The Great Medicine Road of the Whites: Tales from the Oregon Trail
Okay, picture this: you’re back in the 1800s, and you’ve got a serious case of "Go West, young [person]!" fever. Maybe you’re chasing gold, maybe you’re looking for land, or maybe you just want a fresh start. Whatever the reason, you’re about to embark on an adventure that’ll test your grit, your patience, and maybe even your sanity. Welcome to the trails of the American West!
The Platte River: The Highway of the West
For over a century, the Platte River was the go-to route for just about everyone heading west. Native Americans, fur trappers, explorers, gold seekers, Mormons, soldiers, the Pony Express, and even the telegraph all followed its winding path. Why? Because it was the path of least resistance. Animals used it, Indians used it, and once you were on it, it was the easiest way to travel through the wild west.
Imagine a river that could be ankle-deep one day and raging miles wide the next. That’s the Platte! Its sandy bottom was always shifting, making for a constantly changing landscape. Yet, despite the challenges, more people ventured west along the Platte than any other waterway.
Before the Platte: The Santa Fe Trail
Before the Platte River became the main highway, there was the Santa Fe Trail. This route to Santa Fe, New Mexico, was a bustling commercial road from 1822 to 1843. It was used by traders, the occasional traveler, and even the military.
Now, the Santa Fe Trail wasn’t exactly a Sunday stroll. Travelers faced constant threats from various Native American tribes like the Osage, Arapaho, Pawnee, Kiowa, Cheyenne, Comanche, and Apache. The trail stretched 800 miles, demanding constant vigilance.
Early transportation was by pack train, but by 1824, wagons were in use. Caravans, as they were called, started in Independence, Missouri, a bustling town on the Missouri River. These caravans actually originated in St. Louis, where they’d take a steamboat to Independence. From there, it was a long, dusty journey across the plains.
As Independence began to be washed away by the Missouri River, Westport took over as the starting point. Oxen became the preferred mode of transportation in 1829. They were slower than horses or mules, but their plodding nature was perfect for the monotonous journey.
The Santa Fe Trail wasn’t always clearly marked. In the early days, it was just a matter of finding the best route. But by 1834, the constant traffic had created a distinct trail. Council Grove, Kansas, became a popular camping spot and a place for councils with the Indians. The trail then crossed the Cimarron Desert, a barren and dangerous stretch, before reaching Santa Fe.
In 1831, Josiah Gregg led a massive caravan that marked a new era in plains commerce. His train carried everything from fancy fabrics to firearms, which were traded for Mexican gold and silver. These caravans traveled 12 to 15 miles a day, making the 2,000-mile round trip between April and November.
The Santa Fe Trail eventually declined in 1843 due to Indian raids, Texas bandits, and Mexican hostility. But it was revived during the Mexican-American War in 1846 when General Stephen W. Kearny used it as a military road. This played a key role in the annexation of vast territories in 1848, including California, Utah, and Nevada.
Commerce on the Santa Fe Trail boomed again until the late 1860s and early 1870s, when trade exceeded $5 million. Some goods even continued to California via the Gila Trail, used extensively by gold seekers in 1849. The Santa Fe Trail became a vital path for commerce, war, and home seekers, all contributing to the development of the Pacific territories.
Other Trails to the West
The Old Spanish Trail was another route, heading north from Santa Fe, crossing the Colorado River, skirting Death Valley, and ending in Los Angeles. This created a southern transcontinental road, used by figures like Kit Carson to carry messages across the country.
The conquest of Mexico and California brought new challenges, mainly protecting these vast territories and ensuring the loyalty of Americans living there.
The Blackfeet and the Platte River
The Blackfeet Indians were a force to be reckoned with, especially after Captain Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis and Clark Expedition killed one of their chiefs in 1806. This act made the upper Missouri River a dangerous place for white men.
Lewis and Clark had been sent to explore the Missouri River and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. They reached the Pacific coast in 1805-6 and eventually returned to St. Louis. But the Blackfeet never forgot the death of their chief, leading to constant hostility and driving explorers and fur hunters to seek safer, southern routes like the Platte River.
The Platte River offered a shorter route, fewer Indian troubles, and new opportunities for beaver trapping. As the Platte River was explored, it became a highway for hundreds of thousands of people heading west.
Astoria Expedition
In 1811, John Jacob Astor sent the Astoria Expedition, led by Wilson Price Hunt, to establish a fur post at the mouth of the Columbia River. But warnings from friendly Indians about the Blackfeet’s hostility forced Hunt to change course.
Instead of heading northwest, Hunt’s party went southwest, reaching what is now northeastern Wyoming. They crossed the Powder River country, which would later become the site of fierce Indian wars.
The party continued through the Big Horn Mountains, past the Teton Peaks, and down the Snake River to the Columbia River. There, they built the historic fur post of Astoria. On their return trip in 1812, Robert Stuart’s men discovered a well-beaten Indian trail that led them to South Pass, a wide and easy passage through the Rocky Mountains.
The Astorians followed the Sweetwater River and the North Platte River, eventually reaching St. Louis in the spring of 1813. This marked the first organized use of the Indian road that would become the Oregon Trail, which the Indians called "The Great Medicine Road of the Whites."
The Oregon Trail: A Road by Many Names
This trail was also known as the Overland Trail, the Mormon Trail, the Emigrant Road, the Salt Lake Route, and the California Trail. It became the path for countless adventurers seeking furs, fortunes, and homes in the West.
In the early 1860s, gold discoveries in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming fueled a stampede over the Oregon Trail. This influx of people only intensified the Indians’ anger and determination to defend their hunting grounds.
The Fur Trade and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company
The earliest white men to trap along the Oregon Trail belonged to William Ashley’s Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Organized in 1822, this company sent men into the unexplored Yellowstone and Big Horn regions.
