Iftorton'e Ifttetor of IWebraeha
Hutbcntic 1400 to 1906 Complete
(Copyrighted 1930. All rights reserved.) By courtesy of Editors and Publishers of Morton's Huioty, the Puollshets Newspaper Union of Lincoln, pfebrsska. is permitted its reproduction In papers of their issue
CHAPTER III CONTINUED 1)
"This wonderful, highway was in
tho broadest sense a national road,
although not surveyed or built under
the auspices of the government. It
was the route of a national movement
the migration of a people seeking
to avail .itself of opportunities which
have come but rarely in the history
of the world, and which will never
come again. It was a route, every
mile of which has. been the scene of
hardship and suffering, yet of (high
purpose and stern determination. Only
,on the steppes of Siberia can so, long
a highway bo found over which traffic
has moved by a continuous journey
from one end to the other. Even in
Siberia there are occasional settle
ments along the route, but on the Ore
gon trail in 1843 the traveler saw no
evidence of civilized habitation except
four trading po9ts, between Independ
ence and Ft. Vancouver.
"As a highway of travel the Oegon,
trail is the most remarkable k"nown
to history. Considering the fact that
It originated with the spontaneous use
of travelers; that no transit ever lo
cated a foot of It; that no lovel estab
lished its grades; that no engineer
sought out the fords or built any
bridges or surveyed tho mountain
passes; that there was no grading to
speak of nor any attempt at metalling
the road-bed; and the general good
quality of this two thousand miles of
highway will seem most extraordi
nary. Father De Smet, who was bojrn
in Bolgium, tle home of good roads,
pronounced the Oregon trail one of
the highways in the world. At the
proper season of the year this was
undoubtedly true. Before the prairies
became too dry, the natural turf
formed tho best roadway for horses
to travel on that has probably eyer
been known. It was amply hard to
sustain traffic, yet soft enough to be
easier to the feet than even the most
perfect asphalt pavement Over such
roads, winding ribbon-like through tho
verdant prairies, amid the profusion
of spring flowers, with grass so plenti
ful that the animals reveled In Its
abundance, and game everywhere
greeted the hunter's rifle, and Anally,
with pure water in the, streams, the
traveler sped his way with a feeling
of joy and exhilaration. But not so
when the prairies became dry rind
parched, the road filled with Stifling
dust, tho stream beds mere dry ra
vines, or .carrying only alkaline water
which could not be used, the gam
all gone to more hospitable sections,
and the summer sun pouring down its
heat with torrid intensity. It was then
that tho trail became a highway of
desolation, strewn witn abandoned
property, the' skeletons of horses,
mules, and oxen, and, alas! too often,
with freshly made mounds and head
boards, that told, the pitirul tale of
. X ' 1 J 'l J -1
smierings , too great 10 ue uunuruu.
If the trail was the scene, of romance,
adventure, pleasure, and. excitement,
so It was .marked in every mile of its
course by hitman misery, tragedy, and
' ' death.
"The immense travel which in later
years passed over the trail carved it
into a deep furrow, often with several
parallel tracks making ui 'total width
of a . hundred feet or more. It was
an astonishinfe spo'ctaqlo even to white
men-ovneui seen for the first time.
"It may be easily Imagined how
great an impression tho sight of this
road must have, made upon tho minds
of the Indians. Father DeSmet has
recorded, somo interesting observa
tion upon this point.
"In 1851 he traveled in company
with a large number of Indians from
tho Missouri nnd Yellowstone -rivers
to Ft. Laramie, where a great council
was held in that year to form treaties
i with tho several tribes. Most of these
fndinns had not boon in that section
before, and were quite unprepared for
. what they saw. 'Our Indian compan
ions,' says Father DeSmet. 'who had
never seen but the. narrow hunting
paths by which they transport them
selves and their lodges, were fillnd
with admiration on seeing this noble
highway, which Is as smooth as a barn
floor swept by the winds, and not a
blade of grass can shoot up on it on
account of the continual passing. They
conceived a high idea. of tho countless
White Nation, as they express it.
