The Race to Chimney Rock

by Jesse Wiley

   THE END

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  You decide to play it safe and travel diagonally across the river, even though you’ll have to be cold for longer. It’s much easier to move along with the current instead of fighting it. Pa steers the animals with your help. The water comes up to your waist, and it sure is chilly! Ma watches from the wagon where she’s riding with Samuel and Hannah.

  You safely wade across the river, and no one in the wagon train loses any animals or wagons. But you and Pa are completely soaked and shivering, and your teeth won’t stop chattering. Even sitting by the campfire wrapped in a blanket doesn’t warm you up.

  But the worst is yet to come. The next day, you start to feel queasy. First you have stomach cramps, then you have diarrhea that seems like it will never stop. Next, you start throwing up over and over. You feel weak, you’re incredibly thirsty, and your legs start to ache. Finally, you have a fever and can’t keep your eyes open.

  “I think that river was tougher than we wanted to think it was,” Pa tells Ma. They both look concerned.

  Then the same thing starts to happen to Samuel and Hannah.

  Next, it’s Ma’s and Pa’s turn.

  You didn’t get sick from the river. You have cholera, a contagious disease you get from unclean water or food. You’ve heard stories of entire families who were wiped out in a day or two on the Trail. You and your family are among the unlucky ones.

   THE END

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  Your family decides to make camp at the trading post for the next few weeks. You realize now it was a mistake to leave Independence so early. It would have been wiser to wait until May.

  Other wagon trains arrive at the trading post every day. The travelers look as exhausted as you were when you got here. They bring extra goods to trade for feed for their oxen. Sometimes they just give away supplies because they don’t want to carry the weight.

  You, Samuel, and Hannah set up a lemonade stand for the other travelers, using cider vinegar in place of lemons. Ma sells quilts and washes clothes for a fee. Pa trades goods and hunts buffalo, which he dries into jerky strips and sells. Archie runs free on the prairie and plays fetch with anyone willing. It’s a good life, and as the weeks pass, you grow less and less interested in leaving.

  “Someone wants to buy our oxen for twice what I paid for them,” Pa says one day. “With the money we get, we can afford to build a log cabin.”

  Ma looks at you.

  “What do you think?”

  There’s plenty of land, and a good life right here. You have more space than you had in Kentucky, and it’s quieter than Independence. The blisters on your feet have healed nicely. And no one wants new ones. You all decide you don’t need to go any farther on the Oregon Trail.

   THE END

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  I don’t want to disappoint Ma, you think. You don’t want to slow everyone down, either. So you decide to push on, even though you don’t feel well.

  Ma doesn’t notice when you slip Archie your cornmeal hash and bacon. He happily gobbles it up and wags his tail. You’re glad he enjoys it, even though you can’t bring yourself to eat anything.

  Everyone packs up camp and heads out just like every morning. You walk alongside the wagon as usual, but soon find yourself falling behind.

  “Hurry up!” Samuel says, running back to you. “You’re moving so slowly today.”

  “Are you feeling okay?” Hannah asks, peering into your face. “You look kind of pale.”

  “My stomach hurts a little,” you admit, as you try to walk faster. Your head aches too.

  Then suddenly, a major cramp hits you. You double over in pain.

  Ma runs over to you. You urgently feel diarrhea coming on. And you get the runs, over and over.

  Pa gives you some salty water to drink. But you can’t keep it down, and you throw up. Every time you take a sip, you have to vomit again.

  “I’m scared,” you say weakly. “What’s wrong with me?”

  “You’re going to be okay,” Ma says. But you see her exchange worried looks with Pa. The entire wagon train stops to make camp, even though it’s only midday. Everyone comes by to check on you, including Caleb. And all of them have different opinions about how to treat you, based on information from the guidebook or remedies from people they’ve known.

  You try to drink water again, but you can’t sit up anymore. Your head feels so heavy that you lie down and pass out, falling into a deep sleep. The next day is a haze of people fussing, but you don’t have enough energy to open your eyes. Everything hurts, and you just want the pain to stop. Then, finally, it does because . . . you die of dysentery.

   THE END

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  You pull a bandanna from your pocket, and tie it tightly around the bite, like it’s a bandage. You hold your arm very still against your side, and slowly walk back to camp. Even though you want to run and scream, you stay calm. You don’t want to spread the venom through your body. If you don’t move much, maybe it won’t get into your bloodstream.

  When you get to camp, Pa sees you and rushes over.

  “What happened?”

  “I was bitten by a snake, Pa,” you say. Tears start to stream down your face. You’re really scared and in a lot of pain. “What is going to happen to me?”

  “You’ll be okay,” Pa says, even though he doesn’t sound very sure of it. He signals to Ma to come over.

  Pa looks at your bite, which is red now, and your arm, which is swollen. He wraps your wound even tighter than you did, and sits you down carefully. You lean against a wagon wheel. Ma puts her arms around you to keep you warm as you shiver with chills. You sit there and try to stay awake, but the pain is making you drowsy.

