Mollie: The Journal of Mollie Dorsey Sanford in Nebraska and Colorado Territories, 1857–1866

Mollie is a vivid, high-spirited, and intensely feminine account of city people homesteading in the raw, new land west of the Missouri. More particularly, it is the story of Mollie herself – just turned eighteen when the Dorseys left Indianapolis for Nebraska Territory – of her reaction to the transplantation and to her new life which included rattlesnakes, blizzards, Indians, and the hardships of pioneer life. Mollie describes her nearly three-year engagement to Byron Sanford, during which time she worked as a seamstress, teacher, and cook. Following her wedding Mollie’s life took a new turn. Catching “Pike’s Peak Fever,” the Sanfords crossed the plains to Colorado to join others digging for gold. In mining camps and later, after the outbreak of the Civil War, in forts and army posts, Mollie’s strength and endurance were tried to the uttermost, but she reports her trials and tribulations with the same gaiety, courage, and common sense that she displayed in living through them. Lillian Schlissel’s introduction discusses the Sanfords’ courtship, marriage, and their steadfast loyalty to each other.