Speaker 1: Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast, where I help
Speaker 1: you drift off one fact at a time. I'm your host,
Speaker 1: Benjamin Boster, and today's episode is about the Oregon Trail.
Speaker 1: The Oregon Trail was a two thousand, one hundred and
Speaker 1: seventy mile east west large wheeled wagon route and emigrant
Speaker 1: trail in North America that connected the Missouri River to
Speaker 1: valleys in Oregon Territory. The eastern part of the Oregon
Speaker 1: Trail crossed what is now the states of Kansas, Nebraska,
Speaker 1: and Wyoming. The western half crossed the current states of
Speaker 1: Idaho and Oregon. The Oregon Trail was laid by fur
Speaker 1: traders and trappers from about eighteen eleven to eighteen forty
Speaker 1: and was initially only passable on foot or horseback. By
Speaker 1: eighteen thirty six, when the first migrant wagon train was
Speaker 1: organized in Independence, Missouri, a wagon trail had been cleared
Speaker 1: to Fort Hall, Idaho. Wagon trails were cleared increasingly farther
Speaker 1: west and eventually reached the Willamet Valley in Oregon, at
Speaker 1: which point what came to be called the Oregon Trail
Speaker 1: was complete. Further improvements in the form of bridges, cutoffs,
Speaker 1: ferries and roads made the trip faster and safer from
Speaker 1: starting points in Iowa, Missouri, or Nebraska territory. The routes
Speaker 1: covered along the Lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearney,
Speaker 1: Nebraska Territory. They led to fertile farmlands west of the
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountains. The Oregon Trail and its many offshoots were
Speaker 1: used by about four hundred thousand settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers,
Speaker 1: and business owners and their families to get to the
Speaker 1: area known as Oregon and its surroundings, with traffic especially
Speaker 1: thick from eighteen forty six to eighteen sixty nine. The
Speaker 1: eastern half of the trail was also used by travelers
Speaker 1: on the California Trail from eighteen forty three, the Mormon
Speaker 1: Trail from eighteen forty seven, and the Bozeman Trail from
Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three before turning off to their separate destinations.
Speaker 1: Use of the trail declined after the first Transcontinental railroad
Speaker 1: road was completed in eighteen sixty nine, making a trip
Speaker 1: west substantially faster, cheaper, and safer. Since the mid twentieth century,
Speaker 1: modern highways such as Interstate eighty and Interstate eighty four
Speaker 1: follow parts of the same course westward and pass through
Speaker 1: towns originally established to serve those using the Oregon Trail.
Speaker 1: The first land route across the present day contiguous United
Speaker 1: States was mapped by the Lewis and Clark expedition between
Speaker 1: eighteen o four and eighteen o six, Following these eighteen
Speaker 1: oh three instructions from President Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis,
Speaker 1: the object of your mission is to explore the Missouri
Speaker 1: River and such principles stream of it as by its
Speaker 1: course and communication with the waters of the Pacific Ocean,
Speaker 1: whether the Columbia, Oregon, Colorado, and or other river may
Speaker 1: offer the most direct and practicable water communication across this
Speaker 1: continent for commerce. Although Lewis and William Clark found a
Speaker 1: pass to the Pacific Ocean, it was neither nor practicable
Speaker 1: for prairie schooner wagons to pass through without considerable road work.
Speaker 1: The two passes they found going through the Rocky Mountains,
Speaker 1: lem High Pass and Lolo Pass, turned out to be
Speaker 1: much too difficult. On the return trip in eighteen o six,
Speaker 1: they traveled from the Columbia River to the Snake River
Speaker 1: and the Clearwater River over the Lolo Pass, again. They
Speaker 1: then traveled overland up the Blackfoot River and crossed the
Speaker 1: Continental Divide at Lewis and Clark Pass, as it would
Speaker 1: become known, and on to the head of the Missouri River.
