Ox Team on the Oregon Trail (Abridged, Annotated)

You may not know his name but you owe him your thanks. Why?

Ezra Meeker twice traveled the old Oregon Trail by ox team. The first time was in 1852 from Indiana to Washington State with his bride and infant son. In this volume he details the hardships and joys of that difficult journey. He was part of a mass migration unlike anything the United States had seen before.

Fifty-four years later, again by ox team and wagon, he took the Trail eastbound from his home in Washington to retrace the route. Raising money and monuments along the way, he sought to commemorate and keep alive the memory of the intrepid pioneers who risked life and limb for a new life. That trip is also detailed in this unique memoir.

Meeker's monuments still stand in some of the places he placed them. The wagon-wheel ruts of the Oregon Trail still scar the landscape as well. His successful second trip to keep the spirit of the pioneers alive was a gift to posterity and for that, we owe him thanks.

With much humor and fascinating details, Ezra Meeker's account of westward expansion is one of the treasures of western Americana.