May 7, 1846 Our expedition is big and gettin' bigger. Two hundred wagons and more every day! When folks hear where we're headed they sell their land for ten cents on a dollar and buy a wagon and follow along. George Donner and his brother Jacob organized the train with their friend James Reed. Mr. Donner don't mind all the extra folks. He says there's safety in numbers, and plenty of food along the way. All the game we can hunt, and good water for the horses. Ho! For California! William Deeds is an orphan with nothing to his name except the two hundred dollars he got in exchange for his family's farm, and a horse named Barney. So, he is ecstatic when Mr. George Donner lets him "tag along" on his expedition to California. All he wants is to "eat a fresh peach in December and never be cold." What he gets, of course, is an adventure marked by tragedy. He is a strong boy, though, whose will keeps him going through the toughest of times. Rod Philbrick's writing brings this compelling story frighteningly to life, and the result is a must-read diary of a fictional boy on the most infamous adventure in American history.
