Texas Myths and Legends: Stories of the Frontier Book

Back in the early 19th century the Oregon territory consisted of two fur-trading posts; one British and one American; both battling for dominance. By midcentury a few brave souls ventured across the wilderness of North America to populate the new territory and eventually claim it for the United States. It was a nightmarish trip and many did not survive. We have all heard of the Donner Party who met tragedy. They never made it over the Sierra Nevada after experiencing a heavy snowstorm in October. There are many other stories of hardship left for posterity in the diaries of emigrants. They embarked from Missouri, piling all of their belongings into a canvas covered wagon drawn by mules or oxen. Men, women, children and animals drowned while crossing rivers. Others were run over by heavily laden wagons. As the trail became more heavily traveled in the years before the civil war, a deadly outbreak of cholera took scores of lives. At first, settlers and Indians coexisted. As more white people crossed Indian land and killed buffalo, the tribes became alarmed and felt threatened. There were massacres on both sides, but only one side had an army dedicated to removing the threat of angry natives. Of course the story ends in 1869 with the advent of the railroad. Suddenly, what had been a months long dangerous trip across the wilderness became a relatively comfortable journey of a few days on the iron horse. The Oregon trail became a relic of history. Unfortunately, so did many of our native people and most of the buffalo they depended on for life.