The Promise Land

Between 1840 and 1890, an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people left everything behind to seek new lives in California and Oregon. It was The Great Migration... or Manifest Destiny, as some called it. Thousands made it to the California gold fields and the Oregon Country; however, many others died and were buried in lonely graves beside the trail, never setting foot in the Promised Land. This is a fictional story about newlyweds, Ben and Cynthy Ann McCade, who joined Ike Falcon’s Wagon Company heading west with hopes of claiming 640 acres of free land in the Willamette Valley, part of what was known as the Oregon Country. Ben saw the journey not only as a great opportunity to own his own land, since his brother was set to inherit the family farm, but also as a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Meanwhile, his young bride struggled with leaving her friends and family behind in Harmon, Missouri, knowing she might never see them again.This is a coming-of-age story, especially for seventeen-year-old Cynthy Ann, who is young, naïve, and has yet to discover her true strength. Intertwined with Ben and Cynthy Ann’s story are those of other colorful characters, each with their own tale to tell, who chose to make the 2,000-mile journey for their own reasons. Coming from all walks of life, they became a community on wheels over the six months they traveled together, sharing wondrous experiences they could never have imagined, an adventure known as 'Seeing the Elephant.' They grew seasoned and wise, learning what they were made of and adapting to whatever the day (or night) threw at them, whether it was rivers to cross, mountains to climb, deserts, dust, drought, or disease. But there were plenty of good times as well, traveling through the varied landscape of the wide-open frontier, sharing their dreams of the future they hoped to build once they reached the Promise Land.