Hi,

I read about this series in this month's Smithsonian Magazine.

I haven't had a chance to see the show yet, but I'm certainly planning to.

As I understand the Smithsonian article, the attempt wasn't really to make a historically-accurate film, but to track the likely psychological and emotional progression of people leaving, say, Philadelphia or Boston and hoofing it out West on a wing and a prayer during the 19th Century.

A lot of folks with no experience in homesteading signed up for the Homestead Acts in the 19th Century. There were something like 2 million people who got their 126 acres. I don't have the numbers handy, but either 40% succeeded or 40% came back East looking for a warm bed and a decent meal in the cities.

Many of us (I'm a city slicker by birth and choosing)have archtypical images of frontier life. You know, some confused mix of "Little House on the Prairie" and "Grapes of Wrath", I just can't conjure up any image of the daily emotional life.

The fact that the people in this series had to do some cheating is a fairly chilling indication how serious and nasty striking out there could get.

For myself I bless my Irish famine emigrant great-great grandparents for deciding the Boston and Manhattan pubs were very comfy indeed, thank you very much.

Rich