Slavery in Oregon and California
Oregon was less hospitable to blacks than many of them had hoped. The territorial legislature passed laws prohibiting admission to black settlers, even though exceptions were made on individual petition.…
Emigrants and Indians
The emigrants' fear of the Indians was equaled only by their ignorance of the Indians' ways. They seldom knew, for example. that it was common custom among many tribes to…
Women’s Recording of Gravesites
There is a kind of murderous precision in the women's recounting of mishap. Surely, the accounts must be viewed as a reflection of the continuing anxieties they felt. But the…
Missourians
Harriet Ward and Harriet Clarke were sharply aware of emigrants of lower social standing on the road. Very rowdy emigrants were described as being from Missouri, and the epithet "Missourians" covered…
Bloomers
It is in these travelers' diaries that one reads of women wearing "bloomers" as a gesture of participation in the fashion of the day—a considerable contrast to Rebecca Ketcham, who…
Women’s Need for Privacy on the Trail
In some measure, women were distressed at losing the daily exchanges, the comfonable conversation. and the sharing of chores with female kin and frtends. But the need of women for…
Emigrant Meals
The usual fare for breakfast on the Thai) was bread or pancakes, fried meat, beans, and tea or coffee. Pancakes were made with flour, water, and baking soda, and cooked in a…
Emigrants of the 1850s
To the observer with a discerning eye, significant changes had come about in the emigrant parties that assembled along the Missouri River towns of 1852 and 1853. In all the activity of…
Whitman Massacre
The story of the Whitman massacre, next to the story of the Donner Party, was probably the most widely-circulated on the frontier. When Marcus Whitman treated children for measles, white children (more…
Women’s Influence on the Decision to Emigrate
Faragher writes of his sample of women's diaries: "Not one wife initiated the idea [of migrating]; It was always the husband. Less than a quarter of the women writers recorded agreeing with…
Cost of Emigration
Foodstuffs were assembled at the start of the journey. The Emigrants Guide to Oregon and California, in 1845, recommended that each emigrant supply himself with 200 pounds of flour, 150 pounds of…
Anti-Mythic Journey for Women
It has been suggested by historian Howard Lamar and psychiatrist Daniel Levinson that the overland passage played a vital role in the life cycle of men, corresponding to "breaking away," improving, or…
Cholera During the Gold Rush
The secret enemy of the gold-seekers was cholera. It had appeared initially in the United States in 1832-34, dissipated, and then burst again in the winter of 1848-49. From 1849 until 1854,…
Length of Emigration
Nevertheless, the journey did not take four months, as the guidebooks promised, but eight months, and the emigrants counted themselves lucky to arrive in Oregon in late November [6-8 months].
Schooled In
On the 11-ail, Agnes spent the greater part of her days with her sister On the trail, Agnes spent the greater part of her days with her sister Elizabeth, even though…