Maddie knew the trip wouldn't be easy. Her mother and older brother were no longer with them and Hannah, her little sister, was hers alone to care for. And Hannah was mute. Mute for reasons no one knew.

It would take months to arrive at their destination. Months that would include accidents, floods, Indian attacks and disease. The losses along the trail were both huge and unexpected. Would they ever reach the West, the land of their new home?

They traveled in covered wagons, on horseback and many times on foot. They risked all that they had, over the rough and not well-organized trails. It was a time filled with mystery and unknowns. There were few firsthand accounts of what lay before them and for some of the travelers the long trip would have disastrous results.

It was 1845. A small group of daring and brave pioneers set out with high hopes and all their worldly goods to head for a new life. A new life in what was soon to become the Oregon Territory.

Tecla Emerson was raised and educated in the greater Boston area, where her love of America's history began. Currently living in Annapolis, she is the publisher and editor of OutLook by the Bay, a regional magazine.