An acclaimed historian’s “compellingly told” year-by-year account of the pioneering efforts to conquer the American West in the mid-nineteenth century (The Guardian). In all the sagas of human migration, few can top the drama of the journey by Midwestern farmers to Oregon and California from 1840 to 1849—between the era of the fur trappers and the beginning of the gold rush. Even with mountain men as guides, these pioneers literally plunged into the unknown, braving all manner of danger, including hunger, thirst, disease, and drowning. Employing numerous illustrations and extensive primary sources, including original diaries and memoirs, McLynn underscores the incredible heroism and dangerous folly on the overland trails. His authoritative narrative investigates the events leading up to the opening of the trails, the wagons and animals used, the roles of women, relations with Native Americans, and much else. The climax arrives in McLynn’s expertly re-created tale of the dreadful Donner party, and he closes with Brigham Young and the Mormons beginning communities of their own. Full of high drama, tragedy, and triumph, “rarely has a book so wonderfully brought to life the riveting tales of Americans’ trek to the Pacific” (Publishers Weekly).

During the second half of the nineteenth century, the Willamette River served as the primary means of transportation for both people and goods in Oregon's Willamette Valley. Riverboats plied the river along a series of landings and small communities where much of the population clustered. Some of these settlements, such as Albany and Springfield, developed into the towns and metropolitan centers of present-day Oregon. Others, such as Lancaster, flourished briefly before gradually declining or disappearing altogether as transportation shifted to roads and railroads. Willamette Landings, originally published in 1947, offers a portrait of the Willamette River at a time when it was the bustling center of commerce and settlement. McKinley's account presents a perspective unfamiliar today - from the river itself. This new edition includes maps, numerous historic photographs, and in introduction by the well-known writer Robin Cody, whose affinity with the life and history of rivers of the Pacific Northwest is long-standing.

A story of the old Oregon Trail.

This book captures the excitement and hardship of settlers heading to the Wild West on wagon trains. Readers will delight in learning about the caravans of wagons that made their way through unsettled and wild land to make it to a place of new beginnings. This book describes the ways people prepared for their journeys on wagon trains, as well as what life was like on the trail. Brilliant visuals illustrate the book to bring this Wild West adventure to life. Information-rich text will engage readers as sidebars and “Truth or Myth?” fact boxes provide a dynamic and unforgettable reading experience.

Narcissa Whitman and her husband, Marcus, went to Oregon as missionaries in 1836, accompanied by the Reverend Henry Spalding and his wife, Eliza. It was, as Narcissa wrote, “an unheard of journey for females.” Narcissa Whitman kept a diary during the long trip from New York and continued to write about her rigorous and amazing life at the Protestant mission near present-day Walla Walla, Washington. Her words convey her complex humanity and devotion to the Christian conversion and welfare of the Indians. Clifford Drury sketches in the circumstances that, for the Whitmans, resulted in tragedy. Eliza Spalding, equally devout and also artistic, relates her experiences in a pioneering venture. Drury also includes the diary of Mary Augusta Dix Gray and a biographical sketch of Sarah Gilbert White Smith, later arrivals at the Whitman mission.