East Mojave Desert Project 2004
Contexts for the Desert 5:
Pioneer Desert
![](../HD2004_digipix/Mojave3098_c.jpg)
wagon at Old Mormon Fort, Las Vegas, NV; cow skull at Goffs, CA
![](../HD2004_digipix/Mojave3105_c.jpg)
wagon road visible from Emigrant Pass; wagon wheel at Gofffs, CA
After the agitation between Texas and Mexico, at the beginning
of the US war with Mexico when the California Republic was declared,
a number of formerly American merchants living in Santa Fe decided
to migrate to Califonia, finding it increasingly difficult to
live in peace in a Mexican territory with so much conflict breaking out.
There departure forced the evolution of the Old Spanish Trail into
a wagon road, which required some minor route changes.
At Emigrant Pass you can see the faint traces of the mule road
and the wagon road coming together at the pass.
A good way to appreciate the rigors of this trail is to read the
historical/romance novel Jubilee Trail (1950) by Gwen Bristow
[see bibliography],
or see the movie Jubilee trail (1954)
[ASIN: 6301598946]
based on the book.
Last update 12:51 PM Fri. 27-Feb-2004 by ABS.
© 2004 Alan B. Scrivener