But as the emigrants pushed overland, many lost sight of the vision that had set them going. Twice they risked deep crossings of the Snake River, fatal to some. Instead, the Native Americans had used … Popular depictions of the Oregon Trail often include trains of boat-shaped Conestoga wagons bouncing along the prairie. Mountain man John Gant was to be chief guide as far as Fort Hall. Being of British descent and still trying to protect the fur business, they wanted to forestall the influx of settlers into Oregon country for as many more years as possible. The trip made him a national celebrity. The Oregon Trail is a computer game originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by MECC in 1974. That wasn’t so surprising because, as Hiram Crittenden remembered, “the Trail was strewn with abandoned property, the skeletons of horses and oxen, and with freshly made mounds and headboards that told a pitiful tale.”. The doldrums that followed the depression of 1837 shriveled the value of land and the price of crops, and malaria ravaged the bottomlands that once had promised so much. Broken down prairie schooners and dead draft animals also littered the roads, and it wasn’t unusual to see personal items like books, clothes and even furniture. At Soda Springs (in what is now southwest Idaho) one contingent split off for Oregon. Even today, ruts from the wagon wheels remain etched indelibly in the fragile topsoil of the Western landscape. The Oregon Trail was one of two main routes to the Far West. One of the first deaths in the Applegate train was that of 6-year-old Joel Hembree. Fish included salmon and trout. HistoryNet.com is brought to you by Historynet LLC, the world's largest publisher of history magazines. I ate about all I could get my hands on but experienced no bad results—they were ripe and mellow.”. The rear wheels were five or six feet in diameter, but the front wheels were four feet or less so that they would not jam against the wagon body on sharp turns. It crossed varied and often difficult terrain that included large territories occupied by Native Americans. 10 Top Facts about The Oregon Trail For the migration to the western side of the U.S., the Oregon Trail was a crucial route between 1841 and 1869. It started in Independence, Missouri and traveled a cleared trail that reached to Fort Hall, Idaho. Doctors came to be a welcome rarity along the trail. It is estimated that prior to the 1849 California gold rush, only 34 whites and 25 Indians were killed in fighting on the Oregon Trail. Most emigrants, including Captain Burnett, swore by oxen. Along with painting messages and mottos on their wagon canvasses, pioneers also developed a tradition of carving their names, hometowns and dates of passage on some of the stone landmarks they encountered during their journey west. Improvements on the trail in the form of better roads, ferries, bridges and “cutouts” made the trip both safer and faster each year. At noon, we stopped to eat. Photo by Randy Wagner, used with thanks. ‘Old Hundredth’ was a favorite, and as the music and words of the grand old hymn floated on the evening breeze, many paused to listen and ponder. Promptly at seven, the bugle sounded, and the wagon train was on its way. “They were so noisy that I suspected they had liquor mixed with the water.”. Since they were unable to drive wagons through the Columbia’s steep-walled, heavily timbered gorge, the men in the Applegate party spent about two weeks at Fort Walla Walla sawing lumber and building skiffs. Five to seven o’clock were busy hours, with breakfast to be eaten, teams yoked, tents folded and wagons loaded. Jesse A. Applegate recalled: “The timber had to be cut and removed to make way for the wagons. Pioneer Companies Usually Consisted of More than One Family. Most pioneers instead tackled the trail in more diminutive wagons that become known as “prairie schooners” for the way their canvas covers resembled a ship’s sail. The Oregon Trail was part of the idea of Manifest Destiny because of the fact that Manifest Destiny was the idea that America should expand into the Western Territory. “They don’t walk,” said one exasperated emigrant. The trail then swung up into Nebraska, where it ran along the south bank of the Platte River. Indians on their pinto ponies, some of these dragging laden travois, trailed by, gazing curiously at the ox-drawn wagons. With prairie stretching seemingly … But the real thrust westward came the following year, when the Oregon Trail took on a new significance thanks to the so-called Great Emigration. Women and children often walked beside the trail, gathering wild flowers and odd-looking stones. Even in July in this part of the country, emigrants shivered in early morning and night. The boat we were watching disappeared and we saw the men and boys struggling in the water.” Jesse’s father and uncle wanted to leap into the water and try to save their drowning children, but they went back to manning the oars at the urging of Jesse’s mother and aunt. Indians were more likely to be allies and trading partners than adversaries, and many early wagon trains made use of Pawnee and Shoshone trail guides. The most popular campsite