Oregon Trail: Definition from Answers.com

Oregon Trail
IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape)
Location	Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon
Established	1978
Governing body	National Park Service

Pioneers traveled across the Oregon Trail, one of the main overland migration routes on the North American continent. The eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers on the California Trail and Mormon Trail which used much of the same trail before turning off to their separate destinations. To meet the needs for water, grass and fire 'wood' (sometimes they had to use buffalo chips, willows or sage brush) the trail followed various rivers and streams across half a continent. In addition the network of trails required a minimum of road work to be made passable for wagons. They traveled in wagons, pack trains, on horseback, on foot, by raft and by boat to establish new farms, lives and businesses in the Oregon Territory. This territory was jointly governed by both the United States of America and Britain during the 19th century. ^[1] The five to six month journey spanned over half the continent as the wagon trail proceeded about 2,000 miles (3,200 kilometers) west through territories and land later to become six U.S. states: Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and Oregon. Between 1841 and 1869, the Oregon Trail was used by settlers, ranchers, farmers and business men migrating to the Pacific Northwest of what is now the United States. Once the first transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, the use of this trail by long distance travelers diminished as the railroad slowly replaced it.

History

Lewis and Clark Expedition

The first land route across what is now the United States was partially-mapped by the Lewis and Clark from 1804 to 1806. They believed they had found a practical route to the west coast. However, the pass they used initially going west through the Rocky Mountains, Lolo Pass, turned out to be much too difficult for wagons to pass through without a lot of road building work. On the return trip they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River to the Clearwater River and then overland up the Blackfoot River and from there over the continental divide and on to the head of the Missouri River--a shorter, faster route. Unfortunately, this route had the disadvantage of being controlled by the Blackfoot Indians who wanted no trespassers crossing their territory that could trade iron age goods or firearms to their enemies. Of course Lewis and Clark's expedition had only seen a narrow slice of the upper Missouri river drainage and part of the Columbia river drainage. But these were the two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains and both were too rough and wild in parts for easy use. They 'confirmed', for all practical purposes, that there was no 'easy' route from the east to the west coast as Thomas Jefferson had hoped.

The fast and dangerous trip that Lewis and Clark took down the Columbia river by boat would mirror the experience of many of the early Oregon emigrants. Part of the western Oregon trail had been blazed by them. Even before the Lewis and Clark expedition had returned to St. Louis, Missouri one of their members, John Colter was asked and released to scout for possible trapping possibilities. The first written account of the Lewis and Clark expedition was surprisingly done by one of the men who had accompanied them--Patrick Gass (his personal Journal was published in 1807). ^[2] Lewis and Clark's much more extensive official report of the expedition didn't come out for another seven years--1814. The stories told by the participants whet the appetite of many adventurous men. Their descriptions of the vast numbers of beavers abounding in the mountain valleys almost immediately inspired several fur trading companies to organize and start sending trappers and fur traders into the upper Missouri river drainage and Pacific Northwest area.

Astorians

In 1810, fur trader and entrepreneur John Jacob Astor of the American Fur Company outfitted an expedition (known popularly as the Astor Expedition or Astorians) under Wilson Price Hunt to find a possible overland supply route and trapping territory for fur trading posts. Another expedition sailed to the mouth of the Columbia aboard the ill fated ship Tonquin to bring men and supplies to the new Fort Astoria (in Oregon), they were to build there. Many of Astor's partners and staff were former employees of the British North West Company, known as Nor'Westers.

Fearing attack by the Blackfoot Indians, the overland expedition veered south of the Lewis and Clark route into what is now Wyoming and in the process passed through Union Pass into what is now Jackson Hole, Wyoming. From there they went over the Teton Mountains by Teton Pass and then down to the Snake River in Idaho. Leaving their horses and trying to use the Snake River for transport they discovered to their dismay that many water falls and impassable rapids made this impossible. They had to cache most of their goods and walk the rest of the way to the Columbia River. They showed that much of route along the Snake River plain and across to the Columbia was passable by wagons with minimal improvements.

Robert Stuart, one of the American Fur Company partners, who had come on the ill fated ship Tonquin met the overland party at Fort Astoria. After leaving Fort Astoria and some of their supplies the Tonquin went to Puget Sound to trade with the Indians. While there it was overwhelmed by Indians and blown up--killing the crew and many Indians. To get a message back to Astor about the destruction of the Tonquin, Hunt's observations and the need for a new supply ship Stuart and about six men returned back east by initially retracing Hunt's path up the Columbia and Snake rivers. Going even further south than Hunt had, the Stuart party stumbled upon South Pass: a wide, low pass through the Rockies in Wyoming. After a detour to Jackson Hole (caused by an Indian scare) the party continued via the Sweetwater River, North Platte River (where they spent the winter of 1812-13) and Platte River to the Missouri River. They finally arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in the spring of 1813. The route they had used turned out to be potentially a practical wagon route scouted from west to east, and Stuart's journals were a meticulous account of it.^[3] Unfortunately, because of the War of 1812 and the lack of U.S. fur trading posts in the Oregon country most of the possible route of the Oregon trail was unused and forgotten for nearly 10 years.

