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