Eugene weekly., May 19, 2011, Image 4

letters
TO THE EDITOR
THE DIRT ON MEEK
I read with great interest Rick Levin’s
review of the fi lm Meek’s Cutoff (arts
feature, 5/12). I had seen the fi lm at a
special showing in Salem earlier this
spring. It was an artsy piece depicting the
struggles of three wagons when Stephen
Meek convinced the wagon train to hire
him to guide the company away from the
established Oregon Trail and to take a
route south of the Blue Mountains to avoid
hostile Indians.
My great-great-grandfather William
Helm, his wife Martha and their 7 chil-
dren were on this wagon train. The movie
did not have any commentary and very
little dialogue, so it was hard to get an
overview of the trip. I have read several
journals of the journey and think that your
readers might be interested in some of the
factual data.
William Helm, a Methodist circuit
rider, was a member of the twelve-man
executive committee. The wagon train
consisted of 296 persons, including 57
females under the age of 14, and 68 males
under the age of 16. There were 66 covered
4 MAY 19, 2011
EUGENE WEEKLY
wagons, 74 horses and mules, 624 head
of cattle and 353 oxen. Captain Solomon
Tetherow led the group together with six
other offi cers and 61 armed men. There
were 38 cattle drivers.
The wagon train left Platte County,
Missouri, on May 6, 1884, and arrived at
The Dalles, Oregon, on Oct. 6, 1845, fi ve
months later. At least 23 died during the
long trip. The plan had been to follow the
traditional Oregon Trail. Near Fort Boise
a supposedly knowledgeable trail guide,
Stephen Meek, met with the leaders and
convinced them that the trail over the
Blue Mountains was very dangerous and
subject to hostile Indian raids, and that for
50 dollars he would lead them on a trail
south of the Blue Mountains and then
north to The Dalles on the Columbia River.
He led them through the desert. They were
running out of water and were exhausted.
After several weeks it was clear that
they were lost and that Stephen Meek
didn’t know the way. They were very
angry with Meek who, fearing for his life,
took off on his own and made it to The
Dalles. He did send back an Indian guide
who was able to guide the company out of
WWW.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM • BLOGS.EUGENEWEEKLY.COM