How the wrong map led to re-writes

I love maps. I keep a road atlas in the car and for years resisted the new-fangled corner-cutting of Satnav (although I’ve learned to embrace that particular technology). Here’s how one map got me into trouble. 

In the early days of researching To The Wild Horizon, I downloaded this map from Wikipedia, drawn in 1907. I could trust Wikipedia, couldn’t I?

This map shaped some scenes in my early draft. The trail clearly goes along the north side of the Platte River which means the pioneers–if travelling from Independence–have to cross the Platte quite early. Then they are on the opposite side of the river for Fort Laramie. My heroine might have set off from Council Bluffs further north, of course, but I loved the resonance of beginning her epic journey from a town called Independence. It felt significant.

My process is to mix writing and researching. Having finished the early draft capturing the story and characters, I dug deeper and found more maps. In particular, Capt. J.C. Fremont produced a set of maps, published in 1846 (the date of my novel), at a scale of 10 miles to the inch. They have an amazing amount of detail even telling us where they had noon-stops or spent the night. The trail clearly runs on the south side of the Platte, crossing the South fork after the North and South Plattes combine.

The overlanders crossed lots of rivers and my novel would have been a boring travelogue if I’d tried to describe many. So I focused in on two significant crossings: the Platte and Three Island Crossing. But because I had followed a not-very-accurate 1907 map, I needed to change the order of some of the action in the book, particularly the first dramatic river crossing, which now needed to be on the South fork.

This was an important lesson in digging deeper for a historical novel, and to go back as close to the source material as possible.

Another example of this was with Three Island Crossing, which puzzled me. This image provided by Idaho Airships Inc shows three islands.

But if you go back to the diaries kept at the time, they refer to two islands.
September 11, 1843, William T. Newby “. . . crossed Snake Rive[r]. First we drove over a part of the river one hundred yards wide on to a island, the[n] over a northern branch 75 yards wide on a second island; then we tide a string of wagons together by a chane in the ring of the lead cattles yoak & made fast to the wagon of all a horse & before & him led. We carried as many a[s] fifteen wagons at one time. . . . The water was ten inches up the waggeo[n] beds in the deepe places.”

There is a theory that the Snake river has carved out a further curve since the early overlanders, making a third island. I have used William Newby’s account as the basis for Grace’s crossing.

4 thoughts on “How the wrong map led to re-writes”

  1. Two wonderful books. They should both be made into films. Couldn’t put either of them down and can’t wait for the next one. Well done Imogen!!

    1. Thank you so much for your very kind comments. You may not have any idea how much authors appreciate positive feedback from readers. It took me literally years to write each of the books, so I am delighted they are reaching readers at last. My publisher is making an announcement about my next book this week – I’ll post in the news section of my site. And if you have a distant cousin who is a producer in Hollywood, feel free to point them in my direction.

  2. First two books were absolutely wonderful and I hope there will be many, many more. You have such a gift of writing and I love these pioneer and wagon train stories.
    Susan Murphy

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