With numbers swelled by Oregon-bound settlers as well as hordes of gold-seekers destined for California, the 1852 overland migration was the largest on record in a year taking a terrible toll in lives mainly due to deadly cholera. Included here are firsthand accounts of this fateful year, including the words and thoughts of a young married couple, Mary Ann and Willis Boatman, released for the first time in book-length form.
In its immediacy, Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852 opens a window to the travails of the overland journeyers–their stark camps, treacherous river fordings, and dishonest countrymen; the shimmering plains and mountain vastnesses; trepidation at crossing ancient Indian lands; and the dark angel of death hovering over the wagon columns. But also found here are acts of valor, compassion, and kindness, and the hope for a new life in a new land at the end of the trail.
Table of Content
Table of Contents
Preface
Introduction
Chapter One: Leaving Home
Chapter Two: Across the Wide Missouri
Chapter Three: Cholera
Chapter Four: Platte River Valley
Chapter Five: On to Fort Laramie
Chapter Six: Child’s Cutoff
Chapter Seven: Sweetwater Valley
Chapter Eight: Sublette Cutoff
Chapter Nine: Bear River to Fort Hall
Chapter Ten: Along the Snake
Chapter Eleven: Blue Mountains
Chapter Twelve: At Last The Dalles
Chapter Thirteen: Final Effort
Chapter Fourteen: Pioneering
Bibliography
Index
About the Author
About the author
Weldon Willis Rau of Olympia, Washington, is a retired research geologist for the U.S. Geological Survey and the State of Washington. He is a great grandson of Puyallup pioneers Mary Ann and Willis Boatman, the principal figures in Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852. Rau’s book is the culmination of 15 years of extensive field investigations and archival/library study.
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