The U. P. Trail

Pearl Zane Gray studied dentistry at the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship, and later played with a minor league team. He met and later married Lina Roth, whose inheritance helped support his efforts to become a writer. He pioneered the Western genre. His first western, Heritage of the Desert, became a best seller in 1910, and he went on to wrote over 60 books, many of which became films.

The UP Trail narrates the story of William Neale, a young engineer working for the Union Pacific railway. He must contend with Indians, bandits, badlands and bad weather to get the train to the destination. The railroads are expanding to link the nation, with the celebrated golden spike marking the spot in Utah where the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific would meet. Published in 1918, The UP Trail became a bestseller for Grey, and was made into a film in 1920, starring Roy Stewart and Kathlyn Williams.