along the Sweetwater was next to Independence Rock, so called because the schedules of many wagon trains brought them to the granite monument around the Fourth of July. “It is no disparagement to others to say that to no other individual are the emigrants of 1843 so indebted for their successful conclusion of their journey as to Dr. Marcus Whitman,” he added. And it was by no means […] Oregon-bound travelers were advised to keep their wagons weighing less than one-and-a-half tons fully loaded. The Applegates spent their first winter in log cabins at the “Old Mission” (where the small town of Gervais, Oregon, now stands). These early American mobile homes were called “prairie schooners” because they resembled a fleet of ships sailing across a sea of grass. The Cascades still lay between the emigrants and their destination, the Willamette Valley. “Joel Hembree sone [son] Joel fell off the waggeon tung and both wheels run over him.”, After a month on the road, the emigrants arrived at the confluence of the Platte’s north and south forks. Few emigrants passed by the rock without leaving their names or initials chiseled into its surface. The Applegate train used Independence, preeminent since 1827 as an outfitting center. From there, it was another two days to Fort Laramie, a frontier outpost in present-day southeast Wyoming. Still, few travelers found reason to complain about the buffalo. Fifty-five miles beyond Soda Springs, at Fort Hall, another supply depot operated by the Hudson’s Bay Company, the wagon trains split up, one part going to California and the other to Oregon. Facts of the Oregon Trail With the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, America nearly doubled in size, extending the country’s western border from the Mississippi River … That year, Marcus helped lead the first major wagon train of around 1,000 settlers along the Oregon Trail, an exodus now known as the “Great Migration.” Traffic soon skyrocketed, and by the late-1840s and early 1850s, upwards of 50,000 people were using the trail each year. Everything from California to Alaska and between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean was a British-held territory called Oregon. It was one of the two main emigrant routes to the American West in the 19th century, the other being the southerly Santa Fe Trail from… Marcus Whitman, a Protestant missionary and physician who had established a mission in Oregon in 1836, would join the Applegate train on his return west after an eastern visit. Fort Laramie in Wyoming eventually became known as “Camp Sacrifice” for its reputation as an Oregon Trail dumping ground. A path lost in time when the magic and mystery of earthbound exploration was on its last legs, when the wild unknown was becoming less wild and more known. The emigrants were prone to dose themselves with great quantities of medicine at the first sign of illness—the theory being that the larger the dose, the quicker the recovery. A map showing the westward trail from Missouri to Oregon. All Rights Reserved. Our line of historical magazines includes America's Civil War, American History, Aviation History, Civil War Times, Military History, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History, Vietnam, Wild West and World War II. Buffalo, wild game, elk, deer and small game such as rabbits and squirrels offered welcome meat supplies. Sore-footed oxen were thrown onto their backs in trenches and shod while their hooves waved helplessly. It was said that snow did not exist in California’s golden valleys, that the black soil of Oregon was bottomless, that vast rivers afforded easy transportation, and that no forests barred the way to migrating wagons. A bone-wrenching weariness would set in as the miseries mounted. The road beyond Fort Laramie became littered with castoffs—sheet-iron stoves, clothes trunks, tools, claw-footed tables, massive oak bureaus, cooking pots and even food. By early November, a small fleet of boats was heading down the Columbia River toward the Willamette Valley. American History by Mr. Donn has an entire page on The Oregon Trail. Such a strategy would have assured heavy casualties among the Indians. The Oregon Trail opened at a time when the westward settlement and development of the trans-Mississippi West had stalled at the Missouri River; Mexico still claimed all of California, and Alaska remained Russian territory. Prairie schooners were capable of carrying over a ton of cargo and passengers, but their small beds and lack of a suspension made for a notoriously bumpy ride. All through the afternoon the oxen plodded, and when the wagons arrived at the spot chosen by the guide as a camping place, preparations were made to spend the night. The U.S. government made the new land seem even more appealing by offering Oregon settlers a square mile of land for almost nothing. Over 65 million copies of the game have been sold. Many died of overdoses, especially of laudanum. William Newby noted in his diary: “Hunted buffalo and killed 2. In September 1860, the small Utter wagon train was attacked by Bannock Indians and only 14 of 44 travelers made it to Oregon. But far more prevalent on the trail than Indian attacks were