Eliza Ann McAuley was a 17-year-old pioneer girl traveling by wagon train from Iowa to join her father in California. Her diary is published in "Covered Wagon Women"/Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails 1852, Volume 4, The California Trail by Kenneth L. Holmes, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. This painting is inspired by a portion of her diary where she recounts the event when the men brought a little antelope into camp. She named it Jenny and it became a pet that stayed by her side as she went about her day. Keeping the Pronghorn fawn from being shot by passing travelers was part of the story but Jenny was eventually taken down by a pack of dogs from an Indian camp, nearby. The Indians tried to offer recompense in the form of furs but were forgiven as it was accidental, not intentional. In this depiction, her little dog is vying for Eliza's attention considering her arms his rightful place in the scenario.
My own fondness for animals causes me to identify with Eliza as her care of her own little dog does not diminish her desire to rescue a helpless baby pronghorn.
Eliza Ann McAuley was a 17-year-old pioneer girl traveling by wagon train from Iowa to join her father in California. Her diary is published in "Covered Wagon Women"/Diaries & Letters from the Western Trails 1852, Volume 4, The California Trail by Kenneth L. Holmes, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London. This painting is inspired by a portion of her diary where she recounts the event when the men brought a little antelope into camp. She named it Jenny and it became a pet that stayed by her side as she went about her day. Keeping the Pronghorn fawn from being shot by passing travelers was part of the story but Jenny was eventually taken down by a pack of dogs from an Indian camp, nearby. The Indians tried to offer recompense in the form of furs but were forgiven as it was accidental, not intentional. In this depiction, her little dog is vying for Eliza's attention considering her arms his rightful place in the scenario.
My own fondness for animals causes me to identify with Eliza as her care of her own little dog does not diminish her desire to rescue a helpless baby pronghorn.