[2][3] Born in Canada in 1828, Abbott ran away from home as a teenage, traveled across the Great Plains twice, worked as a miner, and lived alongside the Apache people for a time.

He also established the Abbott House, that later became the Cominos Hotel, and served as a member of the California Assembly from 1876 to 1879.

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle described Abbott's writing as "charming" and The Boston Globe called it an "authentic record.

"[11][12] A review by Frances Fort Brown in The Chattanooga News called Abbott's writing "young in spirit" and recommended it as a "valuable historical work.

[5] Robert Krick, in a retrospective on the Neale Publishing Company, described the book as "more entertaining than reliable.