After Stuart's departure, under pressure from the War of 1812 and the threat of possible capture, American Fur Company staff at Fort Astoria 'sold' the fort, supplies, and their collected furs to British North West Company. The Nouth West Co. took over all the fur trading outposts the Astorians had established on the Columbia and Snake river, hired most of Astor's staff in Oregon and started other fur trading posts.

Fort Astoria was returned to nominal United States control by the 1814 Treaty of Ghent at the end of the war, although the North West Company's operation at the fort, which they had renamed Fort George, continued uninterrupted. There were continuing legal disputes over whether Fort Astoria had been 'captured' or 'sold'. The North West Company became the dominant force in the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest, a status which was consolidated even more after its merger with the Hudson's Bay Company in 1821 and their expansion of a network of fur posts in the area.

The North West Co. and Hudson Bay Co.

In August 1811, three months after Fort Astor was established, David Thompson (explorer) and his team of British North West company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria. He had just completed an epic journey through much of western Canada and most of the Columbia river drainage system. He was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. In 1812 the North West company took over Astor's forts and started establishing more of their own. By 1821, when armed hostilities broke out with their Hudson Bay rivals, they were forced (by the British government) to merge with the Hudson Bay Co. The British, through the Hudson Bay Co., had nearly complete control of the Pacific Northwest. The Hudson Bay Co. tried, more or less successfully, to discourage any U.S. trappers from doing any significant trapping in the Pacific Northwest.

The Hudson Bay Company built a new much larger Fort Vancouver in 1824 slightly upstream of Fort Astoria (now called Fort George) on the Washington side of the Columbia (they were hoping the Columbia would be the likely Canada U.S. border). Fort Nisqually (1833-1869) was built near the present town of DuPont, Washington and was the first Hudson Bay Co. Fort on Puget sound in what would become the state of Washington. Fort Victoria, erected by Hudson’s Bay Company in 1843, was the headquarters of HBC operations in British Columbia. After the settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute in 1846 the fort settlements eventually grew into the modern day Victoria, British Columbia, the capital city of British Columbia. By 1840 The Hudson Bay Co. had three forts: Fort Hall (purchased by HBC from Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth in 1837), Fort Boise and old Fort Walla Walla on the Oregon Trail route as well as Fort Vancouver nears its terminus in the Willamette Valley. With minor exceptions they all gave substantial and often desperately needed aid to the early pioneers.

When the fur trade slowed way down in 1840, due to fashion changes in men's hats, the value of the Pacific Northwest to the British (HBC) was seriously diminished. Canada had very few potential settlers who were willing to move 2000 miles to the Pacific Northwest, although several hundred ex-trappers, British and American, and their families did start settling in Oregon, Washington and California.

When overland American missionaries and early settlers (initially mostly ex-trappers) started showing up in Oregon around 1824 the Hudson Bay Co. through their factor Dr. John McLoughlin gave very substantial help including employment till they could get established. McLoughlin, despite working for the British based Hudson Bay Co., gave extensive help in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food, supplies and seed even to United States emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived in Oregon tired, wore out, nearly penniless, with insufficient food or supplies just as winter was coming on. McLoughlin would later be hailed as the Father of Oregon.

Great American Desert

Westward expansion did not begin immediately, however. Reports from expeditions in 1806 by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike and in 1819 by Major Stephen Long described the Great Plains as "unfit for human habitation" and as "The Great American Desert". These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured up by terms like "desert" were tempered by the many reports of vast herds of bison that somehow managed to live in this "desert". ^[4] In the 1840s, the Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were illegal for homesteading till well after 1846--initially it was set aside by the U.S. government for Indian settlements. The next available land for general settlement, Oregon, appeared to be free for the taking and had fertile lands, disease free climate (yellow fever and malaria were prevalent in much of the Missouri and Mississippi river drainage then) extensive uncut, unclaimed forests, big rivers, and potential seaports and only a few nominally British settlers. All one had to do was show up (a 'mere' 2000 mile, six month journey across half a continent), claim what you could handle and start working and it could be yours. Thousands accepted the challenges and the opportunities.

