A man named Conner was signing people up for a wagon train going to Oregon, leaving in the spring. Conner had a flyer that made it seem like a paradise. Seth had one of the flyers and showed it to his wife, Alice, at supper one night. They talked it over for a month before they decided to go west with the wagon train.
Seth already had a wagon and a team of young oxen that were broke to a double yoke. Seth's blacksmith tools would be loaded into the wagon, with room for supplies, bedding, and one change of clothes. He would make all the furniture they would need once they settled into their new home in Oregon. That was their plan.