About This Book
After the death of his fiancee, Cyrus Rombach, a school teacher, leaves Boston and joins a wagon train forming in Independence, Missouri. The year is 1845, and the overland migrations along the Oregon Trail are beginning in earnest. In addition to farmers and would-be merchants, the emigrant party includes a gambler running from the law, a mountain man bent on settling down, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, a doctor, and several troublemakers. Along the way, their hopes and dreams, as well as their weaknesses and fears, play out in the Great Plains and mountains of the American West. Romances blossom and unravel; secrets, weaknesses, and unknown strengths are revealed. The members of the train come face to face with the harsh realities of the trail: perilous weather, boredom, cholera, and internal dissension. Both courage and cowardliness prevail. The day-to-day events of living on the trail provide a fascinating backdrop for the drama of the settling of Oregon.