Fur Traders and Trappers

The route of the Oregon Trail began to be worked out as early as 1805 by explorers, trappers and fur traders. Fur trappers, often working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking for beaver in the 25+ years (1812-1840) the fur trade was active. Men like Manuel Lisa, Robert Stuart, William Henry Ashley, Jedidiah Smith, William Sublette, Andrew Henry, Thomas Fitzpatrick, Kit Carson, Jim Bridger, Peter Skene Ogden, David Thompson (explorer) and hundreds of other Mountain men besides discovering and naming (often after their friends--who else?) many of the rivers and mountains in the inter-mountain west and Pacific Northwest wrote often of their travels and were available as guides, consultants etc. when the trail started to become open for general travel. The fur trade business ended just a as the pioneering business began--1840.

After 1821 the Hudson's Bay Company sent large annual parties from the Snake River plain country and into Wyoming. The Oregon trail west of the Rocky Mountains remained nominally in control of Hudson's Bay Company into the 1840s.^[5]

In fall of 1823 Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south from the Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River in Wyoming. They were looking from a safe location to spend the winter. Smith reasoned since the Sweetwater flowed east it must eventually run into the Missouri River. Trying to transport their extensive fur collection down the Sweetwater, they soon found after a near diastorous canoe crash that it was too swift and rough for water passage. On July 4 1824 they cached their furs under a dome of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long trek to the Missouri river. Finally arriving back into 'civilization'; they bought pack horses (on credit) and retrieved their furs. They had re-discovered the route that Robert Stuart had taken in 1813--eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick (and others) was often hired as a guide when the fur trade started sputtering out starting in 1840.

The trail began to be regularly used by fur traders, missionaries, and a few general travelers starting in 1825. In 1825 the first fur trader rendezvous occurred on the Henry's fork (Green River) on the Wyoming, Utah border. The supplies were brought in by a large party using pack trains which were then used to haul out the fur bales. They normally used the North side of the Platte river--the same route used by the so called Mormon Trail. For the next 15 years this annual event, in different locations, allowed the fur traders to supply the needs of the trappers and their Indian allies without having the expense of building or maintaining a fort. In 1830 William Sublette, Fur Trader, brought the first wagons up the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater rivers before crossing over South Pass, Wyoming to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green River near future town of Big Piney, Wyoming. Thus, establishing the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was passable by wagons.

Fur traders tried to use the Platte river for transport but soon gave up in frustration as it was too shallow and unpredictable to be of use. The Platte was "too thick to drink and too thin to plow" and too shallow to float a canoe very long.

The Missionaries

In 1834 the Dalles Methodist Mission was founded in Oregon Country by the Reverend Jason Lee to help the local Indians. By the 1840s this was a major stop on the Oregon trail and they were mostly helping emigrants. Before 1846 when the Barlow Road was completed the Dalles was the end of the line for wagon traffic which could not go over or around Mt. Hood. At The Dalles, Oregon early travelers traded their oxen and loaded their wagons and goods on rafts or boats for traveling down the Columbia to the Willamette Valley. The hazardous trip down river took several days and cost up to $80.00/family. A narrow, strenuous path over Lolo Pass (Oregon) allowed them to get their livestock from the Dalles over the Mt. Hood mountains to Oregon City, Oregon

In 1836 Narcissa Whitman and with Eliza Hart Spalding (wife of Henry Spalding) become the first European-American woman to cross the Rocky Mountains on their way to found the Protestant Whitman Mission with husband Dr. Marcus Whitman near modern day Walla Walla, Washington.^[6] They accompanied American fur traders going to the 1836 Rendezvous on Green River Wyoming and then switched to Hudson Bay fur traders (who were also at the rendezvous) going west across Idaho and Oregon to Fort Walla Walla (in Washington). The Whitmans brought the first wagon to reach Fort Hall, Idaho where it was abandoned at the urging of their guides. They used pack animals for the rest of the trip to Fort Boise, Fort Walla Walla and then floated by boat (with a few portages) on to Fort Vancouver to get supplies.

Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams, traversed the Oregon trail by wagon and pack train in 1838 and established missions in the Willamette Valley and at various locations in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

Free land

The biggest driving force for settlement of Oregon was the 'offer' of 'free land'. Part of this land hunger was stimulated by bills (that didn't ever pass in their original form) submitted in the U.S. Congress by western "Boosters" to give everyone who went to Oregon territory 640 acres free land plus more for each family member.

In 1843, the settlers of the Willamette Valley by a vote of 52 to 50 drafted a constitution that organized the land claim process in the prospective state. Married couples were to be allowed to claim up to 640 acres (a "section" which is a square mile, or 260 hectares) at no cost and singles could claim 320 acres (130 ha). Since they were only a provisional government with no authority British or U.S.--none of these claims were valid under U.S. or British law, but they were honored when Oregon became a U.S. possession. All required the land to be lived on and "worked" for a period of years. ^[7]

In 1846 the Oregon Treaty was signed with Britain and a new Canadian-U.S. boundary was established at the 49th parallel. The joint occupancy of the Oregon territory was now ended.

