OLD OREGON TRAIL WAS FAMOUS ROE iN PRAIRIE SCHOONER DAYS
fh") ' ': . f '
Lot Livermore, 86 Year Old Pendleton Pioneer, Waa With Party Making Great Journey Out
From Ohio in 1861. ' .
' The Went of today, with its rail
roads, automobilo highways, farms,
tpwnp and cities Ih not the Went of
year so when pioneers first heard
Of a wagon road to the Pacific and
the eager throng wore the old Ore
Con Trull deeper and deeper each
year. . ,
A. Pendleton pioneer who well re-1
me.tibers the Journey from Ohio to1
of the Sweetwater. The famous Inde- Wyoming, followed In the wake of
pendente hock, 8.18 miles from Inde
pendence, was one of the most note
worthy features along the trail. It
marked the entrance Into the Sweet
water dltttWct and was a sort of reg
ister, holding the rudely carved names
of many of the hardy Western adven
turers. Hy the Sweetwater the Ore
gon trailers were taken below the foot
of the Bighorns, past the Devil's Gate,
the Willamette Valley is Lot Liver
morel aged 86, the oldest resident of and tip to that remarkable crossing of
the city.- Mr. Uvermore. with his par. te Rockies Known as south Pass,
nts, left the old home in Marietta In where Ezra Meeker dedicated his
April, It&t.. The Mart was made with Imonument under such unusual clr
tour W wagons, two" horses and 40 loumstances, taking water from the Ir
rtgatlon l Itches on the east side of
Lewis and Clurk, In 1807, and bla.ed
n par of the way. Andrew Heniv,
whose name was given to a bcaullf",
lake of the ltockies; Etiennr Provont,
the prohuble discoverer f historic
South Pass; Campbell, Fltzpatrlck,
Sublette, Jim Ttrldger, Ueneral Ashley.
iionnevllle, and Wulker these are out
a few of the leaders who blazed r.nd
trod the Oregon Trail, making It -i
well-defined highway before Freo
mont st out as a "pathfinder."
Astorlans Seek Way.
Then came Wilson Price Hunt, with
hlo overland Astorlans, seeking a- wnv
from the mid-Missouri to the Colum
bia river. Ijiter. Robert Stuart stud
IUuffs Are Reached, i the Continental Divide to Irrigate the
Cotmcll Hluffs were reached and the west side. This is 847 miles from the
Missouri river crossed May II, "from Missouri river.
tkljf folpt we never saw the habitation I Oae Pacific Way.
of. a white man until we reached the I Starting now down the Pacific side
Willamette valley September 18,":lof the Great Ui.lde. the traveler pass-
says, Ir. Livermore. led over 126 miles of, somewhat for-
"Thf wagons used by the pioneersilbiddlng country, crossing the Green
of Wly days were of the "Prairie Irlver before he came to Fort Brldger,
schooner" type, with wooden axle, ne-lltlie first resting place west ' of the
casMtttting the linchpin and tar buck- lltockies, 1,070 miles from the Mis-
VV'A swayback bed was provided. In- tour!. This was a delightful spot In
deed, "schooner" was an appropriate: ivery way, and always welcomed by
Word; for often It was necessary toj the Oregon trailers. ' ,
ford streams with all the household : The Hear river waa 1,138 miles
belongings in the wagon bed. ; from Independences and to the Soda
rr, , , i 1 l,.mihh , i. i , I i . .
Livermore. as did the Santa Fe tralUrwas 1,206 miles. . Thence one crossed
at .Independence, on the Missouri lover the height of land between the
river., Practically, Bt. Louis was the IBear and Port Neuf rivers, the latter
eastern terminus, men and goods go-' eing Columbia water; and, at a dls
tng up the Missouri river to lndepen-lltance of 1,288 miles from Independ
ence, and there taking wagons andilence, reached the very important
setting out for the West. The twtllpoint of Fort Hall, the post establish-
trails war the same for 41 miles, jxl by Nathaniel Wyeth. This was the' with their ox wagons and carts, their
wnen. a airnooaru was seen wmci irirst point at which the trail struck "ana cans and wheelbarrows, to
bofe Uie simple words, "Road to Ore- ji.he Snake river, that great lower arm 'deepen the Trail and line it with their
goflr. it r ine Columbia which came dropping )oeao men roi lowed the California
ur
the returning Astorlans were to mar
out, east of the Continental Divld
the route of the trail for much of it
length. Then came scores f trammers
ana traders; then Bonneville and hi
wagons, to deepen the trail. In 1832
and two years later. In 1834, Campbell
ana nublette built old Fort Laramie on
l.aramle creek, a branch of the Platte
Light years later Fort Brldger was
bnllt by Jin) Rridger, on & branch of
the Green river,
In 1836 two women moved out Into
the West along the Oregon Trail. They
were ine wives of Whitman and
Spalding, missionaries bound for Ore
gon. Father de Smet, a missionary
aisp, Followed tn 1840; then more mis
slonarles from New England, and two
yean later Fremont, as far, at least
as the South Pass.
