Oregon Trail
| Oregon National Historic Trail | |
|---|---|
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| Specialty: | Historic 19th century trade and settlement route across the Rocky Mountains |
| Length: | 3500 km |
| Founding: | November 10, 1978 |
The Oregon Trail was a roughly 3,500 km (2,200 mile) route used by settlers from the then populated parts of the eastern and central United States to migrate across the Rocky Mountains to the western United States in the mid-19th century . The journey was mostly made in covered wagons and led through steppes, deserts and mountains to colonize new regions in the Pacific Northwest . Much of the route was also used for treks to other parts of the west.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the British , as the owners of what would later become Canada, and the United States had agreed to settle the areas west of the Rocky Mountains together, but a few years after the first American pioneers arrived, the two states decided in 1846 in the Oregon- Compromise to divide the area along the 49th parallel. The settlement of the southern, US-American half really began and the Oregon Trail grew in importance. Beginning in 1847, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ( Mormons ) also started the trail over the mountains, but then branched off on the Mormon Trail to the Great Salt Lake . When the California gold rush broke out in 1849 , the Oregon Trail became the California Trail , which was identical to the well-known route as far as the Rocky Mountains and only then ran south. The time of the treks and the Oregon Trail came to an abrupt end when the first transcontinental railroad connection was completed in 1869 . The trail was added to the National Trails System in 1978 .
Most of the Oregon Trail was traveled from east to west. The journey in the opposite direction was far more dangerous, as it was only possible to travel in small groups and gold had been suspected to be among them since the California gold rush. According to one estimate, around 1200 people traveled from west to east in 1853 and around 600 to 1000 in 1855. In the same years more than 35,000 people (1853) or almost 7000 people (1855) from east to west.
history
Thanks to the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804/1806, the first maps of parts of the route were available. However, the route used by the expedition over the Lolo Pass in the Rocky Mountains was too steep for settlers with luggage and covered wagons. In 1810 initiated American Fur Company of John Jacob Astor to a supply route for an expedition fur trading post Fort Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River to find. Although the expedition and base failed, the Astorians returning in 1811 found a far better route through the Rockies: the South Pass . Their discovery was not mentioned in the official report, however, because the American Fur Company did not operate in the central Rocky Mountains and did not want to disclose the pass to its competitors.
Some expedition reports, for example those by Lieutenant Zebulon Pike (1806) and Major Steven Long (1819), described the Great Plains as unsuitable for settlement and called the area "the great American desert". The Great Plains were partially considered an uninhabitable desert until almost 1880. At the same time, the first missionaries reported euphorically from Oregon since 1818. Missionaries, politicians as well as early settlers and business people in the West, such as Johann August Sutter and John Marsh, propagated the West as very fertile and climatically pleasant. They even described the trip to the West as a health-promoting cure.
Early settler treks
In February 1824, Crow and Cheyenne Indians showed the South Pass to a trapper group of the Ashley & Henry fur trading company (later the Rocky Mountain Fur Company ) under the direction of Jedediah Smith . They immediately recognized the importance and from then on the path was used regularly by fur hunters and traders. They were sometimes joined by Methodist and Presbyterian missionaries traveling across the Rockys to Oregon. In the 1830s, news spread in the newspapers that fur trader William Sublette had successfully traveled by car to a rendezvous at the South Pass and back. Until then, the Rocky Mountains were considered an insurmountable obstacle for cars. In 1840, Joel Walker and his family were the first settlers to accompany the fur-trading caravan west. The realization that the overland route to Oregon is passable was further boosted by a book by missionary Samuel Parker . Parker described how he made the trip as an aging man in 1835. In 1841 the first group of settlers traveled to Oregon unaccompanied by experienced mountain men , with Jesuit missionaries led by Pierre-Jean De Smet . Some settlers advanced as far as Fort Vancouver in what is now Washington . Not all emigrants reached their destination by any means. For example, in 1841 about ten percent of travelers turned back.
