The Meek Cutoff: Tracing the Oregon Trail’s Lost Wagon Train of 1845
University of Washington Press 2013

Excerpt: “In 1845, an estimated twenty-five hundred emigrants left Independence and St. Joseph, Missouri, for the Willamette Valley in what was soon to become the Oregon Territory. It was generally known that the route of the Oregon Trail through the Blue Mountains and down the Columbia River to The Dalles was grueling and dangerous. About twelve hundred men, women, and children in more than two hundred wagons therefore accepted the offer of fur trapper and guide Stephen Meek to lead them on a shortcut across the trackless high desert of eastern Oregon.

“Those who followed Meek experienced a terrible ordeal when his memory of the terrain apparently failed. Lost for weeks with little or no water and a shortage of food, the overlanders encountered deep dust, alkali lakes, and steep, rocky terrain. Many became ill and some died in the forty days it took to travel from the Snake River in present-day Idaho to the Deschutes River near Bend, Oregon. Stories persist that children in the group found gold nuggets in a small, dry creek bed along the way.”

Praise: “Local historians and Oregon Trail aficionados will find The Meek Cutoff both fascinating and informative. The spirit and endurance of the Oregon pioneers shine through in every chapter.” –Renee Struthers, Eastern Oregonian

“Brooks Geer Ragen’s new book, The Meek Cutoff, retraces the path of a wagon train of Oregon pioneers, many of whom came to an unfortunate end. If you are a member of the ‘rut rats’ family—enthusiasts who seek out traces of pioneer travel—this book will be of interest.” –John Saul, Seattle Times