The Pilgrimage

Jessie and Emma Heath, orphaned sisters from Missouri who connect for a time with the Donner Party, are irrepressible survivors in this engaging account of this life along the Oregon Trail in 1846. Told mainly by Emma, the 12-year-old, tomboyish younger sister whose goal is to settle on a farm, the story centers on beautiful 17-year-old Jessie. Bent on Christianizing the Indians, Jessie girds her loins with missionary fortitude, bewildering the flock of men who would happily shackle her in matrimony. Fleeing their attentions with Emma disguised in boy's clothing as ""brother Emmett,'' the sisters travel on, but their differing expectations are sorely challenged by the advent of a handsome, womanizing trapper, who captures the hearts of both. The feisty, God-fearing young women trek westward, suffering the hardships of hostile terrain, an attack by Cayuse Indians and perfidious behavior by would-be missionaries. An entertaining frontier saga emerges from their earthy, richly humorous experiences, narrated in the authentic voice of a good-natured tomboy. (June 25)