Hough, Emerson: The Covered Wagon. V1. 17 July 2010
 

Hough, Emerson, 1857-1923
Hough was born in Newton, Iowa on June 28,1857. He was in the town high school's first graduating class of three in 1875. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1880 and later studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1882. His first article, "Far From The Madding Crowd," was published in Forest and Stream in 1882

Excerpt
"Look at 'em come, Jesse! More and more! Must be forty or fifty families."
Molly Wingate, middle-aged, portly, dark browed and strong, stood at the door of the rude tent which for the time made her home. She was pointing down the road which lay like an écru ribbon thrown down across the prairie grass, bordered beyond by the timber-grown bluffs of the Missouri.