Mormons Appear.
In 1846-47, appeared the Mormons
branch Trails Also. h'rom Its source opposite the hradwa
" There, were branch trails that enmr tr" of the Missouri to point out the
into the road from Leavenworth anrf'iway 10 ine weary travelers.
tti Joseph, striking It abqut the pola! I The Raft river was another point of
of departure from the Santa F trail. 1 feat Interest; for here turned aside
but the Oregon Trail proper bwuw of I arm the transcontinental trail
throng on the Oregon Trail for a thou
sand miles or more to stir the soil that
the wind might carry it away, leaving
me sunaen pat n way a little deeper
This In 1849. NOW, again came the
throng anot' er high tide, to the Ore
from this fork, running steadily to thel111"' led to California. This fork of !on country, when another ten years
Northwest, part of the time along th I he road was 1,334 miles from Mis.
Little Blue river until at lost It struck hottri. Working from the Raft river.
lown the Great Snake alley, toueb-
ng and crossing and paralleling sev-
ral different streams, the Oregon
frail proper ran uMil it reached the
Irando Ronde Valley. Tho railroad
oday crosses the Blue Mountains at
xaUlv the same point as the old trail
lid.
I' mat Ma IleAohcf.
Thci the route struck the 1'matilla
ind shf rtly thereafter the Columbia.
t was 1.934 miles to Tha Dalles, 1,-
tha valley of the Platte. The distanci
from Independence to the Platte wat
Sit miles, the trail reaching Platte
about 20 miles below the head ol
Grind Inland. The course thence lay
up the Platte Valley to the two fords,
near the Platte Forks.
Here Wat a point of departure In
the Olden days. If one chose to follow
the South Forks, he would reach tin
Bayou Balade, within reach of the;
finAfltsli settlAmMnts find the liftml of
the Arkansas, or he might take the H77 to the Cascade. 2,026 to Fort
other1 arm and come out on the edgf ! Vancouver, and 2,134 to the mouth of
of the Continental Divide, much high-1 Columbia.
er to the north. ll Such was the Oregon Trail travers-
', ,: Followed Fork. rd by hundreds and thousands of har.
The Oregon Trail followed the South I ty adventurers. Who Mazed and fol
Fork for a time, then swung to theilowed this historic highway, destined
NortH Fork at Ash Creek. It was 6C7J O be marked to posterity CO yea-
miles to Fort Laramie, the last post lifter Its zenith? The Frenchman, De
on tbe eastern side of the Rockies. 'Pa Verendrye was perhaps the first tc
Thente the trail struggled on up thr tread a portion of the trail as It Is
Platte, keeping close to the stream.lj'tnown he forsook the Missouri river
until It reached the ford, well up tow-hnd started overland, possibly up the
ard the mountains and over 700 mile: Platte, crossing, some of the countiy
froth Independence. tne Astortans saw later. Th's waa in
A little farther on tho trail forsook 174 2. The trapper Er.eklal Williams,
tha' Platte. 807 miles out from Mis- ld to have been the first white rain
sotiri. and swung across to the valleyto cross the borders of whst 1 now
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A. G. KOFJPPEX IHtOS;
Manufacturing Druggist
Pendleton, Oregon
V
White In tho "Rotintl-Vp City" !! ow
drug 4 ore and try our famous Chocolate
Ice Cftsht. ' ,
i
Our preseflptlon department raider ' per
snual supervision of a graduate of the P1U1
adelphla Collcgo of Flutrniacr. -
KOEPPEN'S
The Drug Store That Serves Ton net
123 East Court Street .
was tolled off and an army covered
the plains Bold seekem, home build
ers, religioni.'ita, and adventurers of
every kind. Later the Trail filled with
wagons two nb"east, so numerous was
the throng, and two trails appeared
lor long stretches. The graves were
common; five thousand died in the
one year alone; what with the dead
and dying, the panic that ensued, the
intolerable dart, the parched lips and
'weakened frames, we may well won
der that the casualties were not great
er. The Trail was then ten feet deep
and a hundred wide in many places,
but yet destined to be worn dcoper
and deeper by the return tide of stock
in tl e fnllness of time, a million a
year for many years, tramping the
graves into dust and wearing the Trail
into alnofit incredible widths a.id
depths fifteen feet deep and two
hundred feet wide In one place en
countered. Many Leave Homes.
It Is a wonderful story,, that of the
growth of the Oregon Trail. Wrhv so
many home builders with their faml
lls plunged into the then unknown
wilderness across so wide a stretch of
l'ut was known as the 'Great Amer-
loan Desert," no man can tell. Cer
tain It Is that no such record in the
World k history can be found of so
nn,ny people going so long a distance
t. fiund an empire, as they did, over
tlic two thousand miles Bvretch of the
Oregon Trail. So long as this myatory
or lomance remains there will con
tin re an abiding interest in this un
solved problem. Lovers hastened th-iir
union that they might share the dan
ger and privation together across the
unknown stretch; sedate . heads of
families as mysteriously were moved
to risk all. that they might see the,
farther West; young men boldly mov
ed out on the plains as If it were only
great "playground" where the sport
of the chase would continue forever.