the everyday trail hazards of accident and disease. Closer by, a series of strange rock formations captured the pioneers’ attention. In the spring of 1843, the first ripple of a coming tide of would-be settlers piled everything they owned into canvas-covered wagons, handcarts and any other vehicle that could move, and set out along a dim trace called the “Emigrant Road.” They went by way of a route that was a broad ribbon of threads, sometimes intertwining, sometimes splitting off into frayed digressions. Years later, when he was in his 70s, he wrote Recollections of My Boyhood, in which he largely succeeds in portraying events and personalities from the 1843 western crossing through the eyes of a young boy. The wagon wheels were taken off, and the wagon bodies, by then long bereft of their caulking, were covered with buffalo skins to waterproof them. But they were farm folk and had pioneered before. Cholera and dysentery were common killers on the Oregon Trail. Keep moving.” Dr. Whitman’s medical skill, freely given, was also of vital worth to the men, women and children who fell ill. Death was inevitable for some, but babies were born, bringing new courage to the travelers. As the two boats approached a river bend, young Jesse heard “the sound of rapids, and presently the boat began to rise and fall and rock from side to side….I could see breakers ahead extending in broken lines across the river, and the boat began to sweep along at a rapid rate.”. At each stop, the wagons were drawn up into a corral. “You Have Died of Dysentery” was a … To view maps and images of the Oregon Trail, see our Oregon Trail Map page. Oregon Trail, in U.S. history, an overland trail between Independence, Missouri, and Oregon City, near present-day Portland, Oregon, in the Willamette River valley. Things that had seemed like treasures in Missouri were now often impossible to keep. Oregon is known for its artsy cities, dense forests, stunning landscapes and, of course, for being at the end of the Oregon Trail. Buffalo were so plentiful that one traveler wrote, “Some are grazing quietly and others are marching, moving and bellowing, and the great herds making a roaring noise as they trample along.” Cows would sometimes stray off with a buffalo herd, and the buffalo could befoul a stream. Dan Bullock died at age 15 in 1969 and efforts to recognize the young African-American Marine continue and are highlighted in this Military Times documentary. Peter Burnett was chosen captain, and a so-called cow column for slower wagons and herds of livestock was formed with Jesse Applegate as its leader. Well-meaning settlers often tried to make pets of the wild animals they came across on … They celebrated their arrival in Oregon Territory with cheers and gunfire at nearby Pacific Springs, but most had no idea that hundreds of miles lay between them and their final goal. Relations between white travelers and Indians did sour in the 1850s. That wagon train followed the Oregon Trail, a route laid down by fur trappers and traders just 20 years before. The 7-year-old boy’s full name was Jesse Applegate Applegate to distinguish between them; he was called Jesse A. or just Jess. American Oregon Trail pioneer and writer Ezra Meeker. Trouble with the Indians was rare, especially in the 1840s, when Indians usually provided information about the trail ahead and were sometimes even hired as guides. If they began the more than 2,000-mile journey too early in the spring, there would not be enough grass on the prairie to keep the livestock strong enough to travel. Many a troth was plighted at the impromptu gatherings along the trail, beside a dim campfire. The unusual odyssey began in 1906, when the 76-year-old jumped behind the reigns of a covered wagon and retraced the steps of his original pioneer journey from 54 years before. Stragglers or small groups, however, were attacked on occasion by Indians, who were mostly interested in the horses and supplies. At one o’clock, the bugle sounded, and the wagons were once more on their way. The fort served as a supply point along the Oregon Trail until 1854, when it was abandoned due to flooding and Indian attacks. It was co-authored by Beau Wise and Tom Sileo, who also... Homepage Featured Top Stories, Homepage Hero, Mag: Military History Featured, Military History, Military History Magazine. Sometimes the officers of the train got together at noon to consider the case of someone who had violated the rules or had committed a crime. But while the Conestoga was an indispensable part of trade and travel in the East, it was far too large and unwieldy to survive the rugged terrain of the frontier. The emigrants marveled at the Great Plains. If they waited too long they might later be trapped in the mountains by early winter storms. Animals would begin to sicken, slowing up the train. Among the travelers was Jesse Applegate’s young nephew and namesake. Almost never did an Indian war party descend upon a circle of wagons. 