Beloved Physician

Story Behind the Book When the challenge of the Western frontier began luring men and women westward from the eastern, northern, southern, and midwestern states in the mid-nineteenth century, they found a land that was beyond what they had imagined. Wherever they settled, from the wide Missouri River to the white-foamed shores of the Pacific Ocean, they clung to the hope of a bright new beginning for their lives. Often their hopes were dashed by fierce opposition from the Indians who had inhabited the land long before them. At times there was also struggle for survival against the hard winters and the loneliness of the vast frontier.