by Jesse Wiley
When you tell the Clay brothers your idea, they’re reluctant to stray any farther from the Trail. But when other members of the wagon train agree with you about finding cover, the brothers have no choice but to lead everyone out of the plains and into the thick of pine and fir trees.
Sheltered by the foliage, everyone can finally rest and build a roaring fire. Pa, Tsayoga, and Atsadi go hunting and return with a deer and two rabbits to cook over the spit. You fall asleep that night, grateful for your full belly and dry tent.
The next morning when you wake up, it’s oddly quiet outside. You open the flap of your tent and gasp. It’s snowing! The ground is covered in a thick white blanket. You’ve come so high up in the mountains that it’s cold enough to snow.
Your wagon train struggles through the snow for days. One family nearly loses its wagon in a rocky nook, but they manage to tow it out. Everyone is tired, grumpy, and scared. None of you know how to get back to the Oregon Trail, nor are you experienced guides or navigators.
Finally, you start to descend the steep slopes and continue back onto the plains. You still don’t find the Trail. People in the wagon train are starting to lose hope.
A couple of weeks after leaving the hill country, you come across an enormous winding river. The only question is, What river is it? People debate and argue, but it is Atsadi who speaks up.
“Pass me the map. I may know where we are.” Atsadi traces the map with his finger. “This is the Missouri River.”
“Sure is.” Pa studies the map.
“But that’s impossible.” Charlie Clay digs a boot heel into the ground. “We were in the prairie lands only a short while ago. We wandered this far off the Trail?”
“We have.” Tsayoga slumps his shoulders. “We’ve been off the Trail for weeks now. Close to a month. The question now is, Where do we go from here?”
“Back to the Oregon Trail, of course!” a voice from the crowd pipes. “Where else would we go?”
“But how much time have we lost?” Another voice rises above the commotion. “In this wild weather, will we even make it to the Blue Mountains?”
Tsayoga puts up his hand. “Please, everyone. We need to stay calm and rational about this. Not all hope is lost. And neither are we. We have a good idea of our whereabouts. Let’s follow the river north and use the path that Lewis and Clark did years ago. It will not be easy, but it should lead us directly to the Columbia River, which will then get us back on the Oregon Trail and take us straight to Oregon City.”
More murmurs arise among the wagon-train members.
“But aren’t there dangerous mountains?” Henry Clay tilts his head. “How are we going to get our wagons through?”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” Pa folds up the map and hands it back to Henry. “ Do you really think we won’t get lost trying to find our way back through the prairie?”
You know it’s a tough choice. Either decision could result in people losing valuable items, animals, even their lives. Should you try to make it back to the Oregon Trail by retracing your steps, or should you continue upriver to the Lewis and Clark Trail?
To take the Lewis and Clark Trail, turn to page 43
To retrace your steps back to the Oregon Trail, turn to page 93
Return to page 105
With only seconds before Johnny’s lost forever underneath the ice, you make a split-second decision. You don’t think he’ll be able to reach for the rope if you cast it out to him. You ignore Wahya’s advice and drop down onto your stomach, sliding across the ice. The closer you get to the hole, the more the ice cracks and groans underneath you. You shiver, but it’s too late to turn back now. You’re Johnny’s only chance.
You peer down into the hole, but you can’t see anything in the pitch-black water. You plunge a hand into the frigid depths, hoping to grab his arm or jacket. You fish around for a moment in vain.
“The ice—it won’t hold!” Wahya cups his hands around his mouth. “You have to get out of there!” He shuffles toward you.
A second later, a hand grabs your arm and yanks you under the icy water. You try to claw your way back to the surface, but your mind goes blank from the cold. Your journey to Oregon ends here.
THE END
Return to page 72
The sun is out, but it’s still too cold to go hunting. It’s bound to get warmer within the next few weeks.
For now, you stay bundled up inside the giant tepee with everyone else.
“This weather has been getting in our way ever since we left Jacksonville.” Emma huddles close to Ma and baby Jaime, rubbing her hands together. On her other side sits Atsadi, who passes her hot coffee.
“This journey is a test of endurance and strength.” Atsadi takes a sip of his cup. “We’ve come this far. We can make it the rest of the way.”
Emma blushes. “I’m sure you’re right.” She takes a drink.
You have to find a way to pass the time in the crowded tepee. You play games and tell stories, but everyone soon gets restless.
“Shouldn’t we keep moving?” Henry Clay carefully steps over huddled people while making his way to the tent exit.
“It’s too dangerous to travel right now.” Tsayoga frowns. “The glare from the sun could cause blindness. I’ve seen it before when people spend too much time on the water. The reflection damages your eyesight.”
But the sun doesn’t come out for long. Soon, it starts to rain and snow again. The snow is wet and heavy. It piles up on all sides of the tepee.
CRACK!
