Ham, Eggs, and Corn Cake: A Nebraska Territory Diary

by Erastus F. Beadle, Ronald C. Naugle (Introduction)

Three years after the Kansas-Nebraska Act embroiled the plains states in a struggle that presaged the war to come, the irrepressible Erastus F. Beadle left his home in Buffalo, New York, and set out for the territories to see about some land. Specifically, Beadle had a stake in the Sulphur Springs Land Company, an enterprise that proposed to build the community of Saratoga just north of Omaha for prospective settlers, who were arriving by the boatload. In diary pages and letters home, Beadle noted his impressions—the details, anecdotes, and characters that filled his days—and in doing so, left a remarkable record of a bygone way of life in the American West.

 

Beginning with his three-month journey westward, Beadle takes us from the hardships and amusements of travel on the "Big Muddy" to the magnificent sight of a prairie fire at night, from the political propaganda abroad in the "slavery stronghold" of Kansas to the realities of doing business on the Nebraska frontier. Whether describing roads or water routes, mishaps or accommodations, finances, politics, or daily life, Beadle writes with an immediacy and character that make his diary as entertaining as it is informative—a living, intimate chapter of American history.

Genres: History

130 pages, Paperback

First published January 9, 2001

Reviews

[Bethany]

i read this but i didn't enjoy it

[Jaiden W · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it to be a slow read, but that mainly stems from this being tied to a college course I’m taking. I did find it very educational on many aspects of the beginnings of settling the Great Plains region, and it was very insightful into life back in 1857 when he wrote this.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book because I am from Omaha and it was an interesting read but I was disappointed it kind of trailed off and I was left wanting to know more about his family.

[Austin Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Felt like a window into the past.

[Sam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was interesting that it was Beadle's diary entries. There wasn't much else to this book, though. It gives a good first-hand account of what settling west looked like.

[Nonie Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

good but very slow

[Jakob Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

It had its moments.

Overall, about as dry as it seems.

[Holly Lindquist · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1857, Erastus Beadle (fantastic name!) left his home & family in Buffalo, New York and set out for the Nebraska frontier. He and some other enterprising cohorts planned to build a community called Saratoga just north of Omaha. It never quite came to fruition, but this diary of Beadle's year in Nebraska is an edifying glimpse into pioneer life.

[Catherine Richmond]

Erastus Beadle wrote a diary from March to October, 1857, as he traveled from Cooperstown, NY to Omaha, NE and back. He tried to establish a resort at Saratoga, then attempted homesteading at Rock Brook Farm, all the while pining away for his family and dealing with his own or others' illness. Eventually, after the diary ended, he found success as the publisher of Beadle's Dime Novels.