PRESENTATION OUTLINE
My family started out in Independence, Missouri but some people started out in St. Louis and came over here by steamboats.
There were a lot of people who started out in Westport or St. Joseph. Some of them even came over to Independence since that is where most people departed from.
Some of the people from Iowa started out at Council Bluffs if they were going to travel on the Mormon Trail.
I did not want to travel on the trail but back then what ever your parents said that is what goes so I went. I knew it was going to take a while to get to the free land. But I was really happy when we got to Blue Mound because it was so pretty and because it was the first geographic feature on the trail.
After going on the trail for a day we camped at Alcove Spring. It was a very beautiful place and there was a very pretty waterfall there too.
We left Alcove Spring and headed off. All I was hoping for was to have good weather so I wouldn't have to walk through lightning or thunder and especially rain but I knew it was going to happen somewhere along the line.
If the weather wasn't bad enough people were dying. Some people died of accidents like getting shot, getting ran over by a wagon or sometimes even getting infected by a cut or something like that.
Some of the other ways the people were dying was because of the diseases that some people got. Some of the diseases that the people got were dysentery, cholera, smallpox, and the measles. It was always so sad even though they were not related to me. There were people buried about every 80 yards.
We always had to do our daily routine like feeding the animals and cooking the food or washing the clothes when we came near a stream. We usually traveled 15-16 miles a day before we started to camp out for the night.
We always had to circle our wagons at nighttime as a fence for the animals. Whenever I saw people circling the wagons I was so glad that the long day was over.
We camped out at the Rock Creek Station and stocked up on supplies that we needed for the trip. Then we were on our way to Fort Kearney.
After traveling for a few days we finally got to Fort Kearney. Some of us rested for a little while or even for the night but the next morning we were back up and got heading down the trail for the rest of the journey to the west.
After we left Fort Kearney we came to Windlass Hill. So far it was the site of the steepest descent on the trail. It was hard to get over so I went to go help my family.
We came to Ash Hollow and it was a popular camping site. While my family was cooking supper and feeding the cattle I was just looking at the beautiful view. So far that was my favorite camping site that we had been to.
I was so sad when we had to leave Ash Hollow because it was such a beautiful place. But then we got to Chimney Rock and then I was happy again. Chimney Rock is really a neat thing to look at. I got to carve my name into the base of it.
As traveling on the trail we went to Fort Laramie which was the point of no return. I was beginning to get sleepy that day so I stayed in the wagon to get some sleep. I am just glad that my family did not catch me.
We went to Fort Casper which was established to protect a trading post that was used for emigrants that were moving on the trail.
We came to Independence Rock and it was the most famous point on the whole trail. I liked it so much that it was my favorite point on the trail now. We also had to be there by the 4th of July if we wanted to beat the snow.
Devil's Gate came after Independence Rock as I recall. It was actually the first National Monument.
I liked Devil's Gate but we had to keep going on down the trail. Then we came to the Rocky Mountains and we used the South Pass to get across them.
After we passed the South Pass we went to Fort Bridger which was the first privately-owned trading post.
We were now in Idaho and just crossed Thomas Fork Creek and were on our way up Big Hill which was a lot steeper than Windlass Hill.
We stopped at Fort Hall for a little break. Did you know that Fort Hall was a fur trading post before it became a rest stop for pioneers.
I was happy I was able to rest at Fort Hall because it was super sunny and hot out that day but we had to get going so I got up. We came to Register Rock which is one of the many places where people carved their names.
We set camp for the night near Shoshone Falls. My father was wondering what was making that loud noise so he went to check it out and I went with him. It happened to be a great big waterfall.
After two days of traveling from Shoshone Falls we came across another beautiful site. It was Thousand Springs which is a really pretty place. I loved to see water flowing by.
We stayed at Fort Boise for the night. Fort Boise was the last major military installation that we would pass on the way there.
We came to Keeney Pass which is the first landmark in the state of Oregon that we came to.
We came to the Blue Mountains. I didn't like the Blue Mountains because we had to leave some of our old family heirlooms behind which was really sad.
We came to Deadman Pass which is where we had to cut down a lot of debris out of the way so we could get through.
We came to the Dalles which meant the end of the trail. I was so happy that we finished the trail.
We finally came to Laurel Hill which most people thought that it was the worst stretch of the whole trail but I didn't think so because I was sleeping while we went through it.
We stayed at Oregon City for a few days. Dr. John McLoughlin ordered it to be constructed.
I got to go and see Fort Vancouver and I thought it was really cool.
Did you know that Oregon was the 33rd state even after being a territory for less than a year.
The U.S Congress made a half dollar coin to raise money from the Oregon Trail.
