Dedicated to me! Ha!
Weren't expecting that!

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The Wild West. This is America's
future. They say that as Americans,
it is our destiny to explore and expand
into the untamed frontier.

Oh, sorry. I should probably
introduce myself. I'm Matt
Hourigan, but most people call
me by my last name. The small,
boring town you're looking at is
called Worthington. Sadly, it's
also my home.

Yeah, that was me. I was
always pretending to be
a brave pioneer, looking for adventure...

That was years ago. Now I'm all grown up,
and I now know being a pioneer isn't all fun and games.
It's a hard life filled with many dangers, but I manage to
scrape by.

I went west after reading a column
written by John O'Sullivan. He urged
people to travel west, saying that as Americans,
it was our "manifest destiny", or our obvious fate
to tame the Wild Frontier. I have to admit, I was
inspired by O'Sullivan's words. So I set out from
home with one thing in mind: the Wild West.

When I went abroad, I tried to stay as far away from Texas
as possible. I had heard that the the Spaniards weren't too kind to
Americans, especially after the war with Mexico. After all, the hostility
between Mexico and the U.S. only made the crossing of the Great Plains
even more difficult. It didn't make sense to me why Americans wanted Texas
so desperately. So far it had only destroyed the peace between Mexico and us.
Was it really worth it?

Now Oregon, that's a different
story. Unlike Texas, Oregon is filled
with thick forests and healthy valleys.
The land is perfect for farming, so I'm
not the only one with my eye on Oregon.
Sadly it's a long, hard journey to this utopia.
Many who set out for the Pacific Coast will
never reach it. I hope I'm one of the lucky few
who will...

To get to Oregon, I'll have to journey far into the region known as the Louisiana
Purchase. The path is dangerous, and it will take me longer than I thought to
avoid Texas. Just from looking at my path, the easiest way to cross the Rockies
would be to follow the trail discovered by none other than Lewis and Clark. If it
weren't for them, I probably would take twice as long trying to find a safe route
over the mountains. They provided people like me with detailed notes on the
dangerous surrounding countryside. They knew what they were doing, so I'll
follow in their footsteps by taking the easiest route. But that's just a theory...

There were many more like me. Most were just part of wagon trains, hoping to find
a better life. Those certain people would stay in big groups. Some wanted to leave
their old lives, but many were forced to leave by their eager families instead. Either
way, the journey was harsh. People were killed by the occasional accident, and some
were struck down by disease. But many were blessed with good fortune and were
able to enjoy the sweet West Coast.

Through my experiences, I learned that there was a dark side to Manifest Destiny. But
most things are usually similar. I just try to enjoy the good moments when I can. You
have to embrace the fact that moving West will change you, whether you like it or not.

Even if I would have known about the grave dangers that awaited me by going west, I
still would have started off on my journey. I am proud of what I have become,even if at
the time I thought it was negative. Because I am a mountain man, a thrill-seeker, a
survivor. I accomplished the greatest challenge of our time: I braved the West.

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