They fancied that all had gone over
that. road, and that an Immense void
must exist In the land of tho rising
sun. Their countenances testified evi
dent Incredulity when I told them that
their exit wai In nowise perceived In
tho land of tho whites. They styled
the route tho Grant Medicine Road of
tne wiuies.-
"Over much of its length tho trail Is
now abandoned, but In many plnoes it
is not yet effaced from tho soil, and
may not bo' for centuries. There are
few more impressive sights than por
tions of this old highway today. It
still lies there upon the prairio, de
sorted by tho traveler, an everlasting
memorial of the human tide which
once filled it to overflowing. Nature
herself has helped to perpetuate this
memorial, for tho prairie winds, year
by year, carve tho furrow more deeply,
and tho wild sunflower blossoms along
Its course, as if In silent memory of
those who sank beneath its burdens.
"Railroads practically follow tho old
lino from Independence to Carpar,
Wyo., somo fifty miles oast of Inde
pendence Rock; and from Bear river
on the Utah-Wyoming lino to the
mouth of tho Columbia. Tho time Is
not distant when the intermediate
pace will be occupied, and possibly
a continuous and unbroken movement
of trains over tho ontiro line may somo
day follow. In a future still more re
mote there may be realized a project
which is even now being agitatod, of
building a magnificent national road
along this line as a memorial highway
which shall serve tho futuro and com
memorate the past."
There were other Journeys of minor
importance through Nebraska to the
far Northwest, previous to Fremont's
return from his first expedition, when
the trans-Missouri region was no long
er an unknown country. About 1832
a strong movement began for sending
missionaries to tho Indian tribes be
yond the Rocky mountains. In 1834
the Methodists sent Jason and Daniel
Lee; and in 1835 tho Presbytorlans
sent Marcus Whitman and Rev. Sam
uel Parker, who started from Bellevuo
on tho 22d of Juno with a caravan of
tho American Fur Company led by
Lucien Fontenelle. The party" first
traveled to the Elkhorn river, which
they followed ton miles, then followed
Shell creek "a good distance." They
crossed the Loup at the Pawneo. vil
lages near the junction of the forks,
then went southwest to the Platte
river, which they followed to the
forks, and then proceodod along the
north fork.
In his journal Parker relates that
his party crossed the Elkhorn on tho
25th of June, 1835. "For conveyance
over this river wo constructed a boat
of a wagon body so covered with un
dressed skins as to make it nearly
water-tight. Tho method was very
good." This appears to have been a
favorite method of fording streams;
for the first wagon train that crossed
tho plains of which we have any ac
countthat of Captain Bonneville, in
1832 forded the Platte in the same
way. The wagons, "dislodged from
the wheels, were covered with buffalo
hides and besmeared with a compound
of tallow and ashes, thus forming rudo
boats." Mr. Parker tells us that,
"Tho manner of our encamping is
to form a large hollow square, encom
passing an area of about, an acre hav
ing the river on one side; three wag
ons forming a part of another side,
coming down to tho river; and three
more in the same manner on tne op.
noslte side; and the packages so ar
ranged in narcels. about three rods
apart, as to All up tho rear and tho
sides not occupied by tne wagons
Tho horses and mules, near the mid
die of the day, are turned out under
guard to feed for two hours, and tho
same again towards night, until after
sunset, when tney- are iaKen up ana
brought within tho hollow square,, and
fastened with ropes twelve, .feet long
to nlckets driven firmly in the ground
The men are divided into companies,
stationed at the several parcels of
goods and wagonsi where they, wrap
themselves In their blankets and rest
for the night; tho whole, however, are
formed Into six divisions to keep,
guard, relieving each other every two
hours. This Is to prevent hostile in.
dians from falling upon us ,by sur
prise, or coming into the tent by
stealth and taking away either horses
or packages of goods."
The "Pawnees were evidently the
same troublesome, thieving creatures
at tho time of their ffrst relations
with white men as. they proved to be
down through territorial times. On
the 2d of July Parker records that,
"these Indians were going out upon
their summer hunt by the same route
we were pursuing, and were not will
ing we should go on before them lest
we should frighten away the buffalo."
