The American Nation A History of the United States, Combined Volume (14th Edition)

302 Chapter 11 Westward Expansion

perverse, muddy Platte (“a mile wide and six inches
deep”) past Fort Laramie to the Rockies. It crossed
the Continental Divide by the relatively easy South
Pass, veered south to Fort Bridger (on Mexican
soil), and then ran north and west through the valley
of the Snake River and eventually, by way of the
Columbia, to Fort Vancouver, a British post guard-
ing the entrance to the Willamette Valley.
Over this tortuous path wound the canvas-
covered caravans with their scouts and their accom-
panying herds. Each group became a self-governing
community on the march, with regulations democ-
ratically agreed on “for the purpose of keeping
good order and promoting civil and military disci-
pline.” Most of the travelers consisted of young
families, some from as far away as the East Coast
cities, more from towns and farms in the Ohio

Valley. Few could be classified as poor because the

cost of the trip for a family of four was about $600,

no small sum at that time. (The faster and less

fatiguing trip by ship around South America cost

about $600 per person.)

Large groups of Indians posed no great threat

(though constant vigilance was necessary), but the

five-month trip was full of labor, discomfort, and

uncertainty. “It became so monotonous after a while

that I would have welcomed an Indian fight if

awake,” one man wrote. And at the end lay the regu-

lar tasks of pioneering. The spirit of the trailblazers is

caught in an entry from the diary of James Nesmith:

Friday, October 27.—Arrived at Oregon City at the

falls of the Willamette.

Saturday, October 28.—Went to work.

Gulf of

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(1836–45)

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(Joint occupation

with Britain)

UNORGANIZED

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Portland Whitman Mission

Oregan City

Independence

Westport Tipton

Nauvoo

Council

Salt Lake Bluffs

City

Los Angeles

San Francisco

San Diego

Santa Fé

El Paso

San Antonio

Nacogdoches

St. Joseph

FORT

VANCOUVER WALLA WALLAFORT

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SUTTER’S FORT

(Sacramento)

FORT HALL

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Sublette’s

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FORT LEAVENWORTH

54°40`

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Oregon MormonTrail

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Route

Trails WestThe Old Spanish Trail was the earliest of the trails west. Part of it was mapped in 1776 by a

Franciscan missionary. The Santa Fe Trail came into use after 1823. The Oregon Trail was pioneered by trappers

and missionaries. The Mormon Trail was first traversed in 1847, while the Oxbow Route, developed under a

federal mail contract, was used from 1858 to 1861.