In 1848, the United States formally declared what was left of the Oregon Country a U.S. territory, after it effectively partitioned it in 1846. The Donation Land Act of 1850 superseded the earlier laws, but it did recognize the earlier claims. Settlers after 1850 could be granted half a section (320 acres) if married and a quarter section if single. A four-year residence and cultivation was required. In 1854, the land was no longer free (although still cheap—initially $1.25/acre, or $3.09/ha, the same price most other federal land was sold at.).

The Peoria Party

On May 1, 1839 a group of eighteen men from Peoria, Illinois set out with the intention to colonize the Oregon Country on behalf of the United States of America and drive out the Hudson Bay Co. operating there. The men of the Peoria Party were among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail. The men were initially led by Thomas J. Farnham and called themselves the Oregon Dragoons. They carried a large flag emblazoned with their motto "OREGON OR THE GRAVE". Although the group split up near Bents Fort on the South Platte and Farnham was deposed as a leader, nine of their members eventually did reach Oregon. ^[8]

Bidwell-Bartleson party

In 1841 the Bidwell-Bartleson party were the first emigrant group credited with using the Oregon Trail to Oregon and the California Trail to California. The original group splits at Soda Springs, Idaho and 36 proceed on to Oregon and about 24 head for California.

The California group misses the start of the Humboldt River across Nevada and are forced to abandon their wagons in Nevada but do eventually make it to California. In some ways this is a significant discovery since the Humboldt river is poorly known to most potential ex-trapper guides since it had very few beavers and was seldom trapped. Returning members will help map the California trail better.

The Oregon group after crossing the Snake River plain in Idaho with their wagons abandon them at Fort Boise and pack their animals on to the Whitman’s mission at Waiilatpu near old fort Walla Walla. Most proceed from there by boat or raft down the Columbia to the Willamette Valley

Elm Grove Expedition

On May 16, 1842, the second organized wagon train on the Oregon Trail set out from Elm Grove, Missouri, with more than 100 pioneers (members of the party later disagreed over the size of the party, one stating 160 adults and children were in the party, while another counted only 105). The party was nominally led by Elijah White, appointed Indian Sub-Agent to Oregon, the first U.S. official in the region (never confirmed by Congress). The group broke up after Fort Hall (no more Indian threats) with most of the single men hurrying ahead and the families tagging along later. Despite company policy to discourage U.S. emigration, John McLoughlin, Factor of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver, offered the American settlers food and farming equipment on credit, being unwilling to watch able-bodied people starve.^{[citations needed]}

Opening of the trail

In what was dubbed "The Great Migration of 1843" or the "Wagon Train of 1843",^[9][10] an estimated 700-1000 immigrants made it to Oregon. They were led initially by John Gantt, a former US Army Captain and fur trader. He contracted to guide the train to Fort Hall for $1 per person. Almost immediately they encountered problems with the 2-3,000 head of livestock being herded with the train. It was finally decided that the train would be split into a regular wagon train and a "cow column" following behind. Jesse Applegate commanded the cow column who managed by better time management to keep up with the regular train. Marcus Whitman, had made a fantastic mid-winter trip from Oregon to St. Louis to appeal a decision by his Mission backers to abandon several of the Oregon missions. He succeeded in convincing them to change their minds and keep the existing missions open. He joined the wagon train(s) at the Platte River for the return trip. When the pioneers were told at Fort Hall by the Hudson Bay Co. people there that they should abandon their wagons there and use pack animals the rest of the way, he disagreed and volunteered to lead the wagons the rest of the way to Oregon. He believed the trains were large enough they could build whatever road improvements they needed to make the trip with their wagons. He was proved right as they found or made a passable wagon trail across Idaho and Oregon. The biggest obstacle they faced was the Blue Mountains (Oregon) where they had to clear a trail through heavy timber--which they did. Nearly all of the 1843 settlers arrived in the Willamette Valley by early October. A passable wagon trail now existed from the Missouri River to The Dalles, Oregon. By 1846 when the Barlow Road was completed around Mt. Hood there existed a passable trail from the Missouri river to the Willamette Valley.

In the coming years it is estimated that 350,000 to 400,000 pioneers followed over the trail and its two main off-shoots--the California and Mormon trails. By 1849, up to 50,000/ year used the trail after gold was discovered in California in 1848. The trail was still in use during the Civil War, but traffic declined in 1855 when the Panama Railroad across the Isthmus of Panama was completed and again after 1869 when the transcontinental railroad was completed. The trail continued to be used into the 1890s, and modern highways eventually paralleled large portions of the trail, including U.S. Highway 26 which follows the trail for much of its length.

