Summary

“From Children’s Reminiscences of the Westward Migration” is narrated in the first-person present by Jacob, whose father, Asterion, is the Minotaur. When his wife, Velina, shows the Minotaur Fremont’s Almanac of Uninhabited Lands!, Asterion becomes obsessed with leaving for the Western Territories on the Overland Trail. Velina is opposed to leaving her home and family, but Asterion is insistent. When Velina argues that they have no money for a yoke of oxen, Asterion says that he will pull their wagon on his own. He reminds her of his rodeo days and convinces her of his strength, so she agrees.

The narrative skips ahead a month to show Jacob and his sisters on the Trail with their parents. They had joined the Grouse’s company, which consists...