The Oregon Trail An American Saga

by Dary, David

• ISBN13: 9780195224009
• ISBN10: 0195224000
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-12-08
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In today's world of jet airplanes and smooth highways, it is nearly impossible to imagine the hardships faced by the thousands of people who headed west along the great Oregon Trail. In this detailed and engaging account, historian David Dary recounts the full saga of the trail's history,from its creation in the early 1800's, to its peak during the '49 Gold Rush, its rapid decline following the completion of the transcontinental railroad, and finally, its revival as a modern day historical treasure. Dary introduces us to the pioneers: trailblazers, fur-traders, and missionaries, who made the first journeys to Oregon County, an internationally disputed territory comprising present-day Washington, Oregon, and California. We learn of the road's steadily increasing popularity, as economic problemsor the promise of adventure and wealth lead thousands of homesteaders, gold-rushers, and entrepreneurs to pile their hopes and dreams into wagons and head west. Using journals and letters, as well as company and expedition reports, public records and newspaper stories, Dary takes us inside the dayto day experiences of the travelers, as they risked ruin at every step from disease, weather, and human deceit. Trail. Through Dary's expert and comprehensive history, we learn how the events of the day turned a small trickle of pioneering men and women into the greatest mass migration in American history.

Author Biography

David Dary is Professor Emeritus of Journalism at the University of Oklahoma. He is the author of ten previous books on the West, including Cowboy Culture and The Santa Fe Trail. He is the recipient of several awards, including the Owen Wister Award for lifetime achievement from the Western Writers of America.

Table of Contents

List of Maps	xiii
Introduction	xv
CHAPTER ONE The Exploration of Oregon	3	(17)
CHAPTER TWO Astoria	20	(14)
CHAPTER THREE Discovering the Oregon Trail	34	(13)
CHAPTER FOUR John McLoughlin and the Missionaries	47	(19)
CHAPTER FIVE The American Occupation of Oregon	66	(18)
CHAPTER SIX The Emigrants of 1843	84	(25)
CHAPTER SEVEN Self-Rule and More Emigrants	109	(19)
CHAPTER EIGHT Fifty-four Forty or Fight	128	(19)
CHAPTER NINE The Year of Decision	147	(21)
CHAPTER TEN New Zion, More Emigrants,and a Massacre	168	(19)
CHAPTER ELEVEN A Lull Before the Rush	187	(13)
CHAPTER TWELVE The Gold Rush of 1849	200	(21)
CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Hectic Year of 1850	221	(22)
CHAPTER FOURTEEN The Changing Road	243	(21)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN More Change and Civil War	264	(24)
CHAPTER SIXTEEN Decline of the Trail	288	(22)
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Rebirth of the Trail	310	(23)
Acknowledgments	333	(2)
Appendix A: Historic Landmarks	335	(14)
Appendix B. Cutoffs and Other Roads	349	(6)
Glossary	355	(6)
Notes	361	(18)
Bibliography	379	(14)
Index	393