On May 16, 1842, the first organized train of covered wagons with 100 people started from Elm Grove . The following year, 900 settlers reached Oregon, 800 of them settling in the Willamette Valley . The settlers formed a provisional government. This brought the USA into conflict with the British, who had previously ruled Oregon over the Hudson's Bay Company . Despite the hostilities, John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay Company in Fort Vancouver generously supported the new settlers from 1842 to 1845. The British press made fun of American citizens' intentions to reach Oregon via the Rocky Mountains, or it questioned the seriousness of the emigration attempts. The British press maintained this attitude in part until around 1844, when emigration had long been underway. In 1846 the Oregon Compromise regulated the border between the British and the USA in the west. On its basis, the Oregon Territory was created two years later on the part of the USA . With the border treaty, the British press lost interest in the emigration of American settlers.
The American press, under the influence of Horace Greeley , was initially also critical of emigration to the west and did not see the necessity, as there was enough fertile land in the east. Emigrants were criticized for unnecessarily endangering their families. In the mid-1840s, the mood turned and skepticism gave way to euphoria about expanding the United States to the west coast of the continent. From then on, emigrants were praised as heroes and the dangers of traveling were played down. The explorer and politician John C. Frémont promoted the South Pass as an easier passage over the Rockys. In 1845, US President James K. Polk proposed that successful pioneers who reached Oregon be rewarded with a free piece of land. However, his advance failed.
Before long, enterprising people were offering their services along the Oregon Trail. In 1843 the first commercially operated ferry on the Kansas River went into service. Due to the high price, most emigrants built their own ferries. In Oregon and California , many early settlers helped newcomers, provided medical care, offered them shelter, met them with provisions, and patrolled enemy Indians. Mission stations were also important for immigrants who arrived late in the year and were desperate for a place to winter. In California, John Sutter and his Fort Sutter excelled in the generous support of immigrants in need.
In the winter of 1846 one of the greatest accidents in the history of the Oregon Trail occurred: around 90 emigrants under the leadership of George Donner were surprised by early snowfall on the way to California at Donner Pass . Around half of the Donner Party died and many of the rest only survived thanks to cannibalism . Although the majority of the press kept silent about this event, from this point onwards the euphoric and romantic reporting gradually turned into a more realistic one and newspapers published useful information on the route and letters from settlers in Oregon.
Many hundreds of thousands of emigrants to Oregon and California followed, especially after the gold discovery in California in 1848 . During this time, cholera spread across the prairie. The increasing number of emigrants put more and more pressure on the Indian tribes in the west and tensions between emigrants and Indians increased. Probably entrained measles pathogen that in the Cayuse - and Umatilla claimed many casualties -Indianern, brought this up against the white settlers. In 1847 Cayuse and Umatilla Indians carried out the Whitman massacre on missionary Marcus Whitman, his family and 15 other settlers. The following Cayuse War made military engagement in the Pacific Northwest necessary. The war ended in 1855 with the defeat of the Indian tribes involved and their resettlement in Indian reservations .
Expansion and improvement of the trail
The route was continuously improved, shortened and the infrastructure along the route expanded both by the government and by private initiative. In 1845 Colonel Stephen W. Kearny first led a US Army force to the South Pass and back east. In the following year the US Parliament gave money to build army posts along the Oregon Trail. Stephen W. Kearny had a first station built on the west bank of the Missouri River, Fort Kearny . The construction of the fort chain was delayed due to the outbreak of the Mexican-American War , and Fort Kearny was temporarily abandoned.
In 1849 the approximately 600 men of the 3rd US Cavalry Regiment rode the entire length of the Oregon Trail and set up military posts along the way. After Fort Kearny , Fort Laramie and Fort Hall were the next military posts, with the army buying both forts from private traders and converting them into military bases . Fort Hall was abandoned in the coming spring due to difficult supplies. Camp Drum was established in May 1850. During the 1850s, the 3rd US Cavalry Regiment built additional army posts in areas with increased conflict potential with Indians. For travelers on the Oregon Trail, the military stations offered not only protection, but also opportunities to stock up on provisions and spare parts. Desperate emigrants were often given the bare essentials free of charge in army posts. In the 1850s, up to 90 percent of the US Army was stationed in the 79 army posts west of the Mississippi.