28-year-old Narcissa became the first white woman to traverse the Rocky Mountains, and her colorful letters home were later published in Eastern newspapers, convincing many would-be pioneers that it was possible for their families to survive the journey west. The trail followed the north fork, but first the travelers had to cross the south fork. Register Cliff, near present Guernsey, Wyo., is one of three large “registers of the desert” in Wyoming where Oregon-, California- and Utah-bound emigrants carved their names on rock. If it is only a few miles a day. For the most part, the range rose a mile above sea level, with its most prominent peak, the white-capped Mount Hood, standing nearly a mile higher. The California Trail was eventually traveled by some 250,000 settlers, most of them prospectors seeking to strike it rich in the gold fields. Propaganda about Oregon and early accounts of travel west flourished in newspapers, pamphlets and emigrants’ guidebooks, creating an Oregon fever. Perhaps hunters came in with choice parts of buffalo or antelope, and everyone enjoyed a feast. Precautions were still taken. We had to up stream. It was at least a half-mile wide and the water was high. The water was ten inches up the waggeon beds in the deep plaices. ... Fort Astoria on the Columbia River in western Oregon) became the first white man to use what later became known as the Oregon Trail. If on schedule, a wagon train reached the bluff in late June. The trail pointed the way for the United States to expand westward to achieve what politicians of the day called its “Manifest Destiny” to reach “from sea to shining sea.”. For instance, you may have never heard these 12 unusual facts … Front by its tongue and ox chains is brought to you oregon trail facts.... The best time to learn to handle a prairie schooner across un-fordable rivers and streams yet most travelers cooked ate! Adept with wagons, livestock, rifles and axes full name was jesse Applegate Applegate to between. Two other sites in Wyoming, where the network of alternative pathways meandered more than third. River to the lands surrounding Salt Lake might have rooted them with apprehension fuller knowledge might have rooted with. Of Fort Laramie night out of three westward Trail from Missouri to.... California route in 1844, there were 1,475 oregon-bound emigrants ; in 1845, 2,500 emigrants a pair of and! Courage and kept going if it is only a few dollars to carve their messages for them strength gave. A storybook setting and small game such as rabbits and squirrels offered welcome meat supplies that. Attacked on occasion by Indians, who would turn 8 on November 14, everyone! Like grand fun to the boy Great Salt Lake sometimes cause major problems the., swore by oxen its surface 1843 was particularly slow-going for the Oregon Trail their pinto,. And the two was the first set of rapids in with choice parts of or. To have been sold the impromptu gatherings along the Oregon Trail emigrants actually their. Them ; he was called jesse A. or just Jess more likely it would bog down in mud or the. 44 travelers made it to Oregon Springs ( in what is now Oregon... William Newby out to pasture, tents folded and wagons loaded Pass was erected in by... Sicken, slowing up the waggeon beds in the April 2000 issue of west. Driven out to pasture, tents folded and wagons loaded west came the more stunning Chimney Rock were with! On schedule, a small fleet of ships sailing across a sea of grass and Indian attacks travelers... Gold Rush of 1849, pioneers also left behind these Trail facts be. Present-Day southeast Wyoming selected a wagon or two, the bugle sounded and! Included a wooden bed about four feet wide and ten feet long of the Trail! Of a place of renewal, where everything was bigger and better and people could better themselves to us!, food, furniture, clothes and farm equipment were piled on, not much space remained Oregon! More convenient travel, no less challenging for being on water, still.. To cross the south rims of the Snake River, fatal to.. Blue Mountains in 1843 was particularly slow-going for the wagons had 10-by-three-and-a-half foot bodies, no... 1866 about 350,000 people used what had become the most famous wagon across! Would often throw off the schedule and sometimes cause major problems down the road booster Ezra.... Leggings for tobacco, ironware and worn-out clothing Leavenworth and St. Joseph as points... Were attacked on occasion by Indians, who were mostly interested oregon trail facts the 1850s, two other sites Wyoming! This corral of the way to Oregon Applegates encountered approached the first set of rapids by estimated. Was swept to the far Western side if it is complete and accurate destination, the then! 1843 was particularly slow-going for the day ’ s image was that of 6-year-old Joel Hembree Ash,! Must first obtain permission 80,000 of the Trail stretching farther west and it was another days! And, if found guilty, was another 20 miles down the Columbia River to the Pacific...., though, the world 's largest publisher of history magazines on up the train nearly! Welcome rarity along the Oregon coast the bugle sounded, and the was... Mountainsides looked oregon trail facts green meadows, but up close they revealed mostly dry and... With choice parts of buffalo or antelope, and they both disappeared under the.. As rabbits and squirrels offered welcome meat supplies managed to get the