The Long Haul West: Life on the Oregon Trail By ... - Lourdes College

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Oregon Trail, to know how the first transcontinental explorers travelled so that we may understand why every man in America did not jump west upon the news of the discovery. Patrick Gass was part of the expedition and the first to publish a journal about the trip. His first entry described the expedition on the 14 th of May 1804. <strong>The</strong>y began where many a person would begin the Oregon Trail, near the Missouri river. <strong>The</strong> “corps” as Gass called it consisted of 43 men. <strong>The</strong>re were of course the two captains, Lewis and Clark. <strong>The</strong>n half of the men belonged to the regular United States military and the other half were of various specialties for the specific journey ahead. This first expedition west was very different than that of the later experiences but is still so important to the overall story. For these first 43 men, the journey would be six times as long as the later trail blazers. <strong>The</strong>y would also take to the water as their means of transport. <strong>The</strong>y rode the river in what Gass called a batteau and two periogues. <strong>The</strong>se were boats that are specific to North America. 6 Once the Lewis and Clark expedition found the Oregon Country, people would find it to difficult a trip to embark upon since it would take so long and be far too financially burdensome. So ends the era of discovery for the Oregon Trail, at least for the time being. Astorians 1810's-1820's <strong>The</strong> birth of the actual Oregon Trail would not come until the year 1812. Surprisingly it would not be found by pioneers heading west, but by a group of fur traders fleeing eastward. This would all begin with a man named John Jacob Astor. Astor owned the American Fur Company that operated in the Oregon Territory. This company came to be in the year 1808; two years after the Lewis and Clark expedition explored the region. He had competition from the British fur companies in the area. This would only be a 4
problem until Astor went to Congress in 1816 and had an act passed that banned foreign traders from working on United States land. This would grant Astor the ability to run a monopoly in the Northwestern fur trade. In 1813 Astor founded a trading post in Oregon; it was named Astoria after him. This trading post would change hands several times and end up in the hands of the British. It would stay this way until the 1840s. 7 Robert Stuart would be the first white man to take the Oregon Trail. Stuart, an American fur trader in Astoria, led a group of broken and rundown traders east on the trail back to safety. <strong>The</strong>y were fleeing from the British. <strong>The</strong> group left Astoria on the Columbia River. <strong>The</strong>y would then use the soon to be infamous South Pass through the Rocky Mountains. <strong>The</strong>y would return all the way back to the Missouri River. 8 Later, mountain men of the northwest followed in the wake of Robert Stuart and his men. <strong>The</strong>y were the next to open up the south pass. <strong>The</strong>y would be led by a man named Jedediah Smith. <strong>The</strong> pass is rediscovered in 1824 and this time it would not be lost again. <strong>The</strong> mountain men were a very unique part of the culture of the Northwestern territories. <strong>The</strong>y are made up of two different groups, the miners and the trappers. <strong>The</strong>y for the most part lived off the land, without any type of civilization. <strong>The</strong>y followed the Oregon Trail back to Missouri where they sold their furs. 9 <strong>The</strong> American mountain men were quite fascinating. <strong>The</strong>y would travel up into the wilderness of the mountains and trap all year round. Once a year they would come together for the annual sale of their furs. This would be the only time that these men would see another white man, unless they were to chance upon one another in the wilderness. At this gathering they would sell their goods and be resupplied for another year. <strong>The</strong>y would receive items such as “powder, lead, traps, tobacco, guns, knives, [and] hatchets.” 10 5
Page 1 and 2: Introduction The <
Page 3: the pass, the trail crossed the Gre
Page 7 and 8: straight out of Mary Ann Richardson
Page 9 and 10: While on the trail, the emigrants f
Page 11 and 12: with the Indians would be typical o
Page 13 and 14: The Boatman party
Page 15 and 16: on the trail. 38 The</stron
Page 17 and 18: filled up every container they had
Page 19 and 20: Mary Ann said this of the river,
Page 21 and 22: families who travelled there for ma
Page 23 and 24: Endnotes 1 Robert Richmond, A Natio
Page 25: List of Sources Primary Sources A N

The Long Haul West: Life on the Oregon Trail By ... - Lourdes College

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