Oregon Trail Competitors

There were other possible migration paths for early settlers to California or Oregon besides the Oregon trail prior to the establishment of the transcontinental railroads.

The longest trip was the approximately 13,000 mile trip on a uncomfortable sailing ship rounding the treacherous Cape Horn of South America and then sailing on to California or Oregon. This trip typically took four to five months and cost about $350 dollars.

Other routes involved taking a ship to Colon, Panama and a strenuous, disease ridden, five to seven day trip by canoe and mule over the Isthmus of Panama before catching a ship from Panama City, Panama to Oregon or California. This trip could be done from the east coast theoretically in less that two months if all ship connections were made without waits and typically cost about $450/person. Catching a fatal disease was a distinct possibility as Ulysses S. Grant in 1852 learned when his unit of about 600 soldiers and some of their dependents traversed the Isthmus and lost about 120 men, women and children. ^[11] This passage was considerably speeded up and made safer in 1855 when the Panama Railroad was completed at terrible cost in money and life across the Isthmus and the treacherous, disease ridden 50 mile trip could be done in less than a day.

Another route established by Nicolas Vanderbilt in 1849 was across Nicaragua. The 119 mile long San Juan River to the Atlantic Ocean helps drain the 100 mile long Lake Nicaragua. From the western shore of Lake Nicaragua it is only about 12 miles to the Pacific Ocean. Vanderbilt decided to use steam ships from the U.S. to the San Juan river, small steam launches on the San Juan river, boats across Lake Nicaragua, and a stage coach to the Pacific where connections could be made with another ship headed to California, Oregon, etc.. Vanderbilt, by under cutting fares to the Isthmus of Panama and stealing many of the Panama Railroad workers, managed to attract roughly 30% of the California bound steam boat traffic. All his connections in Nicaragua were never completely worked out before the Panama railroad completion in 1855 killed the whole project.

Another possible route consisted of taking a boat to Mexico traversing the country and then catching another boat out of a Acapulco, Mexico to California etc. This route was used by some adventurous travelers but was not too popular because of the difficulties of making connections and the often hostile population along the way.

The Gila Trail going along the Gila River in Arizona, across the Colorado River and then across the Sonora Desert in California was scouted by Stephen Kearny's troops and later by Captain Philip St. George Cooke's Mormon Battalion 1n 1846. This route was used by many gold hungry miners in 1849 and later but suffered from the disadvantage that you had to find a way across the very wide and very dry Sonora Desert. It was used by many as a winter crossing to California, despite its many disadvantages.

Routes

As the trail developed it became marked by numerous cutoffs and shortcuts from Missouri to Oregon. The basic route follows river valleys as grass and water were absolutely necessary. Starting initially in Independence/Kansas City, the initial trail followed the Santa Fe Trail south of the Wakarusa River. After crossing The Hill at Lawrence, Kansas, it crossed the Kansas River by ferry or boats near Topeka, Kansas, and angled to Nebraska paralleling the Little Blue River until reaching the south side of the Platte River, where it traveled along the Great Platte River Road. About 200 miles from the Missouri river the trail passed Fort Kearny (est. 1848 by U.S. Army)--the first chance to buy emergency supplies, do repairs, get medical aid or mail a letter. It followed the wide, slow moving, shallow and muddy Platte ("two miles wide and two inches deep"), till it had to cross the tricky South Platte River before continuing along the the North Platte River. At the junction of the Laramie River and North Platte river the next stop was the adobe walled Fort Laramie (an old fur trading fort named Fort John ^[13] till bought by the army in 1849 for $4,000)--near Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

Fort Laramie was the the end of most Cholera outbreaks which killed thousands along the Platte from 1849 to 1855. Cholera was a unseen and deadly killer caused (as later discovered) by cholera germs in fecal contaminated water. Cholera caused massive diarrhea leading to massive water loss and death in as few as 12 hours. In those days its cause was unknown (the germ theory was not yet developed), its cure (massive re-hydration with water salt, sugar solutions) was unknown and it was often fatal. Apparently the swift flowing mountain water prevented the cholera germs from spreading.

