Byron Nathan McKinstry

Byron Nathan McKinstry was a Gold Rush diarist of uncommon literary ability. Leaving Illinois in March 1850, Byron journeyed via the Platte River, Fort Hall, the Humboldt River, and over the Sierra Nevada to Hangtown in California. Byron disregarded the advice of frontiersman Kit Carson by trailblazing the north bank route along the North Platte west of Fort Laramie and, in doing so, Byron shortened the Oregon Trail journey for future emigrants. As a prospector, Byron enjoyed moderate success panning for gold around Mokelumne Hill until his return journey to Boston via the Panama Isthmus. In later life, Byron became a tree nurseryman whose trees first populated Chicago's Lincoln Park and who was described by the Chicago Drovers' Journal as "the most enthusiastic tree man on the continent." As literature, Byron's diary is historically significant for its detailed accounts of market prices for goods sold along the Oregon Trail.