  When you wake up, your stomach hurts and you throw up. Your arm is numb, but you are alive. The poison hasn’t spread.

  You survived a snakebite from a poisonous snake! Some people might feel extra powerful and brave after that. But not you! You develop an intense fear of all critters on the Trail. Even the sight of a tiny spider makes you scream and jump. Everyone tries to be patient with you at first. They keep telling you things will be fine. And then at some point, they just start to find you annoying.

  Ma and Pa argue about whether it’s worth continuing on the Oregon Trail. Ma tells Pa his dream is not worth the risk of losing one of their children.

  You beg your parents to take you back home to Kentucky. You miss being in a house, where walls protect you from things that bite or sting.

  “I just want to go home,” you plead.

  Finally, Ma and Pa agree with you. Your family is going home.

   THE END

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  I want to try the traditional medicine,” you say. You don’t know whether it will help or not, but you have to try something. You can’t stand the idea of losing your leg or having the painful surgery. You just hope the medicine works.

  Caleb sends a scout to the settlement of the Otoe-Missouria tribe. He comes back with two men, one young and one much older. The younger man speaks to you in English, not his native language, which is Chiwere.

  “My name is Doré. This is Wahre’dua. He is a very good healer and he will fix your leg.”

  The healer Wahre’dua looks at your leg, then speaks rapidly to Doré. Next, he pulls some herbs from a leather pouch, and starts crushing and mixing them in a wooden bowl. Doré gathers more plants, which the healer pounds into a paste. He speaks to Doré in the Chiwere language, which you do not understand.

  Finally, the healer spreads the paste gently all over your wound. It feels cool and soothing. You close your eyes and concentrate. Anything to help it work, you think.

  Doré gives the rest of the paste to Ma. He tells her she needs to put it on your leg every day. Ma smiles at him gratefully, and as payment, she gives the healer a quilt that she’s been working on for months.

  You and Ma apply the paste for the next three days. By the
third day, the redness and oozing of your wound is gone. The medicine is working!

  Within a week, your leg is healing nicely, and it looks like it will be okay. Doré, Wahre’dua, and other Otoe people come back to check on you, and you happily show them how much better your leg looks. You’ll probably have a huge scar for the rest of your life, but will gladly live with that in exchange for keeping your leg.

  The wagon train gets ready to leave again. But Ma doesn’t want to go with them.

  “Look how amazing life is here,” she says. “Let’s ask to stay and find out more about these medicines.”

  Pa agrees. He wants to learn many things from the Otoe, too.

  You ask to stay and live life with the Otoe people for a few weeks. They are wary. White emigrants have spread disease amongst other indigenous people. After careful consideration, the Otoe people welcome you to their land. You’re going to take a break from the Oregon Trail and settle right here next to your new friends. Maybe you’ll become a healer yourself one day.

   THE END

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  Hey!” you call out to the boy. He jumps a bit, startled.

  “It’s okay,” you say, smiling and holding up your hands. “I think you have my ox.”

  The boy smiles back at you. He has dark eyes that sparkle and make him seem like he’s about to laugh. He walks over to you and points to the ox, then he points at you.

  You nod firmly.

  It’s mine, you say, pointing to yourself.

  The boy looks at the ox, then hands you the rope.

  “Thank you,” you say. The boy smiles again and runs off. You realize the ox must simply have strayed away from camp, and you feel guilty for thinking the boy was a thief. You promise yourself to be less mistrustful out here on the Trail.

  Two days later, it’s finally your wagon’s turn to ride Papan’s Ferry. The breeze feels great against your face, but the ride is over quickly. On the far bank, you wait a few hours for the other ten wagons of your group to cross the river. And then, you all get back on the Trail again.

  You start off, rested and refreshed. But after another week of constant walking, you become tired again. You’re sick of the dust and the smell of sweaty oxen. The blisters on your feet are stinging, and your head aches a little, too.

  “Push on a little farther,” Caleb says to you, as if he is reading your mind. “I’ve read in my guidebook that we have a reward waiting, just ahead.”

  You smile weakly at Caleb’s attempt to cheer you up, look down, and keep trudging along. Suddenly, you hear Ma gasp. Looking up, you see ahead a beautiful waterfall gushing down a cluster of rocks. You, Hannah, and Samuel race over to it, and sip water directly from the spring. The water is crystal clear and as cold as melted ice.

  “This is Alcove Spring,” Pa says with a smile. He washes his hands and face, and then he splashes water on you. You splash back, and you both laugh.

  Alcove Spring is the prettiest place you have seen on the Trail so far. Lush green grasses and trees surround the waterfall. You overhear Eliza tell Joseph she wishes they could stay here forever.

  You make camp by the waterfall, and the sound of the water lulls you to sleep. But when you wake up, you aren’t refreshed. You have a bigger headache than you had yesterday, and you are sick to your stomach. It feels like you’re going to throw up.

