Ox-Team Days on the Oregon Trail

<SPAN name="startofbook"></SPAN> <h1>Ox-Team Days on the<br/> Oregon Trail</h1> <p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_ii" id="Page_ii"></SPAN></span></p> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/frontis.jpg" width-obs="433" height-obs="600" alt="Ezra Meeker." title="" /> <span class="caption">Ezra Meeker.</span></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/signature-1.png" width-obs="500" height-obs="122" alt="Signature: Ezra Meeker" title="" /></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii"></SPAN></span></p> <h3><i>Pioneer Life Series</i></h3> <hr style="width: 15%;" /> <h1>Ox-Team Days on<br/> the Oregon Trail</h1> <h3>by</h3> <h2><i>Ezra Meeker</i></h2> <div class='center'> in collaboration with<br/> <i><big>Howard R. Driggs</big></i><br/> Professor of Education in English<br/> University of Utah<br/></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/emblem.png" width-obs="249" height-obs="250" alt="Emblem: Wagon wheel with book" title="" /></div> <div class='center'> <i>Illustrated with drawings<br/> by <big>F. N. Wilson</big><br/> and with photographs</i><br/> <br/> <br/><br/> Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York<br/> <i><big>World Book Company</big></i><br/> 1927<br/></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv"></SPAN></span></p> <h3><span class='u'>WORLD BOOK COMPANY</span></h3> <div class='center'><span class='u'>THE HOUSE OF APPLIED KNOWLEDGE</span><br/> <br/><br/> Established 1905 by Caspar W. Hodgson<br/> <span class="smcap">Yonkers-on-Hudson, New York</span><br/> <span class="smcap">2126 Prairie Avenue, Chicago</span><br/> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;</div> <div class='blockquot'>The Oregon Trail&mdash;what suggestion the name carries of the heroic toil of pioneers! Yet a few years' ago the route of the trail was only vaguely known. Then public interest was awakened by the report that one of the very men who had made the trip to Oregon in the old days was traversing the trail once more, moving with ox team and covered wagon from his home in the state of Washington, and marking the old route as he went. The man with the ox team was Ezra Meeker. He went on to the capital, where Mr. Roosevelt, then President, met him with joy. Then he traversed the long trail once more with team and wagon&mdash;back to that Northwest which he had so long made his home. This book gives Mr. Meeker's story of his experiences on the Oregon Trail when it was new, and again when, advanced in years, he retraced the journey of his youth that Americans might ever know where led the footsteps of the pioneers. The publication of this book in its Pioneer Life Series carries forward one of the cherished purposes of World Book Company&mdash;to supply as a background to the study of American history interesting and authentic narratives based on the personal experiences of brave men and women who helped to push the frontier of our country across the continent<br/><br/><br/></div> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/triangle.png" width-obs="11" height-obs="10" alt="Triangle decoration" title="" /></div> <div class='copyright'><br/> &mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;&mdash;<br/> Copyright 1922 by World Book Company<br/> Copyright in Great Britain<br/> <i>All rights reserved</i><br/> PRINTED IN U. S. A.<br/></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_v" id="Page_v"></SPAN></span></p> <h2>AN INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR</h2> <div class='unindent'><span class="smcap">Out</span> in the state of Washington recently, a veteran of more than ninety years stepped into an a&euml;roplane with the mail pilot and flew from Seattle to Victoria in British Columbia, and back again. The aged pioneer took the trip with all the zest of youth and returned enthusiastic over the adventure.</div> <p>This youthful veteran was Ezra Meeker, of Oregon Trail fame, who throughout his long, courageous, useful life has ever kept in the vanguard of progress. Seventy years ago he became one of the trail-blazers of the Farther West. In 1852, with his young wife and child, he made the hazardous journey over plains and mountains all the way from Iowa to Oregon by ox team. Then, after fifty-four years of struggle in helping to develop the country beyond the Cascades, this undaunted pioneer decided to reblaze the almost lost Oregon Trail.</p> <p>An old "prairie schooner" was rebuilt, and a yoke of sturdy oxen was trained to make the trip. With one companion and a faithful dog, the veteran started out. It took nearly two years, but the ox-team journey from Washington, the state, to Washington, our national capital, was finally accomplished.</p> <p>The chief purpose of Mr. Meeker in this enterprise was to induce people to mark the famous old highway. To him it represented a great battle ground in our nation's struggle to win and hold the West. The story of the Oregon Trail, he rightly felt, is an American epic which must be preserved. Through his energy and inspiration and the help of thousands of loyal men and women, school boys and school girls, substantial monuments have now been placed along the greater part of the old pioneer way.</p> <p>Two years ago it was my privilege to meet the author in his home city. Our mutual interest in pioneer stories brought us together in an effort to preserve some of them,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi"></SPAN></span> and several days were spent in talking over the old times and visiting historic spots.</p> <p>Everywhere we went there was a glowing welcome for "Father Meeker," as he was called by some of his home folks, while "Uncle Ezra" was the name used affectionately by others. The ovation given him when he arose to speak to the teachers and students of the high school in Puyallup&mdash;the city he founded&mdash;was evidence of the high regard in which he is held by those who know him best.</p> <p>Other boys and girls and older folk all over the country would enjoy meeting Ezra Meeker and hearing of his experiences. Since this is not possible, the record of what he has seen and done is given to us in this little volume.</p> <p>The book makes the story of the Oregon Trail live again. This famous old way to the West was traced in the beginning by wild animals&mdash;the bear, the elk, the buffalo, the soft-footed wolf, and the coyote. Trailing after these animals in quest of food and skins, came the Indians. Then followed the fur-trading mountaineers, the home-seeking pioneers, the gold seekers, the soldiers, and the cowboys. Now railroad trains, automobiles, and even a&euml;roplanes go whizzing along over parts of the old highway.</p> <p>Every turn in the Trail holds some tale of danger and daring or romance. Most of the stories have been forever lost in the passing away of those who took part in this ox-team migration across our continent. For that reason the accounts that have been saved are the more precious.</p> <p>Ezra Meeker has done a signal service for our country in reblazing the Oregon Trail. He has accomplished an even greater work in helping to humanize our history and vitalize the geography of our land, by giving to us, through this little volume, a vivid picture of the heroic pioneering of the Farther West.</p> <div class='sig'> <span class="smcap">Howard R. Driggs</span><br/></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii"></SPAN></span></p> <h2>CONTENTS</h2> <div class='center'> <table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> <tr><td align='left' colspan='2'><span class="smcap">Introduction to the Author</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_v">v</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><br/><span class="smcap">Part One&mdash;From Ohio to the Coast</span></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>1.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Back to Beginnings</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_1">1</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>2.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Boyhood Days in Old Indiana</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_9">9</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>3.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Leaving the Home Nest for Iowa</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_15">15</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>4.