Native Nations, Ancient Paths: The True Story of the Oregon Trail

Previously

…“We have to try, Eliza,” he said, his voice low. “We’ve come too far to turn back now. But…” He paused, his gaze sweeping over the endless plains, the looming, ominous silhouette of the distant mountains. “But this next stretch… it will test us like never before.” Eliza shivered, though the night was not particularly cold. The wagon road had widened, a gaping maw swallowing everything in its path, and she felt herself being drawn into its depths, a journey that was leading them not just across miles, but to the very edge of their own endurance. The promise of the Willamette Valley felt impossibly distant, a mirage shimmering on the horizon of an increasingly perilous reality.