Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852

As Told by Mary Ann and Willis Boatman and Augmented with Accounts by other Overland Travelers

Weldon Willis Rau

• Publisher: Washington State University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780874222388
• eBook ISBN: 9781636820644
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

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 contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• 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