The Element Most Essential to Survival
"It was on the freighting trains that Slade developed a fierce hatred of hose thieves–a characteristic he shared with most frontiersmen. On the plains the element most essential to survival…
Prairie Post Offices
"Because attrition, traveling company splits, combinations, and recombinations were so common to the overland emigrating experience, the matter of conveying advice, progress reports, and other newsworthy information to relatives, friends,…
Motivations to Emigrate
"Since American scholarship has virtually enshrined the continent-wide westward movement, it is only natural that must of the speculation concerning the overlanders' motivations has revolved around the so-called 'pioneer instinct'…
Eastbound Overlander Mail
"In the 1840s, before other postal services became available, eastbound overlanders were especially useful as letter carriers. They often stopped for a short time to enable emigrants to pen quick…
The Crowded Trails
"these masses of westering overlanders do not coincide with the popular media image of widely scattered wagon trains traveling in relative isolation. Indeed, particularly between 1843 and 1853, most overlanders…
Rapidity of Change in the West
"The rapidity with which change now came to the West was illustrated only nine years later [in 1849], when startled Indians began to speak of emigrating eastward, unable to believe…
No Need for Guides
"In 1846 there was virtually no interest in hiring guides. By now the trails were clearly visible, informative letters from previous overlanders had been published and otherwise widely circulated, and…
1849 Stage to California
"At least one Independence firm, Hansford and Peacock, and one St. Louis firm, Turner and Allen, planned passenger trains to California in 1849. . . .Whether Hansford and Peacock's train…
Difference Between California and Oregon Emigrants
"Oregonians during the 1850s believed themselves more 'respectable' than their Pacific Coast neighbors to the south, expressing the feeling in an arrogant anecdote: 'At Pacific Springs, one of the crossroads…
Greater Numbers of Emigrants
"As gold rushers raced across the plains and mountains in unprecedented numbers, it was little wonder that writers were caught up in 'adventurist' euphoria. Nor was it surprising that the…
Like the Ascent of Capitol Hill
"Though scattered references to easy passage over the Rockies had been appearing in newspapers for the previous decade, it was explorer John C. Frémont who ignited the South Pass enthusiasm…
Great American Desert
"These frequently mentioned fears of overland travel derived in large measure from the commonly accepted geographic concept of the so-called 'GreatAmerican Desert,' an area thought to extend westward from approximately…
The Finger of God
"Medical missionary Samuel Parker traveled overland to Oregon in 1835, and in his Journal of an Exploring tour beyond the Rocky Mountains intimated that if an elderly minister of the…
Mile 178: Rock Creek Station
"Rock Creek station was established along the Oregon-California Trail in 1858 to sell supplies and other services to the emigrants. The station subsequently served as a relay station for the…
Pony Express Route Near Austin, NV
"Thanks to research from Joe Nardone, and some sleuthing from Trails staff: 'As you can see, there's a lot going on [near Austin]. First, there's a route that stays north…