And again, July 6: "Wo wero pre
vented .from making the progress we.
mignt nave done u me inaians wouia
have permitted us to go on and leave
them. The men of tho caravan began
to complain of tho delay, and had
reason to do bo, having nothing to eat
but boiled corn and no way to obtain
anything more before finding buffa
loes," And then, July 9, we have a
hint of that irrepressible spirit which
was soon to force tho Indians out and
away from further opportunity for in
terference; for "Captain Fontenelle,
by a large present, purchased of tho
Indians the privilege of going on to
morrow without them." But "our
men could hardly have been kept in
subordination If they had not con
sented." On the 14th of July "tho
announcement of buffalo spread cheer
fulness and animation through the
whole caravan, and to men whoso very
life depended on the circumstances it
was no indifferent event. From the
immonso herd of theso wild anlmnls
. . . we wero to derive our subsist
once."
Francis Parkman, the noted histo
rian, traveled over tho Orgeon trail
starting from Leavenworth In May
18-1G. Like every other observant trav-
oler, ho makes note of tho Pawneo
trails leading from their villages on
tho Loup and the PKttte to tho south
wostward hunting grounds. Tho unl
vorsal notice of theso trails, which
appear to have extended asfar as the
Smoky Hill rivor, proves" that they
must have been well defined. Park
man expresses the difference in tho
impression mado upon travelers by
tho plalnB and by tho mountain coun
try, by noting that the trip from Ft
Leavenworth to Grand Island waB re
garded as tho more tedious, while
that from Ft. Laramio west was tho
more arduous. By this time tho prin
cipal points in tho Oregon trail had
come to no permanently uxea, aim
Parkman says, "Wo reached tho south
fork of tho Platte at the usual ford
ing place." Tho trail had also become
a busy highway by 1846, for Parkman
tells us that the spring of that year
was a busy season in tho city of St.
Louis. "Not only wore emigrants
from every part of tho country pre
paring for the Journey to Oregon and
California but an unusual number, of
traders wero making ready their wag
ons and outfits for Santa Fe. Tho ho
tels were crowded and tho gunsmiths
and saddlers were kept constantly at
work preparing arms and equipments
for tho different parties of travelers.
Steamboats wore leaving tho lovee
and passing up tho Missouri, crowded
with passengers on their way to tho
frontier." Parkman adds his testi
mony as to the illusory notion of the
navigability of the Platte in an ac
count of the misadventures of a fleet
of eleven boats laden with furs which
wore attempting to make use of that
treacherous stream as a highway:
Fifty times a day the boats had been
aground; indeed, those who navigate
the Platte invariably spend half their
time on, sand-bars. Two or three
boats, tho property of private traders,
afterward separating from tho rest,
got hopelessly Involved in tho shal-
ows, not very far from tho Pawnee
villages, and wero soon surrounded
by a swarm of the inhabitants. They
enrried off overything that they
thought valuable, Including most of
tho robes; and amused thomsolves by
tying up tho men left on guard and
soundly whipping thorn with sticks."
Bryant testifies to tne futility or
successfully attempting to navigate
the Platto even with tho shallow
Mackinaw boats. Below the forks ho
met two parties with theso craft laden
with buffalo skins 'and bales of furs.
The men wore obliged to jump into
the stream very frequently to push
the boats over the bars, and It would
often require three or four hours to
cover a single mile.
These incidents may be coupled In
an interesting way with the serious
attempts ,to navigate the Platte in the
later territorial times.
Bayard Taylor, in his Eldorado, or
AdventureB in the Path of Empire,
gives tho following vividly realistic
description of tho part which Ne
braska was playing in tho great drama
of California emigration:
The great starting point for this
route was Independence, Mo., where
thousands were encamped during the
month of April, waiting until tho grass
should bo sufficiently high for their
cattle, before they ventured on tho
broad ocean of tho plains. From tho
first of May to the first of June com
pany after company took its departuro
from the frontier of civilization till tho
emlerrant trail from Ft. Leavenworth,
on the Missouri, .to Ft Laramio at tho
foot of the Rocky mountains, was onq
lone lino of mule-trains and wagons.
