In the 19th and early 20th century, land speculators made millions of dollars selling prairie land to immigrants and Easterners who were eager for a better life.

In flyers and brochures they used extravagant words and pictures to create an attractive, mythic image of life in the West.

To find out more about the speculator's view of Prairie life, examine the poster at right. It was printed by the Burlington and Missouri Railroad, one of the many railroad companies that profited by selling immigrants the western land it owned.

Look carefully at the the poster with these questions in mind:

• Why does the poster say people should come? What promises does it make?
• What specific images, words, and graphics are used to attract people to the West?
• Over all, what image of the West emerges from the poster?