"James Martineau's informative and at times lyrical diary is a treasure--an exceptionally rich record of nineteenth-century Latter-day Saint life, settlement, and belief. Martineau's career as a surveyor and scout took him into the far reaches of the western outback; he vividly described its staggering natural beauty and terrifying dangers. The privations and precarities of pioneering, the interlacing of religiosity with daily life, and the practical messiness of neighboring resound through this record. Carmack and Hatch deftly ply their professional training as historians in their interpretive essay and deeply researched notes, making this the definitive scholarly edition of Martineau's writings."--Brian Q. Cannon, professor of history, Brigham Young University; former director, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies; past president, Mormon History Association "This journal entry of James Henry Martineau best encircles his character and desires: 'I have not been well since [wife] Susa J. died, and have many times felt as if I might soon go too but I desire to live, not only for my family's sake--but for the kindgom of God, now that there are so many enemies and apostates who are trying to destroy us. I wish to live to help fight them, and to see the victory of the Saints' (April 1, 1874).

This must-read captivates the nineteenth-century experience of Martineau's life in the Mormon corridor from Oregon and Idaho south through Utah and Arizona into northern Mexico."--Melvin C. Johnson, retired professor, Angelina College, Lufkin, Texas; author, Life and Times of John Pierce Hawley: A Mormon Ulysses of the American West.