Speaker 1: This was ultimately a shorter and faster route than the
Speaker 1: one they followed west. This route had the disadvantages of
Speaker 1: being much too rough for wagons and controlled by the
Speaker 1: Blackfoot tribes. Even though Lewis and Clark had only traveled
Speaker 1: a narrow portion of the Upper Missouri River drainage and
Speaker 1: part of the Columbia River drainage, these were considered the
Speaker 1: two major rivers draining most of the Rocky Mountains, and
Speaker 1: the expedition confirmed that there was no easy route through
Speaker 1: the northern Rocky Mountains as Jefferson had hoped. Nonetheless, this
Speaker 1: famous expedition mapped both the eastern and western river valleys
Speaker 1: Platte and Snake Rivers that bookend the route of the
Speaker 1: Oregon Trail and other emigrant trails across the Continental Divide.
Speaker 1: They just had not located the South Pass or some
Speaker 1: of the interconnecting valleys later used in the high country.
Speaker 1: They showed the way for the mountain men, who within
Speaker 1: a decade found a better way across, even if it
Speaker 1: was not an easy way. The Pacific Fur Company PFC,
Speaker 1: founded in eighteen ten by John Jacob Aster as a
Speaker 1: subsidiary of his American Fur Company AFC, operated in the
Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest in the North American fur trade. Two movements
Speaker 1: of BFC employees were planned by Astor. One sent to
Speaker 1: the Columbia River aboard the merchant ship Tonquin, the other
Speaker 1: dispatched overland under an expedition led by Wilson Price Hunt.
Speaker 1: Hunt and his party were to find possible supply routes
Speaker 1: and trapping territories for further fur trading posts. Upon arriving
Speaker 1: at the river in March eighteen eleven, the Tonquin crew
Speaker 1: began building what became Fort Astoria. The ship left supplies
Speaker 1: and men to continue work on the station and ventured
Speaker 1: north at the coast to Clarequat Sound for a trading expedition.
Speaker 1: While anchored there, Jonathan Thorne insulted an elder Plaquiat, who
Speaker 1: was previously elected by the natives to negotiate a mutually
Speaker 1: satisfactory price for animal belt under Hunt. Fearing attacked by
Speaker 1: the Nizzitapi, the overland expedition veered south of Lewis and
Speaker 1: Clark's route into what is now Wyoming, and in the
Speaker 1: process passed to cross Union Pass and into Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Speaker 1: From there they went over the Teeton Range by a
Speaker 1: Teeton Pass and then down to the Snake River into
Speaker 1: modern Idaho. They abandoned their horses at the Snake River,
Speaker 1: made dugout canoes, and attempted to use the river for transport.
Speaker 1: After a few days travel, they soon discovered that steep canyons, waterfalls,
Speaker 1: and impassable rapids made travel by river impossible. Too far
Speaker 1: from their horses to retrieve them, they had to cache
Speaker 1: most of their goods and walk the rest of the
Speaker 1: way to the Columbia River, where they made new boats
Speaker 1: and traveled to the newly established port Astoria. The expedition
Speaker 1: demonstrated that much of the route along the Snake River
Speaker 1: plain and across to the Columbia was passable by pack
Speaker 1: train or, with minimal improvements, even wagons. This knowledge would
Speaker 1: be incorporated into the concatenated trail segments as the Oregon
Speaker 1: Trail took its early shape. Pacific Fur Company partner Robert
Speaker 1: Stewart led a small group of men back east to
Speaker 1: report to auster. The group planned to retrace the path
Speaker 1: followed by the overland Expedition back up to the east
Speaker 1: following the Columbia and Snake Rivers. Fear of a Native
Speaker 1: American attack near Union Pass in Wyoming forced the group
Speaker 1: further south, where they discovered South Pass, a wide and
Speaker 1: easy pass over the Continental Divide. The party continued east
Speaker 1: by the Sweetwater River, north Platte River, where they spent
Speaker 1: the winter of eighteen twelve to thirteen, and Platte River
Speaker 1: to the Missouri River, finally arriving at Saint Louis in
Speaker 1: the spring of eighteen thirteen. The route they had used
Speaker 1: to potentially be a practical wagon route, requiring minimal improvements,
Speaker 1: and Stewart's journals provided a meticulous account of most of
Speaker 1: the route. Because of the War of eighteen twelve and
Speaker 1: the lack of U. S. Fur trading posts in the
Speaker 1: Pacific Northwest, most of the route was unused for more
Speaker 1: than ten years. In August eighteen eleven, three months after
Speaker 1: Ford Astoria was established, David Thompson and his team of
Speaker 1: Northwest Company explorers came floating down the Columbia to Fort Astoria.
