Parkman (1823-1893) laconically narrates his series of misadventures involving Indians, buffalo, and bad weather in this account of his long journey from St. Louis to the wild west and back, beginning in spring of 1846. One disaster after another makes "The Oregon Trail" a highly amusing tale, but it also contains a lot of beautiful descriptions of the prairies and of Indian ways of life. Parkman tried to become a member of an Indian village, and while not entirely successful, he did make some interesting observations along the way and he describes his experiences wonderfully.