Dear Parents and Teachers The History Files series takes readers into significant eras in United States history allowing them to walk in the shoes of characters living in the periods they’ve learned about in the classroom From the journey to a new beginning on the Mayflower to the strife of the Vietnam War and beyond each title in this series delves into the experiences of diverse characters struggling with the conflicts of their time Each book includes a comprehensive summary of the era along with background information on the real people that the fictional characters mention or encounter in the novel Additional websites to visit and an interview with the author are also included In addition each title is supplemented with online teacher parent notes with ideas for incorporating the book into a lesson plan These notes include subject matter background information inspiration for maker space activities comprehension questions and additional online resources Notes are available at www RourkeEducationalMedia com We hope you enjoy the History Files books as much as we do Happy reading Rourke Educational Media 3
Table of Contents A Spark 6 A Change in Luck 21 Cursed on the Trail 37 From Bad to Worse 52 Revelations 66 New Beginning 84 5
Chapter One A Spark Like many great adventures the Bentley family’s journey westward began with a spark Well two sparks really There was the spark of imagination that grew in Robert Bentley from when he was a young boy It was the sort of spark that made his insides feel itchy with the desire to travel Robert wanted to learn he wanted to meet new people and experience new things That spark stayed with him as he moved into adulthood and became a husband and a father And then there was the actual spark the one that ignited the Great Fire of Pittsburgh in 1845 But for Robert’s children twins Eliza 6
