Oregon Trail guide book

The Oregon Travel was a perilous journey. As settlers moved towards their new home they would face a host of challenges. To aid in their trek authors like J.M. Shively created guide books with tips and tricks. This reproduction shows the type of information the authors had to offer.

One passage reads: “…first, buy a light strong wagon made of the best season materials; for if the timbers be not well seasoned, your wagon will fall to pieces when you get to the dry, arid plains of the mountains…”

Another: “You should be ready to take up your march as early as the first of April, and if there is no grass, carry enough feed for your animals to last you to the crossing of the Kanzas, which is 102 miles from Independence, here you will find the grass quite high.”