Speaker 1: He had just completed a journey through much of Western
Speaker 1: Canada and most of the Columbia River drainage system. He
Speaker 1: was mapping the country for possible fur trading posts. Along
Speaker 1: the way, He camped at the confluence of the Columbia
Speaker 1: and Snake Rivers and posted a notice claiming the land
Speaker 1: for Britain and stating the intention of the Northwest Company
Speaker 1: to build a fort on the side. When the War
Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve broke out, the managers at Fort Astoria
Speaker 1: were concerned the British Navy would seize their forts and supplies,
Speaker 1: and in eighteen thirteen they sold out to the Northwest Company.
Speaker 1: By eighteen twenty one, intense competition between the Hudson's Bay
Speaker 1: Company HBC and the Northwest Company reached the point of
Speaker 1: armed hostilities, and the British government pressured the two companies
Speaker 1: to merge. The newly reconfigured HBC had a near monopoly
Speaker 1: on trading and most governing issues in the Columbia District,
Speaker 1: or Oregon Country as it was referred to by the Americans,
Speaker 1: and also in Rupert's Land. That year, the British Parliament
Speaker 1: passed a statute applying the Laws of Upper Canada to
Speaker 1: the District and giving the HBC power to enforce those laws.
Speaker 1: From eighteen thirteen to the early eighteen forties, the British,
Speaker 1: through the NWC and HBC, had nearly complete control of
Speaker 1: the Pacific Northwest and the western half of the Oregon Trail.
Speaker 1: In theory. The Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War
Speaker 1: of eighteen twelve, restored possession of US property in Oregon
Speaker 1: Territory to the United States. Joint occupation of the region
Speaker 1: was formally established by the Anglo American Convention of eighteen eighteen.
Speaker 1: The British, through the HBC, tried to discourage any U
Speaker 1: S trappers, traders, and settlers from work or settlement in
Speaker 1: the Pacific Northwest by overland travel. American missionaries and early settlers,
Speaker 1: initially mostly ex trappers, started showing up in Oregon in
Speaker 1: the late eighteen twenties. Although officially the HBC discouraged settlement
Speaker 1: because it interfered with its lucrative fur trade, its manager
Speaker 1: at Fort Vancouver, John Mclauckylan, gave substantial help, including employment
Speaker 1: and delicated get established. In the early eighteen forties, thousands
Speaker 1: of American settlers arrived and soon greatly outnumbered the British settlers.
Speaker 1: In Oregon, McLaughlin, despite working for the HBC, gave help
Speaker 1: in the form of loans, medical care, shelter, clothing, food supplies,
Speaker 1: and seed to US emigrants. These new emigrants often arrived
Speaker 1: in Oregon tired, borne out, nearly penniless, was insufficient food
Speaker 1: or supplies just as winter was coming on. McLaughlin would
Speaker 1: later be hailed as the father of Oregon. The York
Speaker 1: Factory Express, establishing another route to the Oregon territory, evolved
Speaker 1: from an earlier Express brigade used by the Northwest Company
Speaker 1: between Fort Astoria and Fort William, Ontario, on Lake Superior.
Speaker 1: By eighteen twenty five, the h b C started using
Speaker 1: two brigades, each setting out from opposite ends of the
Speaker 1: express route, one from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River
Speaker 1: and the other from York Factory on Hudson Bay in
Speaker 1: spring and passing each other in the middle of the continent.
