Narcissa Whitman and her husband, Marcus, went to Oregon as missionaries in 1836, accompanied by the Reverend Henry Spalding and his wife, Eliza. It was, as Narcissa wrote, “an unheard of journey for females.” Narcissa Whitman kept a diary during the long trip from New York and continued to write about her rigorous and amazing life at the Protestant mission near present-day Walla Walla, Washington. Her words convey her complex humanity and devotion to the Christian conversion and welfare of the Indians. Clifford Drury sketches in the circumstances that, for the Whitmans, resulted in tragedy. Eliza Spalding, equally devout and also artistic, relates her experiences in a pioneering venture. Drury also includes the diary of Mary Augusta Dix Gray and a biographical sketch of Sarah Gilbert White Smith, later arrivals at the Whitman mission.

Compares the experiences of Jenny Johnson and Katie Miller as their families move from Missouri to Oregon, one in 1846 and one in 2011. Includes an access code that allows children to readalong online.

Four women seeking the promise of salvation and prosperity in a new land.

Two families break up their homes and travel from the east by wagon train across the open prairie to build a ranch in the wild open undeveloped range land not far from the mountains in western Montana. The long trip is tiresome uneventful travel at times with unexpected dangers along the way. When tragedy strikes, they trust God to give them strength and guidance to continue. There is a stallion who is tamed by the young women and is a help in many ways. The horses become vital in use and survival in the new life in the far land out west. The young women, wanting to learn to be ranchers are challenged by many tasks on the trip and in the new country. Things they have to learn and develop skills in order to survive. Will they survive and become the ranchers that they want to be? Bold men come to their assistance and love comes in the new life.

Wagon train going to Coulter city battling the Sioux and, of course, outlaws. This is a dandy of a western.

Vol. 115 includes Diamond jubilee issue, 1867-1927.