Under the leadership of figures like Andrew Henry, Jedediah S. Smith, and Jim Bridger, these men explored the West, leaving their mark on lakes, streams, and mountain passes. In 1824, Thomas Fitzpatrick discovered South Pass, a vital gateway that unlocked the mountains between the East and the West.
Ashley’s men journeyed down the Big Sandy River to its junction with the Green River, a site that would become known as the "Green River Rendezvous." This was a yearly gathering where fur traders and trappers met to settle contracts and trade goods.
The rendezvous was a colorful event, with mountain men, Frenchmen, Scots, Irishmen, and Indians all coming together to trade furs for supplies and whiskey. Jim Bridger and Kit Carson were common figures at these events.
In 1826, Ashley sold his interests to Jedediah Smith, David Jackson, and William Sublette. Later, the company was taken over by Fitzpatrick, Bridger, and others, operating as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company until 1834.
Captain Bonneville and Nathaniel Wyeth
Inspired by Ashley’s success, Captain Benjamin Bonneville led an expedition over the Oregon Trail in 1832. His large train of men and wagons made a deep impression on the Indians, who wondered if the white men were invaders.
Bonneville made valuable maps and surveys of the region, contributing to the government’s knowledge of the West. Nathaniel J. Wyeth, a merchant from Massachusetts, also ventured west to establish fur posts.
Wyeth built Fort Hall in 1834, a fur post on the Snake River in Idaho. His expedition included missionaries, scientists, and adventurers, who would later settle in the Willamette Valley and become the nucleus of American settlement in Oregon.
The Missionaries and the Oregon Country
Reverend Samuel Parker and Dr. Marcus Whitman traveled over the Oregon Trail in 1835, led by Fontenelle. Parker noted the ease of constructing a railroad through South Pass.
Whitman and his wife, along with Reverend H.H. Spalding and his wife, returned to the East to recruit more missionaries. In 1836, they arrived at South Pass, where Whitman formally claimed the region for God and the United States. These were the first white women to travel the trail, a clear sign of American settlement in Oregon.
In 1843, Dr. Marcus Whitman led a large wagon train of over 200 wagons and 1,000 cattle to Oregon. They brought farm implements, seeds, and household furniture, establishing American homes and communities in the Willamette Valley.
The Americans built churches, schools, and even a printing press, solidifying their presence in the Oregon country. The Hudson Bay Company realized the challenge to British authority in the region.
Government Expeditions and the Oregon Trail
The first government expedition over the Oregon Trail was led by John Charles Fremont in 1842. Fremont surveyed the region for a possible transcontinental railway.
Fremont’s reports, widely distributed by the government, created a favorable impression of the West and encouraged emigration. His maps and data became essential for travelers along the trail.
Brigham Young used Fremont’s information to select Utah as a home for his followers. The Oregon Trail became a national road of opportunity, despite the government never contributing to its construction.
Forts and Landmarks
In 1842, there were only four buildings along the Oregon Trail: Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger, Fort Hall, and Fort Boise. These were fur trading posts, not homes.
Despite the lack of infrastructure, the Oregon Trail became a well-worn path. General W.F. Raynolds noted that it was as well-marked as any turnpike in the East.
General John Charles Fremont recommended establishing military forts along the Oregon Trail to protect travelers. Fort Laramie became the most well-known and important of these forts.
Congress eventually established four forts along the trail: Fort Kearney, Fort Laramie, Fort Bridger, and Fort Hall. These forts, though far apart, provided some protection for emigrants heading west.
The early fur traders followed the Missouri River and then the Platte River to reach the West. A cut-off was established from Independence, crossing the Kansas, Big, and Little Blue Rivers, to reach the Platte River near Grand Island.
Signboards marked the way, but the journey was still a long and arduous one, filled with hostile Indians, countless streams, and treeless prairies. The trail continued along the South Platte River and the North Platte River, passing landmarks like Chimney Rock and Scott’s Bluffs.
From Fort Laramie, the trail went to the big bend in the North Platte River, crossed the Sweetwater River at Independence Rock, and passed through Devil’s Gate to South Pass. This was the halfway point between Independence and Vancouver.
Before Fort Bridger was built, the trail went southwest to Pacific Springs and then northwest to Snake River. The "Sublette Cut-off" was established to save time, but it bypassed Fort Bridger, where supplies and repairs could be obtained.
From Fort Hall, the trail reached the Columbia River, continuing west to the Dalles, the Cascades, and Fort Vancouver.
The Final Years of the Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail, though hazardous, lacked stations between Fort Laramie and Fort Bridger until the Pony Express and stagecoaches arrived. In the 1860s, stations were built to exchange horses.
The constant procession of emigrants caused the Indians to call the trail "The Great Medicine Road of the Whites." Eventually, conflicts arose, leading to ambushes, raids, and open warfare.
To avoid these hostilities, the Overland Route was established along the South Platte River. But the old road through Fort Laramie and Fort Bridger was abandoned in 1869 with the coming of the railroad.
In 1852, over 51,000 people traveled the Oregon Trail. Many died along the way, with cholera claiming 5,000 lives in that year alone.
In 1843, the American settlement in Oregon was large enough to form a provisional government. By the treaty of 1846 with England, the Oregon country was ceded to the United States.
The Oregon Trail helped win an empire for the United States, proving that American settlers could occupy and develop the territory. The old trail had won.
Throughout the 1860s, the exodus to the West continued. As Sergeant Isaac B. Pennick noted in his diary in 1865, hundreds of wagons passed by daily, carrying emigrants to new lives in the West.
The Oregon Trail, "The Great Medicine Road of the Whites," was a testament to the determination and resilience of those who sought a better life in the American West.