Continuing up the North Platte and crossing many small swift flowing creeks they traversed over to the Sweetwater River which would have to be followed and crossed up to nine times before it left the Sweetwater and passed near South Pass Wyoming. This easy pass over the continental divide was one of the keys to the Oregon Trail. South Pass was a half way point on the trail. From South Pass the trail followed Big Sandy creek(s) till it hit the Green River. The trail approximately parallels the Green to the Blacks Fork of the Green and Fort Bridger Wyoming. The trail then crossed the treacherous Green river which was usually at high water in July and August and crossed over to the Bear River valley which was followed till the Bear turned south. At this junction the trail went almost due west to the Portneuf River valley that lead to the Snake River valley. Fort Hall, an old fur trading post est. 1834, was the next milestone on the Snake. The swift and deep Snake would usually be crossed twice--once to get on the 'easier' north shore of the Snake River Plain and once again to get to the south shore. The trail along the Snake with its lava flows, treacherous access to Snake river canyon for water and the rumble of American Falls, Shoshone Falls, and Twin Falls that could be heard for miles as they were passed would long be remembered. The trail eventually reached the lush Boise River valley before it crossed the Snake again near old Fort Boise, Idaho (another old fur trading post, est. 1836). Once across the Snake near Fort Boise the weary travelers traveled across what would become the state of Oregon to the Blue Mountains (Oregon). The 1843 settlers cut a wagon road over these mountains making them passable for the first time to wagons. For five years the trail went to the Whitman mission near old Walla Walla till 1847 when the Whitman's were murdered by Indians. After the closure of the mission the trail by-passed the closed mission and headed almost due west. Others followed the Columbia west,crossing the Umatilla River, John Day River, and Deschutes River before arriving at The Dalles, Oregon. Arriving at the Columbia and stopped by Mt. Hood, some gave up their wagons and went by boat down the Columbia River.

From there, several branches and route variations over time led to the Willamette Valley, including boats down the Columbia River, the Santiam Wagon Road, the Applegate Trail and—the most popular route—the Barlow Road. The Barlow Road was carved though the forest around Mt. Hood in 1846 as a toll road at $5.00/wagon $0.10/livestock. It was rough and steep but still much cheaper and safer than floating your goods and/or wagon and family down the treacherous and dangerous Columbia.

While the first few parties organized and departed from Elm Grove, the Oregon Trail's generally designated starting point was Independence, Missouri or Westport Kansas on the Missouri River. Several towns along the Missouri River after 1843 had feeder trails that lead across Kansas and became starting points for some. These places include Weston, Missouri; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Atchison, Kansas; St. Joseph, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; and others.

The Oregon Trail's nominal termination point was Oregon City, at the time the proposed capital of the Oregon Territory. However, many settlers branched off or stopped short of this goal and settled at convenient or promising locations along the trail. Commerce with pioneers going further west greatly assisted these early settlements in getting established and launched local micro-economies critical to these settlements' prosperity.

At many places along the trail, alternate routes called "cutoffs" were established either to shorten the trail or to get around difficult terrain. The Lander road (est. 1858) and Sublette cutoffs (est. 1844) provided shorter routes through the mountains than the main route, bypassing Fort Bridger. In later years, the Salt Lake cutoff ( est. 1848) provided a route to Salt Lake City and then back to the California or Oregon trail.

At dangerous or difficult river crossings, ferrys or toll bridges were set up and "bad" places on the trail were either 'fixed' or by-passed. Several toll roads were constructed. Gradually the trail became easier with the average trip (as recorded in numerous diaries) dropping from about 160 days in 1849 to 140 days 10 years later.

Numerous other trails followed the Oregon Trail for much of its length. These include the Mormon Trail from Illinois to Utah, and the California Trail to the gold fields of California. Because it was more a network of trails more than a single trail there were numerous variations with other trails eventually established on both sides of the Platte, North Platte, Snake and even the Columbia rivers. With literally thousands of people and thousands of livestock traveling in a fairly small time slot the travelers had to spread out to find clean water, wood, good campsites and grass. The dust kicked up by the many travelers was a constant complaint and where the terrain would allow it there may be 20-50 wagons all traveling more or less abreast to minimize eating each others dust.

Remnants of the trail in Idaho, Kansas, Oregon, and Wyoming, have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the entire trail is a designated National Historic Trail (listed as the Oregon National Historic Trail).

Landmarks

Many rock formations became famous landmarks that the Oregon Trail pioneers used to navigate as well as leave messages for pioneers following behind them. The first landmarks that the pioneers encountered were in western Nebraska, such as Courthouse and Jail Rocks, Chimney Rock, and Scotts Bluff. In Wyoming, names of pioneers can be seen carved into a landmark bluff called Register Cliff and at Independence Rock. One Wyoming landmark along the trail, Ayres Natural Bridge, is now a state park of the same name.

Ash Hollow, Nebraska

Court House and Jail House Rocks, Nebraska

Chimney Rock, Nebraska

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Travel equipment

The Oregon Trail was too long and arduous for the standard Conestoga wagons used in the Eastern United States and on the Santa Fe Trail at that time for most freight transport. Their 6000 pound (~2,700 kg) capacity was found to be larger than needed and the large teams they required could not navigate the often crooked corners on the Oregon trail.