Speaker 1: This established a quick about one hundred days for two thousand,
Speaker 1: six hundred miles one way to transport personnel and transmit
Speaker 1: messages between Fort Vancouver and York Factory on Hudson Bay.
Speaker 1: The h b C built a new much larger Ford
Speaker 1: Vancouver in eighteen twenty five, about ninety miles upstream from
Speaker 1: Fort Astoria on the north side of the Columbia River.
Speaker 1: They were hoping that Columbia would be the future Canada
Speaker 1: u S border. The fort quickly became the center of
Speaker 1: activity in the Pacific Northwest. Every year, ships would come
Speaker 1: from London to the Pacific via Cape Horn to drop
Speaker 1: off supplies and trade goods in its trading posts in
Speaker 1: the Pacific Northwest and pick up the accumulated firs used
Speaker 1: to pay for these supplies. It was in nexus for
Speaker 1: the fur trade on the Pacific coast. Its influence reached
Speaker 1: from the Rocky Mountains to the Hawaiian Islands, and from
Speaker 1: Russian Alaska into Mexican controlled California. At its pinnacle in
Speaker 1: about eighteen forty, the manager of Ford Vancouver watched over
Speaker 1: thirty four outposts, twenty four ports, six ships, and about
Speaker 1: six hundred employees. When American emigration over the Oregon Trail
Speaker 1: began in Earnest in the early eighteen forties, for many settlers,
Speaker 1: the fort became the last stop on the Oregon Trail
Speaker 1: where they could get supplies, aid, and help before starting
Speaker 1: their homesteads. Fort Vancouver was the main resupply point for
Speaker 1: nearly all Oregon Trail travelers until u s towns could
Speaker 1: be established. The hp C established Fort Colville in eighteen
Speaker 1: twenty five on the Columbia River near Kettle Falls as
Speaker 1: a good side to collect firs and control the Upper
Speaker 1: Columbia River fur trade. Fort Niscali was built near the
Speaker 1: present town of DuPont, Washington, and was the first h
Speaker 1: b C fort on Puget Sound. Fort Victoria was erected
Speaker 1: in eighteen forty three and became the headquarters of operations
Speaker 1: in British Columbia, eventually growing into modern day Victoria, the
Speaker 1: capital city of British Columbia. By eighteen forty the h
Speaker 1: b C had three forts, Fort Hall, Fort Boise, and
Speaker 1: Fort nez Perce on the western end of the Oregon
Speaker 1: Trail route, as well as Fort Vancouver near its terminus
Speaker 1: in the Willamma Valley. With minor exceptions, they all gave
Speaker 1: substantial and often desperately needed aid to the early Oregon
Speaker 1: Trail pioneers. When the fur trade slowed in the eighteen
Speaker 1: forties because of fashion changes in men's hads, the value
Speaker 1: of the Pacific Northwest to the British was seriously diminished,
Speaker 1: Canada had few potential settlers who were willing to move
Speaker 1: more than two thousand, five hundred miles to the Pacific northwest,
Speaker 1: although several hundred ex trappers British and American and their
Speaker 1: families did start settling in what became Oregon and Washington.
Speaker 1: In eighteen forty one, James Sinclair, on orders from h
Speaker 1: b C Governor Sir George Simpson, guided nearly two hundred
Speaker 1: settlers from the Red River Colony into the Oregon Territory.
Speaker 1: This attempt at settlement failed when most of the families
Speaker 1: joined the settlers in the Willamma Valley with their promise
Speaker 1: of free land and h b C free government. In
Speaker 1: eighteen forty six, the Oregon Treaty ending the Oregon Boundary
Speaker 1: Dispute was signed with Britain. The British lost much of
Speaker 1: the land they had so long controlled. The new Canada
Speaker 1: United States border was established at the forty ninth parallel
Speaker 1: to the Pacific coast, then dipping south around Vancouver Island.
