Surviving the Oregon Trail 1852 Book

Eyewitness accounts of the Oregon Trail help me picture what my great-grandmother experienced as an 11 year old. Her father and eldest brother had a much rougher time managing the wagon and oxen over creeks and rivers, huge ups and downs; they had to take shifts with other travelers watching all the stock at night.
Still, if you didn't die of cholera like so many instances mentioned in this book, you were likely to survive the Trail. Most accounts were from the year 1852, because that's when Weldon Rau's ancestors crossed. The Trail had been in existence for almost 10 years, and some of the water had become contaminated. My family came in 1846, early enough for this not be have been an issue.
This was a worthwhile book for those of us interested in the subject.