A wooden pole snaps! With the tepee’s balance thrown off, the rest of the stays come crashing down. Everyone is buried underneath. When you do manage to get out from under the collapsed tepee, everyone is wet and cold. Without shelter, you won’t last much longer out here.
THE END
Return to page 35
“Pa, we can go look for food.” You place your hand on his shaking shoulder. “But you need to get warm first.”
Emma nods. “Yes, you don’t look good at all. You need to warm up by the fire. We’ll find food later. We can survive a little longer on pilot bread, and we must be close to getting out of these wretched mountains.”
But Pa doesn’t look so sure.
“They’re right.” Ma looks just as tired and cold as Pa does. “Let’s ask the Clay brothers to stop.”
Everyone’s relieved to take an afternoon break to warm up and rest for a bit. Pa’s complexion is gray. He’s become very sick, and you can’t go on.
Pa will need to rest for days. You hope he survives the night. You don’t have much food to help him get back his strength.
You can’t go on without Pa. You don’t know if you’ll ever make it out of these mountains.
THE END
Return to page 57
The grizzly is five times as big as you. You don’t stand a chance to fight it off or outrun it.
“Stand your ground!” Atsadi stands tall. “Make noise to scare it away!”
“Do you see the size of that monster?” Inola hisses. “How are we supposed to scare it away?”
“It will work,” her older brother insists.
But you’re already backing away as fear takes over. When the bear rises on its haunches and roars, you turn and run as fast as you can. You hear everyone shouting and footsteps crunching through the snow—then a very low growl.
You’re out of breath when you fall in the knee-deep snow. The cold mountain air burns your lungs.
The grizzly roars behind you. You know it’s all over.
THE END
Return to page 102
“Let’s keep going. We’re almost there.” You dig your hands into your pockets. “If we go to Fort Vancouver, Oregon City is only a few more miles past that.”
“I’m afraid for your health—your mother’s, too.” Tsula’s brows furrow. “What’s the use of getting to Oregon City if you’re sick?”
“Let’s not stall any longer.” Dark circles
hang underneath Ma’s eyes.
Your Cherokee friends decide to stop at Fort Vancouver. You hope you’ll meet them soon in Oregon City.
Your family continues on down the Columbia River. Ma’s coughing becomes worse, and Emma starts to burn up with fever as well. You and Pa are forced to stop rowing and camp by the river to care for them. When morning comes, Ma can’t even lift her head. Plus, your canoes are frozen solid in the river. There’s no way you can chip them out yourselves. You’ll be lucky if you ever get to Oregon City now.
THE END
Return to page 120
It’s already June—most pioneers left Independence about a month ago, and finding a new wagon train feels impossible. It’s smart to stick with the group you already have. More people mean more security and support. You want to appease your new wagon-train captain any way you can.
“We don’t have much money to pay you back.” Pa fixes his hat. “But we’d be happy to share some sugar with you. Whatever we can do to make it up to you.” The wagon-train captain’s temper deflates when he sees how sorry your family is.
“Well . . . just make sure it doesn’t happen again.” He reaches out his hand for a shake. He’s gruff, with a scar on his right cheek and hair black as coal. “My brother, Charlie, and I are striking out West together to start our own carpentry business, helping young settlers build homesteads.”
Fred just flicks his ears and brays. You pull him back to your wagon, shamefaced. It’s been your job to keep an eye on him after he wandered off the first time.
You leave Independence only a few days later. Pa and Ma have stocked up on ammunition, sugar, flour, and thick slabs of bacon for the long journey ahead. You had to sell your extra blankets back in Saint Louis to help pay for your wagon, but it’ll be summer soon. You shouldn’t need them. An extra pair of shoes would’ve been nice, but your parents couldn’t afford them.
With the Clay brothers leading your small wagon train of five wagons altogether, you roll off into the plains. Dash runs to and fro, herding the livestock along the way. You walk alongside your wagon with Wahya and Inola. To pass the long, weary hours of walking, you play games and sing songs. You try to spot as many prairie dogs as you can. You try to catch them, but you’re never fast enough.
After traveling for more than a week, you come to the Kansas River crossing. Here you have two options: taking the ferry, which is expensive, or fording the river. You see that the black water is filled with ice.
“What should we do?” Pa turns to Tsayoga. “I cannot afford to take the ferry like the rest of the wagon train.”
Tsayoga shakes his head. “Neither can we. We should see how deep the water is.”
They check the water level with a tree branch. It’s three feet deep. It should be safe enough to ford. The rest of the wagons have already ferried across and are now waiting for yours.
You start to ford the river. It’s truly freezing, and your oxen trudge through the water, pulling at their yoke. Your wagon hits a large icy rock that nearly tips it over. You cling to Pa tightly. Even though the water isn’t that deep, the current is still strong, and falling into the cold river could mean life or death.