This led to the rapid development of the prairie schooners. The wagon was approximately half the size (roughly 2,500 pound capacity; bed: 11' long, 4' wide and 2' high) of the big Conestogas but was also manufactured in quantity by companies like Studebaker etc.. The canvas covers of the wagons were doubled and treated with linseed oil or painted to keep out the rain. However, the covers nearly always eventually leaked some anyway. In practice it was found that the 'standard' farm wagon built by a company or wagon maker of good reputation usually worked just as well as so called prairie schooners and had only to be fitted with bows and a canvas cover to be ready to start. Wagons were generally reliable if maintained but sometimes broke down and had to be repaired along the way. Some repairs were as drastic as sawing the wagon in half and converting it into a two wheeled cart.^{[citation needed]}

The recommended amount of food to take for an adult was 150 pounds (70 kg) of flour, 20 pounds (9 kg) of corn meal, 50 pounds (25 kg) of bacon, 40 pounds (20 kg) of sugar, 10 pounds (5 kg) of coffee, 15 pounds (7 kg) of dried fruit, 5 pounds (2 kg) of salt, half a pound (0.25 kg) of saleratus (baking soda), 2 pounds (1 kg) of tea, 5 pounds (2 kg) of rice, and 15 pounds (7 kg) of beans. This amount of food was often shortened if beef cattle were taken along for food or the travelers planned on killing and jerking some of the meat of the herds of buffalo often found along the way on the early part of the trail. Game could usually not be depended on for a regular source of food but when found it was relished as a change in a very monotonous diet. Typically antelope, buffalo, sage hens, trout, and occasionally elk, bear and deer meat were added to the menu. When they got to the Snake river and Columbia river areas they would often trade with the Indians for Salmon--a welcome treat. Some families took along milk cows, pigs, chickens (penned in crates tied to the wagons), and sheep as an additional walking food supply. Additional food like pickles or pickled eggs were occasionally carried but food preservation was very primitive without any refrigeration and canned goods expensive and only in a unreliable state of development. Only a few things could be safely kept for the several months a trip took.

Other supplies typically taken included:

Cooking utensils like dutch oven, pans, pots, spits for meat, coffee pot, ladles. Small stoves were carried but were often jettisoned as too heavy and unnecessary. Tobacco for use or for trading with the Indians. Bandages and liniments. Buckets for carrying water. Candles, lanterns, candle molds. Axes and/or hatchet, cross cut saws, picks and shovels to make a road, or rafts where necessary. Knives--belt or clasp knife for most men and butcher and/or skinning knives with whetstone. Wood working tools like a set of files, awls, augers, hammers, nails, planes and various saws were commonly carried. Rifle and shotgun were used for hunting game and protection. Extra powder and lead were also carried. At least one water barrel, canteens, water bags were normally carried. The barrel was usually nearly empty to minimize weight, only on long waterless crossings was it filled. Eating utensils like spoons, forks, tin plates and cups were almost universally used. At least two changes of clothes and three pairs of boots per person (walking through rough country was hard on shoes), socks, shirts, pants or dresses, scarves, belts, hats or sunbonnets, gloves, rain slicker, coats, jackets, rubberized ground cloth were considered desirable by nearly all. Wash days only occurred when a good camp spot was found and may only occur once or twice a month, so clothes got plenty dirty as did the people wearing them. Writing quills, ink and notepaper for recording a diary (about 1 in 200 did) or writing a letter. A Bible and occasionally a few other books. Tents, poles, stakes, blankets, pillows, canvas for sleeping on-—in good weather they often just slept outside without tent or wagon. Occasionally a mattress was carried in the wagon for sleeping or resting while moving, particularly if a pregnant wife or very young children were along. Wagons had no springs and were very rough riding. Mention is often made of a hammock like bed being made for injured passengers that could ride above the wagon bed without all the shocks of riding. Despite the pictures in the movies almost nobody rode in the wagons--too dusty, too rough and too hard on the oxen. Walking and working 12-14 hours a day was "normal" for most 19th century families whether on the trail or on their farms. Occasionally a butter churn or spinning wheel were carried, stools and little else in way of furniture (too heavy). Wagon jacks to raise wheels for greasing, wheel replacement etc. were carried by nearly all. Wagon maintenance was required nearly every day. Grease for wheels. Extra chains and 100 feet of heavy rope to haul wagons up or down hills or replace or repair broken items. Spare parts for the wagon like kingbolts (held front axle and wagon bed together) linchpins, and extra wheel spokes. Awls, scissors, pins, needles and thread to repair clothes, shoes, harnesses, equipment and occasionally people. Spare leather used for repairs. Goggles to keep dust out of eyes were used by some. Boxes or baskets (often preferred by season travelers as being lighter) to hold items in and canvas to cover them. Saddles, bridles, hobbles, ropes etc. if you had a horse or riding mule and most men did. Extra harness parts. Steel shoes for oxen, mules or horses. Tar was often carried to 'repair' an injured oxen's hoof. Flint and steel were used to start fires. Tools of your profession whether blacksmith, carpenter, farmer etc.

