During the late 19th century, after the Reconstruction Era ended, many citizens of the United States began to explore the country's frontier and moved west to large number. This was mainly caused by the need for resources for the growing industry and the seemingly promising possibilities of economic prosperity in the West. Many of the freemen (formerly slaves) of the Civil War were also seeking land, prosperity, and fewer social restrictions from the resentful Southerners still present in the South. Although more accurately called the Resettlement of the West due to the area previously settled by Native Americans and Hispanics; it was the first major migration of Americans from the East Coast to the West Coast. This westward movement during the late 19th century was relived through the life of Marbel Barbee Lee in her book titled Cripple Creek Days. The book takes place in the author's life as a child in a family of Western settlers. His father, Jonce, a former Confederate soldier and gold prospector, moved west to Utah after the South lost the war. Jonce later married a woman, Kitty, and started a family in Silver Reef, Utah. After a tragic family loss of the youngest daughter of two, the couple made Jonce decide to move to Cripple Creek, a mining camp south of Colorado Springs, Colorado; as he sends Kitty and Marbel to stay with family in Kansas while he settles in Cripple Creek. Therefore, through the book there are many insights into the life of a Westerner as the family reunites and lives in Cripple Creek, the reader then sees many aspects in which the development of Cripple Creek reflects the settlement of the West in the late 19th century . We say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayOne aspect of the book that reflected the westward movement in the late 19th century was most evident was the town of Cripple Creek itself. A small settlement originally lacking any major buildings and housing, most settlers lived in tents, as did the Lee family for some time early in their stay at Cripple Creek. Additionally, the city was founded as a mining town just south of Colorado Springs in hopes of becoming a major supplier of ore, as many small towns in that region did during westward settlement. So, if the book is read even far away, you can see how the book will begin to take place in an ordinary western mining town that in time will become a large city without a tent in it. Another aspect of the book that reflects the settlement of the west during this time was the mentality of Father Jonce. At many points in the book you get the sense that the family is constantly excited and driven to move and be on the frontier despite the difficult times the family has had to endure. This was especially evident through Jonce's work ethic. Although, as Kitty later reveals in the book, he had connections in Mississippi to have a profitable business, he would rather be on the frontier searching for precious minerals waiting to strike it rich one day on the hill. This reflects the mentality of many western settlers. Many of them hoped to get rich through the Gold Rush or the Homestead Act in agricultural production. But as many found that it was very rare to become rich, even if it did happen, many settlers worsened their conditions as they moved west. So we can see that Jonces' mentality resembled that of many Western settlers due to his constant desire to enrich himself.