Sixteen-year-old Dave Marsh and his family, with their sturdy team of oxen, were part of a wagon train that made the long, dangerous journey to Oregon in the 1840's. Fording swollen rivers, crossing trackless plains, and struggling over forbidding mountains, they fought against hostile Indians, disease, and thirst with an unshakable determination to reach the green promised land beyond.

During the long trek, Dave became a close friend of Jeff Barlow, one of the scouts who traveled with the train, advising the homesteaders about the best watering places, about the herds of buffalo to be hunted, and about signs of unfriendly Indians. Jeff loved the country and made paintings of it whenever there was time, but he knew its dangers, too. By the time they reached the lush Oregon territory, Dave had become a seasoned hunter, ready to play a man's part in the new land.

Young people will share with excitement Dave's adventures on the way west in this vivid story of the men, women, and children who overcame all obstacles to open up our vast land in one of the great periods of American history.