In the case on an emergency roughly half (by weight) of this long list of "stuff" could be and sometime was abandoned on the side of the road. Wagons were considered desirable since you could carry all this 'extra' 'luxury stuff' and didn't have to reload it on a cantankerous mule or ox every morning, ^[14]

Statistics

Immigration to Oregon Territory increased vastly between 1840 and 1852, the year of greatest migration. According to Oregon Trail Statistics by William E. Hill, the figures rocketed from 13 in 1840 to 1,475 four years later, nearly doubled the following year, and hit 4,000 in 1847. Emigration declined considerably prior to 1850, when 6,000 people trekked to Oregon. In 1851 the number dropped again (3,600) but sustained a huge comeback with 10,000 in 1852. (That same year some 60,000 people emigrated to Utah and California, a stand-alone record.) Another 13,500 people moved to Oregon in 1853-54, with 5,000 more making the trip as of 1859, the year of statehood.

In the 20 years from 1840-1859 some 52,000 emigrants moved to Oregon, but nearly five times that number opted for California or Utah.

Though the numbers appear significant—and they were, especially in context of the times—vastly more people chose to remain at home in the 31 states. Part of the explanation is attributed to scout Kit Carson who reputedly said, "The cowards never started and the weak died on the way." According to some sources, one tenth of the emigrants perished on the way west.^[15]

Legacy

The western expansion and the Oregon Trail in particular inspired many songs that told of the settlers' experiences. "Uncle Sam's Farm," encouraged east-coast dwellers to "Come right away. Our lands they are broad enough, so don't be alarmed. Uncle Sam is rich enough to give us all a farm." In "Western Country," the singer exhorts that "if I had no horse at all, I'd still be a hauling, far across those Rocky Mountains, goin' away to Oregon."

When purchasing a new vehicle from 1995-1998, Oregonians could purchase special commemorative Oregon Trail license plates for their cars for an added fee.^[16]

Video games

The story of the Oregon Trail inspired a popular educational computer game of the same name, The Oregon Trail. The game became widely popular in the 1980's and early 1990's and although it was originally made to be educational, children played it as a recreational game as well. Several sequels to the game were also released, such as The Oregon Trail II, The Yukon Trail and The Amazon Trail.

The game resurfaced in 2008 when Gameloft created an updated version for cell phones.^[17]

TV show

The Oregon Trail was briefly made into a television series that ran from September 21, 1977 - October 26, 1977 on NBC. The show starred Tony Becker, Darleen Carr, Charles Napier, Rod Taylor and Ken Swofford. Although it was canceled after 6 episodes, the remaining episodes were still aired on BBC 2 in the U.K. ^[18]

See also

• Kansas Territory (1854-1861)
• Nebraska Territory (1854-1867)
• The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life (1847) by Francis Parkman
• Landmarks of the Nebraska Territory
• Emigrant Trail in Wyoming

References

Further reading

• Crawford, Medorem (1897). Journal of Medorem Crawford: an account of his trip across the plains with the Oregon pioneers of 1842, Star Job Office. OCLC 5001642, http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=11.
• Hanson, T J (2001). Western Passage, Bookmasters, Inc. ISBN 0-9705847-0-9. "Well researched fiction".
• Hewitt, Randall (1863). Notes by the way : memoranda of a journey across the plains, from Dundee, Ill., to Olympia, W. T. May 7, to November 3, 1862, Washington Standard. OCLC 51465106, http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=38.
• Smedley, William (1916). Across the plains in '62. OCLC 4981167, http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=58.
• Ward, D. B. (1911). Across the plains in 1853, Ward. OCLC 2931824, http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=57.
• Williams, Joseph (1921). Narrative of a tour from the state of Indiana to the Oregon Territory in the years 1841-2, Standard. OCLC 2095243, http://www.secstate.wa.gov/history/publications_detail.aspx?p=59.
• Francis Parkman, The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life (U.Virginia)
• The Oregon Trail: Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life, Francis Parkman (Project Gutenberg]

External links

• Oregon or the Grave
• Historic Sites on the Oregon Trail
• Oregon Trail History Library
• Oregon Trail: The Trail West
• Oregon National Historic Trail Home Page
• Oregon Trail Map 1843
• Mitchell Map of 1846
• Music of the Oregon Trail
• Photos and History of the Oregon Trail in Central Wyoming
• Oregon Trail history from Oregon Department of Transportation (with maps)
• Oregon Overland Book