In the first, we see that the era that the boy lived was of little technology, we can also notice that Daniel lived a situation in which he had to put the proof of experience to save the life of his mother, facing his fears and going out there in the cold "He had to find firewood" and "Daniel was scared. I wondered if they would ever reach Oregon by the end of 1861." are facts that prove.
In the second, we can see that Bob lived and an era with technologies in his favor, after all he is calling the Chicago Power Company to fix the oven so that his mother could feel heat. Both texts suggest that mothers are at risk for life because they are not warm body temperature.