Speaker 1: The treaty granted the HBC navigation rights on the Columbia
Speaker 1: River for supplying their fur posts, clear titles to their
Speaker 1: trading posts properties, allowing them to be sold later if
Speaker 1: they wanted, and left the British with a good anchorage
Speaker 1: at Victoria. It gave the United States most of what
Speaker 1: it wanted, a reasonable boundary and a good anchorage on
Speaker 1: the West coast and Fugid Sound. While there were few
Speaker 1: United States settlers in the future state of Washington in
Speaker 1: eighteen forty six, the United States had already done demonstrated
Speaker 1: I could induced thousands of settlers to go to the
Speaker 1: Oregon Territory, and it would be only a short time
Speaker 1: before there would vastly outnumbers a few hundred HBC employees
Speaker 1: and retirees living in the region. Reports from the expeditions
Speaker 1: in eighteen o six by Lieutenant Zebulin Pike and in
Speaker 1: eighteen nineteen by Major Stephen Long described the Great Plains
Speaker 1: as unfit for human habitation and as the Great American Desert.
Speaker 1: These descriptions were mainly based on the relative lack of
Speaker 1: timber and surface water. The images of sandy wastelands conjured
Speaker 1: up by terms like desert were tempered by the many
Speaker 1: reports of vast herds of millions of Plains bison that
Speaker 1: somehow managed to live in this desert. In the eighteen forties,
Speaker 1: Great Plains appeared to be unattractive for settlement and were
Speaker 1: illegal for homesteading until well after eighteen forty six. Initially
Speaker 1: it was set aside by the U. S Government for
Speaker 1: Native American settlements. The next available land for general settlement,
Speaker 1: Oregon appeared to be free for the taking and had
Speaker 1: fertile lands, disease free climate, extensive forests, big rivers, potential seaports,
Speaker 1: and only a few nominally British settlers. Fur trappers, often
Speaker 1: working for fur traders, followed nearly all possible streams looking
Speaker 1: for beaver in the years when the fur trade was active.
Speaker 1: Besides describing and naming many of the rivers and mountains
Speaker 1: in the Inner Mountain West and Pacific Northwest, they often
Speaker 1: kept diaries of their travels and were available as guides
Speaker 1: and consultants. When the trail started to become open for
Speaker 1: general travel, the fur trade business wound down to a
Speaker 1: very low level, just as the Oregon Trail traffic seriously
Speaker 1: began around eighteen forty. In the fall of eighteen twenty three,
Speaker 1: Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick led their trapping crew south
Speaker 1: from the Yellowstone River to the Sweetwater River. They were
Speaker 1: looking for a safe location to spend the winter. Smith
Speaker 1: reasoned since the sweet Water flowed east, it must eventually
Speaker 1: run into the Misery River. Trying to transport their extensive
Speaker 1: fur collection down the Sweetwater and North Platte rivers, they
Speaker 1: found after a near disastrous canoe crash, that the river
Speaker 1: were too swift and rough for water passage. On July fourth,
Speaker 1: eighteen twenty four, they cashed their furs under a dome
Speaker 1: of rock they named Independence Rock and started their long
Speaker 1: track on foot the Missouri River. Upon arriving back in
Speaker 1: a settled area, they bought pack horses on credit and
Speaker 1: retrieved their furs. They discovered the route that Robert Stewart
Speaker 1: had taken in eighteen thirteen, eleven years before. Thomas Fitzpatrick
Speaker 1: was often hired as a guide. When the fur trade
Speaker 1: dwindled in eighteen forty. Up to three thousand mountain Men
Speaker 1: were trappers and explorers employed by various British and United
Speaker 1: States fur companies or working as free trappers, who roamed
Speaker 1: the North American Rocky Mountains from about eighteen ten to
Speaker 1: the early eighteen forties. They usually traveled in small groups
Speaker 1: for mutual support and protection. Trapping took place in the fall,
Speaker 1: when the fur became prime. Mountain men primarily trapped beaver
Speaker 1: and sold the skins. A good beaver skin could bring
Speaker 1: up to four dollars at a time when a man's
Speaker 1: wage was often one dollar per day. Some were more
Speaker 1: interested in exploring the West. In eighteen twenty five, the
Speaker 1: first significant American rendezvous occurred on the Henry's Fork of
Speaker 1: the Green River. The trading supplies were broadened by a
Speaker 1: large party using pack trains originating on the Missouri River.