The rich meadows of tho Nebraska
or Platte, were sottled for tho time,
and a single traveler could have Jour
neyed for the space of a tnousano
miles,, as certain of his lodging and
regular meals as if he wero riding
through tho old agricultural districts
of the Middle States. Tho wandering
tribes of Indians on tho plains tho
Pawnees, Sioux, and Arapahoes wero
alarmed and bewildered by this
strange apparition. They bonoyeu
they were about to bo swopt away
forever from their hunting grounds
and grass. As, the season advanced
and the great body of emigrants got
under way they gradually withdrew)
from tho vicinity or the trail, anu oo
took themselves to grounds which tho
former did not reach. All conflicts
with them were thus avoided, and tho
emigrants passed tho Plains with per
fect immunity from their hostile and
thieviBh visitations.
"Another and more terrible scourge,
however, was doomed to fall upon
them. The cholera, ascending the
Mississippi from New Orleans, reached
St. Louis about the time of their de
parture from Independence, and over
took them before they wero fairly
embarked on the wilderness. Tho
frequent rains of tho early spring,
added to tho hardship and oxposure
of their travel, prepared tho way for
its ravages, and the first three or four
hundred miles were marked by graves.
It is estimated that about four thou
sand persons perished from this
cause."
William Kelly observed Ft. Kearnoy
with foreign contemptuousness, thus:
"We reached Ft. Kearnoy early In tho
evening if fort It can bo called
where tho States have stationed a gar
rison of soldiers, in a string of log
huts, for tho protection of v the emi
grants; and a most unsoldlerly look
ing lot they wore unshavon, un
shorn, with patched uniforms, and
lounging gait. Both men and officers
were 111 off for somo necessaries, such
as flour and sugar, tlfo privates being
most particular In their inquiries after
whisky."
Stnnsbury. who reached Ft. Kearney
on the 19th of June, gives this de
scription of tho fort: "Tho post at
present consists of a number of long,
low buildings, constructed principally
of adobe, -or sun-dried bricks, with
nearly flat roofs; a largo hospital tent;
two or,, three workshops, enclosed by
canvas walls; store houses construct
ed in the samo manner; one or two
long adobe stables, with roofs of
brush; and tents for tho accommoda
tion of horses and men." Ho spoakB
of the road over tho prairies as being
"already broad and well beaten as
any turnpiko In our country." He
ays of tho emlgrant'8 wagon that
"it is literally his home. In It ho car
ries his all, and it serves him as a
tent, kitchon, parlor, and bedroom,
nnd not Infrequently as a boat to ferry
him over an othorwlse impassable
stream. Many have no other shelter
from tho storm during; the wholo Jour
ney, and most of theso vohiclcs are
oxtromoly tight, roomy, and comfort
able." Ho complains of tho breaking
out of skin diseases on account of tho
lack of fresh meat and vegetables:
and as to game, "Ashambault, our
guide, told mo that the last tlmo ho
passed this spot (the valley of the
riatto near the eastern end of Grand
island) tho whele of the immonso
plain as far as tho oye could reach,
was black with herds of buffalo. Now
not so much as ono is to bo seen;
they have fled beforo the advancing
tide of emigration." Thr omigrants
wero obliged to go four or flvo mllea
froni the lino of travol to find a Buf
falo. Stnnsbury says that tho Pawneo
Indians wero very troublesome bo
twoen the Blue and Ft. Kearnoy, so
that a force had been sent from tho
fort to drive them off. A great many
of the travelers becamo discouragod
boioro they had entirely crossed tho
Missouri plains, and Stnnsbury ro
tates that "wagons could bo bought
from them for from ton to fifteen dol
lars apiece and provisions for almost
nothing at nil." Tho party forded tho
south fork of tho Platto ono hundred
and oighty miles west of Ft. Kearnoy
in this way: "Ono of tho wagons, as
an experimental plonoor, was partially
unloaded by romovlng all articles lia
ble to Injury from water, and then
driven Into tho stream; but it stuck
fast, and tho ordinary team of six
mUles being found insufficient to haul
it through tho water, four more woro
quickly attached and tho crossing was
made with perfect safety and without
wotting anything. In. tho samo man
ner wore all tho remaining wagons
crossed, ono by one, by doubling tho
teams and employing tho forco of
nearly tho wholo party wading along
side to incite and guide tho mules.