It would seem that manifest destiny
prompted tho multitude, whatever
may have ultimately governed their
action. Three hundred thousand peo
ple traversed the Oregon Trail to be-
ond the summit of the Rocky Moun
tains and passed throuRh that great
rift tn the mountains, the South Pass.
Nature had provided and pointed the
way and in time was unfolded the fi-
al climax when the great wagon
rain began to roll through that won.
derfnl break in the mountains, the
South Pass of the Rocky Mountains.
Mystery Shrouds Pass.
Mystery surrounds the real discov
ery of th "Passi." In prehistoric
times tbe buffalo wore trails over the
summit. We know as little as to
when the Indians followed. As al
ready said. Nature had pointed the
way. The melting snows of mid-winter
storms descending from the high
er levels formed the little river, Sweet
water, which in turn emptied into the
North Platte, and this in its turn
formed its junction with the South
Branch and thence rolled placidly as
mighty river to the greater Mis
souri. To follow the Oregon Trail to
within two miles of the summit of the
South Pass is to follow up the cur
rent of the waters described; the
route of the least resistance destined
again to become the Nation's high
way, to the higher altitudes above the
clouds and almost up to the perpetu
al snow line, 7,450 feet above sea
level. x
Now we are over the summit and
look out westwnrd over a vast plateau
of high altitude a hundred miles or
mere before we begin to descend into
the Bear river valley, and down Bear
river a snort way ana we are near me
Snake, which we follow, and finally to
the Columbia and tbe tide waters of
the Pacific. v
Lewis and Clark, in 1805, finally
reached and descended the Snake and
Columbia, and that far were on the
general route of the Oregon Trail;
then came Hunt with his Astor party
to traverse a part in 1911-12, but the
key, the South Pass, has not been dis
covered yet, and not until ten years
later a party of trappers found and
crossed over through the Pass. This
was in 1822 or 1823. Tet another 10
years elapsed before any one person
passed over tho whole of the Oregon
Trail. The glory of that achievement
belongs to N. J. Wyeth, an intrepid
Rostonlan, who crossed with his wa
gons, following the wagon track al
ready dimly worn a hundred miles
west of the summit by other trappers
SAWTEELE'S
Jewelry - ;
Years of Confidence
If there is one thing that predominates in your buying
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on confidence. And confidence comes only after years of
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For years SAWTELLES has held that respect and has .
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chasers of Pendleton. They naturally have come to
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what their banker means in financial matters a trusted,
responsible advisor.
Our "out of town" service gives, to those who are un
able to visit the store, the same exacting care in the sup-:
plying of jewelry needs that are obtained through a per
sonal visit. We invite you to use our service freely in '
making your selections. ,
PEARLS
DIAMONDS
JEWELRY
SILVERWARE
CHINA
y 7 inc.
. -cJeujeler)
Bandbton
Ore.
The Largest Diamond Dealers in Eastern Oregon
Uiver Is Crossed.
In 184S nearly a 'thousand men.
women and children crossed the Mis
souri river, iraversca the Platte Val
leys, crossed the Rockies through the
South Pass, thence to the Snake and
Columbia; the first wagon train that
ever reached the Pacific coast and the
first real migration of bnilders to the
Pacific Slope. These people had come
from widely 'scattered districts of the
United States and pitched their tents
near the buffalo herds on the western
border of - civilization, The Oregon
question was not settled and hung in
the balance. The Lynn bill granting
(40 acres of land to each family, tad
passed the senate.' Whitman, the mis
sionary, baa' returned overland the
previous winter to save bis mission,
and preached Oregon in season and
out of season. " The government w:S
organising an expedition under tie
leadership of Fremont to penetrate the
dark, country, of which so little waa
known.'
Continued on page 4.V
nrmnrm --mxr; i j sVsTi i tilill Ti t til Iftt"''
Hamley
Si v' . r
ft ' v
l' yT H
HAM
Saddles
used wherever;:? j M
GOOD SADDLES
ARE KNO WN
Seethe Round-Up
Prize Saddles
on Display ;
AT OUR STORE.
If you do not live in Pendleton, use our Cata
log. It shows the real goods in ,
SADDLES
CHAPS '
BOOTS
"STETSON" HATS
"SILK GIANT" LARIAT ROPES
BITS AND SPURS
TRICK ROPES
LADIES' RIDING SKIRTS
And all other riding equipment
For the Pleasure of our 'Catalog CoMomerg we are
sending, to each name ow ear Cwaome List, copy of the
Saturday Kound-l'p Editions of this paper and also a copy
of the Issue ot Sept. M ghring the ttmto to the Homxi-t p
events.
"Ride a HamJey.Saddle ancf. Let er BugR'.
LEY &:
CO.
PENDLETON, OREGON
l.,t
,.ll
.u
INK) traderi,