In 1861, Twain opted to travel west with Orion Clemens, his brother and Secretary of the Nevada territory. Through Roughing It, he expresses his thoughts on the Pony Express, outlaws, fights, trains, Mormons, traveling through the desert, living in the mountains, prospecting, mining, robberies, shootings, fires, merchants, and funerals.
As Twain suggested, ''This book is merely a personal narrative, and not a pretentious history or a philosophical dissertation.'' However, the book is more than a personal narrative; it is a humorous look at the trials and tribulations that Twain encountered during his adventures