February 14, 2001 mired York for his dark skin, tall build and physical prowess. Evidence was shown that York was treated as an equal. At Fort Clatsop in Astoria, Oregon, York was allowed to room with the other men in their sleeping quarters. He was also the only man that Lewis and Clark trusted with the liquor supply, an important stock used for their journey. As a fur trader, well- established entrepreneur and trans lator o f many Native American lan guages, Moses "Black” Harris was a very able wagon guide. Leading th e p a c k from St. L o u is to Yellowstone and from the Salt Lakes to Oregon Country, Harris was known for bringing two o f the larg est wagon trains to the ways the nucleus. Many pioneers who were brave or foolish enough to travel the 2,000 - 3,000 miles o f partly-chartered territory experi enced loved ones die o f small pox or cholera. Other fatal tragedies were from such things as accidents or carelessness. Fortunately, Native Americans seldom waged war on wagon trains. Harris later participated in blaz ing new trails with George Bush who settled Centralia, Washington. He also trekked with the Applegate family during the “Great Migration” o f 1843. Together, they blazed the Applegate wagon trail that runs through Nevada, California and Page 3 Southern Oregon. The first Christian missionaries were brought to the Northwest by the Whitman family with Moses “Black”Harris leading the pack. By 1844, Harris guided the largest num ber o f immigrants to the Willamette Valley, consisting o f 137 wagons carrying 982 people. Because o f Oregon's race-based exclusionary law, William Owen Bush, a free African American and his group o f while friends and neighbors crossed the Columbia River to head north. The party settled in the Puget Sound region in what would later become the state o f Washington. medicinal purposes and to keep everyone warm. York later became the very first African American allowed to vote in the United States. The mountain men who traveled, hunting for animal pelts were plen tiful throughout the Pacific North west. They were often stationed during the warmer months at ren dezvous points (temporary posts) where they enjoyed the company o f women and good times. Nearby these sites were Native American encampments. W agoneers p assin g through would contract a mountain man to serve as a wagon train guide for West. He also saved two other wagon trains that were lost with many w agoneers perishing from malnutrition and thirst. One distressed party was in the moun tains o f Southern O r egon in 1839 and the other was the Meeks party o f 1845 in the desert region between Idaho and Oregon. Most covered wagon trains were organized around the group’s reli gious or ethnic heritage. Family groups were al- Dr. D a n ie l H a le W illiam s, performed the first successful heart operation in 1893 M a d a m e CJ. W alker, first self-made American woman millionaire . H y m a n S. Thomas, invented the potato chip, originally known as the Saratoga chip . M a tth e w A. Henson, first man to set foot on the North Pole , fessie la ru e M a rk , first woman to earn a doctorate in botany , Isaac M urphy, won the very first Kentucky Derby , Dr. Charles Drew, discovered the method for preserving blood plasma • le w e l L aF o n tan t M a n kariou s, first woman to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court Yvonne Clark, first woman to earn B.S. in chemical engineering a t Harvard . in "scatting" style , Otis Boykin, invented guided missile device , Louis Arm strong, first to sing fa n e W rig h t, pioneered several advances in the field o f chemotherapy. Frederick M ckinley /ones, inventor o f portable X-ray machine W illia m A. H inton, developed first test for syphilis . N o rb e rt Rillieux, developed the first system for refining sugar , 5. Boone, invented the first ironing board . Frank G rant, inventor o f the baseball chinguard . L.D. N ew m an , inventor o f the hairbrush . Shelby /. Davidson, created the first adding machine . W illia m W arw ick Cardozo, pioneered the study o f sickle cell anemia , Kurils Blow, first rap artist Kou can't talk about Black history without talking about American history. t=i LENDER A wagon train traveling out West. Let's remember the African Americans who helped build America. Washington Mutual FDIC Insured