The US government also tried to pacify the trail through negotiations with Indian tribes. In 1848 she paid $ 2000 for 600 square meters . In 1851 she invited various tribes to meet at Fort Laramie. Over 10,000 Indians took part. At this meeting, the Fort Laramie treaty defined the boundaries and gave the US permission to build forts and roads. In return, the Indians were assured of goods worth 50,000 US dollars annually for 50 years. However, not all groups of the tribes involved took part in the meeting; they did not feel bound by the agreements.
Around 1850 more and more settlers settled on the way and offered their services. Privately operated ferries, bridges, forges, trading posts and the like were built. Initially, trading posts often consisted of simple tents. In 1843 Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez had built a private trading post on the Oregon Trail, Fort Bridger, southwest of the South Pass . In many cases, workshops were located directly next to ferry companies. The travelers especially used the services of the blacksmiths. In the area west of the South Pass, the Mormons were particularly involved in business. In 1849, it cost a wagon to cross one of their ferries for $ 5, and that ferry's revenue for the season was an estimated $ 6,500 to $ 10,000. To compete with the ferries, entrepreneurs increasingly built bridges, which, however, required high initial investments. For example, in 1853 a new bridge was built over the North Platte River for $ 14,000 to $ 16,000. In the first year of operation, however, the bridge brought in 40,000 US dollars. The different prices in the east and west stimulated the business activity of traders. For example, cattle bought in Missouri could be sold in California at a multiple of the purchase price. It was worthwhile for cattle dealers to drive sheep, oxen, cows and horses west, even if they had to expect a loss of 10 to 20 percent along the way. This activity peaked between 1852 and 1854. For 1853, the number of sheep and cattle driven overland to the west is estimated at 300,000.
In August 1850, a state, monthly mail service started between Independence and Salt Lake City, in 1851 a stopover was set up in Fort Laramie. In the same year, another mail service was established between Salt Lake City and Sacramento. In many cases, the letters arrived late and sometimes not at all. In 1858 the delivery interval between Independence and Salt Lake City was increased to one week. In 1860, a private competition arose with the Pony Express . Just a year later, the mail couriers lost their importance due to the new telegraph network.
The California gold rush changed the composition of the emigrant groups. Before that, it was mainly families of emigrants who traveled, with the gold rush mostly men. During the Californian gold rush, the first newspapers in the West appeared in California and Oregon, demanding ever more urgent support and military protection of the Oregon Trail from the US government. The early 1850s were climatically difficult, which is why many emigrants had to leave all their possessions behind and only reached their destination with extreme efforts on foot. Many of the emigrants destined for California changed their route to Oregon. The superintendents of Washington and Oregon were interested in peace with the Indians. For example, in 1856, Shoshone groups received gifts valued at $ 4,500.
In 1854, a cow belonging to a traveler on the Oregon Trail, which lost its way to a Lakota Indian camp and was killed there, led to the Grattan massacre . The battle was the first armed conflict between the Lakota and the US Army.
In 1857 Mormon settlers left the Carson River Valley and moved northeast, where they established Salt Lake City and nearly 400 other settlements.
In 1860 Frederick Lander built large water reservoirs at Rabbit Hole Springs and Antelope Springs.
The end of use
Around 1850, ideas for alternative forms of travel arose, such as travel by balloon , stagecoach or wagons supported by wind sails. From 1849, business people implemented the idea of a train drawn by draft animals . Some of these trains reached significantly higher speeds. In 1860, one such train made it from St. Joseph to Salt Lake City in 19 days. The journey by train, however, cost several hundred US dollars more than the journey in a covered wagon. In addition, the travelers could only take a limited amount of luggage with them.
In the middle of the 1850s the first demands for a railway line across the American continent appeared. In the east, newspapers in the 1850s reported noticeably more objective and less romanticizing or dramatizing about the Oregon Trail than before. The emigrants were therefore usually better prepared for the trip.
The route was still used during the American Civil War . The trail became less important when the transcontinental railroad opened in 1869 . Their route was further south.
Routing
Great Plains
Various towns in the east competed with campaigns for the leading city for equipment and travel to the west. In the early years of the Oregon Trail, Independence was given a very important position that it gradually lost to St. Joseph and Kanesville with the gold rush . Kanesville served especially the Mormons as a starting point for their emigration to Utah . St. Joseph, Kansas City, and Kanesville were all on the Missouri River . The equipment of settler treks was of great economic importance. In 1849, for example, gold prospectors in Independence spent $ 150,000.
