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Show i I - h--y Mt-j -U- PnW1 X o x . 2g $ M rfyfiy 4v. Aiixp --Iv v a ,,i .r ; - llmrAr2A?K OZrMrj&tfGZ "a9ean(0 America" I By ELMO SCOTT WATSON gSft(Sft)MING as it did near the E'Sht'6"1 annlvprsary of VI j A the discovery of guld in ' California, tlie nnnmince-J nnnmince-J merit of a project, spon-sored spon-sored by a Culifornhm. Pi-r-J (-,iar,es E- ravis of Sa'rlll"e"," t0 t!1';e an J-rT&fJ.!! immigrant train of "00 i ' f'sS'' Pra'rie schooners from , 's. ' Independence. Mo., along "' iu$3S the overland trail of pioneer days as a r.:ns of uiiling In marking, historic I'nes and awakening more interest in C'-e places. briDs to public atten-i atten-i n;:;;;in a route which has well been t- 'nl the "road that won an em-P'"f" em-P'"f" That Is the historic Oregon ' il. once known to thousands be-f be-f iw of the book by Parkman. the t' Inrian. but in modern times made ' familiar word to millions through Person Hough's novel "The Cov-H Cov-H Wujrnn" and the movie that was fr that book. 'ri'is latest project Is only one of JKfral of a similar nature which "lpn undertaken in recent years. years ago the Old Oregon Trail ' "('Winn was organized at Baker, '" "to perpetuate the name of the Oresnn Trail by having that name '"Mitcd i,y tle states tli rmijih 'lk,i It passes and also designated "I? wiiRress nf the United States national highway and. by so do-in do-in honor to the memory of the ive pioneer nien and women who perils of a savage land to s ,p "nt new homes for themselves ; '"regon Country,' a.'d to make m"nm territory ; to per.nanent-,rk per.nanent-,rk ,l,e rn'i'l "'ith the design of s s Team and Covered Wagon ( :jit its history may he preserved ," a mnstnnt reminder to the ;yf generation of the hardships ' those who blaze 1 the way ',' the foundation a' our pres-'' pres-'' (,;l-t civilization." ii" "-3 " Pageant was staged at j ' Ore., and President Hard-dedicated Hard-dedicated the Old Ore-nl Ore-nl liv unveiling a monument ,;nt Springs, one of tin most sV.hT'!""8 sP"ts n Hie trail. ' alliM tlme fhe association, and T.-.,j! . , "''WniMtion. the Oregon ls-iON1!rv "'"tlon with head-. head-. s In Npw Yorki hug beec en '.Mil rr" ef", t0 gGt nfficial ree-.'m ree-.'m fr nm "fess of their pro- "twin, i" ilng tl,e tra" Per-t:t Per-t:t Tu ns " hr'm mnlor hlsh--cai f ''1' nf tl,e memorial ,4'; Ezra ke, the nine-"il nine-"il over P'"neer who first ""ve rr"' " 18--.2. He has ve.,r, Z t,meS ,n the 'st t ., ti; ,,rs- His first two trips :n -'.Co'" 11,07 )". were k Kfl J.n e"m' was his Journey ' "'the ' tnnk five mnnths to " f m , nnC6,at "U!''nge speed "es an hour. In 1D15 nn-t .:''''''''''''''''''''''"""""""'"":. :: : : The Oregon Trail :: i ; ; Two hundred waeona, rolling out to ; Oregon : BreakhiK through the gopher holes, y lurchliiR wide ami free, y V Crawling up the mountain pass. Jolt- ing. grumhlic? rumbling on. : :: Two hundred wagons, rolling to the sea. From East and South and North they : : flock, to muster, row on row A fleet of ten-score prairie ships be- :; ; Side .MISSOUri'S floW. ;; ;: The bullwhlps crack, the oxen strain. .. the canvas-hooded files. :: :: Are off upon the iong. long trail of A 1 sixteen hundred miles. !! ' l 11 The women hold the guldlnf,-llnes; ; beside the rocking steers With goad and ready rifle walk the ; bearded pioneers V Through clouds of dust beneath the y: sun, through floods of sweeping y rain : ;y Across the Kansas prairie land. across Nebraska's plain. Two hundred wagons, rolling out to :: :: Oregon : : : : Curved around the camp nre flame :" ;; at halt when day Is done. J Rest awhile beneath the stars, yoke ;; 'M again and lumber on, .. . ; Two hundred wagons, rolling with ! the sun ! :' : Among the barren buttes they wind ; beneath the Jealous view V Of Bleckfoot, Pawnee. Omaha. Ara- pahoe and Sioux. V No savage threat may check their course, no river deep and wide; They swim the Platte, they ford the Snake. they cross the :: Great Divide. They march as once from India's .. vales through Asia's mountain .. door .J With shield and spear on Europe's ;; plrln their fathers marched .. ; br f ore. '. ; They march where leap the an- !! telope and storm the buffalo !! V Still Westward as their fathers ; V marched ten thousand years ; ; &so. ;; Two hundred wagons, rolling out to y Oregon -J Creeping down the dark defile be- ;: low the