Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852

Weldon Willis Rau

Narrated by Todd Curless

Available from Audible

Book published by Washington State University Press

With numbers swelled by gold-seekers destined for California, the 1852 overland migration was the largest on record in a year when deadly cholera took a terrible toll on lives. 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 form.

In its immediacy, Surviving the Oregon Trail, 1852 opens a window to the travails of the emigrants—their stark camps, treacherous river crossings, and dishonest countrymen; the shimmering plains and vast mountains; their 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.

Weldon Willis Rau 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.

REVIEWS:

“Adds immeasurably to our understanding of the Oregon Trail experience.”

—Susan Badger Doyle, Oregon-California Trail Association