Tho water was porfectly opaquo with
thick yellow mud and it roquirod all
our care to avoid the quicksands with
which the bottom is covorod. . . .
Both man and boast suffered moro
from this 'day's oxertlon than from
any day's march wo had yot made."
Published accounts of this , Califor
nia travel soom to bo confined to the
lower route from Indepondenco, St
Joseph, and,Ft Leavenworth. In tho
year 1849 ono William D. Brown had
a charter for operating the Lone Troo
Ferry across the river from Council
Bluff to accommodate this class of
emigration. Tho upper routes, how
over, did not como into general use
until tho Pike's Peak discoveries of
gold about ten, years later.
The "Overland. Mall" and tho "Ovor
lahd Stage" to California are Justly
famous as factors in the vast enter
prise of oponing up the western plains
and of traversing them for communi
cation with tho Pacific coast Tho
simultaneous development of tho Cal
ifornia gold flolds and tho successful
founding of tho great Mormon Bottlo
mont at Salt Lake City led to tho
establishment by tho federal govern
ment of tho "Overland Mall," and the
first contract for carrying this mall
was let in 1850 to Samuel H. Wood
ston of Independence, Mo. Tho serv
ice was monthly and tho distance be
tween tho terminal points, Independ
ence and Salt Lako City, was twolvo
hundred miles. Soon after this tlmo
this mall route was continued to Sac
ramento, Cal. Tho service was by
stage-coach, and tho route was sub
stantially the samo as tho Oregon
trail as far as the Rocky mountains.
and thus passed through Nebraska.
Ft. Kearnoy, Ft. Laramio, and Ft.
Bridger wero the three military poBts
on tho route. When serious trouble
with tho Mormons was threatened In
1857, Gon. Albert Sldnoy Johnston was
sent with flvo thousand soldiers into
tho Salt Lako valley, and tho mall
service was soon after Increased to
woekly trips. In 1859 this mall con
tract was transferred to Russell, Ma
jors & Waddell who afterwards bo
came tne most extensivo freighters In
Nebraska from tho Missouri rivor.
Tho firm's original headquarters woro
at Leavenworth, but whon It took tho
contract for carrying suppllos to John
ston's army In 1858 'Nobraska City
was choBen as a second Missouri river
initial station, and tho business was
conducted by Alexander Majors, who
thus became a very -prominent citizen
of the territory. Ho states that over
sixteen million pounds of supplies
were carried from Nebraska City and
Leavenworth to Utah In the year 1858,
requiring over three thousand flvo
hundred wagons and teams to trans
port them. This firm controlled tho
Leavenworth and Pike's Peak express,
and after taking tho mall contract In
question tho two stage lines wero con
solldated under the name of tho Con
tral Overland California and Plko's
Peak Express. Tho now contractors
aoanaonco at. josepn as an inula
point, and started only from Atchison
and Leavenworth. After tho subsl
donco of tho Mormon trouble tho mali
service to Salt Lako City was reduced
in Juno, 1859. Tho first through
mail lino to tho Pacific coast was
opened by the postofllco department
September 15, 1858, and It ran from
St. Louis through Texas via Ft. Yuma
to San Francisco. It was operated by
tho Butterfleld Overland Mall Com
pany, John Butterfleld being the nrin
cipal contractor. Tho main objection
urged"agalnst tho northern route was
that on account of deep snow and so
vore weather the mall could not bo
carried regularly nnd-the trips were
often abandoned during a considerable
part of the winter season; but south
ern wlBh and political power were
.doubtless the real father to the
thought of tho change. Tho mail left
St. Louis and San Francisco simul
taneously on the 15th of September,
1858, to travorse for tho first time a
through route from the Missouri river
to tho Pacific ocean. Tho trips were
made semi-weekly with Concord
coaches drawn by four or six horses,
and the schedule time was twenty-ive
days..