Finally, you reach the other side. You can’t feel your hands and feet.
“We must rest here for a while and warm up.” Tsula sits on a flat stone wrapped in a blanket.
You help gather dry brush for kindling. In only a few minutes, your two families surround a roaring fire. You shiver, wishing you had a pair of dry shoes.
The rest of the wagon train is reluctant to wait for your two families, but they agree on “nooning”—taking a noontime rest—while you all dry off and get warm.
When you finally continue on, you’re still exhausted from fording the river. Night falls, and your wagon train comes across an abandoned campsite. You can’t walk another step, but this place is not very neat or clean. You can see the deep wagon ruts where the prairie schooners have passed through before. There’s a massive fire pit with black burnt logs. Debris litters the ground—rotting bits of food and rabbit bones. A tattered handkerchief hangs from a low tree branch.
Should you try to spare your feet and spend the night here, or ask the Clay brothers to move on and find a new campsite for the wagon train?
To move on, turn to page 105
To stay here, turn to page 40
Return to page 97
It’s a better idea to warm up with a fire underneath the trees. You can make a lean-to shelter with branches and twigs.
“Here.” Inola gives you a handful of leaves. “Put these inside your coat. It’ll keep you warmer.”
Each of you stuff wet leaves underneath your coats. It’s not much, but it helps. You fall asleep with your back to the crackling fire.
You wake to a shock of pain.
“OW!” A red bite mark on the back of your hand is swelling quickly.
A spider crawls over your arm and away into the leaves. It’s not big, but a distinct violin-shaped mark decorates its back.
Only brown recluse spiders have that marking—one of the most venomous spiders in North America. Their bite is deadly. You won’t ever make it to Oregon City now.
THE END
Return to page 62
The hulking grizzly lets out a low growl. It looms closer, sniffing the air.
“Let’s run!” you hiss. Beside you, Dash growls.
“No!” Atsadi says. “It will chase us if we run.” He fires a warning shot near the grizzly’s head. The bear roars but starts to back away.
“Everyone start shouting,” Atsadi says in a loud voice. “We have to scare it away!”
You struggle to find your voice, but when Inola, Emma, and Wahya start yelling and waving their hands at the bear, you join in. Confused, the bear eventually turns away and lumbers back into the woods.
You’ve survived death by grizzly, but you still have no food. You won’t last much longer in these desolate mountains.
THE END
Return to page 102
You turn back to look for the Oregon Trail. Once you pick up where you left off on the Trail, you’ve got to get to South Pass if you’re going to make it through the Rocky Mountains. Lewis and Clark had a very hard time crossing the mountains, even on horses. You worry your wagon train won’t even make it through the Bitterroot Mountains.
You’re going southwest—or are you? It rains on and off, and it snows when you’re in higher elevations. You reach the slopes of the mountains. You’ve gone too far north. South Pass is the only easy way through the Rocky Mountains. You won’t ever find it now.
Your wagon train is determined to keep moving. At first, the gentle hills are easy to maneuver. As the days go by, the mountains become tougher to navigate. You often wander around for hours just to find a narrow way through. Everyone is restless—some even want to turn back to Independence.
Henry Clay blows his bugle to call the end of the day, and you corral for the night. Was going back to look for the Oregon Trail a good idea after all?
Ma sends you out to fetch water. Wahya and Inola go with you to look for a creek or stream, but it’s getting dark. The rocky cliffs are slippery.
“Help!” Wahya plummets off the ledge!
You and Inola rush down after him. He’s shaken, and his ankle is badly sprained. The three of you call for help, but you’re too far from camp.
“What should we do?” Inola holds Wahya’s hand. “Should we try to get him back to camp, or stay here for the night?”
What do you decide?
To stay put, turn to page 62
To get back to camp, turn to page 125
Return to page 74
“We should listen to Wahya.” You point to the river. “The rapids are not frozen over yet.”
“The ice must be four inches thick to be safe.” Wahya holds up a hand.
Johnny looks upset. “We can’t even try?”
Wahya shakes his head. “Not unless you want to fall in!”
&n
bsp; You forage berries and nuts hidden away under leaves by squirrels and chipmunks. You even break off the tops of cattails around the lake. You remember Tsula saying that cattails are pretty good to eat.
Somewhere along the way, you lose your mittens. As the day goes on, your fingers get numb.
By the time you get back to the campsite, your fingers are completely blue. You have frostbite. Your trek West is stalled here.
THE END
Return to page 52
You don’t have much money, but it’s more important to reach Independence as quickly as possible to join a wagon train. Both families decide to take the steamboat up the Mississippi River to Saint Louis. You sell your farm wagon and one of your horses. It’s also time to unload supplies and keep only the necessities. You trade Ma’s trunk and Emma’s wooden jewelry box. They were both handcrafted by Pa; he promises to make them both new ones when you reach Oregon City.