Books, Diaries, Journals & Misc.
This collection brings together first-person accounts, historical narratives, diaries, and regional writings that help tell the story of the Mojave Desert. The selections follow explorers, missionaries, trappers, settlers, travelers, and desert residents through a country shaped by distance, water, hardship, opportunity, and change. Some are original accounts written close to the events they describe; others are later histories and recollections that preserve local memory. Taken together, they offer more than dates and place names. They show how people traveled, worked, survived, and understood the desert, while leaving a record of the roads, rivers, settlements, conflicts, and landscapes that formed Mojave history.Diary of Fr. Francisco Garces
I went three leagues northwest, accompanied by the principal captain of the Jamajabs; and having turned aside ...The Journal of Jedediah Smith
I had lost a good many horses and some of those remaining were not able to carry anything. I got the Indians to ...Opening the Mojave River Trail
It was more than just geography that shaped the trail, Indian attacks and loss of life would not get in the way of profits.Death Valley in '49
This map was quite frequently exhibited and the matter freely discussed in camp, indeed speeches were made ...Land of Little Rain
Mary Austin's classic portrait of Owens Valley and the desert people, wildlife, weather, and hard country of the early twentieth century.Indian Slave Trade
This inhumane, yet human, institution existed in North America before the continent was discovered by the ...On the Frontier
An 1870s trip across the Mojave Desert from Cajon Pass to Fort Mohave on the Colorado River and excerpts from other related subjects.Pioneer of the Mojave
He had barely settled in before his ranch was raided by Indians. Other attacks followed throughout the years, ...Victor Valley - Historic Portal
The story of the Victor Valley from before history to the mid-1970s.The White Heart of Mojave
Beyond the walls and solid roofs of houses is the outdoors. It is always on the doorstep. ...Captivity of the Oatman Girls
The 1851 capture of Olive and Mary Ann Oatman and Olive's years among Mohave people along the Colorado River.The Story of Inyo
A local history of Inyo County, tracing its mining camps, ranches, towns, people, and changing desert landscape.Death Valley Chuck-Walla
A lively 1930s magazine of Death Valley stories, prospectors, odd characters, desert lore, and the region's growing tourist trade.Loafing Along Death Valley Trails
A 1930s account of Death Valley's trails, mining camps, prospectors, colorful characters, and enduring desert legends.Notes from the Life of Christopher Carson
Excerpts from his biography pertaining to California and his western adventures.
The Expeditions across the Mojave of Jedediah Smith
The White Heart of Mojave
The Captivity of the Oatman Girls
Death Valley Chuckwalla