The route from Independence led northwest to the Little Blue River . During the days of active use of the Oregon Trail, the foundation stone was laid for several towns such as Lawrence, Kansas and Topeka . West of Marysville, Kansas , the route merged with that of St. Joseph. The settlers roughly followed the Little Blue River to the south of present-day Hastings, Nebraska , where they traveled northwest to the Platte River . In 1848 the Fort Kearny military post was built there on the Platte River .
The Oregon Trail now led essentially along the Platte River through the Great Plains, between Fort McPherson and California Hill the South Platte River and then the North Platte River approximately to today's Casper (Wyoming) . The settlers orientated themselves on landmarks like the Chimney Rock , the Register Cliff , the Laramie Peak , the Ayres Natural Bridge and the Independence Rock . On some landmarks such as the Cliff Register, many settlers have left their names and a year as a sign and message for those who follow. The terrain rises continuously on this section of the route, from the confluence of the North Platte River with the South Platt River at 850 meters to Casper at 1550 meters. On this stretch of the Oregon Trail Ruts , traces of the wagons and draft animals have been preserved in an eroded sandstone rib over a distance of about 800 meters. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966.
Rocky Mountains and Blue Mountains
After Casper, the settlers moved away from the North Platte River and moved further west to the Sweetwater River . With it they reached the Rocky Mountains, which they crossed over the 2265 m altitude South Pass . The route continued to Fort Bridger, north of Bear Lake via Soda Springs to Fort Hall , where they reached the Snake River at about 1350 m .
From 1840 the US government had exploration expeditions in the Rocky Mountains, which led to significant improvements to the route, especially from 1850. In 1857, the US Congress approved $ 300,000 for a road between Kearny and Honey Lake, California. Under the direction of Frederick Lander , the construction of the road resulted in a time saving of five travel days. Overall, the improvements made by the US government shortened the journey from over 130 days to sometimes under 70 days. In 1858/59, James H. Simpson built a new route between Camp Floyd and Fort Bridger that saved 288 miles.
Along the Snake River, the traditional route continued via what is now Twin Falls to Glenns Ferry . There some settlers continued to follow the Snake River, others moved on a route further north via today's Boise to Fort Boise , where they met again and crossed the Snake River. From 1862 the route shifted. That year, Shoshone and Bannock Indians blocked the main route on the Snake River as they fought against the Whites invading their country.To avoid the Indians, the largest settler train of all time on the Oregon Trail with 338 wagons and 1095 people was led by Tim Goodale over a northern route, which from then on was called the Goodale Cutoff and was also preferred in the following years. This led along the northern edge of the Snake River Plain and thus bypassed the large and unexplored lava fields of today's Craters of the Moon National Monument , until it met the river again at Bliss and followed it to Boise.
After crossing the Snake River, their route merged with a route south of the river, and the settlers could see the Blue Mountains ahead of them. The further course of the route to Pendleton , which was created in the middle of the Oregon Trail phase, roughly coincides with today's Interstate 84 . In contrast to this, they did not move directly to the Columbia River , but traveled further north and only met the Columbia before The Dalles .
The immigrants then had to decide whether to raft on the Columbia to Fort Vancouver or to take the very steep Barlow Road to the Willamette Valley . Barlow Road was established as a toll road in 1846 . The toll was five dollars for each person and ten cents for each head of cattle. It was named after Samuel K. Barlow , who discovered the route from the Tygh Valley in northern Oregon to Oregon City in 1845. Most of the settlers drove on to the Willamette Valley. The only alternative was a strenuous and dangerous route across the Columbia River.
Barlow Road was declared a Historic District in 1992 . It has been part of the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway since 2005 . Most of today's country roads run on or next to the path, e.g. B. US Highway 26 .
The route improvements reduced the travel time from an average of 166 days in the years 1841–1849 to 129 in the years 1850–1860.
Oregon and California fought a similar competition as the starting locations as destinations. One argument in favor of California was the impending war with England in Oregon until 1846. Oregon was supported by the possibility of being able to travel by water thanks to the Columbia River from The Dalles to Fort Vancouver, Portland or Oregon City.
