Patti Hudson

Above Snakes Patti Hudson

Above Snakes vividly brings to life the little known story of the Utter-Van Orman wagon train and the deadliest events in the history of the Oregon Trail.

Old Man Munson is afraid he'll never leave Fort Hall. It's too late to expect another wagon train; the soldiers are packing up and leaving it to the Indians already gathering there for the winter. Worn out from months on the trail, his wagon destroyed and his provisions lost, Munson is about to give up hope.

Thirteen-year old Emeline Trimble is also losing hope. Her stepfather is an incompetent wagon master and she's worried they won't make the Blue Mountains before snowfall. The young girl's concern only deepens when they finally reach Fort Hall, find it thick with Indians, the army in retreat and a strange old man begging for a ride. Munson thinks his luck has turned. But he's about to join this late group of travelers as they enter the most desolate stretch of the trail and begin a harrowing 400-mile ordeal that will test the limits of their endurance.

Who among them has what it takes to survive?