The Oregon Trail
(Book)

In 1846, before he became the first great historian of the American frontier, Francis Parkman left his privileged Boston home to follow the Conestoga wagons of the pioneers making their way west along the Oregon Trail. It was a year of decision for America--and a year of high adventure for Parkman. This is a spirited account of his experiences on the Great Plains and along the Great Divide, as Parkman and two companions traveled the Oregon Trail as far as the Rocky Mountains, and returned home along the Santa Fe Trail. He portrays a truly wild frontier where they very nearly starved and more than once eluded marauding Indian war parties...but returned with a thrilling traveler's classic and a colorful chronicle of the West as the age of Manifest Destiny dawned over America.