In 1845, a California delegation traveled to Fort Hall to persuade Oregon Trail settlers to settle in California. They offered the emigrants to provide them with guides and to meet them with provisions. These measures proved to be successful, which is why they were repeated the following year. However, Oregon now also sent a delegation to Fort Hall and most of the settlers decided to travel on to Oregon. Both parties also sought to improve the route to them.
The end of the Oregon Trail was typically Oregon City . As an alternative to the waterway, Samuel Barlow established Barlow Road in 1846. The next year, a route from south to Salem , the Applegate Trail , was created as an extension of the California Trail.
Equipment and organization
Most of the emigrants traveled with a covered wagon in which they stowed their luggage. More than half of the wagons were pulled by oxen. Oxen could be used by the farmers for work in the destination, and they were less often stolen en route than horses or mules, which were also used as draft animals.
The treks often consisted of dozens of covered wagons, sometimes organized as loose associations, sometimes as well-structured groups with binding, written rules of conduct and statutes. They were organized by business people in the east. Especially in the early years, the treks were led by experienced mountain men such as Stephen Meek , Thomas Fitzpatrick , Andrew Sublette , John Gantt , Caleb Greenwood or by missionaries working in the west such as Marcus Whitman . In 1845, Meek received $ 250 for running a carriage train from Independence to Fort Vancouver. A year later the traces of the treks were so clearly visible that a guide was no longer absolutely necessary. In addition, the organizers of the treks had usually already traveled west and back at least once and knew the route.
The timing of the trip was of vital importance. The start was always in spring; Before the onset of winter, the emigrants had to arrive in the west. Many emigrants arrived at the starting point weeks or even months before their departure. At these starting points, they supplied themselves with covered wagons, draft animals, spare parts and provisions for the journey. The prices rose sharply over the years. A tableware cost 25 US dollars in 1846, three years later it was 60 US dollars.
As soon as the emigrants started their journey, many noticed that their wagons were overloaded and threw away unnecessary items along the way. From equipment towns like St. Josephs, busy people picked up the discarded goods and resold them. A particularly large number of goods were thrown away in the area after Fort Laramie, often even wagons and draft animals. For the year 1850 alone, the number of abandoned wagons in that area is estimated at 2000. Subsequent travelers used the goods they left behind to replace defective goods or goods of poor quality.
On the way, the travelers often left warnings, for example about inedible water or a dangerous shortcut, but also news. In 1850 someone left the news of the death of US President Zachary Taylor on a tree .
Losses and defects promoted brisk trade on the way, both within the travel group and with external parties. Many emigrants, especially blacksmiths , wheelwrighters and doctors, were able to improve their travel budget through work. Doctors often also worked for free. In times of need, many emigrants exchanged their wagons and their belongings for a horse or mule . The prices for mounts were therefore high, those for chariots low. Food was also traded dearly along the way. Some people took advantage of the plight of travelers, drove water carts into desert-like areas and sold water to the thirsty at inflated prices. For example, in 1850 west of the Humboldt Sink five gallons of water (around 23 liters) were sold for 50 US dollars, at the Hastings Cutoff travelers offered 500 US dollars for a drink.
Contact with Indians
Almost all of the emigrants met Indians on the way. Within the first 150 km or so from the starting locations, the Indians were very familiar with the Anglo-American culture due to the work of Christian missionaries. Indians often served as trading partners, as scouts or as rescuers in times of need. They helped with river crossings, ran errands or helped with the hunt. The Indians were often described as tough negotiating partners who knew how to take advantage of the emigrants' emergency situation. Occasionally, Indians tried to trade women.
Indians of the Sauk and Fox , Kickapoo , Pawnee and Sioux sometimes demanded a transit fee (toll) because the wagon trains drove away their game or emigrants hunted game, cut wood and used up water supplies. Bison was often shot down by emigrants as a sport on the way, but for many Indian peoples they were a central source of food. The right to a transit fee has been confirmed on various occasions by the US government. For example, in 1849/50 the passage at Wolf Creek in Kansas cost 25 cents per car, in 1852 it was double that.
However, emigrants also repeatedly reported thefts, for example from horses or kidnappings by Indians, but also by gangs of whites. Indians sometimes sold stolen horses to subsequent travelers, which later often led to conflicts between the previous and the new owner.