mountain crest, -J ;: Surging through the brawling stream. : : ; lunging, plunging, forging on. ; : .. Two hundred wagons, roiling toward : : the West. .. Now toils the dusty caravan with 'M ; swinging wagon poles '.. ; Where Walla Walla pours along l ' where broad Columbia rolls. V The long haired trapper's face ; grows dark and scowls the y painted brave: 'fi w Where now the beaver builds his V dam the wheat and rye shall y : wave. : : The British trader shakes his head and weighs his nation's loss, w For where those hardy settlers come : : .. the Stars and Stripes will toss : : '" Then block the wheels, unyoke the steers: the prize Is his who ;v: . dares: The cabins rise, the fields are sown. .. and Oregon la theirs! V : : They will take, they will hold. ; : By the spade In the mold, ; V By the seed in the soil, V By the sweat and the toll, v :T: B" the plow In the loam. y By the School and the Home! : : y : : Two hundred wagons, rolling out to Oregon, :J Two hundred wagons, ranging free ! and far.' : : l Two hundred wagons, rumbling, ;; ; grumbling, roiling on, l Two hundred wagons, following a .. V Star! Arthur Guiterman in "I Sing the . V Pioneer." 3 , :: (B P Dutton and Company. 1 : :::::::::'"4":;"::"':'--'-'-'-"""-'- lt)2G he retraced his path In an automobile auto-mobile and in 1924 he went over the trail In an airplane, continuing his Might to Washington where he was received by President Coolldge. after aft-er having spanned the continent In seventy-two hours. The Oregon Trail In reality had two eastern termini, although the best known one was Independence, Mo. The other was at Council Bluffs, Iowa, (formerly Kanesville, Iowa) opposite Omaha, Neb. From Independeice the route ran through what is now Kansas City (formerly Westport) to Gardner, Kau., where the two historic western trails, the Oregon and the Santa Fe, parted. From Gardner the road ran past what is now Topeka, thence northwest Into Nebraska through the present town of Hebron and on until It reached the Platte river near the present city of Grand Island. It ran along the south bank of the Platte until It reached what Is now the city of North Platte where It crossed over to the north side. It was here Joined by the trail from Council Bluffs (Kanesville), and followed the north bank of the Platte to that point. The "road to Oregon" continued up the North Platte to Fort Laramie In Wyoming, through the present city of Casper and on past Independent Rock, which was called the "Register of the Trail," because so many of the emigrants carved their names or Initials In-itials on this great landmark. From there it angled south and west until It crossed the Continental divide at South Pass, where the town of Pacific Pa-cific is now located. From here led two routes, one making a bend to the south, past the present city of Kenimerer, the other going more nearly near-ly straight west over what was known as tiie Sublette Cut-Off and both coming com-ing together at what Is now the town of Border. Entering Idaho the trail passed through the present towns of Mont-pelier, Mont-pelier, and Soda Springs, on to where old Fort Hall stood at the , Junction of the Port Neuf and the Snake rivers. Following the south bank of the Snake, it went through what are now tl.- towns of American Falls, Twin Falls, Filer and Buhl, where It went into the hills and emerged again at the river near the present town of Glenn's Ferry, where It crossed the Snake. From there It passed what are now Mountain Home, Boise, Nampa, Caldwell and Parma, near where old Fort Boise was located and where It crossed the Snake a second time. From there It entered the present pres-ent state of Oregon, went past Vale and Ontario, through Huntington at the mouth of the Burnt River canyon, up the canyon Into the Powder valley val-ley near the present city of Baker. From here it went through the Grande Ronde valley, over the Blue mountains moun-tains past th? town of Meacham and on past the present site of Pendleton to the Umatilla. From there It followed fol-lowed along the south bunk of the Columbia, although at. the Dalles the emigrants usually took to boats and rafts or to the Barlow road on through to Oregon City and Portland. From there they spread out over the Wil-liamette Wil-liamette valley, the Clatsop plains and north into the present state of Washington.' Wash-ington.' "And Oregon was theirs!" |