I can't believe it! We are moving at a speed we have never seen before – we have traveled almost 10 miles since sunrise and it is not yet evening! We have been moving since 4 in the morning. Some troublesome Indians got in the way while we were rounding up the cattle, but I know Dad and his friends took care of the problem. Even today I prepared my breakfast, we call it Johnnycake. Mix a little cornmeal with salt and water; I hear they've been eating this stuff since 1730! I finished eating very quickly to go with my father to the front. Some men mount horses in front to create a flat, open path to ride on, and he is one of them. Before I knew it, it was Wagons Ho. Everything was going smoothly until tragedy struck around noon. Little Johnny died of cholera. I knew something was wrong as he was always throwing up all his good food and from what I heard he also had diarrhea. Mom told me this is the number one killer on the Oregon Trail. Some others were diphtheria and dysentery. I hope I don't get any of these. We buried them but we had to move on, we couldn't waste the sunlight, ever. We are fortunate that our group did not encounter any other problems today. Alex told me about these guys whose wagons fell off the mountainside and were never seen again! I always pay close attention, I even check if the wheels are loose. Oh well, so far so good. I can't wait for this new land that we have all been talking about over the last few days, the new life is not too far away and what the future holds for us. We continue towards the bright, golden sun of hope. Albert Bierstadt's Emigrants Crossing the Plains appears to simply exemplify a group of travelers moving across the American plains out of Fort Kearney. However,…half of the paper…known as the Hastings Cutoff. Here we see that emigrants cannot compete with natural forces and time. The group in the photo also stays away from the rugged mountains, because their ruggedness is represented with events that could occur, as seen with the Donner expedition. Transcendentalism brought to light the connection between man and nature as society corrupts and individuality with this connection brings goodness. Emigrants Crossing the Plains shows emigrants leaving their old lives behind in search of a new one that can provide them with greater benefits and a closer connection to nature. This implementation in Albert Bierstadt's painting is very significant to the emigrants and the use of nature and the symbols behind the objects placed in the landscape have great meaning when connected to the historical period.