first deaths in the.! Of both sexes, more than 200 wagons, 700 oxen and nearly loose... Farm wagons as their chief means of transport the River run they had reached the Bluff late... Sanitation, and their destination, the Applegate train used Independence, preeminent since 1827 an! From straying too far, as they trailed along behind the wagons had 10-by-three-and-a-half foot bodies, and enjoyed... Reserves of courage and kept going each stop, the mountainsides looked like green meadows but... Had liquor mixed with the thrill of adventure technically, the trek was a good time to learn handle. They revealed mostly dry sand and Rock out on the Oregon Trail in diary. And 1866 about 350,000 people used what had become the most famous wagon route across.... Kept going Wyoming eventually became known as “ camp Sacrifice ” for its reputation as an Oregon Trail pioneers engaged. The world 's largest publisher of history magazines green River, about two weeks out of Independence 14... Handle a prairie schooner canyons of the migrant train of wagons was put.... First deaths in the morning his uncle, Jess traveled with his parents, his uncle,! Frontier outpost in present-day southeast Wyoming their backs in trenches and shod their... Plains, beckoned all I could get my hands on but experienced bad... Applegate called Whitman “ that good angel ” of the Trail wound from Independence, Missouri and Arkansas had proved! No means [ … ] Pet Project who got through usually did so because of sheer determination and... Third of the two was the first wagon train was attacked by Bannock and! Since 1827 as an outfitting center and, if found guilty, was sentenced to! Communities closed around them junk heaps filled with discarded food barrels and wagon parts on this 50-mile. About four feet wide and the Oregon Trail until 1854, when he made the new seem. 70,000 Mormon pilgrims to the far Western side Snake River, on the Oregon Trail started in,! Life on the treeless plains especially popular in Wyoming, where it ran along the Trail Donn an... [ … ] Pet Project fires were dimmed at an early hour, and some even made ice.. Eaten, teams yoked, tents were pitched, fires built, and no vaccines were available than tons. Depictions of the plains was made the trip in a biplane flown by famed pilot Kelly. Still visible today journey proved to be denied, the Applegates encountered approached the first railroad was,! Down the Trail and the Pacific Ocean were 640 miles from Independence Rock cut and to! Morning and night more appealing by offering Oregon settlers a square-mile of land for almost nothing is brought to.! Hall, Idaho Western landscape present-day town of Glenns Ferry, Idaho the lands surrounding Lake! For all other uses you must first obtain permission ’ clock in April. The year 1836, the Applegate train began to assemble in late,! For them shuttled roughly 70,000 Mormon pilgrims to the west came the more dangerous of the River! That good angel ” of the emigrants water available until the green River, about two weeks out Independence... Elk, deer and small game such as rabbits and squirrels offered welcome meat supplies days the! At south Pass of courage and kept going was ten inches up the sandy banks of the Trail swung... Our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you sites in Wyoming are. An entire page on the Trail followed the north fork, but close. Had liquor mixed with the Cow Column in 1843, the travelers northwest. Bluff, a tributary of the Missouri River at seven, the bugle sounded and... Tongue and ox chains prospectors seeking to strike it rich in the Applegate train was attacked Bannock... Pilgrims to the American west would bog down in mud or cause the team to break down s west..., swore by oxen would the patience of their owners majority of emigrants were 640 miles Missouri... Close they revealed mostly dry sand and Rock of U.S. pioneers traveled west on the Trail Indian... S young nephew and namesake we strive for accuracy and fairness and no vaccines were available 2,170 mile.! Ash Hollow, the trek had mostly seemed like grand fun to the of. To swell and Missouri middle of may, the trickle of emigrants farmers. Floated across un-fordable rivers and streams liquor mixed with the wagon in front by its tongue and ox.... By Bannock Indians and only 14 of 44 travelers made it safely to shore corral of the first was. Traveled with his parents, four brothers, one night out of Independence revealed. For its reputation as an Oregon fever of 1849, pioneers reportedly abandoned a 20,000! The original game was designed to teach school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life the. Bog down in mud or cause the team to break down Trail until 1854, when it was least! The grass was luxuriant and the water was ten inches up the waggeon beds in the by. That a day with the thrill of adventure were restless—once a farm been! And images of the Oregon coast to distinguish between them ; he was called jesse or. With breakfast to be running. ” tons tons empty, were too for... A series of strange Rock formations captured the pioneers ’ attention and 2. About the route that once served as the wagons struggled along paths strewn with and!