In later years tensions increased and there were more skirmishes. In May 1852, for example, nine Pawnee died fighting against emigrants. In his dissertation from 1979, the historian John D. Unruh estimated the emigrants killed by Indians and the Indians killed by emigrants overall as follows:
| year | Emigrants | Indians |
|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 0 | 0 |
| 1841 | 0 | 1 |
| 1842 | 0 | 0 |
| 1843 | 0 | 0 |
| 1844 | 0 | 0 |
| 1845 | 4th | 1 |
| 1846 | 4th | 20th |
| 1847 | 24 | 2 |
| 1848 | 2 | 2 |
| 1849 | 33 | 60 |
| 1850 | 48 | 76 |
| 1851 | 60 | 70 |
| 1852 | 45 | 70 |
| 1853 | 7th | 9 |
| 1854 | 35 | 40 |
| 1855 | 6th | 10 |
| 1856 | 20th | 15th |
| 1857 | 17th | 30th |
| 1858 | ? | ? |
| 1859 | 32 | 10 |
| 1860 | 25th | 10 |
| Total | 362 | 426 |
About 90 percent of fatal clashes between immigrants and Indians occurred west of the South Pass, as did most thefts in the west.
Reports of massacres or attacks by Indians were spread over and over again without any basis. Overall, Indian theft was a far bigger problem than the threat to life.
The Indians lost most of their lives due to diseases brought in by emigrants. Cholera in particular raged brutally among the Osage , Sauk and Fox, Kansa , Kickapoo, Potawatomi , Wyandot Miami , Lenni Lenape , Shawnee , Pawnee, Cheyenne and Sioux.
statistics
According to Unruh estimates, the following numbers of emigrants via the Oregon Trail to Oregon, California or Utah result up to 1860.
| year | Oregon | California | Utah | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1834-39 | 20th | - | - | 20th |
| 1840 | 13 | - | - | 13 |
| 1841 | 24 | 34 | - | 58 |
| 1842 | 125 | - | - | 125 |
| 1843 | 875 | 38 | - | 913 |
| 1844 | 1,475 | 53 | - | 1,528 |
| 1845 | 2,500 | 260 | - | 2,760 |
| 1846 | 1,200 | 1,500 | - | 2,700 |
| 1847 | 4,000 | 450 | 2,200 | 6,650 |
| 1848 | 1,300 | 400 | 2,400 | 4,100 |
| 1849 | 450 | 25,000 | 1,500 | 26,950 |
| 1850 | 6,000 | 44,000 | 2,500 | 52,500 |
| 1851 | 3,600 | 1,100 | 1,500 | 6,200 |
| 1852 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 10,000 | 70,000 |
| 1853 | 7,500 | 20,000 | 8,000 | 35,500 |
| 1854 | 6,000 | 12,000 | 3,200 | 21,200 |
| 1855 | 500 | 1,500 | 4,700 | 6,700 |
| 1856 | 1,000 | 8,000 | 2,400 | 11,400 |
| 1857 | 1,500 | 4,000 | 1,300 | 6,800 |
| 1858 | 1,500 | 6,000 | 150 | 7,650 |
| 1859 | 2,000 | 17,000 | 1,400 | 20,400 |
| 1860 | 1,500 | 9,000 | 1,600 | 12,100 |
| Total | 53,000 | 200,300 | 43,000 | 296,300 |
In 1850, most of the emigrants traveled west. According to the registration at Fort Laramie, several thousand people passing through often reached the military post between May and August.
The deaths en route are estimated at around 5 percent of emigrants. Illnesses and accidents were responsible for around 90 percent of deaths. Cholera, brucellosis and scurvy were the most dangerous diseases, and diarrhea , tuberculosis , smallpox and mumps also led to death in some cases . The route west of Fort Laramie, which was significantly more dangerous than the first half of the route, claimed the most deaths.
