Helga and Clara Estby begin walking from Mica Creek, Spokane County, to New York City on May 6, 1896.

Via: HistoryLink.org

On May 6, 1896, 36-year-old suffragist Helga Estby (1860-1942)  and her 18-year-old daughter Clara (1877-1950) begin an unescorted trek from their home in Mica Creek to New York City. Their walk is a publicity wager that they expect will bring them $10,000 and save their family farm from foreclosure.

Following the railroad tracks east, they will walk between 25 to 35 miles a day on a seven-month trip across 1890s America. They will cross mountains, battle severe storms, survive bitter cold and heat waves, encounter hobos and highwaymen, a mountain lion, and rattlesnakes.

Along the way they will meet famous politicians, Native Americans, journalists, and suffragists, collecting autographs of many notables.  Helga and Clara will keep a trip journal that they hope to publish.  Surviving the trip of 4,600 miles, they will reach New York on December 23, 1896, . . .

~~~

You can read about their amazing journey, HERE:

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=9847

.