In April 1844 the Sager family took part in the great westward migration and started their journey along the Oregon Trail. During it, both Henry and Naomi lost their lives and left their seven children orphaned. Later adopted by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, missionaries in what is now Washington, they were orphaned a second time, when both their new parents were killed during the Whitman massacre in November 1847. About 1860 Catherine, the oldest girl, wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. Today it is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration.

The Sager orphans (sometimes referred to as Sager children) were the children of Naomi and Henry Sager. In April 1844 Henry Sager and his family took part in the great westward migration and started their journey along the Oregon Trail. During their journey both Naomi and Henry Sager lost their lives and left their seven children orphaned. Later adopted by Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, missionaries in what is now Washington, the children were orphaned a second time, when both their new parents were killed during the Whitman massacre in November 1847. Catherine (1835-1910), the eldest of the Sager girls, married Clark Pringle, a Methodist minister and bore him 8 children. They lived in Spokane, Washington. About 1860, ten years after her arrival in Oregon, she wrote a first-hand account of their journey across the plains and their life with the Whitmans. This account today is regarded as one of the most authentic accounts of the American westward migration. She hoped to earn enough money to set up an orphanage in the memory of Narcissa Whitman. She never found a publisher. Catherine died on August 10, 1910, at the age of seventy-five.

A seasoned historian assembles a remarkable cadre of authors, who reveal forgotten, true stories of the American frontier.

Soon after information from Lewis and Clark's expedition to chart the western region of the United States was shared, investors and explorers sought ways to capitalize on the information. In this work, Alexander Ross details the trials and tribulations of one such expedition, now known as the Astor Expedition. Ross was employed by John Jacob Astor's Pacific Fur Company, and this led to the founding Fort Astoria, an American outpost near the Columbia River. Although the title suggests that members of Astoria were "the first settlers" of the region, it fails to consider the numerous indigenous tribes Ross encountered and described in great detail. For example, this work includes an appendix of Chinook vocabulary, highlighting how extensive and advanced the indigenous populations were that had already settled in that region. The fort itself was populated by a variety of people, including French-Canadians, Scots, Hawaiians, Americans, and a variety of indigenous North American peoples, such as Iroquois. Due to the War of 1812, the fort was bought out by the North West Company, which renamed it Fort George.

Travel along the Oregon Trail with the pioneers who dared to "face the elephant" as they moved west in search of a new life. Compiled from the trail diaries and memoirs that document this momentous period in American history, Oregon Trail Stories is a fascinating look at the great American migration of the 19th century.