Alternative routes to Oregon and California
The Oregon Trail competed with other routes to the west. From 1849 to 1860 around two thirds of all emigrants traveled west on alternative routes such as the Santa Fe Trail , the Gila Trail , the Old Spanish Trail or by sea either via Nicaragua and Panama or via Cape Horn . In 1849, the journey from the east coast to San Francisco around Cape Horn took an average of 170 days with expenses of 600 US dollars per person. Via the Panama Route, the trip only took six weeks and the expense was $ 500. Travelers had to calculate about 130 days for the Oregon Trail. A year later, the trip on the Panama Route was reduced to three to four weeks at a cost of around 100 US dollars per person.
present
The Pioneer Trails Museum in Bridgeport, Nebraska is dedicated to the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail .
reception
Motion picture films and series
- The Caravan (1923)
- The Oregon Trail (series, 1923)
- The great trek (series, 1930)
- Oregon Trail (film, 1945)
- The Oregon Trail (film, 1936) , starring: John Wayne
- The Oregon Trail (series, 1939)
- The Oregon Trail (film, 1959) , starring: Fred MacMurray
- The Way West , (1967), starring: Kirk Douglas , Robert Mitchum , Richard Widmark
- On the Road to Oregon ( Meek's Cutoff ) (2010)
watch TV
- The Oregon Trail (TV series, 1976)
- The Oregon Trail (TV series, 1977)
- The Long Trek (TV series, 1979–1980)
Computer games
Musicals
- The Trail to Oregon! , a musical produced by StarKid
literature
-
Francis Parkman : The California and Oregon Trail, Being Sketches of Prairie and Rocky Mountain Life . George P. Putnam, New York 1849, digitized in the Internet Archive.
- Corrected edition: The Oregon Trail. Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life. Little, Brown, and Company, Boston 1894, digitized in the Internet Archive.
- Translation into German: To the Rocky Mountains and back. Stories of life on the prairie and the Rocky Mountains in 1846. Translated by Bernhard Rubenbauer. Kindle Edition 2017.
- Corrected edition: The Oregon Trail. Sketches of Prairie and Rocky-Mountain Life. Little, Brown, and Company, Boston 1894, digitized in the Internet Archive.
- The exploring expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California by Brevet Col. John Charles Frémont (undertaken by the orders of the US Government) to which is added a description of the physical Geography of California with the recent notices of the Gold Region. Derby, Orton and Mulligan, Buffalo 1852
- AB Guthrie, Jr .: The Way West . Houghton Mifflin Company, New York 1949.
- John D. Unruh , Jr .: The Plains Across. The Overland Emigrants and the Trans-Mississippi West, 1840-60 . University of Illinois Press, 1993 (first printed in 1979)
Web links
- National Park Service: Oregon National Historic Trail (official site; English)
- Historic Sites on the Oregon Trail (English)
- Oregon Trail History Library (English) ( Memento of 13 April 2008 at the Internet Archive )
- Oregon Trail: The Trail West (English)
- Map 1843 (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Unruh, pp. 124-131
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 30 and 92
- ^ Unruh, p. 29, 91/92, p. 118, p. 122
- ^ Unruh, p. 357
- ^ Unruh, pp. 5 and 31–35
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 36–50
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 244–247
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 360–365
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 49–57
- ^ Unruh, p. 137
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 202–205
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 201-209
- ^ Unruh, p. 223
- ^ Unruh, p. 257
- ^ Unruh, p. 289
- ↑ balance, S. 393/394
- ^ Unruh, pp. 240–242
- ^ Unruh, p. 406
- ^ Unruh, p. 225
- ↑ Unruh, pp 297-303
- ^ Unruh, pp. 101-107
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 80–89
- ↑ This chapter is mainly based on the map of the National Park Service (PDF; 2.5 MB)
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 68 and 114
- ^ Unruh, pp. 130 and 236/237.
- ↑ Craters of the Moon Natural History Association: Goodale Cutoff (accessed December 21, 2009)
- ↑ Unruh, p. 403.
- ^ Unruh, p. 342.
- ↑ Unruh, pp 339-345.
- ^ Unruh, p. 387
- ^ Unruh, pp. 107-110
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 150–153
- ^ Unruh, pp. 133/134
- ↑ Unruh, pp 140-149
- ^ Unruh, p. 268
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 156–194
- ^ Unruh, p. 295
- ↑ Unruh, pp. 119/120
- ^ Unruh, p. 122
- ↑ balance, S. 408/409
- ^ Unruh, pp. 400–402