Trials on the Trail

From prosperous New Englanders and Midwestern families with sturdy well-provisioned wagons and ample livestock, to penniless frontiersmen who joined wagon trains as hired hands, to the young and restless who could not resist the lure of a far away adventure - the early Oregon trail blazers had much in common.  They were touchy and quarrelsome for one thing, had little knowledge  of wilderness survival or the hardships that lay before them.  They did have a sturdy determination to survive the brutal tests of the Oregon Trail.

They shared a common enemy - time.  Their traveling season was short and one week difference could be the death of them.  Before the prairie grasses were up in early May, it was time to leave Missouri where they had waited all the winter through.  Their livestock would not survive if they left later in the Spring.  The westernmost mountains had be to crossed before mid-October when the snows came.  They had five months to cover 2,000 miles at an average of 15-20 miles a day if the skies were sunny and clear and the rivers were not swollen from rains. 

The opening stretch to the Platte River through present day Kansas to Nebraska was usually an "easy" journey.  Following that, they went through what pioneers called "the mile wide and an inch deep" section along the Platte River.  The land got gradually higher, more broken and more arid. 

They marked their journey with landmarks like Chimney Rock and Scott's Bluff on the way to Laramie where fresh supplies awaited them.  Independence Rock was the marker where the route left the Platte River and traveled across the Rockies at the South Pass.  Following the main route to Fort Bridger and then northwest to Fort Hall brought them to the Snake River Canyon at Farewell Bend.  Before crossing the Blue Mountains, the Grand Valley was a welcome respite before the mighty Columbia River awaited them.  Through the Willamette Valley the route diverged.  Here cautious travelers took jolting trails over the Cascades, or if they were risk takers, they built makeshift rafts and plunged down the Columbia.  Which would you have been?

Next time - Hazards Galore
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On February 19, 1792, George Washington signs the United States Postal Act creating the United State Post Office.

Pioneer Holidays

It's Holiday Season so let's look at the most important holidays in a pioneer's life...

Independence Day - pioneers dedicated Independence Rock a huge piece of granite rock in Wyoming.  128 feet tall, 700 feet wide and 1900 feet long.  Pioneers would carve their names and dates on the rock as they passed through to the Pacific Coast.  Independence Rock became the point on the trail of "keeping on schedule".  If the party arrived at Independence Rock by a certain date, it was certain that they would make it through the mountains before winter set in.

For Independence Day, special food was purchased along the trail at Fort Laramie including pies,  lemonade and fresh bread. Flags were sewn from scraps of fabric, dances were held and the name carvings all marked the 4th of July on the pioneer trail.

Fort Laramie was 1/3 of the distance on the Oregon Trail.  A US Army post since 1849, it was the main stop on the way west where pioneers purchased fresh animals (horses, oxen and mules), supplies, and had repairs done.  It was quite expensive and many had to turn back east when they got this far.  Most heavy items were left at Fort Laramie - like stoves and furniture because going over the mountains was difficult enough without extra weight to carry. 

One of the landmarks that told the pioneers they were near Fort Laramie was Chimney Rock which measured 325 feet high from the base.

Weddings - Weddings on the frontier were quite different than ours are today.   Shot guns went off, kettles and pans were banging and the couple's wagon was shaken until late into the night.  This celebration was called a chivaree with fiddles and banjos providing the music. Weddings were anything but quiet, subdued affairs!!

Of course we can see where we get the tying of cans and streamers to the "Just Married" cars today, as well as the music for the reception.  However, today we don't usually shoot off shot guns to announce our weddings :)

Next time we will finish up the Wagon Train and then share some recipes for a Thanksgiving Dinner.