Most of this is facts that the author found in research. One of the first wagon trains to travel this area.
In the epilogue Jane said she hoped that this story might celebrate the honor of self-sacrifice, the wisdom of working together, and the power of persevering through community and faith. She did that exactly. This story is set in 1844 as a wagon train is progressing across country towards Oregon first then changing to California, which was still Mexican at the time. A fairly easy trip for the first part, they didn't take into the account the high mountains and altitude around Lake Tahoe, and thought California only had warm temperatures. Never expecting the deep, deep snow in the mountains. These became tremendous obstacles for them. Most were Irish, some from Canada. Good old Irish stubbornness, brains and tenacity came into play as they determined to live and move to their goal. Women were expected to follow without question or input, not expected to think. This group of Irish girls got tired of that and when left to themselves learned what they needed to and proved resourcefulness of their own, as the men left and forged ahead without them. As with all of Jane's books, there are always lessons to be learned that will apply to women everywhere, anytime.
Quotes
“An old Indian once told me, ‘When you come to a wide chasm— jump. It’s not as wide as you think.’ We had no alternative but to jump and so we did.”
“Taking things apart to re-create them,” Mary said. “That’s happening to us too,” Sarah said. “We’re having to remake ourselves here.” And so they did.
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