  At breakfast, you don’t feel like eating your cornmeal hash. And the scent of bacon makes you feel queasy.

  “Can’t we stay here for another day?” Hannah pleads, pointing to the waterfall. “I want to play in the water some more.”

  “Me, too,” adds Samuel. “I’m so tired of walking. Can’t we just stay here and farm?”

  “I’m sorry,” Ma says. “We have to keep moving with the rest of the train if we want to make it to Chimney Rock on time.” She looks at you. “Right?”

  Ma looks tired, too, and you know she wants your help getting everyone moving. You want to tell her you don’t feel well, but you also don’t want her to think you are making excuses.

  Do you tell her you don’t feel well, or do you just push on?

  If you tell her you don’t feel well, turn to page 78

  If you just push on, turn to page 131

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  You force yourself to stand as straight and tall as you can in front of the bear. Your heart is pounding so hard the sound fills your ears. The bear is enormous, even on four legs, and her powerful body could easily crush you. One swipe from her paw could send you flying or worse. You get a glimpse of long curled claws that could tear through flesh.

  The bear is staring straight at you, but you cast your eyes down instead of looking directly back. Your muscles tense and you fight the urge to run, backing up slowly and methodically.

  “There, there, nice bear,” you say softly. “I’m going to walk away now while you stay right there.”

  The bear doesn’t move; she just watches you.

  You keep inching backwards, facing her the whole time. Then suddenly, the bear stands up on two legs!

  Your heart feels like it stops. This is it, you think as you close your eyes and wait.

  But then, instead of attacking you, the bear drops back down to all fours again. She turns and ambles away into the forest, seemingly unconcerned with you.

  Even so, you’re still paralyzed with fear. Then you feel something brush you from behind. Startled, you jump. “Ahh!”

  “It’s just me,” you hear Hannah whisper. “We were hiding in the bushes.”

  “That was so scary!” Samuel says from her side.

  You can’t speak. But you hold tightly to your sister’s and brother’s hands, and race back to camp.

  Everyone is stunned by your story. They all talk about how brave you were. Ma holds you tight and covers you with kisses, while Pa congratulates you for thinking so clearly in a tense situation.

  “That was close,” Caleb says. “You were smart not to try to fight the bear or run away. If you aren’t a threat, most bears will leave you alone.”

  The next morning, when you set out on the Trail, the bear seems like a dream. You still can’t believe you actually saw it.

  “Pa told me we’re not too far from Chimney Rock,” Hannah says, walking next to you. She slides her hand into yours. You’ve been hearing about Chimney Rock since Missouri. The pioneers who have seen it say it’s awe inspiring. The guidebook describes it as one of the wonders of the world.

  “I see it!” Samuel shouts, pointing.

  You catch a glimpse of the rock, still a day’s hike away. Chimney Rock is a long, pointy rock that soars over three hundred feet high, like a giant pole sticking out of a haystack. The famous rock is more than just a landmark. It’s the spot on the Oregon Trail where the prairie ends, and the rugged mountains begin. After this, your journey will get even harder.

  Chimney Rock juts into the clear blue sky, so tall and skinny you don’t understand how it doesn’t fall over! Everyone huddles together and stares at it. No one knows how it was formed.

  “I’ve never seen anything like it,” Pa says.

  “It’s even better than I’d imagined,” Ma adds.

  “We’re so lucky to be here,” Hannah says.

  Everyone agrees. You are lucky to be here. You have been on an incredible journey and have had amazing adventures on the Trail. You’ve also made new friends, learned new skills, and have grown up a lot. Plus you’ve survived illness, and now you’ve even stood up to a bear!

  You look at your family, so proud and determined. Pa looks back at you and smiles. His dream to own a farm is your dream now. And you’re much closer to it than you were six weeks ago.

  When you finally reach Chimney Rock, you and Pa carve your family’s names into it. Now you’ve left one more mark along the Trail. As you look at your name etched in the stone, you wonder what other adventures lie ahead for you. Next your wagon train will trek through dangerous bluffs and famous forts, to a mysterious place called Devil’s Gate
. Your heart beats with excitement at the thought of the challenges still to come.

  But I’m ready for them, you think with hard-earned confidence. I’m a pioneer.

   THE END

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  Guide

  to the Trail

  Let’s Explore!

  You are about to embark on the journey of a lifetime, as one of the 400,000 adventurous and daring pioneers who trekked West between 1841 and 1870. You will be traveling 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) along the Oregon Trail with everything you need packed into a covered wagon. There will be adventures and dangers like you’ve never experienced before.

  What do you have to look forward to when you get out West?

  A square mile of free land for your family to farm

  Plenty of rain for crops

  A chance to expand your nation to include ALL the land between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans

  Pack your wagon

  Your ten-foot-long covered wagon will carry your supplies and the items you need for your new life in the Oregon Territory. There won’t be room to ride in the wagon, so you’ll walk alongside it. Choose carefully, and pack only what is most important. And don’t overload your wagon!