Speaker 1: The trading supplies were brought in by a large party
Speaker 1: using pack trains originating on the Missouri River. These pack
Speaker 1: trains were then used to haul out the fur bales.
Speaker 1: They normally used the north side of the Platte River,
Speaker 1: the same route used twenty years later by the Mormon Trail.
Speaker 1: For the next fifteen years, the American rendezvous was an
Speaker 1: annual event, moving to different locations, usually somewhere on the
Speaker 1: Green River in the future state of Wyoming. Each rendezvous,
Speaker 1: occurring during the slack summer period, allowed the fur traders
Speaker 1: to trade for and collect the firs from the trappers
Speaker 1: and their Native American allies without having the expense of
Speaker 1: building or maintaining a ford or wintering over in the
Speaker 1: cold Rockies in only a few weeks at a rendezvous,
Speaker 1: a year's worth of trading and celebrating would take place,
Speaker 1: as the traders took their furs and remaining supplies back
Speaker 1: east for the winter, and the trap uppers faced another
Speaker 1: fall in winter with new supplies. Trapper Jim Beckworth described
Speaker 1: the scene as one of mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing,
Speaker 1: target shooting, yarns, frolic with all sorts of extravagancies that
Speaker 1: white men or Indians could invent. In eighteen thirty, William
Speaker 1: Sublet brought the first wagons carrying his trading goods up
Speaker 1: the Platte, North Platte, and Sweetwater Rivers before crossing over
Speaker 1: South Pass to a fur trade rendezvous on the Green
Speaker 1: River near the future town of Big Piney, Wyoming. He
Speaker 1: had a crew that dug out the gullies and river
Speaker 1: crossings and cleared the brush where needed. This established that
Speaker 1: the eastern part of most of the Oregon Trail was
Speaker 1: passable by wagons. In the late eighteen thirties, the HBC
Speaker 1: instituted a policy intended to destroy or weaken the American
Speaker 1: fur trade companies. The HPC's annual collection and resupply Snake
Speaker 1: River Expedition was transformed into a trading enterprise. Beginning in
Speaker 1: eighteen thirty four, it visited the American Rendezvous to undersell
Speaker 1: the American traders, losing money but undercutting the American fur traders.
Speaker 1: By eighteen forty, the fashion in Europe and British shifted
Speaker 1: away from the formerly very popular beaver feldhads, and prices
Speaker 1: for furs rapidly declined, and the trapping almost ceased. Fur
Speaker 1: traders tried to use the Platte River, the main route
Speaker 1: of the Eastern Oregon Trail, for transport, but soon gave
Speaker 1: up in frustration as its many channels and islands, combined
Speaker 1: with its muddy waters, were too shallow, crooked, and unpredictable
Speaker 1: to use for water transport. The Platte proved to be unnavigable.
Speaker 1: The Platte River in the North Platte River Valley, however,
Speaker 1: became an easy roadway for wagons, with its nearly flat
Speaker 1: plains sloping easily up and heading almost due west. Several
Speaker 1: US government sponsored explorers explored part of the Oregon Trail
Speaker 1: and rode extensively about their explorations. Captain Benjamin Bonneville, on
Speaker 1: his expedition of eighteen thirty two to eighteen thirty four,
Speaker 1: explored much of the Oregon Trail and brought wagons up
Speaker 1: the Platte North Platte Sweet Water Route across South Pass
Speaker 1: to the Green River. In Wyoming, he explored most of
Speaker 1: Idaho and the Oregon Trail to the Columbia. The account
Speaker 1: of his expeditions in the West was published by Washington
Speaker 1: Irving in eighteen thirty eight. John C. Fremont of the U. S.