On account of the disturbance of
the Civil war the southern route was
abandoned in the spring of 1861, and
a daily mail was established over the
northorn route, starting at first from
St. Joseph, but a few months after
ward from Atchison, Kan. The con
solidated stage lino which carried It
tho Contral Overland California and
Pike's Peak Express was in opera
tion for about five years, or until It
t - - - . ' a
wna BupurHimeu in part ny tne partial
completion of tho transcontinental
railway. Th6 Arst through daily
coaches On this lino lefttthe terminal
points St, Josoph, Mo., and Placer
vlllo, Cal. on tho lBt of July, 18G1,
tho trip occupying a llttlo moro than
sovontoon days. This stage route fol-
owed tho overland trail on the south
side of vthe Platto river, while the
union Pacific railroad, which super
seded it as far as Kearney in 1866,
was built on tho north side of the
rivor. "For two hundred miles from
Ft. Kearnoy to a point onnoslte old
Julosburg the early stage road and
railroad wore In no place moro than
a few miles apart; and in a number
of placos a short dlstanco on cither
side of the river and only the river
tself separating them." As tho Cen
tral Pnciflc and Unjon Paciflc railway
mes approached caclf other from the
west and from tho cast, tho stages
adapted thoir .starting points from
tlmo to tlmo to the termini of the
railroads. Tho Concord 'coaches used
on this greatest stage lino ever oper
ated, and so-called because they were
built in Concord, N. H., accommodated
nine passengers Inside and often one
or two Bat beside tho driver. Some
times an extra seat was built on the
outside behind the driver, and not In'
frequently as many as fifteen passen
gers rode in and on a coach.
Until 1863 the passenger fare by
this stage lino was $75 from Atchison
to Denver, $150 to Salt Lako, and $225
to Placorvllle. Tho faro was increased
soon after when tho currency of the
country becamo Inflated. Ben Holla
day, who was the transportation fcMor
gan or Hill of those days, controlled
this groat line. In 1865 he obtained
the contracts- for carrying tho mall
from Nebraska City and Omaha to.
Kearney City. Tho Western Stage
Company was another largo transpor
tation organization which operated
stages in Iowa; and from tho latter
5Q's until it was taken over by Hol
aday, quite after the fashion of pres
ent day combinations, it operated
stage lines from Omaha and Nebraska
City to Ft. Kearney. There was a
good deal of- friction between these
two HneB during the times of heavy
travol, owing to the fact that the
through passengers on tho Overland
routo from Atchison Ailed the stages
so that those coming from Omaha and
Nebraska City on the Western Stago
Company's linos wero often obliged
to wait at Ft. Kearnoy a tedious num
ber of days.
Tho famous Pony Express, which
was put in operation in 1860 between
St. Josoph and Sacramento, wag the
fororunner of the present great (fast
mail system of tho United Statos.
In-1854 Sonator W. M. Gwln of Cal-
lfornia rodo to Washington on horse
back on the contral routo by way of
Salt Lako City and South pass; and
over part of tho routo B. F. Ficklln,
superintendent of tho Arm of Russell,
Majors & Waddell, was his compan
ion. Tho Idea of tho famouB Pony
Express grow out of this trip. Sena
tor Gwln introduced a bill into the
Senate to establish a weekly mall on
the pony express plan, but without
avail, and then, through Gwin's in
fluence, Russell organized the scheme
as a private enterprise through tho
Central Overland California and Pike's
Peak Express Company. No financial
aid was extended to the company by
tho government Ordinary letters
woro carried by the slower service
and wero barred by the high toll from
this fast express. "The charges were
originally Ave dollars for each letter
of one-half ounce or less; but after
ward this was reduced to two dollars
and a half, this being in addition te
the regular United States postage,"
V