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Taking the Trail for Oregon</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_21">21</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>5.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Westward Rush</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_33">33</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>6.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Pioneer Army of the Plains</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_38">38</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>7.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Indians and Buffaloes on the Plains</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_43">43</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>8.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Trailing through the Mountain Land</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_49">49</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>9.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Reaching the End of the Trail</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_57">57</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><br/><span class="smcap">Part Two&mdash;Settling in the Northwest Country</span></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>10.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Getting a New Start in the New Land</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_69">69</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>11.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Hunting for Another Home Site</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_78">78</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>12.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Cruising About on Puget Sound</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_86">86</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>13.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Moving from the Columbia To Puget Sound</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_99">99</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>14.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Messages and Messengers</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_106">106</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>15.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Blazing the Way through Natchess Pass</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_115">115</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>16.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Climbing the Cascade Mountains</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_122">122</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>17.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Finding My People</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_128">128</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>18.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Indian War Days</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_135">135</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>19.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Stampede for the Gold Diggings</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_141">141</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>20.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Making a Permanent Home in the Wilds</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_146">146</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>21.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Finding and Losing a Fortune</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_154">154</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>22.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Trying for a Fortune in Alaska</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_160">160</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='center' colspan='3'><br/><span class="smcap">Part Three&mdash;Retracing the Old Oregon Trail</span></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>23.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Plan for a Memorial to the Pioneers</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_165">165</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>24.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">On the Overland Trail Again</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_177">177</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>25.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Trailing On to the South Pass</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_185"><ins title="Transcriber's Note: original reads '189'">185</ins></SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>26.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Reviving Old Memories of the Trail</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_195">195</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>27.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Bit of Bad Luck</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_204">204</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>28.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Driving On to the Capital</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_212">212</SPAN></td></tr> <tr><td align='right'>29.&nbsp;</td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The End of the Long Trail</span></td><td align='right'><SPAN href="#Page_219">219</SPAN></td></tr> </table></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii"></SPAN></span></p> <h2>THE WORLD'S GREATEST TRAIL</h2> <div class='unindent'><span class="smcap">Worn</span> deep and wide by the migration of three hundred thousand people, lined by the graves of twenty thousand dead, witness of romance and tragedy, the Oregon Trail is unique in history and will always be sacred to the memories of the pioneers. Reaching the summit of the Rockies upon an evenly distributed grade of eight feet to the mile, following the watercourse of the River Platte and tributaries to within two miles of the summit of the South Pass, through the Rocky Mountain barrier, descending to the tidewaters of the Pacific, through the Valleys of the Snake and the Columbia, the route of the Oregon Trail points the way for a great National Highway from the Missouri River to Puget Sound: a roadway of greatest commercial importance, a highway of military preparedness, a route for a lasting memorial to the pioneers, thus combining utility and sentiment.</div> <div class="figright"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-008-signature.png" width-obs="400" height-obs="118" alt="Signature: Ezra Meeker" title="" /></div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix"></SPAN></span></p> <h2>PART ONE</h2> <hr style="width: 15%;" /> <h2>FROM OHIO TO THE COAST</h2> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_x" id="Page_x"></SPAN></span></p> <div class="figcenter"> <SPAN href="images/illus-010-big.png"><ANTIMG src="images/illus-010.png" width-obs="418" height-obs="500" alt="NORTH AMERICA IN 1830" title="" /></SPAN> <span class="caption">NORTH AMERICA IN 1830</span></div> <div class='unindent'>This map shows the main divisions of North America as they were when Ezra Meeker was born. The shading in the Arctic region shows how much there was still for the explorers to discover.</div> <div class='unindent'>The Oregon Country is shown as part of the United States, although the whole region was in dispute between the United States and Great Britain. In the United States itself the settled part of the country was east of the dotted line that runs from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of Mexico. West of this line was the Indian country, with only a few forts as outposts of settlement. Several territories had been organized, but Oregon, Missouri, and Nebraska were little more than names for vast undetermined regions.</div> <hr style="width: 65%;" /><p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_1" id="Page_1"></SPAN></span></p> <div class="figcenter"> <ANTIMG src="images/illus-011.png" width-obs="500" height-obs="283" alt="The old Meeker homestead near Elizabeth, New Jersey." title="" /> <span class="caption">The old Meeker homestead near Elizabeth, New Jersey.</span></div> <h2>CHAPTER ONE</h2> <div style="break-after:column;"></div><br />