Speaker 1: Army's Corps of Topographical Engineers and his guide Kit Carson,
Speaker 1: led three expeditions from eighteen forty two to eighteen forty
Speaker 1: six over parts of California and Oregon. His explorations were
Speaker 1: written up by him and his wife, Jesse Brenton Fremont,
Speaker 1: and were widely published. The first detailed maps of California
Speaker 1: and Oregon were drawn by Fremont and his topographers and
Speaker 1: cartographers in about eighteen forty eight. In eighteen thirty four,
Speaker 1: the Dall's Methodist Mission was founded by Reverend Jason Lee
Speaker 1: just east of Mount Hood on the Columbia River. In
Speaker 1: eighteen thirty six, Henry H. Spaulding and Marcus Whitman traveled
Speaker 1: west to establish the Whitman Mission near modern day Walla Walla, Washington.
Speaker 1: The party included the wives of the two men, Narsissa
Speaker 1: Whitman and Eliza Hartspaulding, who became the first European American
Speaker 1: women to cross the Rocky Mountains. En route, the party
Speaker 1: accompanied American fur traders going to the eighteen thirty six
Speaker 1: rendezvous on the Green River in Wyoming, and then joined
Speaker 1: Hudson's Bay Company fur Traders traveling west to Fort Nez
Speaker 1: Perce also called Fort Walla Walla. The group was the
Speaker 1: first to travel in wagons to Fort hall where the
Speaker 1: wagons were abandoned at the urging of their guides. They
Speaker 1: used pack animals for the rest of the trip to
Speaker 1: Fort Walla Walla, and then floated by boat to Fort
Speaker 1: Vancouver to get supplies before returning to start their missions.
Speaker 1: Other missionaries, mostly husband and wife teams using wagon and
Speaker 1: pack trains, established missions in the Willamette Valley, as well
Speaker 1: as various locations in the future states of Washington, Oregon,
Speaker 1: and Idaho. On May first, eighteen thirty nine, a group
Speaker 1: of eighteen men from Peoria, Illinois, set out with the
Speaker 1: intention of colonizing the Oregon Country on behalf of the
Speaker 1: United States of America and driving out the h b
Speaker 1: C operating there. The men of the Peoria Party were
Speaker 1: among the first pioneers to traverse most of the Oregon Trail.
Speaker 1: They were initially led by Thomas J. Farnhum and called
Speaker 1: themselves the Oregon Dragoons. They carried a large flag emblazoned
Speaker 1: with their motto, Oregon or the Grave. Although the group
Speaker 1: split up near Bent's Fort on the south plaid and
Speaker 1: Farnham was deposed as leader, nine of their members eventually
Speaker 1: did reach Oregon. In September eighteen forty, Robert Newell, Joseph L.
Speaker 1: Meek and their families reached Fort Walla Walla with three
Speaker 1: wagons that they had driven from Fort Hall. Their wagons
Speaker 1: were the first to reach the Columbia River over land,
Speaker 1: and they opened the final leg of the Oregon Trail
Speaker 1: to wagon traffic In eighteen forty one. The Bartleson Bidwell
Speaker 1: Party was the first emigrant group credited with using the
Speaker 1: Oregon Trail to emigrate west. The group set out for
Speaker 1: California but about half the party left the original group
Speaker 1: at Soda Springs, Idaho, and proceeded to the Willamma Valley
Speaker 1: in Oregon, leaving their wagons at Fort Hall. On May sixteenth,
Speaker 1: eighteen forty two, the second organized wagon train set out
Speaker 1: from Elmgrove, Missouri, with more than one hundred pioneers. The
Speaker 1: party was led by Elijah White. The group broke up
Speaker 1: after passing Fort Hall, was most of the single men
Speaker 1: hurrying ahead, and the families following later