Trail. The Peets journeyed from New York to St. Louis and up the Mississippi to St. Paul to commence their trek, guided by a Presbyterian elder, the Rev. E.F. Ely. Mrs. Peet's account tells of brief encounters with Minnesota Indians and talks of gloom and cold along the way. She sang songs frequently to ward off fear and depression. The second narrative, "On the Old Stage Route,"first published in 1868 in the Gentlemen's Magazine, tells of the discomfort of making the same trip by stage twelve years later, with bad food, inadequate lodging for travelers, and dishonest agents.
Subjects: Description and travel
Places: Minnesota