Two kinds of illness set Alonzo Delano on the path to California in 1849: a bodily sickness that his doctor said would improve in the West...and GOLD FEVER. In one of the most fascinating pioneer accounts of the "mistakes and sufferings of the emigrants" as well as interactions with Native Americans, Delano left a highly detailed, fast-paced account of his trip across the plains and his time in the California gold rush. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Delano evinces a sympathy for the plight of Native Americans of his time and frustration with the white settlers' inability to see what was happening to an entire people in the West. Nevertheless, more than once he was armed and ready to confront approaching bands of Indians.