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#RH-15 - "Terrible Trail: The Meek Cutoff, 1845" by Keith Clark and Lowell Tiller - 2nd printing - The Caxton Printers, 1967 - $95.00 Hardbound in tan cloth, stamped in black on the front cover and spine. The book measures approx. 6" x 8.5" and has 244 pages. Beautifully written, the book tells of an important chapter in the settling of the present state of Oregon, and is without a doubt the best researched book on the subject that I've been fortunate enough to read! It narrates the tale of a caravan of some 200 families who chose Stephen Meek, a mountain man who had hunted and trapped through much of this country on previous sojourns, to lead them on a new route to the Willamette Valley, striking due west from Vale. The book attempts to provide the reader with enough information, some of it contradictory, by which one might arrive at a judgment as to whether the outcome of the crossing was the fault of Meek, or the lack of faith of those in his charge, and resultant decisions by the party to change their goal when the going got tough. There are 33 illustrations from photographs, 3 maps plus an endsheet map, a bibliography, an index, and a detailed roster of the names of the pioneers on this journey. The roster of names alone is 70-pages long, and includes birth and death dates and locations (where known), marriage information, children and other family relationships. All in all a valuable reference for anyone interested in Oregon pioneer history, not to mention a gripping and well written story! The condition is VeryGood+, in a VeryGood+ dustjacket. Scarcely any sign of handling is evident with respect to the book cover itself. The jacket has one 1/4" tear at the top of the back panel and is lightly rubbed and soiled along the top margin, however the truly amazing thing is the complete absence of ANY chips! The dustjacket is housed in a protective mylar jacket cover. Looking at the book from the front, one might be fooled to think that it was brand new! The binding is tight, both front and back hinges are intact... almost like new, and the only internal faults are the words "craven party" in red ink and "p. 101... Blue Bucket 113-114" in pencil, both being on the front flyleaf map. The identical rear flyleaf map is entirely without any marks. Otherwise this book is crisp, clean, tight, bright and complete... a joy to behold and own!