An estimated 53,000 settlers came to Oregon between 1840 and 1860. Most of these arrived by traveling the 2000 mile Oregon Trail. About 10 % of the travelers died along the way, mostly from accidents and disease.
Why They Came
They came for a number of reasons, often as individual as the rugged individuals that they were. There were some common themes, however. James Glover, often called the father of Spokane, wrote in the opening paragraph of his autobiography that “It was a desire to get a foothold in a new country that decided me, nearly half a century ago, to leave my home at Salem, Oregon and strike out into what was then the wilds of the interior.”. No doubt this was also a strong motivation to leave the east and head to Oregon country. Others moved west for their health or to escape elements of life back home including the pending conflict over slavery. Economic depression, floods or other calamities that could wipe out a family’s fortune might also provide the impetus to move. Economic improvement seemed to be the principle reason for making the trip.
Julie Jeffrey and the Sager Parents
The way was hard. The experience was one that created memories of a lifetime, both of the expectation of a new life, and the great sorrow and grief of the tragedy of the trip. As an example, Julie Jeffrey wrote of the death of the Sager parents who headed west in the 1840s. The mother Naomi gave birth during the trip and could rest only a few days before continuing on the trip. A few days later her nine year daughter, Catherine, broke her leg under a wagon wheel. Then the father, Henry came down with a fever and died a few days later. Naomi lasted for four months after the birth of her baby but then in September she died. Her daughter survived but the seven Sager children were orphaned, the youngest only a few months old. They were taken in by Narcissa Whitman who had a few years earlier lost her own daughter to drowning.
Number One Killer: Disease:
Accidents and disease took many lives, but the number one killer was disease. Measles, influenza, dysentery and cholera were common and were often caused or spread by the lack of sanitation on the trail. Contrary to the myths created by the modern Western, violent contact with natives did not occur that often, although a few incidents were recorded, most typically on the Snake River plain. It was more likely that the local Indians would provide the travelers with assistance in the form of food, water, information, survival skills, and horses. As there was much disease within the wagon encampments the natives would often be repaid for their kindness with the transmittal of the white man’s disease.
Rafting the Columbia
When the settlers had nearly reached their destination they had to raft down the mighty Columbia River which occasionally tore their rafts up resulting in the loss of property and life.
First Person Accounts
There are several first person accounts or journals of the trip west. Narcissa Whitman’s original journal was published by Ye Gallon Press in 1982. Whitman began her journal at the fur trapper and native rendezvous at Green River in early July about half way into the trip. When she got to Fort Vancouver she used her notes to write letters to her parents. Some of the original notes have survived and are located at Whitman College in Walla Walla.
Source:
Julie Jeffrey, Converting the West, A Biography of Narcissa Whitman, (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991), Page 185.
James Glover, Reminiscences of James N. Glover, (Fairfield, Ye Gallon Press, 1985).
Dale Raugust - I grew up on a farm in Eastern Washington, received a BA in history from Washington State University, a MA in history from Eastern ...
