Oregon Trail Stories: True Accounts of Life in a Covered Wagon by David Klausmeyer
In the mid-1800s, thousands of pioneers braved the
arduous
journey across the Great Plains for a chance to build a new life in
the West. These emigrants traveled 2,000+ miles
to the Pacific Ocean over the Oregon Trail in the
largest mass migration in American history. Oregon Trail Stories offers a selection of these
narratives told in the pioneers' own words. From the diary of a
member of the Donner Party to an excerpt from the memoirs of a girl
orphaned as her family made their way West, these documents speak of
the difficulties of an uncertain future and the hardships of
the trail - including the real threat of illness or death.
The Oregon Trail
by Francis Parkman
In 1846, a young man of
privilege left his comfortable Boston home to embark on a strenuous
overland journey to the untamed West. This timeless account of
Parkman's travels and travails provides an expressive portrait of
the rough frontiersmen, immigrants, and Native Americans he
encounters, set against the splendor of the unspoiled wilderness.
If you are interested in early
Oregon History, the following books help illustrate many of the chapters
written in T. T. Geer's book.