overland journeys to the pacific

Lee Westfall, a young woman with the magical ability to sense the presence of gold, must flee her home to avoid people who would abuse her powers, so when her best friend Jefferson heads out across Gold Rush-era America to stake his claim, she disguises herself as a boy and sets out on her own dangerous journey.

A collection of essays, poetry, and diary excerpts provides a picture of the lives of three travellers on the trail west in the mid-1800s.

In 1852, a fourteen-year-old orphan and her elderly guardian, accompanied by a tough drover and his crew, take several thousand sheep from Iowa to California, returning by ship through the Panama Canal, to raise money to save the girl's home from a villainous debt collector.

In 1847, when her mother's remarriage sends them on a difficult journey to California, Willow is swept overboard fording the South Platte River and must survive and search for her family.

Build a deeper understanding of the hardships American pioneers faced by examining the story of the ill-fated Donner Party, who were trapped in the Sierra Nevada mountains during the harsh winter of 1846-1847.

Young Jesse and his family are with a wagon train traveling from Indiana to Oregon when they stop to celebrate the Fourth of July, but Jesse is too young to go hunting with the men so he comes up with his own contribution to the festivities.

An introductory history of the Oregon Trail and its significance in opening the West to settlers, including information on the people who opened the Trail, their reasons for going West, modes of transportation, and a description of a typical day on the Trail.

Poems reflecting the points of view of three pioneer children describe their family's journey from Kentucky to Oregon.

"Readers meet a young wagon train traveler and, through this first-person account, learn about life on the Oregon Trail."--Provided by publisher.